The Confederate States of America

In a recent post on the General-History blogsite, mention is made of these confederate states. Their importance in history, especially American history, is that they were a direct cause (with others) of the Civil War that ravaged the nation in the mid-1860s.

   Secession from the American Union by eleven Southern States followed the election of Lincoln as President. The states were Alabama, Arkansas (pronounced ‘arkansaw’), Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennesse, Texas and Virginia (q.v.).

   The Confederacy, as the Confederate States came to be called, comprised around five and a half million whites, and three and a half million slaves. It framed a Constitution based on the United States Constitution but stressing an independent character for each State. It also made specific reference to the institution of slavery.

   A provisional government was established in Montgomery, Alabama in February, 1861. Jefferson Davis was elected President, and decided to transfer his capital to Richmond, Virginia. It was a brave attempt, but the subsequent Civil War was lost by the Confederate States, and Davis had formally to dissolve them on 14 April, 1865.