The Confederate States of America was a separate government set up by
the southern states that seceded from the United States after the presidential election of 1860. Commonly called the Confederacy, it contained thirteen states that united in war to establish independence from
the remaining states, called the Union. The American Civil War
(1861–65) tore the nation apart and was the bloodiest conflict in the nation’s history.
Secession
In 1860, the nation was struggling with many political issues. The most
difficult involved the protection and expansion of slavery. The United
States was expanding into new territories across the West. Whether slavery would be permitted sparked intense argument on both sides of the
question in Congress and across the nation.
The southern economy depended very much on slavery, so there was
great southern interest not only in protecting slavery in existing states but
in allowing it to expand to new territories. Since northern state economies
depended on employed immigrants instead of slaves, there was little support there for allowing slavery to expand into new territories.
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865; served 1861–65) was elected to the
presidency at the end of 1860. As he opposed the expansion of slavery,
many in the South feared his election was the first step in the complete
abolition of slavery throughout the nation. These fears triggered plans
for secession.
Independence
Soon after Lincoln’s election, the state legislature of South Carolina organized a state convention to consider secession. On December 20,
1860, convention delegates voted in favor of secession and made plans
to meet again in Alabama to form a southern republic. Beginning on
January 9, 1861, six more states followed South Carolina: Mississippi,
Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, and Texas.
The states that seceded believed they had the right to do so. They
believed each state voluntarily entered the nation and, therefore, had the
right to leave whenever they wished. As far as the southern states were
concerned, their constitutional right to have slavery and to control other
political issues was in jeopardy, so being part of the United States no
longer served their interests.
In February 1861, delegates from the first seven states to secede met
in Montgomery, Alabama, to create a united southern government. They
quickly drafted and adopted a provisional constitution, and on February
8 the Confederate States of America was born. The constitution provided a temporary government for one year. Jefferson Davis
(1808–1889), a U.S. senator from Mississippi and a former secretary of
war, was elected to become the interim president until a permanent government could be established. He was inaugurated February 18, 1861.
The constitution the Confederacy adopted was similar to the U.S.
Constitution, but with important differences. It established similar
branches of government but emphasized the independence of states
within the Confederacy. It put all the legislative power in a Congress. It
gave the confederate president more power than the U.S. president had,
but the position was limited to only one term of six years. The confederate judiciary was similar to the federal judiciary, but to protect its own
power, Congress never passed legislation to allow the confederate
Supreme Court to function. In light of the political issues that led to secession, the confederate constitution explicitly protected slavery and forbade the government from imposing protective tariffs, or taxes. The active Confederacy
An incident at the federally owned Fort Sumter in Charleston, South
Carolina, sparked the American Civil War in April 1861. The
Confederate states fired on the fort to force the federal government to
leave South Carolina soil. In response, President Lincoln called for
troops from the Union states to organize against the rebellious attacks.
In reaction to Lincoln’s call, the southern states of Virginia, North
Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas joined the Confederacy in April and
May. Citizens of Missouri and Kentucky were sharply divided over the
issue of secession, so those states were claimed by both the Union and
the Confederacy.
The Confederacy moved its capital to Richmond, Virginia, on July
20, 1861. In elections that November, Davis was elected as the first president of the permanent Confederacy. Davis struggled to establish a
united Confederacy. The task was difficult because Confederate states
were intent on protecting state’s rights and independence.
Davis led the Confederacy throughout its fight for independence,
but eventually the Confederacy lost the Civil War to the Union in April
1865. The Confederate States of America dissolved with surrender, and
all states eventually renewed their ties with the United States of America.