Why It Wasn’t About Slavery

By Jeff Paulk

The Morrill Tariff, as it was called, was the highest tariff in U.S. history." Adams also notes, "Secession by the South was a reaction against Lincoln's high-tax policy. In 1861 the slave issue was not critical... The leaders of the South believed secession would attract trade to Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans, replacing Boston, New York, and Philadelphia as the chief trading ports of America, primarily because of low taxes.

 

Charles Dickens writes, "The Northern onslaught upon slavery was no more than a piece of specious humbug designed to conceal its desire for economic control of the Southern States." Dickens goes on to say "...Union means so many millions a year lost to the South; secession means the loss of the same millions to the North. The love of money is the root of this as of many other evils... The quarrel between the North and South is, as it stands, solely a fiscal quarrel."

 

   There is NO historical proof of an official act by Congress or Lincoln that the United States waged a war to abolish slavery and until such an act is produced the war over slavery lie remains dishonest history and ignorant hate speech.
   According to ALL official acts by Lincoln and the U.S. Congress, Lincoln's Tax War was totally fought to collect a 40% Federal sales tax on imported products under the Morrill Tariff Act of 1861.
   Abraham Lincoln stated in his First Inaugural Speech on March 4, 1861:
"I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so." (Paragraph 4)
"The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the government, and to COLLECT THE DUTIES and IMPOSTS; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere." (Paragraph 21)

Karl Marx, like most European socialists of the time favored the North. In an 1861 article published in England, he articulated very well what the major British newspapers, the Times, the Economist, and Saturday Review, had been saying:

"The war between the North and South is a tariff war. The war, is further, not for any principle, does not touch the question of slavery, and in fact turns on the Northern lust for power."

On July 22, 1861, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution stating the purpose of the war:

 

   “Resolved…That this war is not being prosecuted on our part in any spirit of oppression, not for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established institutions of those states, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality and rights of the several States unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease.”

 

This is further proof that the war was NOT fought over slavery.  The North did, however, conquer and subjugate the South, and the war they initiated and waged against the South was both unconstitutional and treasonous.  It was fought to force the legally seceded South back into the union for the purpose of continuing the collection of excessive tariffs, which economically damaged the South, but was of economical benefit to the northern industrialists.

 

 

 

 

Where is the logic?

 

IF slavery was the cause of the War For Southern Independence, and IF the North fought to free the slaves, why then:

 

1. Was a 13th amendment presented in the U.S. Congress and signed by Lincoln in 1861, that would have prohibited the U.S. government from ever abolishing or interfering with slavery in any state? (Corwin Amendment, 2 March, 1861)

 2. Was West Virginia allowed to accede to the union as a "Slave" state after 1863? (West Virginia was illegally and unconstitutionally formed)

3. Was slave labor used to build the Capitol building in Washington D.C.?

4. Was the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, applicable only in areas not under the control of the Union?

(The Emancipation Proclamation freed not one solitary person, but was a war measure meant to cause a slave uprising, which did not happen)                                              

 5.Was Union Gen. Fremont's order emancipating slaves in Missouri countermanded by Lincoln and the slaves sent back to their masters?

 6. Why did New Jersey uphold its "Lifetime apprentices" rule until 1866?

7. Why were there six slave states in the union (Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska – 1860 Census)  during the War For Southern Independence?

8. Was there a U.S. Resolution stating that the war had nothing to do with slavery? (July 22, 1861)

                              

 

                                                         THE CORWIN AMENDMENT

                                             (The Keep Your Slaves Forever Amendment)

 

                                                                      March 1861

 

“No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of such state.”

 

If the war was over slavery, all the South had to do was to ratify the original 13^th Amendment, the Corwin Amendment, and slavery would have forever been protected by the Constitution.  Why did the South NOT accept this amendment?  Because it was about tariffs, not slavery.

 

 

“The sole object of this war,” said Grant, “is to restore the Union.  Should I become convinced it has any other object, or that the Government designs using its soldiers to execute the wishes of the Abolitionists, I pledge you my honor as a man and a soldier I would resign my commission and carry my sword to the other side.”       -Democratic Speaker’s Handbook, p. 33

 

"We didn't go into the war to put down slavery, but to put the flag back; and to act differently at this moment would, I have no doubt, not only weaken our cause, but smack of bad faith..." Abraham Lincoln

"Amend the Constitution to say it should never be altered to interfere with slavery."

Abraham Lincoln, 24 December 1860, presenting his stand on slavery to the Senate

 

"For the contest on the part of the North is now undisguisedly for empire. The question of Slavery is thrown to the winds. There was hardly any concession in its favor that the South could ask which the North would refuse, provided only that the seceding States would re-enter the Union...Away with the pretence on the North to dignify its cause with the name of freedom to the slave! -- The Wigan Examiner, an English newspaper

 

The North invaded to regain lost federal tax revenue by keeping the Union intact by force of arms. In his First Inaugural Lincoln promised to invade any state that failed to collect "the duties and imposts," and he kept his promise. On April 19, 1861, the reason Lincoln gave for his naval blockade of the Southern ports was that "the collection of the revenue cannot be effectually executed" in the states that had seceded.

There was a bill before the US congress in 1862 which would have abolished  slavery.                                         It was "defeated", even though the Southern States were not in the union.

Following is a paragraph packing a dynamite punch.  It is found in a fascinating article contained in The SOUTHERN CAVALRY REVIEW , A PUBLICATION OF THE STUART-MOSBY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.  THE JOURNAL IS PRODUCED UNDER THE FINE HAND OF EDITOR VALERIE PROTOPAPAS, A GREAT FRIEND OF THE SOUTH AND OF SOUTHERN TRUTH!

 

"The pretense that the “abolition of slavery” was either a motive or justification for the war, is a fraud of the same character with that of “maintaining the national honor.” Who, but such usurpers, robbers, and murderers as they, ever established slavery? Or what government, except one resting upon the sword, like the one we now have, was ever capable of maintaining slavery? And why did these men abolish slavery? Not from any love of liberty in general not as an act of justice to the black man himself, but only “as a war measure,” and because they wanted his assistance, and that of his friends, in carrying on the war they had undertaken for maintaining and intensifying that political, commercial, and industrial slavery, to which they have subjected the great body of the people, both black and white. And yet these impostors now cry out that they have abolished the chattel slavery of the black man although that was not the motive of the war as if they thought they could thereby conceal, atone for, or justify that other slavery which they were fighting to perpetuate, and to render more rigorous and inexorable than it ever was before."

 

To read these words and know that they came from the pen of one of the Union's most ardent abolitionists (Lysander Spooner)  is to give one a totally realistic  perspective of the Republicans' false claim that they "warred" to "save" the slaves.

FACTS OF LINCOLN’S WAR

 

Lincoln provoked the firing on Ft. Sumter by sending The Star of the West with supplies and troops after stating that he would not supply the fort.

Lincoln had 35,000 Northern citizens imprisoned who disagreed with his war, and suspended habeas corpus and had the Supreme Court Justice arrested when he ruled against him.

Lincoln closed more than 300 newspapers who did not agree with him, censored all telegraph communications, waged war without Congressional consent, illegally created the state of West Virginia, deported an Ohio congressman, and arrested Maryland legislators and replaced them to keep them from voting for secession.

Because Lincoln was losing the war, he issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which he stated was a war measure to cause slave insurrections, which did not happen.

This proclamation freed not one solitary person.  Anyone who reads it can see it for themselves.

Lincoln’s war was a war against secession, not slavery.  He could not bear to lose the excessive revenues paid by the Southern states.  The South did not need the North, but the North needed the South’s money, cotton, and needed to control the Mississippi River.

The brainwashed masses have been made to believe that the war was a “moral war” to end the injustices of slavery.  Hogwash!  It was all about power and money.  The rich Northern bankers and industrialists needed the South. Slavery did not enter into the picture until halfway through the war as the North was losing. Then they tried to paint the picture of a moral crusade to end slavery. Why did it take 22 million people of the North four years to defeat 5 million people of the South?  The South was outnumbered the entire war.  The South was fighting with heart, for a reason.  The Southern soldier was fighting to defend his homeland from the illegal invasion of Lincoln.  The Northern soldier was just following orders. The South fought with a purposed to escape the tyranny of the North and stick to the Constitution, and return to a limited government and get away from an all powerful centralized government, which our Founders had warned against.

Why did Lincoln pay for 300,000 European socialists (the same ones who had lost the socialist revolution of 1848) to join his army?  He could not win without their help. These socialists saw the opportunity to succeed here where they had failed in Europe.

Lincoln’s army was experiencing massive desertions. Irish immigrants were told the lie that the South had intentions of making slaves out of them, so they joined up to fight.

Lincoln waged a total war campaign against the citizens of the South, murdering, raping, looting, and burning were the norm for General William T. Sherman and his ilk.

The victors write the history, and during Reconstruction Northern teachers were sent in to start the brainwashing procedure on Southern children.  For 150 years, the Yankee lie of the war being about slavery has been fed to our youth, and they have been made to believe their ancestors were traitors and committed treason against the U.S.  They have been taught to be ashamed of their heritage and history.  They have been taught to say the socialist Pledge of Allegiance which rubs in the face of the defeated the victory of the socialist backed North.

Why is it not taught in the schools that the North offered “The Corwin Amendment” which would have forever protected slavery if the South would accept it and rejoin the union?  The South did not care about the preservation of slavery as it was on its way out, and slavery was not why the south seceded. Why is it not taught in the schools that the following U.S. resolution was written stating that the war was NOT about slavery?

 

 

Remain in the Union to Perpetuate Slavery

“…[I]t is almost universally assumed as a fact that the war was waged by the Federal Government for the overthrow of African slavery, and by the South for the maintenance of that institution.  [I]t is easy to show that it did not make war to emancipate the slaves, but that it liberated the slaves to help it to make war.

For the proclamation came at a time when the Federal army that had besieged Richmond in the beginning of 1862 had barely saved Washington from the grasp of the half-starved, half-naked soldiers of the 

Confederacy.  It was issued when those soldiers stood on the frontier of Virginia, challenging their adversaries to try again the issue left undetermined on the bloody field of Sharpsburg.  It came at a time when 

the Federal plan of campaign in Virginia for 1862 had failed, shattered at Manassas, shattered at Sharpsburg, and if there be not about it a painful suggestion of servile war as a possible aid to the restoration 

of Federal authority over the South, it is clear in the announcement that if the South could escape the threatened emancipation of the slaves, and all the consequences of that measure, by returning to the Union. 

 Emancipation, therefore, was used as a threat to the States that should continue to resist the Federal arms after the 1st day of January, 1863, and protection to slavery by the Federal Government was the reward 

promised to such States as should cease to resist.” 

(The Oration of Colonel Charles Marshall, 3 November, 1870, Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XVII, R.A. Brock, editor, 1889, pp. 217-218)

 

U. S. tariff revenues already fell disproportionately on the South, accounting for 87% of the total. While the tariff protected Northern industrial interests, it raised the cost of living and commerce in the South substantially. It also reduced the trade value of their agricultural exports to Europe. These combined to place a severe economic hardship on many Southern states. Even more galling was that 80% or more of these tax revenues were expended on Northern public works and industrial subsidies, thus further enriching the North at the expense of the South.

 

 

                                                                       Famous Quotes

"The Northern onslaught upon slavery was no more than a piece of specious humbug designed to conceal its desire for economic control of the Southern states." --Charles Dickens, 1862

Gen. Pat Cleburne, "Surrender means that the history of this heroic struggle will be written by the enemy, that our youth will be trained by northern teachers and will learn from northern books their version of the War, will be impressed by all influences of history and education to regard our gallant dead as traitors and our maimed veterans as fit subjects for derision." 

 

"Governor, if I had foreseen the use these people desired to make of their victory, there would have been no surrender at Appomattox, no, sir, not by me. Had I seen these results of subjugation, I would have preferred to die at Appomattox with my brave men, my sword in this right hand."

 

-- General Robert E. Lee, CSA, as told to Texas ex-governor F. W. Stockdale

 

     Simon Cameron, Lincoln’s Secretary of War, wrote to General Butler in New Orleans:

 

        “President Lincoln desires the right to hold slaves to be fully recognized.  The war is prosecuted for the Union, hence no question concerning slavery will arise.”

 

General Don Piatt says:

      “Lincoln well knew that the North was not fighting to free slaves, nor was the South fighting to preserve slavery.  In that awful conflict slavery went to pieces.”

 

As Mark Twin said, “It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled”.

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Where, and when, did the War of Northern Aggression begin?  I submit that it did not begin with the firing on Ft. Sumter, nor with the illegal invasion of Lincoln’s army.  Neither did it end with Lee’s surrender at Appomattox.  The seeds of this great contest were sown much earlier than that.  No, the War was not about slavery, as we have been wrongly taught since Reconstruction.  Unfair and unconstitutional tariffs imposed upon the South were a large issue which resulted in the secession of the first few states. However, to get to the beginning of this needless conflict, we must go back to 1796, just a few short years after our independence had been won from Great Britain.

 

From “Facts and Falsehoods Concerning the War on the South 1861 – 1865”, page 96, we see:

 

  
“From Carpenter’s Logic of History, published in 1864, From the “Olive Branch”, published in 1814, and from the Pelham Papers, published in 1796, we learn:

 

1^st.  That the Federal leaders of New England, in 1796, advocated disunion, and were eager to get New England to secede from the Union, and to form a Northeastern Confederacy.

 

2^nd.  On finding that the common people of New England did not favor  secession, did not want disunion, did not dislike the Southern States, and were proud of the Union, the Federal leaders resorted to measures to convert the masses to their views on secession and disunion.

 

3^rd.  These measures were of the meanest, the most contemptible character; were a direct and base violation of the Ninth Commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.”  Politicians, newspapers, and preachers of New England engaged in the evil work of bearing false witness against the people of the Southern States, whom they painted as “savages”, as “barbarians,” as “demons incarnate,” as unfit to live in the “same Union with the virtuous people of New England.”

 

On page 97 of “Facts and Falsehoods”, we read:

 

   “The following extracts from the “Olive Branch” throw light on this subject:

 

          ‘The increasing effort to excite the public mind to that feverish state of discord, jealousy, and exasperation, which was necessary to prepare it for the consummation of their desire ( the secession of the Eastern States ), the unholy spirit which inspired the writers of these dissolution sentiments has been from the hour ( 1796 to the present 1814 ) increasingly employed to excite hostility between the different sections of the Union.  To such horrible length has this spirit been carried that many paragraphs have appeared in the Boston papers intended to excite the negroes of the South to rise and massacre the whites.  This is a species of baseness of which the world has produced few examples.’

 

   The baseness was indeed extraordinary in face of the fact that these efforts to instigate negroes to rise and massacre the whites of the South were made while the people of New England were still enriching themselves by carrying on the slave traffic.”

 

 

  

   So, while filling their pockets with money from the slave trade, these New Englanders were advocating for blacks in the South to rise up and murder white Southerners. This was not only being printed in the newspapers of New England, but it also was being preached from the pulpits as well. Lies, bearing “false witness” against the South were intended to shape the thinking of the “common people” of New England so that they would despise the South and wish to separate from it.

 

   Bear in mind that those advocating secession and who were slandering the South at this time were of the “Hamiltonian” mindset, meaning that they were in favor of a large, centralized, controlling government and not in favor of States’ rights.  They did not view the States as they actually were; free and independent sovereigns bound together with the Constitution, for their mutual benefit. The people of the South had the “Jeffersonian” mindset, meaning they were opposed to a controlling government, like the one they had just fought a war to free themselves from, and believed in individual liberty and the independence of each individual State.  Also, we must keep in mind that the Northeast was largely Unitarian, meaning they believed God existed in one person, not three.  This was a huge difference from the beliefs that Southerners held, that God exists in three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as is taught in the Holy Bible.

 

  On page 102 of “Facts and Falsehoods”, we read:

 

     “A convention in Ohio in 1859 declared the Constitution was a compact to which each State acceded as a State, and as an integral part, and that each State had the right to judge for itself of infractions and of the mode and measure of redress, and to this declaration Joshua Giddings, Wade, Chase and Dennison assented.”

 

   So, it was common knowledge that as each State had joined the Union, each also had the right to withdraw if it felt that infractions of the Constitution were being suffered, at least until it was actually put into practice by the South.

It’s interesting to note that numerous times from the late 18^th century through the first half of the 19^th century that the New England States threatened secession, yet no threat of war was made against them to keep them in the Union. No one called them traitors for wanting to secede from the Union.  However, we see a completely different picture when the Southern States, who were actually being damaged by the excessive tariffs of the North, seceded to form its own Confederacy.  People today call the Confederates “traitors” and accuse them of “treason” for exercising their right to withdraw from the Union.  Such people are grossly ignorant of history and the truth.

 

  We have learned here that the seeds of the War were sown many years before either side took up arms. As stated earlier, the War did not end with the surrender of Lee at Appomattox.  Yes, the military aspect of the War ended, this is true, but the subjugation, economic, social, and political phases of the North’s war upon the South were just beginning, and I submit to you that they continue right up to the present day in this 21^st century.  How can this claim be made?  Look at the rewritten propaganda taught in the government schools which is passed off as “history”.  All the blame for the War and slavery are laid at the feet of the South, even though it was the New England slave traders who brought the slaves to America while flying Old Glory on their ships. The Confederate Battle Flag is disparaged as being “the flag of slavery”, yet no Confederate flag ever flew on a slave ship. The South must ever be bowing at the stool of repentance, it would seem. What about the war waged by the media, politicians, NAACP, and others against all things Southern and Confederate?  Our flags, statues, and monuments are being removed.  Schools, streets, and parks are having their names changed to erase any connection with Confederate soldiers. Cultural genocide is being perpetrated against our heritage, history, and heroes.  These gallant men were not fighting to preserve and perpetuate slavery.  Had they wanted to protect slavery, all they had to do was remain in the Union where it was already protected by the Constitution. The Marxist myths, lies, and propaganda have brainwashed millions over many decades, and it continues today.  If everyone knew the truth about our history, we would not be facing this evil campaign to rid our country of memorials to brave, deserving men who fought an illegal invasion, and suffered defeat and subjugation so that the Founders’ dream could be exterminated and replaced with the centralized government which the victors so long desired. 

   Our Confederate ancestors fought with honor and dignity, careful not to render unto the civilians of the North the same horrors visited upon Southern civilians by the Union army. The attacks upon Southern culture and honor continue through Hollywood stereotyping, misleading and false documentaries on PBS and the History Channel, and outright lies spouted by the media.  In the DNA makeup of the true Southerner is the belief that death has no sting like the stain of falsehood, and the certainty of death at any time is preferable to the possibility of dishonor.

   As I have told many anti Confederates who call us “losers”, there is no disgrace in losing if you fought honorably, bravely, and for a just cause. Though the bones of our dead Confederates moulder in the bosom of the Earth, the honor and dignity with which they defended their homeland reflect the virtues of the Southern people, and we may confidently hope that their souls will bloom eternally.

 

Jeff Paulk

Tulsa, OK

3/24/18

THE REAL REASON CONFEDERATE SYMBOLS ARE UNDER ATTACK

By Jeff Paulk

In the few days since Governor Benedict Arnold Bentley took it upon himself to remove the flags from this beautiful monument, Ruffin Flag Co. of Georgia has sold close to 30,000 Confederate flags. 22,000 of them were sold in one day, and they ran out when they sold 3000 more by 11:00 clock the next morning. I was told by phone conversation with their office yesterday morning that what they have sold in less than 2 days represents what they would normally sell in a year! There is no denying that the unconscionable act of one mis-guided man has struck a loud resonating chord with people all across the South, and it's safe to say that the South has cast a unanimous vote in favor of the Confederate flag, loud and clear, in these past few days, with their pocketbooks, and no need of a word being spoken!

Today, regardless of the media hype, the divisive un-truths spouted by race baiting politicians, and the continual harping about Confederate symbols being icons of hate, the real Southern people know, and will always know what the Confederacy stood for...and it was not SLAVERY!! And because we know, and those people know we know, they realized a long time ago that if their agenda was to triumph, that what we know must be stomped out!! And … what is that we know, that they hate? We know that the foundations of liberty are the unalienable rights granted us by our creator. And that is the much deeper and well hidden reason why we see, and have seen Confederate symbols, (especially our flags) come constantly under attack. They know that this knowledge must be eradicated before they can ever achieve a totalitarian socialist state without dissent!

Some, whom may not yet understand, may ask; “what has this to do with our Confederate flags?” And I will say to them; Look at who you are?; Look at where you came from?; Look at the contributions of your Southern ancestors to the documents that were designed to enforce that no man, or group of men would trample upon your God-given liberty. Look at the lives lost, blood spilled and wealth lost by Southern men in the American Revolution….And then… Look at, and study, the history of what your later ancestors sacrificed, in blood and wealth trying to preserve what their fathers and grandfathers fought and sacrificed to give them. And let us not leave out 10 years of military occupation in every southern state by the Yankee army until 1876! And Look at where we are today, as opposed to only a couple of decades ago? Those of you 50 years old and older look at how much freedom has been lost just in your lifetime? And when you have looked, and understood, you will realize that you live in the last stronghold of those who still believe that God, and not man, is the giver of liberty...that morality is outlined in God's Book of Rules, and those rules are not flexible, nor subject to reinterpretation at the whims of a group of morally decadent black robed thugs, or a bunch of self serving greedy politicians!

And when you study the history of your people in the South and learn of the symbolic meanings that our sacred Confederate flags have carried forward in time, you will then know the real reason that those people want them down, and out of sight! And when, and if, they are successful in eradicating your flags…. The next step towards their goal will be to come for your Bibles! For a totalitarian state will not tolerate God at the top of the pile! Study the French Revolution where the beginnings of socialism originated; The Church and religion were persecuted and the exercise of religious beliefs was made unlawful. Better yet, or worse, depending on your point of view, study the regime of Joseph Stalin who was an avowed atheist and closed down some 50,000 Russian Orthodox churches during his tenure as Russia's dictator in chief.

A few days ago Alabama's new dictator in chief, Benedict Arnold Bentley took it upon himself to ignore the hearts of at least 75% of his constituency and desecrate this monument and dishonor 30,000 of your ancestors who fought trying to preserve our state sovereignty and independence. The only recent similar act that may be more reprehensible is that of the removal of the flags of the Army of Northern Va. From the tomb of Gen. Robert E. Lee in Lee Chapel, but at least it was a group of Yankees that was responsible for that one. Benedict Arnold Bentley was a Southerner up until June 24, 2015. On that day he became a dictator and from that day until he puts our flags back up where they belong we will know him as a Turncoat!! I would like to add that no one here condones the heinous acts of murder in S.C. In all of the mass murders and suicides for the past 20 years, a little research shows that in nearly every one of them the perpetrator was on, or had been on, prescription psychotropic drugs. It was no different in S.C. but the media dares not point it's accusing finger at the mental health profession or the pharmaceutical companies or the FDA who is supposed to test the safety of drugs. They would rather take Rahm Emmanuel's advice: It would be a shame to let a good crisis go to waste!

 

   In a postscript, I add the following to what I've said above: We now have a classic example of the twisted thinking that drives the cultural genocide, with the speech of Rep. Jenny Horne in the SC house who claims to be a descendant of Jefferson Davis! The media is crediting her with swinging the vote in favor of removing the Confederate flag from the Confederate monument on the grounds of the SC Capitol.

   I'm sure that President Davis turned over in his grave and disowned her as a descendant! He certainly would have disowned her if he could know that she was a member of the Republican party! I only have 3 things to say about this: She is an emotionally driven irrational female, she is a lawyer, she is a Republican politician.

Abraham Lincoln is her male counterpart. I'm sure he would give her his blessings!

I was moved by all this to write a little poem, I hope y'all will take it's message to heart.

Yours for and end to Tyranny,

 RebBill

 

Raise your Southern Crosses high

Fly them tall in wind, and sky

For every one they vote away

Raise 3 more the very next day!

Fly it from your housetops

Plant it in your sod

Let the Lefties know

It's a symbol of our God

Fly one on your home,

fly one on your lawn

Keep it waving proudly

from night to dusky dawn

Fly one from your car,

or wherever there's a space

Keep it flying night and day

forever, in their face

And from this day remember

what's written on this page

that those who hate our Southern ways

deserve our Southern rage

You have no voice in politics

Your votes have brought you naught

You gave them a majority

and look at what you got

And upon the stupid tube

your voice will not be heard

The media is all controlled

They'll have the final word

Your vote will only bring you more

of what you've just endured

So now it comes on down to this;

the only vote you have,

is the dollar in your pocket

and to fly your Rebel flag!

March 11, 1861: Confederate Constitution Adopted

By Jeff Paulk

It has always been intriguing to me, that as microscopically studied as the WBTS has been over the years, that more attention has not been paid to the Confederate Constitution. It is a fascinating document.  Crafted by men who had lived their entire lives under the United States Constitution and who had served in the Federal government, its similarities and differences illuminate what these men thought was good with the old Constitution and what needed improvement. 

This Constitution took the place of the Provisional Constitution of the Confederacy, a document that by its own terms was meant to be temporary and had a hurried, improvised feel to it. The permanent Confederate Constitution was the product of more mature reflection and the additional time that the drafters had to think about this new government and nation they were helping to midwife.  Here are some observations on this document:

• The Preamble of the Constitution invokes God. Maybe 1861 was a more religious time than 1787? Or maybe The Faith was just more important to our Southern Fathers than to their Northern counterparts?

• Article I dealing with Congress is quite similar to that Article in the US Constitution with some significant changes:  State legislatures were given the power to impeach their members of Congress on a two/thirds vote.  Each House of the Confederate Congress could allocate seats to the heads of Executive Departments, in order to allow them to discuss the activities of their Departments, which seems to be an attempt to adopt the practice of the British Parliament.  The President of the Confederacy was granted a line item veto, but any bill on which he exercised such a veto would be resubmitted to Congress with such a veto being overridden by a two-thirds vote.  Congress was forbidden to allocate funds for internal improvements not set forth explicitly in the Constitution, such improvements being limited to waterways and coastal navigation improvements.  The Bill of Rights of the US Constitution was set forth in Article I, except for the ninth and tenth amendments which were set forth in Article VI.  All appropriations had to pass by a two-thirds vote, except as otherwise enumerated in the Confederate Constitution.  All bills appropriating money had to list the exact amount being appropriated and the purpose for which the funds were to be appropriate.  All bills had to have a single subject which was to be set out in the title to the bill.

• Under Article II Presidents were to be limited to a single six year term.  The only two  term President during the adult lives of the men involved in drafting the Confederate Constitution would have been Andrew Jackson, and even his most ardent partisans would have admitted that his second term had been rocky.  The frustrated desires of many Presidents following Jackson for a second term might have been regarded as a source of friction best avoided altogether under the new government.  Confederate Presidents had to have resided within the bounds of the Confederacy for 14 years. 

• Article III dictated that no State could be sued in the Confederate court system by a citizen or a subject of any foreign State.

• Article IV made a two-thirds vote necessary for a State to be admitted to the Confederacy.

• Article V required only a two-thirds vote of the States to amend the Confederate Constitution.

• The most significant differences with the Federal Constitution were on the various issues arising on the question of slavery.  The Confederate document used the terms slaves and slavery.  The international slave trade is banned and Congress is given the power to ban the importation of slaves from any North American jurisdiction not a member of the Confederacy. These provisions began the ticking of the clock of what would have been the eventual elimination of slavery. 

 

Here is the text of the Confederate Constitution:

 

Preamble

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.

Article I

Section I. All legislative powers herein delegated shall be vested in a Congress of the Confederate States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

Sec. 2. (I) The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several States; and the electors in each State shall be citizens of the Confederate States, and have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State Legislature; but no person of foreign birth, not a citizen of the Confederate States, shall be allowed to vote for any officer, civil or political, State or Federal.

(2) No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, and be a citizen of the Confederate States, and who shall not when elected, be an inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

(3) Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States, which may be included within this Confederacy, according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all slaves. ,The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the Congress of the Confederate States, and within every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every fifty thousand, but each State shall have at least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of South Carolina shall be entitled to choose six; the State of Georgia ten; the State of Alabama nine; the State of Florida two; the State of Mississippi seven; the State of Louisiana six; and the State of Texas six.

(4) When vacancies happen in the representation from any State the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies.

(5) The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment; except that any judicial or other Federal officer, resident and acting solely within the limits of any State, may be impeached by a vote of two-thirds of both branches of the Legislature thereof.

Sec. 3. (I) The Senate of the Confederate States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen for six years by the Legislature thereof, at the regular session next immediately preceding the commencement of the term of service; and each Senator shall have one vote.

(2) Immediately after they shall be assembled, in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second class at the expiration of the fourth year; and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year; so that one-third may be chosen every second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation, or other wise, during the recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies.

(3) No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained the age of thirty years, and be a citizen of the Confederate States; and who shall not, then elected, be an inhabitant of the State for which he shall be chosen.

(4) The Vice President of the Confederate States shall be president of the Senate, but shall have no vote unless they be equally divided.

(5) The Senate shall choose their other officers; and also a president pro tempore in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the office of President of the Confederate states.

(6) The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the Confederate States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

(7) Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the Confederate States; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment according to law.

Sec. 4. (I) The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof, subject to the provisions of this Constitution; but the Congress may, at any time, by law, make or alter such regulations, except as to the times and places of choosing Senators.

(2) The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year; and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall, by law, appoint a different day.

Sec. 5. (I) Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each House may provide.

(2) Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the whole number, expel a member.

(3) Each House shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the members of either House, on any question, shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.

(4) Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

Sec. 6. (I) The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the Confederate States. They shall, in all cases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place. 'o Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the Confederate States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no person holding any office under the Confederate States shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office. But Congress may, by law, grant to the principal officer in each of the Executive Departments a seat upon the floor of either House, with the privilege of discussing any measures appertaining to his department.

Sec. 7. (I) All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments, as on other bills.

(2) Every bill which shall have passed both Houses, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President of the Confederate States; if he approve, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases, the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respective}y. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its return; in which case it shall not be a law. The President may approve any appropriation and disapprove any other appropriation in the same bill. In such case he shall, in signing the bill, designate the appropriations disapproved; and shall return a copy of such appropriations, with his objections, to the House in which the bill shall have originated; and the same proceedings shall then be had as in case of other bills disapproved by the President.

(3) Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrence of both Houses may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the Confederate States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him; or, being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two-thirds of both Houses, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill.

Sec. 8. The Congress shall have power-

(I) To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises for revenue, necessary to pay the debts, provide for the common defense, and carry on the Government of the Confederate States; but no bounties shall be granted from the Treasury; nor shall any duties or taxes on importations from foreign nations be laid to promote or foster any branch of industry; and all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the Confederate States.

(2) To borrow money on the credit of the Confederate States.

(3) To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes; but neither this, nor any other clause contained in the Constitution, shall ever be construed to delegate the power to Congress to appropriate money for any internal improvement intended to facilitate commerce; except for the purpose of furnishing lights, beacons, and buoys, and other aids to navigation upon the coasts, and the improvement of harbors and the removing of obstructions in river navigation; in all which cases such duties shall be laid on the navigation facilitated thereby as may be necessary to pay the costs and expenses thereof.

(4) To establish uniform laws of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies, throughout the Confederate States; but no law of Congress shall discharge any debt contracted before the passage of the same.

(5) To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures.

(6) To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the Confederate States.

(7) To establish post offices and post routes; but the expenses of the Post Office Department, after the Ist day of March in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixty-three, shall be paid out of its own revenues.

(8) To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.

(9) To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court.

(10) To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations.

(11) To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water.

(12) To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years.

(13) To provide and maintain a navy.

(14) To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces.

(15) To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Confederate States, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.

(16) To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the Confederate States; reserving to the States, respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.

(17) To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever, over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of one or more States and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the Government of the Confederate States; and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the . erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings; and

(18) To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the Confederate States, or in any department or officer thereof.

Sec. 9. (I) The importation of negroes of the African race from any foreign country other than the slaveholding States or Territories of the United States of America, is hereby forbidden; and Congress is required to pass such laws as shall effectually prevent the same.

(2) Congress shall also have power to prohibit the introduction of slaves from any State not a member of, or Territory not belonging to, this Confederacy.

(3) The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it.

(4) No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves shall be passed.

(5) No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.

(6) No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State, except by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses.

(7) No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another.

(8) No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time.

(9) Congress shall appropriate no money from the Treasury except by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses, taken by yeas and nays, unless it be asked and estimated for by some one of the heads of departments and submitted to Congress by the President; or for the purpose of paying its own expenses and contingencies; or for the payment of claims against the Confederate States, the justice of which shall have been judicially declared by a tribunal for the investigation of claims against the Government, which it is hereby made the duty of Congress to establish.

(10) All bills appropriating money shall specify in Federal currency the exact amount of each appropriation and the purposes for which it is made; and Congress shall grant no extra compensation to any public contractor, officer, agent, or servant, after such contract shall have been made or such service rendered.

(11) No title of nobility shall be granted by the Confederate States; and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.

(12) Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

(13) A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

(14) No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

(15) The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

(16) No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor be compelled, in any criminal case, to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

(17) In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

(18) In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and no fact so tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the Confederacy, than according to the rules of common law.

(19) Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

(20) Every law, or resolution having the force of law, shall relate to but one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title.

Sec. 10. (I) No State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts; or grant any title of nobility.

(2) No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any State on imports, or exports, shall be for the use of the Treasury of the Confederate States; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of Congress.

(3) No State shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty on tonnage, except on seagoing vessels, for the improvement of its rivers and harbors navigated by the said vessels; but such duties shall not conflict with any treaties of the Confederate States with foreign nations; and any surplus revenue thus derived shall, after making such improvement, be paid into the common treasury. Nor shall any State keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit of delay. But when any river divides or flows through two or more States they may enter into compacts with each other to improve the navigation thereof.

ARTICLE II

Section I. (I) 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 reeligible. The President and Vice President shall be elected as follows:

(2) Each State shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but no Senator or Representative or person holding an office of trust or profit under the Confederate States shall be appointed an elector.

(3) The electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot for President and Vice President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the Government of. the Confederate States, directed to the President of the Senate; the President of the Senate shall,in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; the person having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President the votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the 4th day of March next following, then the Vice President shall act as President, as in case of the death, or other constitutional disability of the President.

(4) The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice President shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then, from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose the Vice President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice.

(5) But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the Confederate States.

(6) The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which day shall be the same throughout the Confederate States.

(7) No person except a natural-born citizen of the Confederate; States, or a citizen thereof at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, or a citizen thereof born in the United States prior to the 20th of December, 1860, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the limits of the Confederate States, as they may exist at the time of his election.

(8) In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President; and the Congress may, by law, provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what officer shall then act as President; and such officer shall act accordingly until the disability be removed or a President shall be elected.

(9) The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he shall have been elected; and he shall not receive within that period any other emolument from the Confederate States, or any of them.

(10) Before he enters on the execution of his office he shall take the following oath or affirmation:

Sec. 2. (I) The President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States, and of the militia of the several States, when called into the actual service of the Confederate States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the Executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices; and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the Confederate States, except in cases of impeachment.

(2) He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties; provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate shall appoint, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the Confederate States whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law; but the Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

(3) The principal officer in each of the Executive Departments, and all persons connected with the diplomatic service, may be removed from office at the pleasure of the President. All other civil officers of the Executive Departments may be removed at any time by the President, or other appointing power, when their services are unnecessary, or for dishonesty, incapacity. inefficiency, misconduct, or neglect of duty; and when so removed, the removal shall be reported to the Senate, together with the reasons therefor.

(4) The President shall have power to fill all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session; but no person rejected by the Senate shall be reappointed to the same office during their ensuing recess.

Sec. 3. (I) The President shall, from time to time, give to the Congress information of the state of the Confederacy, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them; and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper; he shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers; he shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the Confederate States.

Sec. 4. (I) The President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the Confederate States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE III

Section I. (I) The judicial power of the Confederate States shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may, from time to time, ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a compensation which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office.

Sec. 2. (I) The judicial power shall extend to all cases arising under this Constitution, the laws of the Confederate States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the Confederate States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more States; between a State and citizens of another State, where the State is plaintiff; between citizens claiming lands under grants of different States; and between a State or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens, or subjects; but no State shall be sued by a citizen or subject of any foreign state.

(2) In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.

(3) The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury, and such trial shall be held in the State where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.

Sec. 3. (I) Treason against the Confederate States shall consist only in levying war against.them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court.

(2) The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason; but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted.

ARTICLE IV

Section I. (I) Full faith and credit shall be given in each State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other State; and the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.

Sec. 2. (I) The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States; and shall have the right of transit and sojourn in any State of this Confederacy, with their slaves and other property; and the right of property in said slaves shall not be thereby impaired.

(2) A person charged in any State with treason, felony, or other crime against the laws of such State, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another State, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having jurisdiction of the crime.

(3) No slave or other person held to service or labor in any State or Territory of the Confederate States, under the laws thereof, escaping or lawfully carried into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor; but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such slave belongs,. or to whom such service or labor may be due.

Sec. 3. (I) Other States may be admitted into this Confederacy by a vote of two-thirds of the whole House of Representatives and two-thirds of the Senate, the Senate voting by States; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State, nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned, as well as of the Congress.

(2) The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make allneedful rules and regulations concerning the property of the Confederate States, including the lands thereof.

(3) The Confederate States may acquire new territory; and Congress shall have power to legislate and provide governments for the inhabitants of all territory belonging to the Confederate States, lying without the limits of the several Sates; and may permit them, at such times, and in such manner as it may by law provide, to form States to be admitted into the Confederacy. In all such territory the institution of negro slavery, as it now exists in the Confederate States, shall be recognized and protected be Congress and by the Territorial government; and the inhabitants of the several Confederate States and Territories shall have the right to take to such Territory any slaves lawfully held by them in any of the States or Territories of the Confederate States.

(4) The Confederate States shall guarantee to every State that now is, or hereafter may become, a member of this Confederacy, a republican form of government; and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on application of the Legislature or of the Executive when the Legislature is not in session) against domestic violence.

ARTICLE V

Section I. (I) Upon the demand of any three States, legally assembled in their several conventions, the Congress shall summon a convention of all the States, to take into consideration such amendments to the Constitution as the said States shall concur in suggesting at the time when the said demand is made; and should any of the proposed amendments to the Constitution be agreed on by the said convention, voting by States, and the same be ratified by the Legislatures of two- thirds of the several States, or by conventions in two-thirds thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the general convention, they shall thenceforward form a part of this Constitution. But no State shall, without its consent, be deprived of its equal representation in the Senate.

ARTICLE VI

I. The Government established by this Constitution is the successor of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America, and all the laws passed by the latter shall continue in force until the same shall be repealed or modified; and all the officers appointed by the same shall remain in office until their successors are appointed and qualified, or the offices abolished.

2. All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adoption of this Constitution shall be as valid against the Confederate States under this Constitution, as under the Provisional Government.

3. This Constitution, and the laws of the Confederate States made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the Confederate States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.

4. The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the Confederate States and of the several States, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the Confederate States.

5. The enumeration, in the Constitution, of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people of the several States.

6. The powers not delegated to the Confederate States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people thereof.

ARTICLE VII

I. The ratification of the conventions of five States shall be sufficient for the establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same.

2. When five States shall have ratified this Constitution, in the manner before specified, the Congress under the Provisional Constitution shall prescribe the time for holding the election of President and Vice President; and for the meeting of the Electoral College; and for counting the votes, and inaugurating the President. They shall, also, prescribe the time for holding the first election of members of Congress under this Constitution, and the time for assembling the same. Until the assembling of such Congress, the Congress under the Provisional Constitution shall continue to exercise the legislative powers granted them; not extending beyond the time limited by the Constitution of the Provisional Government.

Adopted unanimously by the Congress of the Confederate States of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, sitting in convention at the capitol, the city of Montgomery, Ala., on the eleventh day of March, in the year eighteen hundred and Sixty-one.

HOWELL COBB, President of the Congress.

South Carolina: R. Barnwell Rhett, C. G. Memminger, Wm. Porcher Miles, James Chesnut, Jr., R. W. Barnwell, William W. Boyce, Lawrence M. Keitt, T. J. Withers.

Georgia: Francis S. Bartow, Martin J. Crawford, Benjamin H. Hill, Thos. R. R. Cobb.

Florida: Jackson Morton, J. Patton Anderson, Jas. B. Owens.

Alabama: Richard W. Walker, Robt. H. Smith, Colin J. McRae, William P. Chilton, Stephen F. Hale, David P. Lewis, Tho. Fearn, Jno. Gill Shorter, J. L. M. Curry.

Mississippi: Alex. M. Clayton, James T. Harrison, William S. Barry, W. S. Wilson, Walker Brooke, W. P. Harris, J. A. P. Campbell.

Louisiana: Alex. de Clouet, C. M. Conrad, Duncan F. Kenner, Henry Marshall.

Texas: John Hemphill, Thomas N. Waul, John H. Reagan, Williamson S. Oldham, Louis T. Wigfall, John Gregg, William Beck Ochiltree.