Confederate Constitution - Essay Example

Section/# Analysis, Summary, and Discussion of the Confederate Constitution The particular source that this analysis will review, summarize, and discuss the Confederate Constitution along the lines of why it was important within the context of the times, the key differentials that were exhibited within the Confederate Constitution as compared to the United States Constitution, and finally, as well as a brief summary of the document. Firstly, with regards to the “what” of the Confederate Constitution, the document itself stands as both a means of defining what the ruling document of how the Confederate States will operate in context to the confederacy they have formed as well as differentiating stark levels of contrast with the formerly written and adhered to United States Constitution. Ushered into law on March 11th 1861, nearly a full month prior to the outbreak of war in Charleston, SC, it established the key differentials that existed between the Confederacy and the Northern states; still members of the Union and still adhering to the United States Constituion. Although the document stands as a near word-for-word duplicate of the United States Constitution, key areas of disagreement were spoken to within subsequent sections and articles to allow for an even more liberal interpretation of the role of self-determination and states’ rights within the member parties of the confederacy as well as the interpretation, definition, and understanding of slavery. Also, not unlike the United States Constitution, key individuals influenced the drafting and final representation of the Confederate Constitution; among these included representatives from Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. With regards to the “who” question, none of these signatories were more prominent than Howell Cobb. Within the Confederate Constitution, Howell Cobb was the most notable signatory as he served as the President of Congress for the Confederacy when the draft was signed into law in 1861. Before attaining this position, Cobb led a long and storied career as a politician; serving five consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, Secretary of the Treasury, and the 40th Governor of Georgia. As such, before the point in time that Jefferson Davis was elected as President of the Confederacy, Cobb was the de-facto leader of the Confederacy and served as the executive power under whose signature the Confederate Constitution was able to be passed into law. With regards to the “why” question, this document served as a means of proclaiming a level of self determination, a la the much earlier Declaration of Independence that the founding fathers of the United States had penned. Moreover, it served to differentiate the means whereby the Confederate States sought to define the most important concepts of power and the relationship which the member components of their own union must relate to the central Confederate government. As such, the document specified that at any time and for any reason, the dissolution of a member state from such a confederacy was entirely possible and allowable under the legal terms in which the document was penned. Similarly, with regards to the “where” question, the document was ratified in Montgomery Alabama. With regards to the key differentials that the document noted as compared to the United States Constitution, these were many and will be explained within the following bullet points: The preamble to the Confederate Constitution placed emphasis upon the fact that all signatory states were acting in their own sovereign and independent character. Establishes the 3/5’s compromise as the law of the land; thereby denoting that a slave can only be counted as 3/5’s of a person when determining the overall population total of each state. Provided the President of the Confederate States with the power of line item veto but reqruierd that once the president would use the veto power that the bill would then be resubmitted to both houses for possible override. Constrained the power of government to lay taxes upon importations from foreign lands as a means of fostering or promoting any specific branch of industry; thereby establishing all duties and tariffs to be uniform throughout the Confederate States Blocks the Confederate Congress from passing any law to “facilitate commerce” Restricts the Confederate Congress from appropriations of money from the treasury; unless a vote of 2/3 was able to be gained by open yea or nay votes. Restricts the power of the Confederate Congress to have the ability to tax shipping or negotiate treaties concerning waterway rights; leaving this up to the individual component states. Changed the election process from direct election to a representative republic Provided citizenship for all individuals born in the United States prior to the end of 1860 Denoted that a vote of 2/3 was required by any state wishing to join the Confederacy Banned the further importation of slaves from African nations or any other non-US territory Legally protected slavery in any new territories that may develop Gave the Confederacy the power to prohibit the importation of slaves from any non-member of the Confederacy Ensured that no law depriving “negro” citizens of their property would be passed As can be seen from the preceding analysis, the Confederate Constitution bore many hallmarks of the United States Constitution that preceded it. Surprisingly, on certain levels, the Confederate Constitution took the time and ink to define and reinforce the rights that slaves could enjoy within the system; as compared to the United States Constitution that was of course penned at a time in which such a factor was nearly unimaginable. However, regardless of this fact, the Confederate Constitution’s main differentials are with regards to the strong stance it took on providing a limited federal government and loose confederation of member states as well as championing the role of state’s rights to define the way in which the system would mature within the future. Read More