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The '''Confederate States of America''' (informally, the ''Confederacy'') was a government created from an alliance of eleven southern states which had seceded from the [[United States]] between December 1860 and April 1861.  The [[American Civil War]] that was begun by the Confederate shelling of Fort Sumter proved disastrous; four years of savage fighting ended with the fledgling government defeated and dissolved, and left the southern states a financial and industrial wreck.

The '''Confederate States of America''' (informally, the ''Confederacy'') was a government created from an alliance of eleven southern states which had seceded from the [[United States]] between December 1860 and April 1861.  The [[American Civil War]] that was begun by the Confederate shelling of Fort Sumter proved disastrous; four years of savage fighting ended with the fledgling government defeated and dissolved, and left the southern states a financial and industrial wreck.

==Beginnings==

==Beginnings==

The various southern states seceded from the [[United States of America]] and joined together as the "Confederate States of America" for a number of reasons, including the balance of power in Congress, which favored northern states, the impact of free trade on the south's agricultural exports, and, after Lincoln's triumph in the [[1860 Presidential election]], the threat of [[abolitionism|abolitionists]] support of an end to [[slavery]], which southerners viewed as a matter of [[states' rights]] rather than as a moral issue. It can be argued that the issue of slavery was a flash point for the conflict, and that resentment in the South about the centralized federal government undermined general [[states' rights]].

Eleven southern states seceded from the [[United States of America]] and joined together as the "Confederate States of America" to protect slavery.  They saw that the antislavery forces in the North were gaining strength, typified by the election as president of [[Abraham Lincoln]] in 1860. The political future for slavery was bleak, as the South was losing relative strength in Congress. A widespread fear was that the North would unleash terrorists--[[abolitionism|abolitionists]]--who would cause a bloody race war.  Arguing that their Constitutional [[states' rights]] protected slavery outside the South, they saw that issue rejected in the North.  

Only four states where slavery was legal at that time remained part of the United States: [[Delaware]], [[Kentucky]], [[Maryland]] and [[Missouri]].  Residents of the latter three states raised [[regiment]]s for the Confederacy, although not as an official act of their governments.

Of the 15 slave states, four remained in the United States: [[Delaware]], [[Kentucky]], [[Maryland]] and [[Missouri]].  Residents of the latter three states raised [[regiment]]s for the Confederacy, although not as an official act of their governments.

The president of the Confederate States of America was [[Jefferson Davis]], a former [[Secretary of War]] under [[President]] [[Franklin Pierce]] and [[Senator]] from [[Mississippi]].  [[Richmond, Virginia]] was the capital of the Confederacy after that state seceded in mid-April of 1861 following the surrender of [[Fort Sumter]] and [[Lincoln's call for volunteers]], and one day before the [[Pratt Street riot]] in [[Baltimore, Maryland]], the first battle of the Civil War to kill Americans on both sides.

The president of the Confederate States of America was [[Jefferson Davis]], a former [[Secretary of War]] under President [[Franklin Pierce]] and Senator from [[Mississippi]].  [[Richmond, Virginia]] was the capital of the Confederacy after that state seceded in mid-April of 1861 following the surrender of [[Fort Sumter]] and [[Lincoln's call for volunteers]].

General [[Robert E. Lee]] led the Confederate forces into battle against the Union armies, which were led by various generals appointed by [[Abraham Lincoln]], with the last, and most successful being General Ulysses S. Grant.  

General [[Robert E. Lee]] led the Confederate forces into battle against the Union armies, which were led by various generals appointed by [[Abraham Lincoln]], with the last, and most successful being General Ulysses S. Grant.  

Professor [[Emory Thomas]] of [[Virginia]] found it instructive to compare the correspondence sent by the Confederate government in the first year of its existence to different governments.  He writes, "The Southern nation was by turns a guileless people attacked by a voracious neighbor, an 'established' nation in some temporary difficulty, a collection of bucolic [[aristocrats]] making a romantic stand against the banalities of [[industry|industrial]] [[democracy]], a [[cabal]] of commercial farmers seeking to make a pawn of [[King Cotton]], an [[apotheosis]] of nineteenth-century [[nationalism]] and revolutionary [[liberalism]], or the ultimate statement of social and economic [[reaction]]." <ref> [Emory M. Thomas, The Confederate Nation: 1861-1865.  New York: Harper & Row, 1979, pp. 83-84.] </ref> Certainly some of the leaders of the Confederacy could be found to believe in any one of these incarnations of their country, but probably none to believe in all at once.  The aspect of resistance to [[industrialization]] has most captured the imagination of future generations of Southerners.

Professor [[Emory Thomas]] of [[Virginia]] found it instructive to compare the correspondence sent by the Confederate government in the first year of its existence to different governments.  He writes, "The Southern nation was by turns a guileless people attacked by a voracious neighbor, an 'established' nation in some temporary difficulty, a collection of bucolic [[aristocrats]] making a romantic stand against the banalities of [[industry|industrial]] [[democracy]], a [[cabal]] of commercial farmers seeking to make a pawn of [[King Cotton]], an [[apotheosis]] of nineteenth-century [[nationalism]] and revolutionary [[liberalism]], or the ultimate statement of social and economic [[reaction]]." <ref> [Emory M. Thomas, The Confederate Nation: 1861-1865.  New York: Harper & Row, 1979, pp. 83-84.] </ref> Certainly some of the leaders of the Confederacy could be found to believe in any one of these incarnations of their country, but probably none to believe in all at once.  The aspect of resistance to [[industrialization]] has most captured the imagination of future generations of Southerners.

The example of the [[U. S. Constitution]] clearly guided the drafters of the Confederate Constitution, enabling the latter group to complete their work in less than half as much time. <ref> [Thomas, p. 63.] </ref> However, this Confederate Constitution contained a provision banning efforts to end de jure slavery, found at Article I, Section 9, clause 4, lumped in with the provisions banning [[ex post facto laws]] and [[bills of attainder]].  Another clause banned the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] [[slave trade]], but permitted the importation of slaves from the Union; this clause was consistent with the United States' banning of Atlantic slave trading in 1808, which had the effect of improving the domestic slave market, benefiting states such as [[Virginia]].  The wording of this clause demonstrates that the drafters clearly anticipated that not all slave states would secede, although they also included a provision for accepting new states into the Confederacy. This proved essential when [[Virginia]], [[Arkansas]], [[Tennessee]] and [[North Carolina]] seceded from the United States after the Confederate Constitution was in effect.  Although the Confederate document includes no [[bill of rights]], the [[Ninth Amendment]] and [[Tenth Amendment]] of the U.S. Bill of Rights are reproduced in Article VI as Sections 5 and 6.  The Confederate Constitution implemented a ban on a [[religious test for office]] in Section 4, notwithstanding the preamble's invocation of [[God]]'s blessing on the Confederate experiment. <ref> [Thomas, Appendix, pp. 306-322.] </ref>  Other differences had to do with the [[appropriations]] process in Congress.  Not only was a [[line-item veto]] expressly included, but Congress required a two-thirds [[supermajority]] to appropriate any funds not specifically requested by the President, giving Jefferson Davis in a real sense more Constitutional power than Abraham Lincoln possessed - an irony, given the Confederate states' putative objection to centralized power.

The example of the [[U. S. Constitution]] clearly guided the drafters of the Confederate Constitution, enabling the latter group to complete their work in less than half as much time. <ref> Thomas, p. 63. </ref> However, this Confederate Constitution contained a provision banning efforts to end de jure slavery, found at Article I, Section 9, clause 4, lumped in with the provisions banning [[ex post facto laws]] and [[bills of attainder]].  Another clause banned the international [[slave trade]], but permitted the importation of slaves from the United States; this clause was consistent with the United States' banning of Atlantic slave trading in 1808, which had the effect of improving the domestic slave market, benefiting states such as [[Virginia]].  The wording of this clause demonstrates that the drafters clearly anticipated that not all slave states would secede, although they also included a provision for accepting new states into the Confederacy. This proved essential when [[Virginia]], [[Arkansas]], [[Tennessee]] and [[North Carolina]] seceded from the United States after the Confederate Constitution was in effect.  Although the Confederate document includes no [[bill of rights]], the [[Ninth Amendment]] and [[Tenth Amendment]] of the U.S. Bill of Rights are reproduced in Article VI as Sections 5 and 6.  The Confederate Constitution implemented a ban on a [[religious test for office]] in Section 4, notwithstanding the preamble's invocation of God's blessing on the Confederate experiment. <ref> Thomas, Appendix, pp. 306-322. </ref>  Other differences had to do with the [[appropriations]] process in Congress.  Not only was a [[line-item veto]] expressly included, but Congress required a two-thirds [[supermajority]] to appropriate any funds not specifically requested by the President, giving Jefferson Davis in a real sense more Constitutional power than Abraham Lincoln possessed - an irony, given the Confederate states' putative objection to centralized power.

Despite the later romanticization of the Confederate cause, the perpetuation of Southern conceptions of race and slavery was of prime importance to the new nation. In his "Cornerstone Speech," Vice President Alexander Stephens argued that a major difference between the Confederate Constitution and the United States Constitution was the belief that blacks were not inherently equal. In describing this fundamental difference, Stephens said, "The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution—African slavery as it exists amongst us—the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution... Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man." <ref>[http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?documentprint=76]</ref> The rejection of slavery as a dominant ideology of the Confederate States began after the Civil War, as Confederate leaders sought to legitimize their failed rebellion.

Despite the later romanticization of the Confederate cause, the perpetuation of Southern conceptions of race and slavery was of prime importance to the new nation. In his "Cornerstone Speech," Vice President Alexander Stephens argued that a major difference between the Confederate Constitution and the United States Constitution was the belief that blacks were not inherently equal. In describing this fundamental difference, Stephens said, "The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution—African slavery as it exists amongst us—the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution... Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man." <ref>[http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?documentprint=76]</ref> The rejection of slavery as a dominant ideology of the Confederate States began after the Civil War, as Confederate leaders sought to legitimize their failed rebellion.

== Economics ==

== Economics ==

 

While the Northern States had modernized and embraced the industrial revolution, incorporating new technology and rebuilding infrastructure to support it, the South had remained agrarian, and reliant on slave labor to boost productivity.

While ideology would provide much of the motivation to go to war, the economic conditions of the Northern and Southern states made it impossible for anything but a clash to come about{{fact}}. While the Northern States had modernized and embraced the industrial revolution, incorporating new technology and rebuilding infrastructure to support it, the South had remained agrarian, and reliant on slave labor to boost productivity.

The southern economic model was challenged by its lack of access to capital.  When a businessman in the North wanted to build a factory, he could obtain a loan from the bank or from a group of investors, pay the labor and material costs to erect it, maintain the factory as collateral, paying back the loan with cash flow from the business. The capital was constantly liquid, changing hands from one individual to another.

The southern economic model was challenged by its lack of access to capital.  When a businessman in the North wanted to build a factory, he could obtain a loan from the bank or from a group of investors, pay the labor and material costs to erect it, maintain the factory as collateral, paying back the loan with cash flow from the business. The capital was constantly liquid, changing hands from one individual to another.

When a plantation or farm owner in the South wanted to expand, he could only borrow against his own land or other property, which were not holding value in the face of declining prices for agricultural products. And while new goods from Northern factories were in increasing demand, the South found itself having to compete with agricultural products grown elsewhere. The south's inability to adapt its economic model to changing times, coupled with its steadfast adherence to a cruel, inhumane, and immoral labor system (slavery), led to economic ruin, which furthered the case for succession in their minds.

Banks were fewer in the South, and most plantation profits went to purchases of more slaves and more land.  

== Legacy - Physical/Military ==

== Legacy - Physical/Military ==

Economically the South was badly damaged and fell far behind the North in terms of prosperity; it took 100 years for the South to catch up.

Economically the South was badly damaged and fell far behind the North in terms of prosperity; it took 100 years for the South to catch up.

== See also ==

== See also ==

 

*[[American Civil War: 1861]]

*[[American Civil War: 1861]]

*[[American Civil War: 1862]]

*[[American Civil War: 1862]]

*[[American Civil War: 1865]]

*[[American Civil War: 1865]]

*[[American Civil War: Aftermath]]

*[[American Civil War: Aftermath]]

[[Category:American Civil War]]

[[Category:American Civil War]]

[[Category:United States History]]

[[Category:United States History]]

[[Category:Former Countries]]

[[Category:Former Countries]]