The Constitution of the Confederate States, sometimes referred to as the Confederate Constitution, was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It superseded the Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States, the Confederate States' first constitution, in 1862.Constitution of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America – Wikisource, the free online library. Retrieved July 10, 2013. It remained in effect until the end of the American Civil War in 1865.
The original Provisional Constitution is located at the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia,American Civil War:: Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library:: University of Georgia Libraries . Retrieved July 10, 2013. and differs slightly from the version later adopted. The final, handwritten Constitution is located in the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia. Most of its provisions are word-for-word duplicates from the United States Constitution; however, there are crucial differences between the two documents in tone and legal content, primarily regarding slavery.
In particular, as illustrated throughout its Articles I and IV, and elaborated upon in this page's section concerning the ramifications thereof, the Confederate Constitution is unique in constitutional history as the only one to enshrine slavery as an intrinsic fundament of its state's existence — a practice restricted to people of a particular race.
Comparison with the U.S. Constitution The preambles of both the U.S. and the Confederate Constitutions have some similarities, but it seems that the Confederate Constitution authors set out to give a different feel to the new preamble. Both preambles are provided here. The bold text shows the differences between them. The Confederate Constitution's preamble includes references to God, a perpetual government, and the sovereignty and the independence of each state. The Preamble to the U.S. Constitution: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."The United States Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net. Retrieved July 10, 2013. The Preamble to the Confederate Constitution: "We, the people of the Confederate States, each state acting in its sovereign and independent character, in order to form a permanent federal government, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity – invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God – do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Confederate States of America."Constitution of the Confederate States of America – Wikisource, the free online library. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
All twelve amendments added to the U.S. Constitution prior to 1860, including the Bill of Rights, were directly incorporated into the Confederate Constitution.
Article summaries The Confederate Constitution followed the U.S. Constitution for the most part in the main body of the text but with some changes:
Article I differences Amended Article I Section 2(1) to prohibit persons "of foreign birth" who were "not a citizen of the Confederate States" from voting "for any officer, civil or political, State or Federal."Constitution of the Confederate States of America – Wikisource, the free online library. Retrieved July 10, 2013. Article I Section 2(3) is essentially the same, and the clause still counts only "three-fifths of all slaves"Constitution of the Confederate States of America – Wikisource, the free online library. Retrieved July 10, 2013. for the population total of each state, just as it did in the U.S. with the Three-Fifths Compromise. "The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every fifty thousand", whereas in the U.S. Constitution: "The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand."The United States Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net. Retrieved July 10, 2013. A 1796 proposed Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which is still pending ratification by the states (as of 2026) would change the maximum number of representatives to one for every fifty thousand. Amended Article I Section 2(5) to allow the state legislatures to impeach federal officials who live and work only within their state with a two-thirds vote of both houses of the state legislature. Concerning the appointment of Senators, Article I Section 3(1) adds "at the regular session next immediately preceding the commencement of the term of service."Constitution of the Confederate States of America – Wikisource, the free online library. Retrieved July 10, 2013. The state legislature, which then was responsible for the appointment of senators, had to wait until the seat was vacant. Article I Section 4(1) deals with elections and adds "subject to the provisions of this Constitution"Constitution of the Confederate States of America – Wikisource, the free online library. Retrieved July 10, 2013. to the equivalent clause in the U.S. Constitution. That meant that each state legislature was free to make its own decision unless the constitution laid out other rules. The aforementioned Article I Section 2(1) and Article I Section 3(1) clauses would fall into that category. Amended Article I Section 6(2) to allow the House of Representatives and the Senate the ability to grant seats to the heads of each executive department to discuss issues involving their departments with Congress. The clause is the same as the one from the U.S. Constitution and adds:
Amended Article I Section 7(2) to provide the President of the Confederate States with a line-item veto but also required any bill in which the president used this veto to be resubmitted to both houses for a possible override vote by two thirds of both houses. In an attempt to prevent the Confederate Congress from protecting industry, the framers added to Article I Section 8(1); their text read:
The phrase "general Welfare" was dropped from the Confederate clause as well. For comparison, the U.S. constitution reads:
Article I Section 8(3) added quite a bit to the U.S. Constitution in an attempt to block the Confederate Congress from appropriating money to build "internal improvements" to "facilitate commerce," with some exceptions allowing for safety and improvement to waterways. Article I Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.
Article I Section 8(3) of the Confederate Constitution.
There are changes and additions to Article 1 Section 9 Clauses (1), (2), and (4) that are covered in the Slavery section below. The first eight amendments to the U.S. Constitution became clauses (12) to (19) in Article I Section 9.Constitution of the Confederate States of America – Wikisource, the free online library. Retrieved July 10, 2013.The United States Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net. Retrieved July 10, 2013. In addition to this, there were three altogether-new clauses in the Confederate Constitution for Article I, Section 9. Article I, Section 9(9)
Article I, Section 9(10)
Amendments I through VIII are contained, in the same order, in Article I, Section 9(12) through Article I, Section 9(19) (the remainder of the U.S. Bill of Rights is in Article VI). Article I, Section 9(20) was added to limit new bills to only one subject presented.
Then in Section 10: Article I Section 10(3): Individual states were unable to tax ships and negotiate treaties concerning waterways with other states without congressional consent. The clause limited the states' ability to keep troops or to engage in war, but provided some ability to enter compacts for the improvement of shared rivers.
Article II The President of the Confederate States of America is to be elected by electors, chosen by the individual states, for a single six-year term, rather than a then-unlimited number of four-year terms. Article 2 Section 1(1) reads as: "The executive power shall be vested in a President of the Confederate States of America. He and the Vice President shall hold their offices for the term of six years; but the President shall not be re-eligible." Amendment XII of the U.S. Constitution is added here as Article II Section 1(3), (4), and (5)The United States Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net. Retrieved July 10, 2013. Article II Section 1(7) of the Confederate Constitution required candidates for the President of the Confederacy to have resided "within the limits of the Confederate States" for 14 years. Changes to Article III Article III Section 2(1) of the Confederate Constitution combines the first clause of Article III Section 1 in the U.S. Constitution with Amendment XI. The phrase "citizens of the same state"The United States Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net. Retrieved July 10, 2013. is left out and "and foreign states, citizens or subjects; but no state shall be sued by a citizen or subject of any foreign state"Constitution of the Confederate States of America – Wikisource, the free online library. Retrieved July 10, 2013. is added in the Confederate Constitution. Changes to Article IV There were changes and additions to Article IV Section 2(1) and Article IV Section 3(3), which are covered in the Slavery section below. Article IV Section 3(1) required a two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote for a new state to join the Confederacy.
Changes to Article V The Confederate Congress, unlike in the U.S. Constitution, could not propose amendments. Instead, amendments had to be proposed by constitutional conventions in at least three states.Constitution of the Confederate States of America – Wikisource, the free online library. Retrieved July 10, 2013. The Confederate Constitution also clarified an ambiguity in the U.S. Constitution's Article V by declaring that a national convention could propose only amendments that were suggested by state conventions, as opposed to having the authority to amend the entire Constitution. The process of amendment became easier (Article V Section 1(1)) by requiring only two thirds of the states to ratify, rather than three fourths. Changes to Article VI The Confederate Constitution added a clause to aid with the transition from the provisional government.
Amendments IX and X of the U.S. Constitution were added here as Article VI Section 1(5), and (6)Constitution of the Confederate States of America – Wikisource, the free online library. Retrieved July 10, 2013.The United States Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net. Retrieved July 10, 2013.The United States Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net. Retrieved July 10, 2013. Changes to Article VII Article VII Section 1(2), with instructions for electing permanent officials after the ratification of the Confederate Constitution, was added.
Differences by subject Slavery There were several major differences between the constitutions concerning slavery. Whereas the original U.S. Constitution did not use the word "slavery" or the term "Negro Slaves" but instead used "Person[s] held to Service or Labour,"The United States Constitution – The U.S. Constitution Online – USConstitution.net. Retrieved July 10, 2013. which included whites and Native Americans in indentured servitude, the Confederate Constitution addresses the legality of slavery directly and by name.