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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.  The main reason for secession was to preserve slavery--but all the slaves were emancipated with no compensation to the owners.

For the social, political, economic and diplomatic history see [[American Civil War homefront]]

For the social, political, economic and diplomatic history see [[American Civil War homefront]]

==Beginnings==

==Beginnings==

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.  Arguing that their Constitutional [[states' rights]] protected slavery outside the South, they saw that issue rejected in the North. The Union government rejected the claims that a state had a right to secede.

Seven southern states seceded from the [[United States of America]] over the winter of 1860-61 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.  Arguing that their Constitutional [[states' rights]] protected slavery outside the South, they saw that issue rejected in the North. The Union government rejected the claims that a state had a right to secede.

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.  In addition West Virginia broke away from Virginia and joined the Union as a state.

When fighting began in April Lincoln called on all states to send troops; at this point four more states broke away and joined the Confederacy, Virginia, North Cariolina, Tennessee and Arkansas.

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]] became the capital of the Confederacy after that state seceded.  

 

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]] became the capital of the Confederacy after that state seceded. It was a poor choice for a war capital because it was hard to supply and hard to defend.

Starting in 1862 General [[Robert E. Lee]] led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia 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]].  Lee proved a tenacious defender of Richmond, which had an exposed position and a long, difficult supply line.  Grant wore down Lee's army, which was unable to replace its casualties and desertions.

Starting in 1862 General [[Robert E. Lee]] led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia 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]].  Lee proved a tenacious defender of Richmond, which had an exposed position and a long, difficult supply line.  Grant wore down Lee's army, which was unable to replace its casualties and desertions.

== Ideology ==

== Ideology ==

 

Historian Emory Thomas compared 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 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'' (1979), pp. 83-84. </ref>  

Historias Emory Thomas compared 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 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'' (1979), pp. 83-84. </ref>  

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.

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.