IVIL HISTORY 
 
 THE 
 
 
 C 
 
 R Y 
 
By J. L. M. CURRY, LL. D. 
 
 THE SOUTHERN STATES OF THE AMERICAN 
 UNION Considered in Iheir Relations to the Constitu 
 tion of the United States and the Resulting Union. To 
 which is appended a series of questions by Dr. F. W. 
 Boatwright, President of Richmond College. J2mo. 
 Cloth. Price, $J. 00. 
 
 Although originally designed for general reading, 
 its scholarly presentation within brief compass of the 
 most interesting and least understood part of American 
 history soon suggested ita adaptability for schools, and 
 it is now used as a text-book as well as for collateral 
 reading in many high schools and colleges. 
 
 CIVIL HISTORY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF 
 THE CONFEDERATE STATES. With Some 
 Personal Reminiscences. J2mo. Cloth. Gilt Top. 
 Uncut Edges. Price, $ J .25. 
 
 B. F. JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
 Richmond, Virginia. 
 
CIVIL HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Government of the 
 Confederate States 
 
 V1TH SOME 
 
 PERSONAL REMINISCENCES. 
 
 By J. L. M. CURRY, LL. D., 
 
 Author of "Constitutional Government in Spain," "William Ewart 
 Gladstone," "Establishment and Disestablishment in the United 
 States," "The Southern States in Their Relation to the Con 
 stitution of the United States and the Resulting Union," 
 "Thirty Years of the Peabody Education Fund," etc. 
 
 RICHMOND, VIRGINIA: 
 
 B. F. JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
 
 1901. 
 
Copyrighted 1900 
 BY J. L. M. CURRY. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
TO 
 
 GENERAL JOHN B. GORDON, 
 
 Who, in utterance and act, has shown how perfectly consistent 
 
 loyalty to the Union is with loyalty to the true principles 
 
 of the Confederacy ; 
 
 TO 
 
 GENERAL STEPHEN D. LEE, 
 
 The knightly soldier, the Christian gentleman, the true patriot ; 
 TO 
 
 GENERAL JOSEPH WHEELER, 
 
 My beloved Commander, soldier of three wars; 
 TO 
 
 ALL THE SURVIVORS OF THE 
 " LOST CAUSE," 
 
 And especially to the surviving women of the Confederacy, I dedi 
 cate this little book, an humble but earnest effort to rescue 
 them and their cause from historical injustice 
 and unmerited censure. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Page. 
 
 Introduction Causes and Right of Secession 
 Actual Nullification First Fugitive Slave 
 L,aw Robert Toombs Action of the 
 States, ..... 11-41 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Organization of the Government Howell 
 Cobb Provisional Constitution Election 
 of President and Vice-President A. H. 
 Stephens Initiatory Legislation Selec 
 tion of Cabinet, .... 42-61 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Confederate States Constitution Similarity to 
 that of the United States Differences- 
 Character of the Changes Executive Re 
 sponsibility Ineligibility Restraints on 
 Expenditures and on Executive Patronage 
 Members of Cabinet in Congress "Pro 
 tection" Slave Trade Wisdom of 
 Changes in the Light of Present Con 
 ditions, ..... 62-95 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Border States Peace Congress Lincoln s Ad 
 ministrationJoining the Confederacy 
 Contributions Removal to Richmond, . 96-107 
 
8 Contents. 
 
 CHAPTKR V. Page. 
 
 Revenues of the Confederacy Tax in Kind- 
 Currency Constant Depreciation Reli 
 ance on Cotton, .... 108-116 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Foreign Relations Commission to Washing 
 ton Duplicity of Seward Envoys to Eu 
 ropeCotton Loan Efforts in Behalf of 
 Belligerent Rights Recognition and In 
 tervention Conduct of Russia England 
 France C. F. Adams J. P. Benjamin, . 117^141 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Davis Re-Election Unanimity of the South 
 Contrast of Resources Individuality of 
 the States as Seen in North Carolina, 
 Georgia, Virginia, .... 142-168 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 What Southern Women Did Hospitals Priva 
 tion in Southern Homes Comparative 
 Strength of the Armies Religion in 
 Camps Ministers in Arms Religious Per 
 secution, . . . 169-182 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Legal Justification of the South in Secession, . 183-270 
 
 APPENDIX, ...... 271-273 
 
 CONSTITUTIONS OF UNITED STATES AND CON 
 FEDERATE GOVERNMENTS, . . . 274-309 
 
 INDEX, ...... 311-318 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I propose in this volume to write of the 
 origin of the Confederate Government, and 
 somewhat of the civil history, interspersing the 
 narrative with a few personal reminiscences. 
 Of the members of the first session of the Pro 
 visional Congress, who framed the Provisional 
 Constitution, organized the government, elected 
 the President and Yice-President, only two sur 
 vive Judge Campbell, of Mississippi, and my 
 self. A few who came in at a later day still live. 
 It is foreign from my plan to write of the mili 
 tary achievements and the splendid services of 
 the army, lessening daily in numbers from sick 
 ness and battle, as this is a matter of military 
 rather than of political history. Many volumes 
 have recorded these glorious deeds. The skill of 
 captains, the endurance and gallantry of those 
 who, amid "the weary waiting for help which 
 never came," accomplished marvels of manhood 
 and patriotism, are now slowly acknowledged, 
 
10 Preface. 
 
 but the underlying principles and motives of 
 secession still lack understanding and approval. 
 If this little volume shall remove any prejudice 
 or throw any clearer light on historical and con 
 stitutional truth the author will receive ample 
 remuneration for the time and labor he has 
 given to its preparation. 
 
 J. L. M. CUBBY. 
 
CIVIL HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION CAUSES AND RIGHT OF SECESSION 
 ACTUAL NULLIFICATION FIRST FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW- 
 ROBERT TOOMBS ACTION OF THE STATES. 
 
 In the Convention of 1787 there was a wide 
 divergence of opinion as to the structure and 
 powers of the government to be formed. The 
 thirteen colonies of Great Britain were in their 
 colonial origin separate and distinct. While in 
 a few instances two were under the same gov 
 ernor, their legislative assemblies and their judi 
 ciary were entirely independent, and so con 
 tinued up to the time of the Revolution. These 
 distinct colonial organizations passed, upon the 
 Declaration of Independence, into "free and in 
 dependent States" with full power to do all 
 
12 Civil History of the Government 
 
 "acts and things which independent States may 
 of right do." The Declaration, casting off execu 
 tive authority, was authorized, or ratified, by 
 each colony acting separately. After the Revo 
 lutionary War, the Treaty of Peace with Great 
 Britain in 1782 recognized the separateness, 
 independence and sovereignty of the States, as 
 had been previously done in treaties with 
 France, the Netherlands and Sweden. These 
 States, assembled in convention through their 
 deputies in Philadelphia to form a union more 
 perfect than the Articles of Confederation, soon 
 found themselves contending for different poli 
 cies. A wise and patriotic compromise resulted 
 in the Constitution, which, adopted by the depu 
 ties (those from each State voting as a unit), re 
 ceived in course of time the ratification of each 
 State, and thus created the union of the States. 
 A conflict of views, of political ideas, of dif 
 ference of interpretation, existed from the foun 
 dation of the government. There was one con 
 tinued agitation of constitutional questions, em 
 bracing some of the most important powers 
 exercised by the government. Parties soon 
 
of the Confederate States. 13 
 
 sprang up and assumed distinct form and creed 
 under Adams and Hamilton on the one side and 
 Jefferson on the other. The antagonism, sharp 
 and public, continued until 1861, and there was 
 no disguise as to the views and principles held 
 by the advocates of either creed. 
 
 At the time of the Declaration of Independ 
 ence slavery existed in all the colonies. For 
 economic reasons it gradually disappeared in the 
 North ; as the late Senator Ingalls said, "by the 
 operation of social, economic and national laws. 7 
 "The North did not finally determine to destroy 
 this system until convinced that its continuance 
 threatened not only their industrial independ 
 ence, but their political importance." "The 
 peculiar institution," from political considera 
 tions and dimly moral reasons, became the cause 
 of angry and sectional contention. Attacks 
 upon property in slaves in Congress, in State 
 legislatures, in press, and pulpit and literature, 
 in unmeasured and offensive language, made the 
 South very sensitive, and each year the acerba- 
 tion of feeling and apprehension of adverse legis 
 lation and domestic interference became stronger 
 
14 Civil History of the Government 
 
 and more uncontrollable. After years of angry 
 strife and growing estrangement, the election 
 of 1860 brought matters to a crisis. By de 
 cisive action it had been previously determined 
 that the institution was to be "cabined, cribbed, 
 confined" within existing limits, and that the 
 territories, "belonging to the United States," 
 were not open to the immigration of the South 
 erner with his slaves. Mr. Seward, the most 
 prominent Republican in the country, had de 
 clared that "slavery must be abolished, and we 
 must do it." Mr. Lincoln had declared that the 
 country could not exist half slave and half free. 
 " The irrepressible conflict " found hostile ex 
 pression in nullification of the Constitution and 
 Federal laws by State legislatures and courts, in 
 open advocacy of disobedience, and in an in 
 flamed hostile sentiment. In the Articles of 
 Confederation between the colonies of Massa 
 chusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and New 
 Haven in 1643, it was provided that "all ser 
 vants running from their masters should, upon 
 demand and proper evidence of their character 
 as fugitives, be returned to their masters and to 
 
of the Confederate States. 15 
 
 their colonies whence they had made their es 
 cape."* This was the first fugitive slave law, a 
 New England fugitive slave law, and it was sub 
 stantially incorporated into the Constitution of 
 the United States by the unanimous consent of 
 its framers. Justice Story said in one of his 
 opinions : "It constituted a fundamental article, 
 without the adoption of which the Union would 
 not have been formed." So said Marshall, Mc 
 Lean and Webster, and so say all candid and 
 impartial historians to the present day. For 
 many years no diversity of opinion existed as to 
 the meaning and intent of the constitutional re 
 quirement. In the evolution of politics and sen 
 timent the mandate became unpopular and was 
 openly and riotously nullified by societies, mobs, 
 courts and States. Fourteen Northern legisla 
 tures violated their plighted faith, defiantly 
 pronounced the fugitive slave law void, and 
 passed acts for its disobedience and resistance. 
 To her credit it should be recorded that Rhode 
 
 * In 1750, Newport, R. I., had 170 vessels engaged in 
 the slave trade, and a preserved record mentions 110 
 gallons of rum as the price of a slave. 
 
16 Civil History of the Government 
 
 Island, in February, 1861, repealed her Per 
 sonal Liberty Laws and called on the sister 
 nullifying States to put themselves right by 
 blotting out the acts of hostility. 
 
 Right or wrong, the Southern States in un 
 equivocal language had declared in advance 
 their purpose not to submit to flagrant viola 
 tions of the compact of union and to discrimi 
 nating laws depriving them of their full and 
 equal rights in any territory, or rendering inse 
 cure a property valued at $3,000,000,000. As 
 far back as 1796, a governor of Connecticut 
 expressed his wish that the Northern States 
 would separate from the South the moment the 
 election of Jefferson should take place. The 
 bare election, prior to inauguration, or an overt 
 act, was considered a sufficient cause for separa 
 tion. 
 
 Lincoln s election, under the circumstances, 
 with the avowals and belligerent acts, made it 
 supremest folly to await the strengthening of 
 the hands of avowed foes by the possession of 
 the powers and patronage of the National Gov 
 ernment. Lord Bacon said: "There is surely 
 
of the Confederate States. 17 
 
 no greater wisdom than well to time the begin 
 nings and onsets of things. Dangers are no 
 more light if they once seem light, and more 
 dangers have deceived men than forced them. 
 Nay, it were better to meet some dangers half 
 way, though they come nothing near, than to 
 keep too long a watch upon their approaches; 
 for if a man watch too long, it is odds he will fall 
 asleep." 
 
 Probably no one in Congress was more active, 
 bold and able in asserting the rights of the 
 Southern States and their purpose not to sub 
 mit to inequality and injustice than Senator 
 Toombs, of Georgia. Born of revolutionary an 
 cestors in Wilkes county (named in honor of 
 the English reformer and opponent of tyranny), 
 he was one of the most remarkable men of the 
 century. A lawyer, a farmer, a statesman, he 
 succeeded in these pursuits beyond his fellows. 
 With a big, warm heart, a generous, liberal na 
 ture, doing things on a scale without measure or 
 precedent, he was a husband than whom a wife 
 never had one more loyal and devoted; a friend 
 which made the relations between him and A. 
 
18 Civil History of the Government 
 
 H. Stephens as pure and self-sacrificing as those 
 between David and Jonathan; a patriot, never 
 stopping to count cost nor to throw self-aggran 
 dizement in the scale against country; a lawyer 
 giving to clients zeal, industry, learning, every 
 thing except honor; a statesman versed in diplo 
 macy, jurisprudence and politics, pushing his 
 ideas beyond what timid caution prescribed into 
 any field where genius bade him go ; and an ora 
 tor swaying multitudes as the storm swept the 
 forest, and holding grave senators breathless 
 under his exposition of dangers and remedies. 
 I recall an incident in a secret session of 
 the Provisional Congress, held in the hall of 
 the House of Deputies in the Capitol at Rich 
 mond, when the success of the Confederacy was 
 under consideration and foreign succor, finan 
 cial schemes and other expedients were under 
 discussion. After a warm debate, Toombs took 
 the floor, and in less than an hour, in a style 
 dashing, free, incisive, delivered a powerful 
 speech on our available means of safety. Every 
 deputy sat with concentrated and rapt attention, 
 amazed at the extraordinary ability of the man 
 
of the Confederate States. 19 
 
 and surprised and delighted at the seemingly 
 wise and adequate scheme which was presented. 
 When he closed there was almost painful silence 
 for a considerable time, and then Robert H. 
 Smith, of Mobile, arose and said: " Mr. Presi 
 dent, if the gentleman from Georgia does not 
 bring in bills to carry out what he has suggested 
 he is a worse traitor than Benedict Arnold." 
 The idea of Mr. Smith was that no one compre 
 hended the situation as did Toombs, and on no 
 other person did the obligation rest as heavily 
 for devising and framing the adequate legisla 
 tion. Nothing more was heard of the scheme. 
 In conversation Toombs was fascinating and 
 bright, more suggestive and interesting than 
 any one I ever heard, except Calhoun,* of whom 
 
 * I recall vividly an interview just before Folk s in 
 auguration, in Brown s Hotel, now the Metropolitan, 
 between Calhoun and Mike Walsh. Alike thoroughly 
 honest, no two men could have been more unlike, 
 physically, socially, mentally. Walsh was a radical, a 
 "subterranean" politician from New York city; Cal 
 houn was a profound and philosophical statesman, 
 with a trained intellect, and his mental characteristic 
 was a tenacious grasp of abstract principle, with a 
 tendency to metaphysical subtlety. A number of 
 
20 Civil History of the Government 
 
 many would say as Fox said of Burke: "He is 
 a wonderfully wise man, but he is wise too soon." 
 He was bold, imperious, dogmatic, epigrammatic, 
 throwing out great nuggets of thought, which 
 weaker men would hammer into essays and 
 speeches. In hotels, at receptions, in places 
 where choicest spirits would gather, he was the 
 centre of attraction, and young and old were 
 alike enchanted by his original utterances, strik 
 ing as apothegms or proverbs. Abroad, in Lon 
 don and Paris, Carlyle, Napoleon and leading 
 members of Parliament and the National As 
 sembly, of the Bourse and the Bank, were learn 
 ers from his experience and wisdom. During 
 the war it was considered expedient by some that 
 
 visitors were assembled in the parlor, but for half an 
 hour or more only these two men shared in the con 
 versation. Calhoun talked of the Albany regency, of 
 the defalcations in the New York Custom House, of 
 the infamous spoils system with its necessary corrup 
 tions, and of the ways, dark and crooked, by which 
 Van Buren won office. Neither Calhoun nor Toombs, 
 in strict sense, was a converser, eliciting interchange 
 of opinions, keeping up a battledore of ideas, but each 
 rather indulged in monologue, saying nearly all that 
 was said, but in a most instructive and delightful man 
 ner. 
 
of the Confederate States. 21 
 
 the fanners should plant provision crops instead 
 of cotton. Toonibs incurred odium by insisting 
 upon raising upon his own plantation nearly full 
 crops of cotton. To a committee censuring him 
 for his course on this matter, he replied: "My 
 property, as long as I live, shall never be sub 
 ject to the orders of these cowardly miscreants, 
 the committees of public safety of Randolph 
 county and Eufaula. You rob me in my ab 
 sence, but you cannot intimidate me." 
 
 An interesting conversation between Sena 
 tor Toombs and Senator Simmons, of Rhode 
 Island, about 1858, may be remembered by 
 some who were in Congress at that time. The 
 discussion foreshadowed what may be found in 
 Vebleu s "Theory of the Leisured Class, an 
 Economic Study in the Evolution of Institu 
 tions." Much of what the author says about 
 the dependent class and the independent class, 
 for which he invents such expressive epithets as 
 "humilific" and "honorific," is almost a literal 
 reproduction, as it is a repetition, of the ideas 
 and original utterances of Toombs. Those who 
 were intimate with the Georgia Senator of those 
 
22 Civil History of the Government 
 
 early days cannot fail to remember how often 
 and vigorously he vindicated Southern society, 
 and insisted that the independent leisure class 
 constituted the fittest, the socially best, the aris 
 tocracy. 
 
 On taking leave of the Senate he specified the 
 grievances of the South, and named the condi 
 tions upon which the States would stay in the 
 Union: The discontented States had demanded 
 no new Constitution, no new government, noth 
 ing but clear, constitutional rights, rights older 
 than the Constitution. As the party coming 
 into power had declared the Southern States 
 outlaws, had refused to protect them from inva 
 sion and insurrection by the Federal power, 
 these States demanded: "First, that the people 
 of the United States shall have an equal right 
 to immigrate and settle in the territories with 
 whatever property (including slaves) they may 
 possess. Second, that property in slaves shall 
 be entitled to the same protection from the gov 
 ernment as any other property (leaving the State 
 the right to prohibit, protect or abolish slavery 
 within its limits). Third, that persons commit- 
 
of the Confederate States. 23 
 
 ting crimes against slave property in one State 
 and flying to another, shall be given up. Fourth, 
 that fugitive slaves shall be surrendered. Fifth, 
 that Congress shall pass laws for the punishment 
 of all persons who shall aid and abet invasion 
 or insurrection in any other State." 
 
 South Carolina made an official declaration 
 of the causes which in her judgment justified 
 secession. "A geographical line has been drawn 
 across the Union, and all the States north of 
 that line have united in the election of a man 
 to the high office of President of the United 
 States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile 
 to slavery. He is to be entrusted with the ad 
 ministration of the common government, b< 
 cause he has declared that the government can 
 not endure permanently half slave and half free, 
 and that the public mind must rest in the belief 
 that slavery is in the course of ultimate extinc 
 tion. 
 
 The address of the convention of the people 
 of Georgia, written by Mr. Toombs, recited 
 that " our people are still attached to the 
 Union from habit, national tradition, and aver- 
 
24 Civil History of the Government 
 
 sion to change." It referred to our Northern 
 confederates who had deliberately forced the 
 issue that had been deliberately accepted by the 
 South. "We refuse to submit to the verdict of 
 the North, and in vindication we offer the Con 
 stitution of our country. The people of Georgia 
 have always been willing to stand by this com 
 pact." The address further charged that the 
 North had "outlawed three thousand millions of 
 property of the South, put it under a ban, and 
 would subject us, not only to a loss of our pro 
 perty, but to destruction of our homes and fire 
 sides. To avoid these evils we withdraw the 
 powers that our fathers delegated to the Govern 
 ment of the United States, and henceforth seek 
 new safeguards for our liberty, security and 
 tranquillity." President Davis, to a self-con 
 stituted umpire visiting him in Richmond, said: 
 "We are not fighting for slavery; we are fighting 
 for independence. The war will go on unless you 
 acknowledge our right to self-government/ * 
 It is almost impossible for any one at the 
 
 *4 Ehodes History of United States, 575. 
 
of the Confederate States. 25 
 
 present time to realize, to enter into the spirit of, 
 or to share, the feelings and convictions of the 
 people of the South in 1860 in reference to the 
 legality or rightfulness of property in slaves. A 
 revolution, the sequence of the bloodiest and 
 most eventful war of modern times, produced 
 the emancipation and citizenship of millions of 
 slaves, the sudden extinguishment of all rights 
 of property in them rights which had been 
 recognized in all nations for many centuries 
 and the overthrow of secession as a reserved 
 right of a sovereign State. Such a complete and 
 radical transformation has occurred in our Con 
 stitution, in laws, in social institutions, in or 
 ganized labor, in party shibboleths, in schools, 
 in public opinion, in literature, that one might 
 as well strive to transport himself to the ante 
 diluvian period as to assume the thoughts and 
 sympathies and manners of the period of 1860. 
 It would be as easy for a Trench Liberal of 
 to-day to make himself a monarchist of the time 
 of Louis XIV., or for an English or German 
 Protestant to accept and adopt the creed and 
 ritual and policy of the Roman Catholic Church 
 
26 Civil History of the Government 
 
 of the time of Leo X., as for an American citi 
 zen to recognize and vindicate what the Consti 
 tution guaranteed as to slavery in 1860. Neither 
 Constitution, nor law, nor the practice of cen 
 turies, can be appealed to in support of what 
 present opinion approves. Such a writer as 
 Yon Hoist, with present views and German pre 
 judices, is incapable of passing an impartial judg 
 ment on actions of Southern States and states 
 men, because slavery is to him, semper et ubique, 
 a sin and a crime, and all Americans or English 
 who assent to or defend the institution are 
 criminals. Still, it is obvious that no justice 
 can be done to the people of the South if the 
 acts of 1861-1865 are to be interpreted by the 
 standard of 1900.* In the interpretation of an- 
 
 * "The matter of slavery, so called, which was the 
 proximate cause of these irregular movements on both 
 sides, and which ended in the general collision of war, 
 was of infinitely less importance to the seceding States 
 than the recognition of the great principle of consti 
 tutional liberty. There was with us no such thing as 
 slavery in the true and proper sense of that word. 
 No people ever lived more devoted to the principles of 
 liberty, secured by free democratic institutions, than 
 were the people of the South. None had ever given 
 
of the Confederate States. 27 
 
 cient documents, even of the Scriptures, the 
 critic should not be preoccupied by assumptions, 
 nor prejudge questions and interests of a former 
 period, nor be bereft of an apprehensive sympa 
 thy with the environments of those whose con 
 duct and opinions are criticised. The impartial 
 critic or historian must learn to a put himself in 
 
 stronger proofs of this than they had done. What 
 was called slavery amongst us was but a legal subor 
 dination of the African to the Caucasian race. This 
 relation was so regulated by law as to promote, ac 
 cording to the intent and design of the system, the best 
 interests of both races, the black as well as the white, 
 the inferior as well as the superior. Both had rights 
 secured and both had duties imposed. It was a sys 
 tem of reciprocal service and mutual bonds. But even 
 the two thousand million dollars invested in the rela 
 tions thus established between private capital and the 
 labor of this class of population, under the system, 
 was but as the dust in the balance, compared with the 
 vital attributes of the rights of Independence and Sov 
 ereignty on the part of the several States." Stephens, 
 War Between the States, 539. 
 
 Amos, in Science of Politics, p. 139, says: "In the be 
 ginning of this century in America, slavery was treated 
 as a necessary and invariable concomitant sentiment of 
 all political society, or of political society in certain 
 parts of the world. Mere lapse of time, changes in 
 ethical sentiment and the shock of events have rendered 
 this mode of thought at the present day an anach 
 ronism." 
 
28 Civil History of the Government 
 
 his place" and cling less dogmatically to the 
 present if he would accurately and justly por 
 tray the past. 
 
 Other and more general causes lay at the 
 root of the movement for withdrawal. The one 
 chief and great evil, resisted and dreaded, was 
 the persistent overthrow of the written Consti 
 tution, the government being no longer a gov 
 ernment of confederated republics, but a con 
 solidated democracy. The object in quitting 
 the Union was not to destroy, but to save the 
 principles of the Constitution. The South being 
 in a minority, besides unfair treatment of the 
 slavery question, suffered from sectional legis 
 lation and a common disregard of checks in 
 tended to safeguard interests and rights. The 
 South was taxed by duties on imports and by 
 sectional expenditures to her injury and to the 
 prosperity of the dominant section. The 
 stronger section naturally struggles to maintain 
 the superiority and inequality acquired, the 
 weaker to throw off or diminish its burden. 
 Where one section receives back less than it has 
 paid into the treasury and the other more than 
 
of the Confederate States. 29 
 
 it has paid, then to the former it is a loss; to the 
 latter, a gain. A system which produces these 
 effects operates as a contribution from the sec 
 tion receiving less than it paid to the other that 
 receives more than it paid. As Mr. Calhoun 
 demonstrated, "the system, if continued, must 
 end not only in subjecting the industry and pro 
 perty of the weaker section to the control of the 
 stronger, but in proscription and political dis- 
 franchisement. It must finally control elections 
 and appointment to offices as well as acts of 
 legislation." 
 
 The Southern States from the beginning of 
 the government had striven to keep it within 
 the orbit prescribed by the Constitution and 
 failed. It was apparent that the majority, hav 
 ing construed away all restraining limitations, 
 would, by construction and usurpation, annihi 
 late the sovereignty of the States and carry out 
 the sectional and selfish purposes for which the 
 Constitution had been abrogated. Conflict and 
 supremacy being inevitable under the new 
 theory, the weaker section could find peace and 
 liberty only in independence. 
 
30 Civil History of the Government 
 
 It may be affirmed that the fears, the appre 
 hensions, the predictions of those who favored 
 secession have been more than realized. A few 
 instances, drawn exclusively from the writings 
 of Northern men, are sufficient proofs. A pro 
 fessor of law in a New England university cites 
 among the evidences of assumption of power by 
 the President and by Congress, "that great hum 
 bug, the Emancipation Proclamation, which Mr. 
 Lincoln at the time compared to the Pope s bull 
 against the comet," and of which Mr. Thaddeus 
 Stevens, chairman of the Committee of Ways 
 and Means and leader of his party, said, "that no 
 thoughtful man ever supposed that it liberated 
 a single slave." Not only Prof. Parker and Mr. 
 Rhodes characterize this assumption of authority 
 as the act of "an absolute, irresponsible mon 
 arch," but Justice Curtis, who dissented from 
 the Dred Scott decision, also said the President 
 had no constitutional right to issue the Edict of 
 Freedom. Stevens, on the floor of Congress, de 
 clared that the Union should not with his con 
 sent be restored under the Constitution as it was. 
 Also, "War abrogates all contracts. We are 
 
of the Confederate States. 31 
 
 now governed by the laws of war and the laws 
 of nations alone." An ex-governor of Massa 
 chusetts declared the three kinds of power to be 
 "judicial, democratic and despotic."* By a pres 
 idential proclamation, martial law was declared 
 and the habeas corpus was suspended over the 
 whole United States, without regard to the ex 
 istence of active military hostilities in particu 
 lar localities. 
 
 The friends of the President, however, did 
 not regard this as a rightful exercise of execu 
 tive power, for Congress afterwards authorized 
 the President to suspend, and then endeavored 
 by strained inference to concentrate the power 
 upon itself. Functions belonging to the judi 
 ciary were transferred to military tribunals, and 
 citizens not connected with the army were tried 
 by military commissions. Property was confis 
 cated without trial or conviction, and citizens 
 were created by the wholesale. Two days after 
 the Edict of Emancipation, President Lincoln 
 gave the authority of an executive decree to 
 
 * 2 Winthrop s Address, 630-633. 
 
32 Civil History of the Government 
 
 Stanton s arbitrary orders, created the new of 
 fences of any disloyal practice, of discouraging 
 enlistments, and ordered that such offenders, and 
 those who afforded aid and comfort to the rebels, 
 should be subject to martial law and liable to 
 trial and punishment by court-martial and mili 
 tary commissions, without privilege of habeas 
 corpus.* Senator Hoar, in the Senate the 2d 
 of June, 1900, said: " The courts-martial during 
 the Civil War were a scandal to the civilized 
 world." 
 
 These excesses of tyranny did not cease with 
 the war. In the midst of profound and estab 
 lished peace, when there was not a soldier in 
 arms against the government, fortresses were 
 crowded with civilians without warrant or form 
 of law, and a distinguished citizen was impris 
 oned and manacled and subjected to the es 
 pionage of incessant gazing and to indignities 
 worse than St. Helena or Olmutz or the Bas 
 tille. As the victim was wasted by disease and 
 
 *4 Rhodes, 104. 
 
of the Confederate States. 33 
 
 harmless, the fetters and watching were not so 
 much a victory as a vengeance. 
 
 The contradictory action in reference to the 
 seceded States partook of farce and tragedy. 
 The States were treated sometimes as in, some 
 times as out, of the Union; sometimes as con 
 quered territories, sometimes as States; some 
 times as entitled to representation, sometimes 
 not; sometimes as inchoate States forced to rat 
 ify amendments, and then were refused the exer 
 cise of their rights and privileges. The series 
 of reconstruction measures, in bald usurpation, 
 in mad tyranny, in the essence of diabolism, in 
 the deliberate purpose to give supremacy to ne 
 groes in some States (as South Carolina, Missis 
 sippi and Louisiana, where by the census they 
 had the majority in population), and to Repub 
 licans in all, has no parallel in the annals of the 
 Borgias and the Caesars. The effort was made, 
 and it succeeded, to force upon States a radical 
 change of institutions in relation to matters 
 which had been exclusively within the control 
 of the States, and over which the government 
 
 5 
 
34 Civil History of the Government 
 
 of the United States had no control, and could 
 have none except by usurpation.* 
 
 South Carolina did not desire to take the lead 
 of her sister States, but being in session for the 
 purpose of appointing presidential electors, she 
 felt first the blow inflicted by the election of 
 an enemy to Southern institutions, and called a 
 convention to take the proper steps to save the 
 Commonwealth. On December 17, 1860, the 
 convention assembled in Columbia. It was a 
 body of men of large experience and ability, of 
 
 * See Professor Parker s Three Powers of Govern 
 ment, pages 14, 15, 18, 21, 25, 26, 63, 64, and 92. 
 
 The Hon. Caleb Gushing, in reply to an invitation 
 from his fellow-citizens of Newburyport, in 1860, to 
 address them on the State of the Union, said: "So 
 long as the State of Massachusetts perseveres in this 
 nullification of the Constitution, she affords, not a 
 pretext only, but a justificatory cause to the State of 
 South Carolina, to that of Georgia, Alabama, Missis 
 sippi, or any other State otherwise disposed to secede; 
 for the violation of the fundamental compact of asso 
 ciation by one of the contracting parties serves, in 
 morality as well as law, to release the others; and the 
 unconstitutional and dishonorable attitude of the 
 State in this matter is not less mischievous in another 
 respect to wit, its obvious tendency to paralyze the 
 conservative efforts of other Southern States not yet 
 
of the Confederate States. 35 
 
 congressmen, judges, lawyers, professors, preach 
 ers and farmers. On the 20th the convention 
 by unanimous vote solemnly declared and or 
 dained that the ordinance adopted in convention 
 May 23, 1788, whereby the Constitution of the 
 United States was ratified, and all acts of the 
 General Assembly ratifying amendments of said 
 Constitution were repealed, and that "the Union, 
 subsisting between South Carolina and other 
 States under the name of the United States of 
 
 prepared to secede, such as Maryland, Virginia, North 
 Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. I think there is 
 a duty in this behalf which it is incumbent on Massa 
 chusetts and every loyal citizen of the State to per 
 form; one which it is never too early to enter upon 
 and never too late to persist in, and which it is pecu 
 liarly fitting for us to undertake now namely, to re 
 peal unconditionally these laws, which are scanda 
 lously false in their profession of purpose, which are 
 tyrannical in their domestic and treasonable in their 
 Federal relation, and which misrepresent the spirit 
 and disgrace the legislation of our Commonwealth. As 
 this is the duty of all, it is the duty of every one, and, 
 therefore, it will give me pleasure to speak on the sub 
 ject, to expose the gravity of the situation; to demon 
 strate our obligation regarding it, and to participate 
 with you in the initiation of measures for the wiping 
 out of this foul blot from the escutcheon of the State 
 of Massachusetts." 
 
36 Civil History of the Government 
 
 America, is hereby dissolved." After the ordi 
 nance was engrossed and enrolled with the great 
 seal of the State attached, the president of the 
 convention proclaimed South Carolina an inde 
 pendent Commonwealth. The vote on the ordi 
 nance was telegraphed to the members of Con 
 gress in Washington. It was at once made 
 known, and in a few minutes every member of 
 the House, of which I was then a member, 
 learned of the great event. Business went on 
 without interruption. Some contemptuous ex 
 pressions and sneers were visible and audible on 
 the Republican side, especially from one repre 
 sentative, who later said: "There is an eternal 
 antagonism that must be settled, and we may 
 as well have it settled now as at any other time." 
 In ordaining separation from the Federal 
 Union, the State acted alone, without waiting 
 for cooperative action, but expressing an earn 
 est desire for, and most cordially inviting, the 
 formation of a Southern Confederacy. Com 
 missioners were appointed to the several South 
 ern States, inviting their cooperation, and depu 
 ties were elected to meet those from other States 
 
of the Confederate States. 37 
 
 which might secede, for the purpose of forming 
 at an early period a provisional government and 
 to consider and propose a constitution and plan 
 for a permanent government. 
 
 Florida and Mississippi, the latter on the 9th 
 of January, soon followed the example of South 
 Carolina. On January 11, 1861, Alabama in 
 convention withdrew from the Union, declaring 
 herself a sovereign and independent State. By 
 the same ordinance, the people of the Southern 
 States were invited to send delegates to meet 
 in convention in the city of Montgomery on 
 February 6, 1861, for the purpose of "consult 
 ing as to the most effectual mode of securing 
 concerted and harmonious action in whatever 
 measures may be deemed most desirable for the 
 common peace and security." An appropriation 
 of $500,000 was voted for the Confederacy 
 when formed. The secession of Georgia and 
 Louisiana was not long delayed. It was 
 affirmed that "the question of slavery moved 
 not the people of Georgia half as much as the 
 fact that their rights as a community were in 
 sulted. There are thousands and tens of thou- 
 
38 Civil History of the Government 
 
 sands of people in Georgia who do not own 
 slaves. A very large portion of the people own 
 none of them." The address previously quoted 
 from concludes: "To avoid these evils we with 
 draw the powers that our fathers delegated to 
 the Government of the United States, and hence 
 forth seek new safeguards for our liberty, se 
 curity and happiness." 
 
 In seceding from the Union to which, in the 
 language of Washington and Jefferson, each 
 had acceded as a sovereign State, the States by a 
 very simple and orderly process repealed the or 
 dinances by which the Constitution was ratified 
 and agreed to, and by which each State became 
 a party to the compact. Thus the State de 
 clared herself bound no longer by that compact 
 and dissolved her alliance with the other parties 
 to it. South Carolina, Georgia and other States 
 sustained the same relation to the Federal Gov 
 ernment and the States remaining in the Union, 
 that Rhode Island and North Carolina did be 
 fore they ratified the Constitution and became 
 members of the Union. Not unfrequently one 
 hears in speeches, or reads in pretentious trea- 
 
of the Confederate States. 39 
 
 tises, full of vulnerable logic and superficial his 
 tory, that secession was not a justifiable remedy, 
 because the Constitution grants no such right to 
 a State. 
 
 What is politic or expedient may be entirely 
 different from what is legally right. The right 
 of a mode of redress is one thing; its wisdom or 
 expediency, quite another. One has the vaguest 
 idea of the nature and character of our Federal 
 Government, of its vital and fundamental prin 
 ciples, who searches the Constitution for the 
 rights of the States, or limits those rights to 
 what may be found among delegated powers. 
 Secession, or the right to resume delegated pow 
 ers, or withdraw from the Federal republic, did 
 not come from the Constitution, but from State 
 sovereignty. Such fallacies spring from an en 
 tire misapprehension of the nature of our Fed 
 eral Government and of its origin. Historical 
 facts, which no one of intelligence or candor can 
 deny, show that the Government of the United 
 States was Federal in its origin and in the com 
 mon bond. 
 
 From the Declaration of Independence 
 
40 Civil History of the Government 
 
 sprung thirteen separate and distinct repul>- 
 lics, and these set up a great Federal republic, 
 whose constituents were thirteen distinct, sov 
 ereign States. "In that character they formed 
 the old Confederation, and when it was pro 
 posed to supersede the Articles of the Confed 
 eration by the present Constitution, they met in 
 convention as States, acted and voted as States, 
 and the Constitution, when formed, was sub 
 mitted for ratification to the people of the sev 
 eral States. It was ratified by them as States, 
 each State for itself; each by its ratification 
 binding its own citizens; the parts thus sepa 
 rately binding themselves, and not the whole 
 the parts; and it is declared in the preamble of 
 the Constitution to be ordained by the people 
 of the United States, and in the Article of Kati- 
 fication, when ratified, to be binding between the 
 States so ratifying. The conclusion is inevita 
 ble that the Constitution is the work of the peo 
 ple of the States, considered as separate and in 
 dependent political communities; that they are 
 its authors their power created it, their voice 
 clothed it with authority; that the government 
 
of the Confederate States. 41 
 
 formed is in reality their agent; and that the 
 Union, of which the Constitution is the bond, 
 is a union of States and not of individuals."* 
 
 The Constitution closes in Article VII. with 
 this significant declaration : " Done in Conven 
 tion by the Unanimous Consent of the States 
 present. . . In Witness whereof We 
 
 have hereunto subscribed our Names." Then 
 follow the names of " Geo. Washington, Presdt 
 and deputy from Virginia/ and the names of 
 the deputies from other States. 
 
 *6 Calhoun a Works, 147-148. 
 
4:2 Civil History of the Government 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT HOWELL COBB 
 PROVISIONAL CONSTITUTION ELECTION OF PRESI 
 DENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT A. H. STEPHENS 
 INITIATORY LEGISLATION SELECTION OF CABINET. 
 
 The Convention of Deputies from six States 
 met in Montgomery, in the State Capitol, on 
 February 4, 1861. Each of these States had, 
 of necessity, seceded separately in reclaiming its 
 original sovereignty, but with the expectation 
 and purpose of forming a new and closer bond 
 of union with sympathizing sisters, thus ensur 
 ing domestic tranquillity and securing the bless 
 ings of liberty to themselves and their posterity. 
 Their object was pacific and protective, and in 
 no sense or manner to interfere with any right 
 or privilege of the North. One recalls how 
 quiet, orderly, dignified, with a deep sense of 
 responsibility, was the assemblage. There were 
 no array of armed battalions, no glittering uni 
 forms, no blare of trumpets, no military 
 
of the Confederate States. 43 
 
 ments, no offensive display of appeals to passion 
 or pride. Men not unknown in Federal and State 
 councils came together, not as conspirators, or 
 anarchists, or disturbers of the peace, or ag 
 gressive violators of law, but as accredited rep 
 resentatives of sovereign States. Of necessity 
 prompt action was demanded for concert and 
 strength. The proceedings were deliberate, con 
 servative, in accordance with established parlia 
 mentary precedents, and with what had been 
 consistently and uninterruptedly claimed from 
 the origin of the Federal Union. The Provis 
 ional Congress was composed of men seriously 
 and assiduously seeking the public weal and the 
 discharge of solemn obligations. The discus 
 sions, mainly in secret session, were able and 
 instructive, and in the most friendly and pa 
 triotic spirit. While many participated in de 
 bates and all were actuated by an unselfish pur 
 pose, it is not invidious to mention Stephens, 
 Toombs, Howell Cobb, Hill, T. E. E. Cobb, 
 Ehett, Memminger, Smith, Walker, Harris, 
 Campbell and Conrad, as among the chiefest 
 contributors to the work of framing the consti- 
 
44 Civil History of the Government 
 
 tutions. In addition to these and recognized for 
 wisdom and experience should be mentioned 
 Barnwell, Withers, Nisbet, Chilton, Harrison, 
 Kenner, and others. 
 
 The Congress and the cause brought to Mont 
 gomery a large number of interested visitors, 
 many of whom were women of culture and re 
 finement and gushing patriotism. The Capitol 
 was crowded every day with persons watching 
 the proceedings with anxiety and subdued earn 
 estness, and sharing with joy in everything that 
 promised a peaceful and successful issue of the 
 novel experiment. An illustrative incident may 
 be pardoned. Years preceding 1861 there oc 
 curred in Tennessee a controversy and collision 
 between two young lawyers, Anderson and Taul, 
 which resulted in the death of the latter. The 
 fatal dispute, with tragic termination, created 
 an inextinguishable hostility between the two 
 families. One day Mrs. Bradford, a friend and 
 constituent of mine, was sitting on a sofa in the 
 lobby, in conversation with Governor Morton, 
 of Florida, and myself. After awhile the Gov 
 ernor arose and asked permission to introduce a 
 
of the Confederate States. 45 
 
 colleague. Consent being given, he withdrew 
 to the chamber, separated from us only by an 
 iron chain between the columns. I was as 
 tounded to see him returning with Colonel Pat- 
 ton Anderson, the brother of the man who had 
 killed Taul. Familiar from many recitals with 
 the sad occurrence, I could not imagine how the 
 matter would end, but the Governor, ignorant 
 of the antecedents, said: "Mrs. Bradford, I 
 have pleasure in presenting my friend and col 
 league, Colonel Anderson." The lady, small of 
 stature, drawing herself up to fullest height and 
 with her large, brown eyes looking Anderson 
 square in the face, said: "I am the sister of 
 Thomas Taul." Anderson, with utmost calm 
 ness and chivalrous courtesy, replied: "I am 
 aware of it, Mrs. Bradford, and no one can re 
 gret more than I that unfortunate affair. We 
 are entering upon a struggle the end of which 
 the wisest cannot foresee. It will require the 
 united strength and wisdom of every man and 
 woman in the Confederacy. I should greatly 
 prefer, if you are willing, to let by-gones be by 
 gones." The little woman, with a nobility that 
 
46 Civil History of the Government 
 
 elevates the whole sex, extended her hand, and 
 the two sat down and talked, without a shade of 
 ill feeling, upon the events of the hour. 
 
 Howell Cobb was, on motion of E. Barnwell 
 Ehett, of South Carolina, elected President* of 
 the Congress. This tribute to high character 
 and great excellence was paid to the most popu 
 lar member of the body without a dissenting 
 vote. At the bar, on the hustings, in Congress, 
 as Speaker of the House of Representatives, as 
 Secretary of the Treasury, as Governor of his 
 State, he had been trained in schools which fitted 
 him for wise statesmanship. In 1851, against 
 many of his party associates, he resisted the at 
 tempt to make the u Compromise Measures" the 
 occasion for a disruption of the Union, and was 
 elected Governor by an unprecedented majority. 
 When ten years later there seemed no hope of 
 protecting the interests and honor of his State 
 against powerful and unreasonable aggression, 
 he resigned the portfolio of the Treasury Depart 
 ment and threw himself with impetuous ardor 
 and courage into the contest for the preserva 
 tion of the Constitution and for State equality. 
 
of the Confederate States. 47 
 
 Governor Cobb had a noble, generous, affec 
 tionate nature, shrewdness, sagacity and com 
 mon sense, a real and sincere judgment to lean 
 on, was unselfish to an extreme degree, and few 
 public men had a larger group of devoted 
 friends. In his remarks accepting the place of 
 presiding officer, he said the separation was "per 
 fect, complete and perpetual," and that it was 
 the duty of Congress to "provide a government 
 for our future security and protection and main 
 tain with our late Confederates in the Union 
 friendly relations, political and commercial." 
 
 On the same day, on motion of Mr. Stephens, 
 a committee on rules was appointed. He soon 
 reported a code which very much simplified par 
 liamentary procedure and facilitated business. 
 Mr. Stephens was proud of his connection with 
 the improvement, and published in his work the 
 whole report. The simplification of the artifi 
 cial "previous question 7 has been adopted by 
 legislatures and is incorporated into many codes. 
 On the second day Mr. Memminger was ap 
 pointed chairman of the committee to report a 
 plan for the formation of a provisional govern- 
 
48 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ment. He had published, in advance of the 
 meeting of the body, a scheme for a provisional 
 government, and was, therefore, prepared to act 
 without delay. 
 
 Mr. Memminger was of German origin, and 
 being left an orphan at an early day, was in 
 debted to generous friends for his education. 
 This experience made him an active friend of 
 public schools, and he remained connected offi 
 cially with the system until the day of his death, 
 one of the leading schools in Charleston still 
 bearing his name. Thoroughly religious in con 
 viction and habit, his influence was always on 
 the side of virtue and temperance, and in law 
 and politics he never severed himself or his con 
 duct from the strictest standard of integrity and 
 truthfulness. He became Secretary of the Trea 
 sury when the first Cabinet was appointed, and 
 filled the difficult, one may say impossible, post 
 until July, 1864, when the heavy duties had so 
 affected his health that he was compelled to re 
 sign. Mr. George A. Trenholm, his fellow- 
 townsman, became his successor. 
 
 The adoption of a temporary general govern- 
 
of the Confederate States. 49 
 
 ment being a most urgent step, allowing no time 
 for delay unless each State was to remain sepa 
 rate, the committee reported a constitution for 
 a provisional government, which on February 
 9th had unanimous approval. The transition 
 was easy and orderly. It was not a revolutionary 
 procedure, for the South in her whole history 
 had never disregarded just obligations nor failed 
 to perform her constitutional duty. As the 
 Duke of Wellington said of the Reform Act of 
 1832, it was a a revolution by due course of law." 
 
 At one time it was proposed in one of the 
 States to adopt a rattlesnake, couchant and ready 
 to strike, with the motto, "Do not tread on 
 me," or Noli me tangere, as indicating a wish to 
 be left alone. 
 
 The new government sprang forth as by 
 magic. No large degree of statesmanship was 
 required in this hasty organization. Identity 
 of conviction and community of interests 
 made a pro hac vice government an obvious need. 
 The seceding States had prescribed conditions 
 and restrictions as to conformity to the Consti 
 tution of the United States with which the depu- 
 
50 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ties and their constituents were so familiar. 
 South Carolina, Alabama, and other States, in 
 their suggestions for a convention to frame a 
 new government, required that the Constitution 
 should be "upon the principles of the Constitu 
 tion of the United States." There was a marked 
 and purposed agreement with the Constitution 
 of the United States, as in this authoritative ex 
 position it was the intention to reenact what the 
 people approved, thereby vindicating the oft- 
 repeated declaration that the States withdrew 
 not from the Constitution, but from the wicked 
 and injurious perversions of the compact. The 
 changes were only such as the urgent necessity 
 of the peculiar occasion demanded. The Con 
 stitution of the United States was copied with 
 almost literal fidelity, differing from that of the 
 fathers only in so far as it was explanatory of 
 their well-known intent. There was little de 
 parture from the text beyond what was made 
 necessary by a single legislative body and the 
 guarantees which the novel situation required. 
 While some of the constituent parts were 
 slightly altered, the system remained. In his 
 
of the Confederate States. 51 
 
 inaugural President Davis said: "The Consti 
 tution formed by our fathers is that of these 
 Confederate States, in their exposition of it; 
 and in the judicial construction it has received 
 we have a light which reveals its true meaning." 
 With the opinions and traditions held by all, 
 the first step was to organize a united govern 
 ment with a written constitution, so that the 
 States which had severed their ties with the old 
 government might safely be confederated into 
 a union for the common defence and general 
 welfare. The strife, which began in the con 
 vention of 17 87 and had been continued with 
 increasing bitterness and danger, until it reached 
 its culmination in the dominance of a party 
 with its chosen President committed to hostility 
 to the institutions of the South and unmindful 
 of checks and guarantees which had been pre- 
 cautiously provided for the protection of minori 
 ties, left the States no alternative but to dis 
 rupt their former relations with the Union and 
 to bind themselves in harmony and concord for 
 liberty to themselves and their posterity. 
 Prompt action was required to make a national 
 
52 Civil History of the Government 
 
 organization with requisite powers to sustain 
 the government, to command respect and obedi 
 ence at home, to secure recognition abroad, and 
 to guard against any possible attacks or interfer 
 ence. 
 
 Following the adoption of the Provisional 
 Constitution on February 9th, came the elec 
 tion of a President and Yice-President, who 
 were to hold their offices for one year, or until 
 the nascent government should be succeeded by 
 one more stable. These officers were elected by 
 ballot, each State casting one vote. There had 
 been no electioneering, no management, no bar 
 gaining, no promises. Who should be President 
 engaged earnest attention, and there was natu 
 rally some difference of opinion as to the fittest 
 person for the high office. The qualifications 
 of Davis, Cobb, and Toombs were quietly can 
 vassed, but the differences were not so pressed 
 as to cause delay of action or any ill feeling. 
 Some deputies favored Cobb, some Toombs, but 
 Davis received unanimous and cordial support. 
 
 Besides large civil experience as Secretary of 
 War and member of Congress, in which posi- 
 
of the Confederate States. 53 
 
 tions lie had won merited distinction for schol 
 arship, ability and integrity, Davis had had mili 
 tary experience in the Mexican War, where he 
 had distinguished himself for courage and tac 
 tical skill, and it was known that his tastes and 
 preferences were for military station. Missis 
 sippi, immediately on her withdrawal, had made 
 him Commander-in-Chief of the forces the State 
 was raising in anticipation of a possible conflict, 
 and he was engaged in their organization, when 
 by a special messenger dispatched for the pur 
 pose he was informed of his elevation. 
 
 His journey to Chattanooga, Marietta, At 
 lanta and Montgomery was a splendid ovation. 
 At every point on the railway, until on Feb 
 ruary 15th he reached the Confederate Capital, 
 he was greeted by thousands. On the 18th he 
 was inaugurated, delivering his address and 
 taking the oath on the steps of the Capitol build 
 ing, in presence of a great assemblage, which, in 
 hushed and reverent silence, had been led in a 
 prayer, impressive and comprehensive, by Dr. 
 Basil Manly, formerly the president of the 
 University of Alabama, in which he said : " We 
 
54 Civil History of the Government 
 
 appeal to Thee to protect us in the land Thou 
 hast given us, the institutions Thou hast estab 
 lished, the rights Thou hast bestowed." The 
 ceremony completed, cannon were fired, the first 
 by a granddaughter of ex-President Tyler. The 
 city was illuminated at night and the President 
 gave a reception. 
 
 The inaugural was marked by simplicity, di 
 rectness and frankness. Neither seeking nor 
 desiring the exalted position, the President ex 
 pressed, in strongest terms, the wish of his 
 country for peace. It is an absurd fallacy that 
 destruction or injury of those from whom the 
 Southern States had separated was intended or 
 desired. The Northern States were at undis 
 turbed liberty to retain their union and their 
 government. These were not in any way 
 threatened. 
 
 The utter unpreparedness of the seceding 
 States and of the Confederacy for war is the 
 demonstration, absolute and impregnable, of 
 the purpose and expectation of peace. There 
 was an absence of establishments for manufac 
 ture or repair of weapons and of arsenals with 
 
of the Confederate States. 55 
 
 supplies of arms and munitions. The seceding 
 States sought only to erect a government of 
 their own. That it was the perversion of the 
 ends of the Union, and not the Union itself, 
 which had caused the regrettable separation, is 
 made clear by the adoption of the organic law 
 and the early legislation of the Confederate Con 
 gress, most of which was limited to putting upon 
 the statute books such laws of a general and 
 necessary character as had become imperative 
 by the withdrawal from the Union. On Febru 
 ary 12th, the Confederate Government took un 
 der its charge all existing questions between the 
 two governments relative to occupation of forts, 
 arsenals and other establishments, and the States 
 were requested to cede forts and other public 
 property of like character to the Confederate 
 Government. The very first enactment after 
 the adoption of the Provisional Constitution was 
 the continuance in force, until altered or re 
 pealed, of all United States laws not inconsistent 
 with the laws of the Confederate States, and 
 very soon afterwards, February 25th, the free 
 navigation of the Mississippi was declared and 
 
56 Civil History of the Government 
 
 established. All the expressions, all the acts, all 
 the laws of the Confederate Government show 
 an earnestness of desire and purpose to separate 
 peaceably from those with whom they could not 
 live on terms of equality and amity. 
 
 On Thursday, the llth, Mr. Stephens ac 
 cepted in open session the Vice-Presidency. Ex 
 cusing himself from any elaborate presentation 
 of his views, as it would be indelicate to antici 
 pate what the Chief might say, he suggested 
 several matters of general interest which re 
 quired attention. Among these were the trans 
 fer of customhouses from the jurisdiction of 
 the separate States to the Confederacy, the im 
 position of duties to meet present and expected 
 exigencies, and the adoption of a permanent 
 constitution, which, in fact, was one of the lead 
 ing objects of Congress. 
 
 One might travel far and see many thousands 
 without finding counterpart or parallel of Alex 
 ander H. Stephens. His life amid difficulties 
 and dangers appears like a miracle. Tall, spare, 
 not weighing over one hundred pounds, nearly 
 bloodless, with a feminine voice and appearance, 
 
of the Confederate States. 57 
 
 lie seemed incapable of physical labor or fatigue, 
 and during the war, when many fled from dis 
 tricts exposed to incursions from the enemy, he 
 was often jocularly spoken of as "a refugee from 
 the graveyard." Of parentage of moderate 
 means, he was educated up to graduation from 
 the University of Georgia by some generous and 
 sympathetic women, who discovered in him per 
 sonal virtues and mental precocity. Afterwards, 
 when he decided on a profession different from 
 what the ladies desired, he returned in full mea 
 sure, with interest, what had been advanced in 
 his behalf. His own generous nature and grate 
 ful sense for what had been done for him in pov 
 erty, made him through life a benefactor of 
 young men, and more than a hundred were aided 
 by him in academy and college. "Liberty Hall," 
 where he lived, was an open and hospitable 
 home, where thousands, rich and poor, distin 
 guished and obscure, were gladly entertained. 
 At the bar Stephens attained exceptional suc 
 cess. His legal knowledge, diligently acquired, 
 his disciplined faculties, his marvelous elo 
 quence, were the elements of his professional 
 
58 Civil History of the 
 
 Government 
 
 distinction. In the Legislature and in Congress 
 he found a fit and congenial arena for his tastes, 
 studies, ambition and patriotism. In all sta 
 tions, private and public, as Representative, 
 Vice-President and Governor, he discharged 
 his duties fearlessly, conscientiously and ably, 
 and died without a stain upon his reputation, 
 the idol of friends and constituents. As a stump 
 speaker he had few equals. His remarkable 
 physique, his penetrating voice, lucid statements, 
 ingenuous frankness, humor, satire, repartee, 
 eloquence, made him a great favorite. In the 
 House of Representatives in 1859 he achieved 
 a grand triumph when the admission of Oregon 
 as a State was under consideration. For many 
 reasons it was opposed, and the Southern mem 
 bers were unwilling to have the predominance 
 of the North increased by another State. When 
 Stephens arose, writing at desks ceased, news 
 papers were laid aside, and every person, on floor 
 or in gallery, gave undivided attention. In clear, 
 incisive style, by strong argumentation and earn 
 est appeal to rise above unjust sectionalism, he 
 pleaded for the new State. Drawing illustra- 
 
lie Confederate States. 59 
 
 tion from Ezekiel s vision of wheel within wheel 
 as typical of Federal and of State governments, 
 he closed with a burst of eloquence that thrilled 
 every hearer and made the admission no longer 
 one of doubt or hesitation. 
 
 Soon after his inauguration, the President 
 proceeded to the selection of his Cabinet, the 
 Congress having authorized the departments of 
 State, Treasury, War, Navy, Justice and the 
 Post Office. This executive duty, now so much 
 discussed, with suggestions of innumerable per 
 sons with varying degrees of fitness, causing 
 much sectional and personal disappointment and 
 ill feeling, was discharged with ease and to the 
 general satisfaction. The unanimity of the peo 
 ple, their unselfish devotion to the country s in 
 terests, the absence of cliques and personal rival 
 ries and party claims, enabled the President to 
 look only to capacity. The departments, in the 
 order mentioned, were filled by Robert Toombs, 
 of Georgia; C. G. Memminger, of South Caro 
 lina; L. P. Walker, of Alabama; S. E. Mallory, 
 of Florida; J. P. Benjamin, of Louisiana; and 
 John H. Reagan, of Texas. Mallory, Reagan, 
 
60 Civil History of the Government 
 
 and Benjamin remained as the President s ad 
 visers during the life of the Confederacy, the 
 first two in their original places, the last trans 
 ferred first to the War and afterwards to the 
 State departments. R. M. T. Hunter, of Vir 
 ginia, was for a time in the State Department; 
 G. W. Randolph and James A. Seddon, of Vir 
 ginia, and John C. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, 
 in the War; Trenholm, of South Carolina, in 
 the Treasury; Watts, of Alabama, and Davis, of 
 North Carolina, in the Department of Justice. 
 
 Texas seceded on February 14th, but her 
 delegates, not having arrived until after the 
 adoption of the Provisional Constitution and the 
 election of the President, were authorized by a 
 special vote of Congress to sign the Constitu 
 tion, and on March 2d they affixed their signa 
 tures to the instrument. 
 
 Much necessary legislation and departmental 
 work were accomplished to adapt the new gov 
 ernment to environments, to prevent inconveni 
 ence and friction from suspension of federal 
 laws, and to supply the necessary equipments. 
 Agents, among whom was Eaphael Semmes, af- 
 
of the Confederate States. 61 
 
 terwards the brilliant commander of the "Ala 
 bama," were sent abroad and to Northern cities 
 to make all possible preparation for the depre 
 cated contingency of war. 
 
62 Civil History of the Government 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CONFEDERATE STATES CONSTITUTION SIMILARITY TO 
 THAT OF THE UNITED STATES DIFFERENCES- 
 CHARACTER OF THE CHANGES EXECUTIVE RE 
 SPONSIBILITY INELIGIBILITY RESTRAINTS ON EX 
 PENDITURES AND ON EXECUTIVE PATRONAGE MEM 
 BERS OF CABINET IN CONGRESS " PROTECTION" 
 SLAVE TRADE WISDOM OF CHANGES IN THE LIGHT 
 OF PRESENT CONDITIONS. 
 
 The Provisional Constitution and Govern 
 ment were temporary and tentative expedients 
 to meet emergencies, and it was understood that 
 a permanent government should supersede the 
 temporary within a year or perhaps sooner. 
 Time was taken from necessary legislation to 
 devise, consider, discuss and adopt for State 
 ratification a permanent constitution. This was 
 a more serious matter than had been the tran 
 sient and ephemeral scheme under which the 
 Confederacy was bravely meeting heavy respon 
 sibilities. 
 
 In the deliberations were exhibited the 
 
of the Confederate States. 63 
 
 powers of the best minds, the learning of juris 
 consults, the legislative experience of the mem 
 bers, and the convictions of what the history 
 of the United States had shown to be weaknesses 
 or failures in the old system. On the day of 
 the election of President and Yice-President a 
 committee for framing a constitution for a per 
 manent government, composed of two members 
 from each State, was appointed, with R. Barn- 
 well Rhett, of South Carolina, as chairman. 
 This committee was in permanent session, and 
 made its report on the 26th of February. The 
 final unanimous vote on adoption was taken on 
 the llth of March. 
 
 The debates on the Constitution, frequent, 
 sparkling, earnest, learned, were conducted in 
 the best spirit, and there predominated the 
 one controlling desire to devise a system which 
 would stand the test of antagonism and re 
 sult in the welfare of the people and 
 the safeguarding of human rights. It cannot 
 be considered invidious, when, with due and 
 strong acknowledgment of general and special 
 merit, it is stated that Rhett, Cobb, Stephens, 
 
64 Civil History of the Government 
 
 Toombs, Hill, Smith, Walker, Campbell, Con 
 rad, Withers, were the men who did most to 
 wards suggesting and enforcing the changes 
 which were adopted. The difficulties were much 
 minimized by the attachment to the old Consti 
 tution, to which the South from the beginning 
 of the government had given a consistent, cor 
 dial and loyal support. The South had relied 
 on a faithful adherence to the Constitution as 
 the surest security of the rights of the States, 
 as the guardian of what she held most dear, and 
 as the only bond and assurance of the Union, 
 as framed by the fathers. 
 * The main features of this model were re- 
 adopted, and only such changes were made as 
 were explanatory of the well-known intent of 
 the authors, remedial of the evils which had pro 
 voked secession, purgative of the vicious inter 
 pretations of selfish majorities, and to secure the 
 accomplishment of the true ends of the Con 
 federacy. To build up with greater security 
 and permanence a constitutional confederacy 
 commanded the energies and patriotism of a 
 body of men than whom Mr. Stephens, with his 
 
of the Confederate States. 65 
 
 large experience, said lie had never associated 
 with an abler. "They were men of substance, 
 of solid character, of moral worth, versed in the 
 principles and practice of government, and some 
 of them amongst the first men of the continent." 
 Reformation of the Union was the cardinal ob- | 
 ject. Many of the changes were verbal, intro- I 
 duced for clearness, to prevent ambiguity and 
 to settle controversy. The work of their hands 
 refutes the common charges of unholy ambition, 
 conspiracy, treason, preference for a monarchy; 
 and unprejudiced critics should accept it as a 
 most trustworthy exposition of the opinions and 
 principles of those who did it. The frame 
 work of government, adopted unanimously by 
 the Congress on March llth, and ratified 
 promptly by the seceding States, asserted the 
 derivative character of the Confederacy, the 
 equality and sovereignty of the States, the limi 
 tations upon the powers of the General Govern 
 ment, and devised such restrictions as to make 
 almost impossible future aggressions and usur 
 pations. 
 
 These specific enumerations and reserva- 
 
66 Civil History of the Government 
 
 tions were made necessary by the action of 
 the Federal Executive and Legislature, and have 
 been justified by the claims put forth by writers 
 on constitutional law. A well-known writer on 
 "Constitutional and Political History" ventures 
 on the singular statement that the States had 
 no existence anterior to the formation of the 
 Constitution, apparently heedless or ignorant of 
 the fact that the Declaration of Independence 
 recognizes their sovereignty and independence, 
 and that treaties with France, the Netherlands 
 and Sweden during the Revolution, and with 
 Great Britain at the close of that war, enume 
 rated the States by name and treated with them 
 as such. 
 
 As so much misapprehension and misrepre 
 sentation becloud the American mind in refer 
 ence to the Confederate Constitution, it may 
 be well to present anew some of the more im 
 portant changes. When such men as Edward 
 Everett and Motley affirm that in the Constitu 
 tion of the United States the States are not 
 named, one can hardly be astonished at the 
 gross ignorance of the Confederate Constitution. 
 
of the Confederate States. 67 
 
 In the appendix to this volume the two constitu 
 tions have been published in parallel columns, 
 with changes in italics, so that at a single glance 
 the similarities and differences may be seen. 
 In " The Southern States of the American 
 Union," pages 191-213, a full analysis and com 
 parison of the two instruments are made. 
 
 The convention of 1Y8Y submitted for the 
 ratification of the States the articles of union 
 known as the Constitution. The parties to 
 which this Constitution was submitted were the 
 several sovereign States, with undoubted power 
 to accept or reject. In the event of the favor 
 able action of nine of the States, the compact 
 was to be binding over those concurring, and the 
 Federal Government, as the common agent, was 
 to be invested with the delegated powers. North 
 Carolina and Khode Island declined for a time 
 to accede, and until after the inauguration of 
 Washington continued in the exercise of func 
 tions as separate, independent, sovereign na 
 tions, and no one had the temerity to propose 
 their coercion into the Union. 
 
 By the Constitution, as ratified and made 
 
68 Civil History of the Government 
 
 " the supreme law of the land," certain duties 
 were recognized as obligatory on the States, and 
 the exercise of certain powers was restrained. 
 This necessarily implied the continued exist 
 ence of the States, as retaining, or reserving 
 as sovereigns, all the powers and rights which 
 they had not prohibited to themselves nor 
 delegated to the United States. The Federal 
 Union became a government with defined 
 objects and powers, limited to the express 
 words of the grant, or what was a necessary im 
 plication. This determination left the residuary 
 mass of powers in the hands of the States, or 
 the people thereof, and rendered unnecessary 
 any specifications of what was reserved. There 
 are no vagrant powers, no "derelicts," subjects 
 of wind and wave, seeking a resting place. 
 
 In the Union, as creatures of the Constitution, 
 are three divisions of powers : 
 
 (a) A grant to the Federal Government. 
 
 (b) Prohibitions on the exercise of certain 
 powers by the Federal Government, by the 
 States, or by both these agencies, and 
 
 (c) The retention of the remaining mass of 
 
of the Confederate States. 69 
 
 power in the States, or in the people of the 
 States. 
 
 Freeman says: "The American Constitution, 
 with its manifest defects, still remains one of 
 the most abiding monuments of human wisdom, 
 and it has received a tribute to its general excel 
 lence, such as no other political system was ever 
 honored with." The copying by the Confede 
 rate States of this model to which the English 
 historian refers, was none the less an honoring 
 tribute, but the more because the contention was 
 that the Constitution had not been observed, 
 and that its guaranties and provisions had been 
 disregarded for sectional and selfish purposes. 
 
 The seceding States were not dissatisfied with 
 the Constitution, but with its administration, 
 and their avowed and manifest purpose was to 
 restore its integrity and secure in the future its \ 
 faithful observance. The permanent Constitu 
 tion was framed on the State Rights theory, to 
 take from a majority in Congress unlimited con 
 trol, and to give effective assurances of purity 
 and economy in all national legislation. A care 
 ful examination of its features will demonstrate 
 
70 Civil History of the Government 
 
 that the seceding States were deeply attached 
 to the plan and principles of the old Constitu 
 tion, which is so often eulogized as the palladium 
 of American liberties. The wisdom and conser 
 vatism of the framers of the new Constitution 
 will be amply vindicated by a consideration of 
 the reforms which were attempted. 
 
 No subject proved more perplexing than the 
 mode of electing a President. Fortunately, 
 there have been preserved for our instruction 
 records of the proceedings of the Constitution 
 of 1787, so faithfully made by Madison and 
 others. The members of that remarkable body 
 of patriots seem to have had no clear convic 
 tions as to the best method of choosing an 
 executive. They were harassed by fears of a 
 monarchy. The election by Congress came near 
 adoption. Various other plans found partial 
 favor. The plan ultimately incorporated into 
 the Constitution found, late in the session, 
 strange to say, a nearly unanimous vote. This 
 doubtless proceeded, in a spirit of compromise 
 and as a tentative plan, from the contrariety of 
 views which had been expressed, and from the 
 
of the Confederate States. 71 
 
 apparent impossibility of harmonious agree 
 ment. 
 
 The experience of the convention of IT 8 7 
 found repetition in that of 1861. No proposed 
 change of the organic law, which was adhered 
 to as a model, excited more discussion than what 
 was suggested in reference to the election of a 
 President. What is now in force in the United 
 States had few, if any, friends. The fathers pro 
 vided an electoral college, each State choosing 
 as many electors as it has representatives in Con 
 gress, and it was hoped that these electors would 
 be an independent reality, exercising an un 
 biased judgment, in selecting the best man with 
 an eye single to the public interest. They were 
 expected to stand between the office and the 
 people, to study the fitness of men and select 
 according to fitness. While the letter of the 
 law remains, the intent has been entirely frus 
 trated, as the intermediate electors have no in 
 dependent opinions and are pledged agents to 
 vote for a chosen candidate on a prescribed 
 " platform." 
 
 What was meant as a check, a restraint, 
 
72 Civil History of the Government 
 
 upon party control and excess, has become 
 its most efficient instrument. An elector, 
 disregarding the will of his party, as expressed 
 in the national caucus, would be ostracised as a 
 traitor. Practically dispensing with the inter 
 mediary agency and exalting power and influ 
 ence of a national caucus have made a presi 
 dential election the main object of political man 
 agement, absorbed public opinion, and domi 
 nated all other elections from that for a con 
 stable to those for governors or senators. The 
 election is now a gigantic party struggle, never 
 ceasing, and determines in its result the policy 
 of the administration and the distribution of 
 offices. Hence, party organization is compact 
 and despotic, heartless and resistless; is con 
 trolled by manipulations of a few bosses; a place 
 as delegate in a nominating caucus is greedily 
 sought for; a campaign fund, aggregating mil 
 lions of dollars, spent without audit or account 
 ing of any kind, is secured by assessments or 
 voluntary contributions, to be reimbursed by 
 offices, contracts, appropriations, or legislative 
 discriminations; and every neighborhood, from 
 
of the Confederate States. 73 
 
 the Atlantic to the Pacific, is stirred to its 
 depths by these quadrennial agitations. 
 
 Mr. Teller, in the United States Senate, 
 June 1, 1900, " felt that he was justified in 
 saying that the tactics of 1898 consisted in 
 levying assessments upon any manufacturing 
 institution in the country, and that it was noto 
 rious that the national banks were assessed for 
 that purpose." Machine politics control nomi 
 nations. Availability is more sought after than 
 merit. In a party caucus everything is "cut and 
 dried" in advance the presiding oificers, the 
 speakers, and the platform. "Bosses" are de 
 ferred to in all things. 
 
 To reform a system essentially vicious com 
 manded serious effort, and numerous proposals 
 were debated and referred and voted upon. 
 While all favored some change, it was not found 
 possible to agree upon any scheme which was 
 free from objection. The condemned mode was 
 retained with the hope that some of the evils 
 of the old system might be remedied. I remem 
 ber well that the reluctant acquiescence in the 
 retention of what none favored was in the strong 
 
74 Civil History of the Government 
 
 hope that what was temporary might be adjusted 
 under more favorable conditions. Hence, in 
 the Executive Department were some radical 
 changes, made so as not to deprive the country 
 too soon of the experience, ability and services 
 of the President just when they were most 
 needed. 
 
 The tenure of the office was fixed at six years, 
 and the President was made ineligible for a 
 second term. President Hayes, after expiration 
 of his term of office, being asked to suggest 
 needed changes in the Constitution, mentioned 
 only these two. All the great muniments of 
 freedom, wrung from the grasp of tyrants, have 
 been protests against the arbitrary exercise of 
 executive power. By a wise jealousy of execu 
 tive usurpation, the people have sought protec 
 tion in a written constitution and in specific 
 guarantees. As under our system, the Presi 
 dent is practically an appointee of irresponsible 
 bodies of men, and the triumph of a party is of 
 more consequence than the public welfare, and 
 the patronage of a President is used as spoils of 
 office for rewarding partisans or silencing free 
 
of the Confederate States. 75 
 
 thought, and the halls of legislation have become 
 arenas for personal disputes and disgraceful 
 strifes, it was deemed wise to make these great 
 changes. 
 
 "When the Chief Magistrate is a candidate for 
 a second term, he is tempted to use the immense 
 patronage and influence of his high office to 
 secure a renomination and success at the polls. 
 Nearly everything is made to bend to that one 
 ambition. The weaker or more pliable the Presi 
 dent is the greater the possibilities of evil. He 
 may forget the good of the country in his can 
 didacy and yield to persuasions or motives which 
 may make him the instrument of those who are 
 ambitious, or designing, or self-seeking. 
 
 Every one familiar with Federal legislation 
 knows how common it is to load bills with ob 
 jectionable items. "Log-rolling" has become so 
 frequent as to have assumed a distinct legisla 
 tive, or political meaning. Combinations of in 
 terested persons and interests succeed in fasten 
 ing upon the treasury bad schemes which 
 singly could not pass either house of Congress. 
 Upon the Confederate Executive was devolved 
 
76 Civil History of the Government 
 
 largely the responsibility of estimating and ask 
 ing for appropriations with a view to an econom 
 ical administration and to a better guardianship 
 of the treasury. 
 
 Unless asked and estimated for by the heads 
 of the departments through the President, 
 Congress could not make an appropriation, ex 
 cept by a vote of two-thirds of both houses, 
 taken by yeas and nays. For its own expenses 
 and certain judicially determined claims this 
 restriction did not apply. Further to secure the 
 people against extravagant, corrupt and ille 
 gitimate expenditures, the President was em 
 powered to veto particular clauses in an appro 
 priation bill and to approve others. By several 
 devices, power and responsibility were lodged 
 in the same hands. The initiative in disbursing 
 revenues was placed, in a large degree, in the 
 hands of the President, who, with his official 
 advisers, became a kind of legislative commit 
 tee, as in the House of Commons, to watch re 
 ceipts and expenditures and make broad sug 
 gestions for raising necessary revenue or lessen- 
 
of the Confederate States. 77 
 
 ing taxation. Every law must relate to but one 
 subject, which must be expressed in the title. 
 
 The treasury was required to publish at stated 
 intervals its receipts and disbursements by 
 items. These precautionary measures, with 
 others to be mentioned, limiting the power and 
 objects of taxation, were in accordance with the 
 history of public men at the South. In his 
 "Twenty Years in Congress" Elaine says : "The 
 Southern leaders were especially careful of the 
 public money. They believed in an economical 
 government, and throughout the long period of 
 their domination they guarded the treasury with 
 rigid and increasing vigilance against every at 
 tempt at extravagance and every form of cor 
 ruption." 
 
 As corroborative of this just compliment, 
 an anecdote may be related of the Hon. Elihu 
 B. Washburne, long a distinguished member 
 of Congress and our most excellent Minister 
 to France during the Franco-German war. In 
 the autumn of 1865, I called on President John 
 son to obtain a pardon. -He promptly granted 
 my request. Having some Hours of leisure be- 
 
T8 Civil History of the Government 
 
 fore the departure of the Southern train, I vis 
 ited the Capitol. Discovering from the gallery 
 where Mr. Washburne was sitting, I descended 
 and sent him my card. He came out immedi 
 ately and gave me a most cordial reception, as 
 our relations before the war as fellow-members 
 were very friendly. After some minutes pleas 
 ant interchange of civilities and opinions, on ex 
 tending my hand to take leave, he begged me to 
 remain, as he desired much conversation in rela 
 tion to the condition of affairs at the South. 
 Soon I proposed, a second time, not to detain 
 him from his duties, and he most kindly ex 
 pressed a desire to do anything for me he could. 
 Holding my hand, he said, with warmth: "I 
 wish you fellows were back here again." "That 
 is a singular wish," I responded, "after the last 
 four years experiences." "Yes," he said, "you 
 gave us a great deal of trouble, but the fact is, 
 you wouldn t steal." 
 
 No more demoralizing policy of our govern 
 ment has been developed than that which has 
 grown out of Executive patronage. Within the 
 appointing power of the President are over one 
 
of the Confederate States. 7$ 
 
 hundred and seventy thousand officers, and the 
 power of removal, a supposed incident of ap 
 pointment, has enlarged Executive influence and 
 created an evil which the efforts of the wisest 
 and best have so far been unable to arrest or 
 eradicate. Civil service reform, incorporated 
 into creeds of parties, and with much gush re 
 affirmed in letters and speeches of candidates, 
 has proved to be a jugglery of words, a vain de 
 lusion and a snare. The spoils system cannot 
 be exaggerated in its baleful influence. It de 
 bauches the national conscience, lowers the 
 standard of public morals, destroys the idea that 
 public office is a public trust, and makes it a 
 means of private aggrandizement, an object of 
 prey and booty for the individual office-holder 
 and for a party. Demoralizing;, corrupting ele 
 ments are introduced into political life. 
 
 Continuance in office is no longer dependent 
 on fidelity to duty. Men are put in official posi 
 tion, Federal, State, municipal, as a reward for 
 partisan service, or with the full expectation that 
 favors will be done; and these services have not 
 the remotest relation to official duties. Federal 
 
80 Civil History of the Government 
 
 officers are active in nominations, in campaigns, 
 in assessments, in partisan activities, in elec 
 tions. "Workers must be rewarded and the emol 
 uments of office are the corruption fund for the 
 payment. It is an "open secret" that places are 
 apportioned among senators and representatives, 
 who thus usurp the functions of a President. 
 The power and responsibility of a President are 
 surrendered, at dictation or for a purpose, to 
 congressional delegations. Pressure of political 
 influence for patronage sets aside merit and 
 qualification. Time and talent due to public 
 duties are given to spoils. 
 
 In the Confederate Constitution an attempt 
 was made to restrict Executive power. Officers 
 of the Cabinet, or those engaged in the diplo 
 matic service, could be removed by the Presi 
 dent at his discretion, but in all other cases re 
 moval from office could be made only for cause, 
 and that cause was to be reported to the Senate. 
 No person nominated for civil office and rejected 
 by the Senate could be reappointed in the inter 
 vals of the session of Congress. 
 
 One of the anomalies of the British Govern- 
 
of the Confederate States. SI 
 
 ment is that while it has no written constitu 
 tion, there has grown up an unwritten or con 
 ventional constitution. There may be no trace 
 of this in any page of the written law, but it is 
 universally accepted and is as authoritative as 
 the written law itself. One of the most re^ 
 markable facts in English polity is the exemp 
 tion of the Crown from all personal or political 
 responsibility, and instead thereof there is the 
 responsibility of the ministry. Their recom 
 mendations and acts can be discussed in Parlia 
 ment and a vote of disapproval or censure may 
 result in change of the ministry or the govern 
 ment. As the government is parliamentary, and 
 a large portion of the power is practically trans 
 ferred to a cabinet or ministry, each one must 
 be a member of Parliament and have the right 
 of initiative, even of chief management, of legis 
 lation, and to appear and be heard in defense or 
 otherwise. 
 
 Any one familiar with public life in Washing 
 ton knows that, under some administrations, 
 there has been an injurious lack of sympathizing 
 intercourse between the Executive and Legisla- 
 
82 Civil History of the Government 
 
 tive departments, and especially between mem 
 bers of the Cabinet and committees of Congress, 
 concerned in matters of mutual interest. The 
 absence of facility of communication often 
 proves a bar to the easy and better working of 
 the government. Hence, as far as the wide dif 
 ference between a presidential and a cabinet gov 
 ernment would allow, there was in the Confed 
 erate Government an initiation in modified form 
 of an essential feature of the British Constitu 
 tion, so far as to allow the President to be 
 heard on the floor of the two houses through his 
 constitutional advisers. As a member of a cabi 
 net could not be a member of Congress, the body 
 was authorized "by law to 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 matters appertaining 
 to his department." The provision respecting 
 the appropriation of money upon estimates from 
 the Executive, thus making him responsible 
 to the popular representative body for an eco 
 nomical administration, combined with other 
 advantages which the English system enjoys, 
 
of the Confederate States. 83 
 
 caused the adoption of this experiment. The 
 necessary legislation for this judicious reform 
 was never put into execution, but the restricted 
 privilege worked well while it lasted, and the 
 occasional appearance of Cabinet officers on the 
 floor of Congress and participation in debates 
 worked beneficially and showed the importance 
 of enlarging the privilege. 
 
 Certain legislative restrictions have been men 
 tioned in connection with the Executive. A 
 plethoric treasury is a source of corruption, of 
 legislative favoritism, of unrepublican paternal 
 ism, and with some of our wisest statesmen it 
 has been a cardinal maxim to keep the govern 
 ment poor. Under the vague clause of "the 
 general welfare," the Government of the United 
 States has been guilty of using assumed powers 
 for personal and party and sectional advantage, 
 and the unjust discriminations have aroused bit 
 terest discontent and hostility. Subsidies, boun 
 ties, partnerships with corporations, trusts, "vast 
 plutocratic combinations of incorporated 
 wealth," fostering favored branches of industry, 
 purchase of seats in nominating caucuses, labor 
 
84 Civil History of the Government 
 
 troubles, communism, anarchy, are all, more or 
 less, traceable to tlie collection and disbursement 
 of taxes by tlie General Government. 
 
 As these injustices and discriminations were 
 among the chief causes of Southern discontent, 
 the Constitution forbade Congress to levy and 
 collect taxes, duties, imports and excises, except 
 for discharging the debts and carrying on the 
 government; and from granting from the treas 
 ury bounties or extra compensation to employees 
 or contractors ; and from promoting or fostering 
 any branch of industry. Closely connected with 
 this was the establishment of courts for the ad 
 judication of claims, the power of Congress over 
 which was strictly limited. 
 
 From the frugality and economy of the 
 better days of the republic, the government, 
 by extravagant expenditures, has lapsed into 
 " billion-dollar Congresses," and States, cor 
 porations and individuals habitually look to 
 a paternal government for protection and 
 support. It is easy to see how such a system 
 grows and that dependents are ready in return 
 for class legislation to be " bled " to any extent 
 
of the Confederate States. 85 
 
 "bosses" may require. Favored corporations 
 and businesses, as a mere investment, can give 
 prodigally for the success of a party, on the as 
 sumption that the partnership with, or favor or 
 "protection" of, the government would bring 
 an early and adequate remuneration for the out 
 lay. However wide may be the differences with 
 administration or party on questions of great 
 moment, they are subordinated to the personal 
 benefit of "protection." 
 
 The precautions against governmental wrongs 
 were justified by the history of all governments. 
 Error and falsehood and wrong and corruption 
 die slow deaths when they have fastened them 
 selves upon and draw vitality from govern 
 ments. We have copious and harmful illustra 
 tions of this in the abuses which are inseparable 
 from an alliance of Church and State. Abuses 
 are more tenacious of life and prejudicial to the 
 people when they are intertwined with private 
 interests. Government partnership, direct or 
 by legislative fostering, in business has become 
 apparently an incurable evil in our Federal and 
 municipal governments. The General Govern- 
 
86 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ment is habitually impeded by private cupidity. 
 The welfare of the country and great constitu 
 tional and economic principles are habitually 
 and successfully resisted when they stand in the 
 way of the monopoly of a few favored trades. 
 The shrines of Diana must be sold if those who 
 make them belong to the "protected" classes. 
 
 When protection of a favored interest is in 
 volved in an election, all other issues sink into 
 insignificance. Senator Teller has been already 
 quoted as saying that the tactics of one of the 
 parties in 1896 consisted in levying assessments 
 upon manufacturing institutions. On another 
 occasion he publicly said that the Sherman Sil 
 ver Purchase Act of 1890 was the result of an 
 agreement with certain silver senators as an in 
 ducement to them to support the McKinley 
 tariff.* Tariff reform seems to be one of the 
 impossibilities under our present system of gov 
 ernment. Plutocracy and bossism have become 
 too powerful to leave any hope of a scientific 
 and just system of tariff revenue. Selfish ag- 
 
 * See my address at Chicago, 4th July, 1898, on 
 Calhoun, pages 26, 27. 
 
of the Confederate States. 87 
 
 grandizement, controlling press and parties, puts 
 contempt on reformers, and through a resistless 
 political organization and the corrupting spoils 
 system pushes far into the future the prospect 
 of an enlightened fiscal policy. 
 
 Facilities granted in one place give preferen 
 tial advantages and consequent disadvantages. 
 The Confederate Congress was therefore denied 
 the right to make appropriations for any inter 
 nal improvement, even to facilitate commerce, 
 except for the purpose of furnishing lights, bea 
 cons, buoys and other aids to navigation upon 
 the coasts and the improvement of harbors and 
 removing of obstructions in river navigation; 
 and the costs and expenses of even these objects 
 must be paid by duties on the navigation facili 
 tated. A State was, however, allowed, under 
 certain conditions, to accomplish the work 
 within her borders by levying a duty on the 
 sea-going tonnage participating in the trade of 
 the river or harbor improved. Any two or 
 more States were authorized to enter into com 
 pacts with one another for the improvement of 
 
88 Civil History of the Government 
 
 the navigation of rivers flowing between or 
 through them. 
 
 The franking privilege is greatly abused, and 
 during a presidential campaign both parties send 
 free tons of pamphlets under the flimsy and de 
 ceptive pretense that they are public documents. 
 The printing and carrying of much trash entails 
 a heavy burden and creates an annual deficit in 
 the department. To correct such and other 
 abuses, the Constitution provided that after the 
 1st of March, 1863, the expenses of the Post 
 Office Department should be paid out of its own 
 revenues. 
 
 Changes were made in reference to amend 
 ments of the Constitution; to admission of new 
 States, a two-thirds vote of each State being 
 required, the Senate voting by States; to bank 
 ruptcy laws, jurisdiction of suits between citi 
 zens of different States being withheld; to 
 citizenship, Federal courts and territories; to 
 correct abuses and give greater clearness. To 
 prevent alien suffrage, voters were required to 
 be citizens, and senators were to be chosen at 
 
of the Confederate States. 89 
 
 the session next immediately preceding the 
 beginning of the term of service. 
 
 What was provided for the protection of prop 
 erty in slaves is omitted as of no practical value, 
 as African slavery has fortunately ceased to 
 exist. It is almost the only instance of want of 
 foresight and courage in the authors of the 
 Federal Constitution that slavery was thrust as 
 far as possible out of sight and a euphemistic 
 paraphrase avoided the frank naming of what 
 portended future trouble. The timidity was 
 long afterwards one of the causes, or the occa 
 sion, which brought forth bitter fruit in a ter 
 rible war. Mention of the slave trade is made 
 because on that subject there has been a per 
 sistent misrepresentation of the action of the 
 Confederacy and of Southern sentiment. A 
 modern writer of high character and of much 
 ability affirms that "the reopening of the slave 
 trade was a recognized feature of the scheme of 
 the leaders of the Confederacy." What was in 
 the minds of the leaders, " unavowed and as yet 
 carefully disavowed," I have no means of know 
 ing any more than I have knowledge of the pur- 
 
90 Civil History of the Government 
 
 pose or acts of "the large number of slavers for 
 the Cuban slave trade," fitted out in New York 
 and suffered to depart unmolested.* 
 
 Two grossly absurd and wicked attempts were 
 made by desperate and lawless adventurers in 
 1859 or 1860 to bring some Africans into 
 Southern ports or land them on the coast. These 
 violations of the law had no sympathy from 
 Southern people, and were regarded as at least 
 semi-piratical. 
 
 Speaking for the Confederate Congress, I 
 wish to testify in the most explicit manner that 
 no proposition was made in that body to open or 
 connive at the slave trade, nor did a single mem 
 ber favor such an infamous scheme. The con 
 vention of Alabama, January 28, 1861, adopted, 
 Mr. Yancey voting for it, this resolution : "That 
 it is the will of the people of Alabama that the 
 deputies to the Southern Convention be, and 
 they are hereby, instructed to insist on the en 
 actment by said convention of such restrictions 
 as will effectually prevent the reopening of the 
 
 * 2 Rhodes History of the U. S., 369. 
 
of the Confederate States. 91 
 
 African slave trade." The Constitution for the 
 provisional government reads: "The importa 
 tion of African negroes from any foreign coun 
 try other than the slave-holding States of the 
 United States is hereby forbidden, and Congress 
 is required to pass such laws as shall effectually 
 prevent the same." Section 9, Article I., of the 
 permanent Constitution reenacts almost in 
 ipsissimis verbis the same prohibition. "Ne 
 groes of the African race" is used for "African 
 negroes" and "or territories" is inserted after 
 "United States." These articles were adopted 
 without a dissenting voice. The Confederate 
 Government, in organic law, by most positive 
 prohibitions and injunctions, left no room to 
 question its opposition to the slave trade.* 
 
 Mr. Stephens said that the Constitution was 
 not only a monument of the wisdom, forecast 
 and statesmanship of those who constructed it, 
 but an everlasting refutation of the charges 
 
 * The best exposition of the Confederate Constitu 
 tion with which I am familiar is the address of Hon. 
 R. H. Smith, made to his constituents in Mobile, Ala., " 
 on 30th March, 1861. 
 
92 Civil History of the Government 
 
 which have been brought against the framers 
 "as conspirators overthrowing the Constitution 
 of the United States_and erecting a great slavery 
 oligarchy." Armies sometimes crush liberty, 
 but they cannot conquer ideas. The prejudiced 
 views of the vital principles of the Confederate 
 Government blind many to what is worthy of 
 adoption and prevent all the beneficial interest 
 that might be gained from the knowledge of the 
 theories and views of those who are condemned 
 without examination. In the instrument pre 
 judged there is not a single ambiguous clause, 
 not a novel application of an old principle, not a 
 possible encroachment upon the right of a 
 Northern State. 
 
 Every possible infringement upon popular 
 liberty, or upon State rights, every oppres 
 sive or sectional use of the taxing power, was 
 carefully guarded against, and civil service re 
 form was made easy and practicable. Stubborn 
 and corrupting controversies about tariffs, post 
 office, improvement of rivers and harbors, sub 
 sidies, extra pay, were avoided. The taxing 
 power was placed under salutary restrictions. 
 
of the Confederate Slates. 93 
 
 Responsibility was more clearly fixed. Money 
 in the treasury was protected against purchas 
 able majorities and wicked combinations. Ade 
 quate powers for a frugal and just administra 
 tion were granted to the General Government. 
 The States maintained their autonomy, and were 
 not reduced to petty corporations, or counties, 
 or dependencies. 
 
 The study of the Confederate Constitution 
 would be useful at present, as there never was 
 a time when the need of restrictions and guaran 
 tees against irresponsible power was more ur 
 gent. The public mind has been schooled against 
 any assertion of State rights or of constitutional 
 limitations, and taught to look with aver 
 sion and ridicule upon any serious attempt to 
 set up the ancient landmarks. The abeyance 
 of State authority, reliance in actions and opin 
 ions upon Federal protection and aid, the vast 
 accumulation of power and influence at "Wash 
 ington, the supposed necessary supremacy of 
 the Central Government, have caused a wide 
 departure from the theory and principles of the 
 fathers. It is not easy to think of the present 
 
94 Civil History of the Government 
 
 government as being the same simple, frugal, 
 limited, constitutional government of the earlier 
 and better days of the republic. In addition to 
 old and familiar questions we have new ones of 
 fearful import. Expansion, militarism, coloniz 
 ing, lifting up semi-savages, maintaining a posi 
 tion of influence among the great powers of the 
 world, extension of laws and administration 
 without constitutional grants and inhibitions 
 over territory and people acquired by purchase 
 and conquest and treaty, are of such vast con 
 cern and so unprecedented as to require the best 
 minds of the country and the highest wisdom 
 and integrity.* Unless we are safeguarded by 
 the best precedents and the purest statesman 
 ship, we shall drift entirely away from the hopes 
 
 * The unification of Italy received the enthusiastic 
 approbation of all who condemned foreign oppres 
 sion and favored Cavour s "free Church in a free 
 State," hut expansion and ambition to be classed 
 among the Great Powers have saddled her with a 
 burdensome army and navy, and hence oppressive 
 taxation and a heavy debt are most crying evils. 
 Corruption, taxes, bankruptcy, are insuperable 
 grievances, also, in Spain, Portugal and Greece. 
 
of the Confederate States. 95 
 
 and purposes of our ancestors. * "With the Con 
 stitution as it was construed by Marshall, 
 Taney, Woodbury, Nelson, with a government 
 administered by such men as Washington, Jef 
 ferson, Madison, Polk; with such statesmen as 
 Calhoun, Clay, Wright, Wythe, our country 
 could cover North America without sacrifice of 
 personal liberty, without peril to representative 
 institutions, and with unbounded prosperity. It 
 was of "our confederacy " thus administered 
 that Mr. Jefferson wrote to Mr. Madison in 
 1809: "I am persuaded no constitution was ever 
 before so well calculated as ours for extensive 
 empire and self-government."t 
 
 *Sir G. Cornwall Lewis, whom Bagehot considered 
 the wisest English statesman of this century, in his 
 Essay on Government of Dependencies, uses this lan 
 guage: "We may reckon amongst the disadvantages 
 arising to the dominant country from the possession 
 of dependencies that it tends to generate or extend a 
 system of official patronage in the dominant country, 
 and thus to lower the standard of its political moral 
 ity." 
 
 tChapter XIII. of my " Southern States of the Ameri 
 can Union." 
 
96 Civil History of the Government 
 
 CHAPTEK IV. 
 
 BOEDER STATES PEACE CONGRESS LINCOLN S AD 
 MINISTRATION JOINING THE CONFEDERACY CON 
 TRIBUTIONS REMOVAL TO RICHMOND. 
 
 While the border States, by blood, affinity, 
 political agreement, and the ownership of slave 
 property, were in full sympathy with the se 
 ceded States, there was a strong Union senti 
 ment among them, a reluctance to adopt ex 
 treme remedies, and a disposition to bear the 
 ills they had rather than to fly to the unknown. 
 Traditions, material interests, unwillingness to 
 be buffers betwixt hostile communities, and con 
 servatism restrained them from affiliating with 
 the Southern States or sharing their fate. The 
 commonest prudence made it important for the 
 North to strengthen the Union sentiment and 
 retain these States in the existing partnership. 
 The policy to divide and conquer, produce dis 
 sension, create distrust among the States drawn 
 by natural ties into fellowship, was obvious and 
 was adroitly pursued. It was feared that an 
 
of the Confederate States. 97 
 
 attempt to coerce the seceding States into sub 
 mission to Federal authority would arouse the 
 border States to resistance and identification 
 with the government at Montgomery. This de 
 sire to prevent the strengthening of the Con 
 federacy, and some faint notions of the right of 
 a State to secede, induced some prominent per 
 sons to express a wish that the wayward sisters 
 might be allowed to depart in peace. It has been 
 asserted that Greeley, Sumner, and Chase were 
 willing to permit "the Southern States to go out 
 with their slavery if they so desired it." 
 
 Seward, in official papers and private talk, re 
 pudiated the right, and even the wish, to use an 
 armed force in subjugating the Southern States 
 against the will of a majority of the people, and 
 declared that the President "willingly" accepted 
 as true the cardinal dogma that the Federal Gov 
 ernment could not reduce them to obedience by 
 conquest. He may have been led to this opinion 
 by the belief that the seceding States would 
 soon "find their position untenable, and so be 
 forced ignominiously back into the Union." His 
 13 
 
98 Civil History of the Government 
 
 was a temporizing policy ; lie was playing a sub 
 tle game for delay, and he was misled by an 
 error as to the transient nature, the "passing 
 mania/ of the secession feeling at the South. 
 In March, 1861, he told Dr. Russell, of the 
 London Times, that if a majority of the people 
 in the seceded States really desired secession 
 he would let them have it, but he could not be 
 lieve in anything so monstrous. "In reality, 
 those dwelling in the great region, afterwards 
 known as the Confederate States, were of one 
 mind." As early as May, 1861, there was no 
 Union sentiment, or, as Russell wrote to the 
 Times, while visiting the Confederacy, "as 
 suredly Mr. Seward cannot know anything of 
 the South or he would not be so confident that 
 all would blow over. 77 "Because of this hallu 
 cination, Seward was prepared to precipitate a 
 general war, confident that the United States 
 would emerge from it victorious and more than 
 ever consolidated. 7 The mad scheme, not "con 
 sistent with sanity of judgment, 77 as a substi 
 tute for the domestic war, was "two or more" 
 
of the Confederate States. 99 
 
 foreign wars, which would "revolt the good men 
 of the South."* 
 
 "When Congress assembled in Washington in 
 December, 1860, it devoted itself ostensibly to 
 measures of compromise and pacification. To 
 committees of thirteen in the Senate and thirty- 
 three in the House were entrusted proposals 
 of conciliation and adjustment to extricate the 
 country from the danger with which it was men 
 aced. However, it was soon manifest that the 
 Northern members were manoeuvering for de 
 lay, in order to paralyze and divide the South 
 and save the border States from acting with 
 their more precipitate sisters. The Crittenden 
 compromise was rejected rather contemptuously, 
 and the Senate resolved that the Constitution, 
 as it was, was ample for the preservation of the 
 Union and needed to be obeyed rather than 
 amended. On January 22d, the two senators 
 and eight of the representatives from Virginia 
 issued an address to the people, stating the hope 
 lessness of any action on the part of Congress, 
 
 * Adams Adams, pages 150, 151, 185, 189, 196. 
 
100 Civil History of the Government 
 
 or of the Northern States, looking to a proper 
 settlement of pending issues, and expressing the 
 solemn conviction that prompt and decided ac 
 tion in convention would afford the surest means 
 of averting an impending civil war and preserv 
 ing the hope of reconstructing a union already 
 dissolved. A peace conference was invited by 
 Virginia to assemble in Washington in Febru 
 ary for the purpose of devising a plan of pacifi 
 cation on terms of honorable adjustment and of 
 preventing the calamity of war or disunion, and 
 a very able deputation was sent. Twenty 
 States five Southern responded to the call, 
 and deliberated several weeks. The Crittenden 
 resolutions, with some modifications, were sub 
 mitted by Virginia as an acceptable basis of 
 adjustment and indignantly rejected. A plan, 
 which was adopted, was submitted to Congress 
 and failed to secure its approval. The Speaker 
 of the House was not allowed even to present 
 certain proposed amendments to the Constitu 
 tion, and so the peace conference was a failure. 
 The convention in Virginia, so reluctant to take 
 extreme steps, tendered to Senator Crittenden, 
 
of the Confederate States. 101 
 
 by a unanimous vote, the thanks of the people 
 of the State for his able and patriotic efforts "to 
 bring about a just and honorable adjustment of 
 our national difficulties." On February 22d 
 Senator Vance declined to participate in the 
 inauguration ceremonies in honor of Mr. Lin 
 coln, who "comes with threats of war and sub 
 jugation against my nation on his lips." 
 
 After Mr. Lincoln delivered his inaugural, 
 the Virginia convention, then in session, sent a 
 committee to wait on him and to learn what 
 policy he intended to pursue toward the seceding 
 States. His reply was : "Not having as yet seen 
 occasion to change, it is now my purpose to pur 
 sue the course marked out in the inaugural." 
 When the convention was deliberating in secret 
 session on the result of the mission to the Presi 
 dent, he issued a proclamation calling forth the 
 militia of the several States to the number of 
 seventy-five thousand for the purpose of coer 
 cion. Governor Letcher, in response to the call, 
 replied that Virginia would furnish no troops 
 for such purpose, and added : "You have chosen 
 to inaugurate civil war." On the 17th of April, 
 
102 Civil History of the Government 
 
 the convention adopted an ordinance to repeal 
 the ratification of the Constitution of the United 
 States by the State of Virginia and to resume 
 all the rights and powers granted under said 
 Constitution. This action was forthwith com 
 municated to the President of the Confederate 
 States, and he was requested to send a commis 
 sioner to negotiate an alliance, offensive and de 
 fensive, with the State of Virginia. Alexander 
 H. Stephens, the Vice-President, was appointed, 
 and after a conference with a committee of the 
 convention, it was agreed that the whole mili 
 tary force and military operations of the Com 
 monwealth in the impending conflict with the 
 Government of the United States should be 
 under the chief direction and control of the 
 President of the Confederate States, upon the 
 same footing as if the Commonwealth had al 
 ready become a member of the Confederacy. 
 The act of secession was ratified by the people 
 on the fourth Thursday of May, but on the 25th 
 of April the convention had adopted and rati 
 fied the Provisional Constitution, and on the 
 15th of June the permanent Constitution was 
 
of the Confederate States. 103 
 
 agreed to. On the day of the first ratification 
 five gentlemen were elected to represent the 
 State in the Congress then in session in Mont 
 gomery. Among the representatives, first and 
 last, sent by Virginia to the Confederate Con 
 gress, were ex-President Tyler and Messrs Hun 
 ter, Rives, Preston, Baldwin, Russell, Garnett, 
 Montague, Staples, Goode, Bocock men who 
 would have adorned any deliberative assembly 
 in the world. 
 
 On the 28th of May North Carolina with 
 drew from the Union and Arkansas followed 
 before much time had elapsed. The action of 
 these three States and Tennessee was largely 
 determined by their being called on and re 
 quired by President Lincoln to furnish troops to 
 aid in a subjugation which they denounced as 
 wicked and unconstitutional. As Richmond 
 was nearer the scene of future military action 
 and as a strategic point of far more importance 
 than Montgomery, the Congress when it ad 
 journed on the 21st of May resolved to meet 
 in Richmond on July 21st. The President 
 was authorized to remove the several executive 
 
104 Civil History of the Government 
 
 departments with their archives. The hostile 
 demonstrations required prompt and energetic 
 action, and the President, with his cabinet, 
 soon proceeded to Richmond, there to remain 
 until the lines were broken at Petersburg. The 
 removal was none too early, for the accumula 
 tion of Federal forces on the Potomac showed 
 that the attack would soon be directed against 
 Virginia. The battle of First Manassas oc 
 curred the day before the Congress met in 
 Richmond. 
 
 Kentucky and Missouri did not formally se 
 cede, but the sympathizers with the South were 
 numerous and loyal and enthusiastic. Repre 
 sentatives were admitted from these States into 
 the Congress, and the troops, organized and in 
 dividual, did valuable service. Bills for the ad 
 mission of the States were favored in speeches 
 from President Tyler, Toombs, Wigfall and 
 others. I opposed ineffectually, on the ground 
 that the admission would be in utter contraven 
 tion of all the principles underlying the forma 
 tion of the Confederacy, and that representa 
 tives would have no constituency, as the ma- 
 
of the Confederate States. 105 
 
 jority of the people were not in sympathy with 
 us. These States were soon in complete control 
 of the Federal army, and those who sat in the 
 Congress owed their pretense of an election to 
 the few votes cast by the soldiers in the army 
 from those States. As early as January 
 Y, 1861, Governor Harris called the atten 
 tion of the Legislature of Tennessee to the peril 
 ous condition of existing affairs. A conven 
 tion was authorized, but an adverse vote pre 
 vented its assembling. In May a league was 
 formed with the Confederacy and ratified by 
 the Legislature. On June 8th, by a vote of 
 104,913 to 47,238, the State voted for seces 
 sion and on the 24th Governor Harris issued 
 a proclamation dissolving the ties which had 
 bound Tennessee to the Union. 
 
 Tennessee was specially unfortunate in her 
 division of sentiment and in the bitterness of 
 feeling which found expression, not merely in 
 words but in acrimonious and bloody deeds. In 
 his message of November, 1861, Governor Har 
 ris reported as having turned over to the Con 
 federacy thirty-eight regiments of infantry, 
 
106 Civil History of the Government 
 
 seven battalions of cavalry and sixteen compa 
 nies of artillery. The State furnished one hun 
 dred thousand men to the Confederate army 
 and thirty thousand to the Union army, exclu 
 sive of negroes. Early in 1862 Andrew John 
 son was commissioned as Military Governor, 
 and up to the close of the war there were two 
 State governments. The occupation of the 
 State by Federal troops brought Tennessee 
 practically into the Union, and early in Jan 
 uary, 1865, the State abolished slavery, repu 
 diated the Confederate debt, while the General 
 Assembly, by joint resolution, declared that 
 death should be inflicted on Davis, Mason, Sli- 
 dell, Hunter, Toombs, Cobb, Benjamin, Lee 
 and Breckenridge. 
 
 The Governor of Kentucky issued a procla 
 mation of neutrality and Maryland forbade 
 hostilities within her limits. These proclama 
 tions were akin in effect and influence to the 
 declarations of Fernando Wood, D. E. Sickles, 
 and John Cochrane, of New York, that the city 
 would be a free city, taking sides with neither 
 contestant and using good offices for peace and 
 
of the Confederate States. 107 
 
 adjustment. Such declarations, however well 
 meant, were as impotent as a toy boat would be 
 in resisting the cataract of Niagara. Maryland 
 rendered invaluable aid in money contributed to 
 the soldiers and in the ceaseless ministrations of 
 kindness to refugees and prisoners. 
 
108 Civil History of the Government 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 REVENUES OF THE CONFEDERACY TAX IN KIND CUB- 
 RENCY CONSTANT DEPEECIATION RELIANCE ON 
 COTTON. 
 
 It has sometimes been sarcastically or cen 
 soriously asked what evidence of statesmanship 
 was furnished by the Confederate States. The 
 reply is obvious. The energies of the Confed 
 eracy were absorbed in the effort to preserve its 
 life and protect its territory from hostile ag 
 gression. There was little opportunity or occa 
 sion for civic ability. The Constitution, when 
 prejudices shall have subsided, will be regarded 
 as a great American contribution to the science 
 of government. The Congress discharged its 
 duty when troops were raised and officered and 
 adequate equipments were furnished. ArmO 
 ries for army and navy, guns and ammunition, 
 transportation, food and clothing, were what 
 pressed most heavily on the government. The 
 blockade of ports (which contributed so largely 
 to the final overthrow of the Confederacy), 
 
of the Confederate States. 109 
 
 increasing occupancy of the territory within 
 the seceded States, absence of factories for 
 making clothing, and such like hindrances 
 made it no easy task to supply the needs 
 of soldiers, especially when military ser 
 vice took away from their homes and business 
 a very large proportion of all males over eigh 
 teen years of age. An extended frontier by 
 land and sea, of thousands of miles, gave the 
 enemy, with numerous vessels and an organized, 
 well-equipped army of over a million of men at 
 the close of the first year of the war, frequent 
 opportunities for successful incursions and for 
 contracting our seven hundred thousand square 
 miles. 
 
 The financial system became the question 
 of gravest concern. Customs-duties were a slim 
 reliance when incoming vessels had to run a 
 watchful and ever - strengthening blockade. 
 Foreign students of Confederate history are 
 strongly of the opinion that the blockade, in 
 excluding arms and munitions and other neces 
 saries of war from a country without means of 
 supply, was the most fatal of all the causes 
 
110 Civil History of the Government 
 
 which conspired for our defeat. A war tax, very 
 burdensome, was cheerfully paid. Loans and 
 bonds and treasury notes and call certificates 
 were resorted to. Partial relief was found by 
 levying a tax in kind upon farm products, such 
 as corn, wheat, oats, rye, potatoes, peas, beans, 
 sugar, molassses, tobacco, rice, cotton, wool, 
 hides, as well as upon beef, pork and bacon. 
 At the surrender there was on the line of the 
 railways and rivers, between Jackson, Miss., 
 and Montgomery, Ala., enough corn to sup 
 ply the demand for breadstuffs for a full 
 twelve-month or more. Abundant as was the 
 supply of corn, the people were put to " great 
 straits" to get salt and sugar and coffee and 
 medicines. As indicative of the worthlessness 
 of the currency, I paid $1,250 for two mules 
 and $100 for two pairs of cotton cards. 
 The farmer or planter was allowed to retain 
 fifty bushels of sweet and Irish potatoes, 
 one hundred bushels of corn or fifty bushels 
 of wheat, twenty bushels of peas or beans 
 and a certain amount for raising hogs, 
 Horses and mules were impressed, and slaves 
 
of the Confederate States. Ill 
 
 also, for working on fortifications. There lie 
 before me, as I write, personal receipts for such 
 taxes levied on the produce of my farm in Ala 
 bama. These receipts are on brown paper and 
 have a dingy, archaic appearance. Nearly all 
 official papers, the school and other books, 
 printed during the war, as well as bonds and 
 currency, were on very inferior paper. A dis 
 tinguished Alabama lawyer in November, 1863, 
 said that no apology, on account of scarcity of 
 paper, was needed for his use of a leaf torn 
 from a blank book. 
 
 All the expedients the critical situation sug 
 gested and required could not prevent ruinous 
 depreciation of notes. Efforts were made to 
 retire from circulation some of the issues of 
 Treasury notes by funding them in bonds, but 
 the manifest and implacable purpose of subju 
 gation and the certainty of a long and impov 
 erishing struggle made it impossible for the 
 Government to pay interest in specie, or to 
 redeem at maturity. The premium on coin 
 went up to dizzy heights. All agricultural pro 
 ducts and articles of merchandise were inflated 
 
112 Civil History of the Government 
 
 to fabulous prices. Those who held a surfeit 
 of notes could find no objects of investment. 
 Under these irremediable conditions, which 
 only substantial and decisive victories could 
 change for the better, the credit of the Con 
 federacy failed, promises to pay had no valid 
 basis, and the precedents of our Colonies and 
 of revolutionary France found new illustra 
 tions in the Confederacy. Her notes became 
 as valueless as continental currency, or as 
 French assignats, or as Kruger " South African 
 Republic" paper money. On the 1st of October, 
 1864, when the end was rapidly approaching, the 
 public debt was $1,126,381,025. 
 
 There was in those days a prevalent opinion, 
 partially well-founded, that Cotton was King. 
 The Southern States had a monopoly of this im 
 portant staple. The manufacturing districts of 
 England and of the world were dependent on 
 this Southern product. The foreign and North 
 ern press wrote much on the growth and supply 
 of cotton, the capabilities of India and Egypt, 
 and a Liverpool journal declared this the great 
 est question of the civilized world. Many of the 
 
of the Confederate States. 113 
 
 leading men of the South trusted in the com 
 mercial and industrial supremacy of cotton, a 
 power as great as armies and navies, and relied 
 on it as a political factor to "force the hand" of 
 Great Britain and secure the recognition of the 
 Confederate States as an independent power. It 
 did not seem an overstrained judgment to rely 
 on the efficiency of cotton to compel European 
 intervention. Soon the manufacturing districts 
 in England began to feel the pressure of a 
 meagre supply. Looms, which had consumed 
 forty thousand bales in a week, could not hope 
 for more than four thousand. Prices went up 
 to half a crown a pound and remained at a high 
 figure. Disturbances were serious and opera 
 tives were thrown on parishes for relief. 
 
 The cotton famine of 1861- 6 3, when from 
 1,500,000 bales the supply diminished to 11,000, 
 produced most serious distress in Birmingham, 
 Manchester and other manufacturing centers, 
 and the want of employment and consequent loss 
 of wages were most distressing. In spite of 
 these evil consequences, cotton failed, in this 
 
 most critical period, to demonstrate supremacy. 
 15 
 
114 Civil History of the Government 
 
 If it had been susceptible of being used promptly 
 and unitedly, it is difficult to say what might 
 not have been its influence on the conflict. Per 
 haps no one subject, apart from military cam 
 paigns, elicited warmer discussion or wider dif 
 ferences of opinion among congressmen, news 
 papers, and those who, not in public station, gave 
 serious thought to measures for public safety. 
 The decreasing supply of cotton stimulated ef 
 forts at production in other temperate latitudes 
 and at facilitating export by government per 
 mission or connivance, by running the blockade, 
 or by hurrying it on railroads to places where it 
 could be transported North. To use this lever 
 in every possible way the Confederate Congress 
 put a discriminating tax on its production, and 
 legalized destruction whenever it was about to 
 fall into the hands of the enemy. The distress 
 ing condition of operatives in England and 
 France, the danger of strikes and internal 
 revolution, the suspension of large factories, 
 seemed likely to compel foreign succor to the 
 government, and thus hindered the Confede 
 rate authorities from conceding through treaty 
 
of the Confederate States. 115 
 
 negotiation commercial privileges and advan 
 tages. A considerable amount of cotton was 
 from time to time accumulated as a basis of 
 credit, or to pay for needed supplies. Governor 
 Vance said that, at the surrender of General 
 Johnston, North Carolina had on hand 11,000 
 bales of cotton and 100,000 barrels of rosin, 
 most of which fell into the hands of Fed 
 eral officers. The brutal avidity with which 
 some of these officers, after the surrender, used 
 the means at their command to "loot" farms and 
 enrich themselves by seizure of cotton gave strike 
 ing illustration of human depravity. 
 
 How to deal with cotton and make it most 
 available as an auxiliary to the Southern cause, 
 as stated, did not secure a concurrence of judg 
 ment or consistent and effective action. Some 
 urged that all cotton be seized by the govern 
 ment and held as security for bonds or Confede 
 rate money; others, more wisely, the export to 
 foreign countries and storing for the same pur 
 poses; others, the pledging of all to Great 
 Britain if recognition and material aid would 
 thereby be secured. Others, with much earnest- 
 
116 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ness insisted that there should be absolute free 
 trade with all nations except the United States j 
 or, what was a more favorite project, that there 
 should be an agreement with Great Britain by 
 which she should have a monopoly, or the ex 
 clusive benefit, of the Southern trade for a 
 period of twenty years. As some of these pro 
 positions involved our foreign relations, they 
 will be treated under that head. 
 
of the Confederate States. 117 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMISSION TO WASHINGTON 
 DUPLICITY OF SEWARD ENVOYS TO EUROPE COT 
 TON LOAN EFFORTS IN BEHALF OF BELLIGERENT 
 RIGHTS RECOGNITION AND INTERVENTION CON 
 DUCT OP RUSSIA ENGLAND FRANCE C. F. 
 ADAMS J. P. BENJAMIN. 
 
 To conduct our foreign relations, President 
 Davis invited Bobert W. Barnwell to take the 
 portfolio of the State Department. It has been 
 said that it takes three generations to make a 
 gentleman. However that may be, Barnwell 
 was a thorough Christian gentleman, of large 
 intelligence, grave, dignified, courteous, of judi 
 cial calmness, of marked refinement of manners 
 and purity of life ; but he positively declined the 
 promotion, modestly distrusting his ability. 
 Robert Toombs, of Georgia, was then selected, 
 although Mr. Davis preferred that he should 
 take the Treasury Department. He was chair 
 man of the Committee on Finance, and was sup 
 posed from legislative experience and success 
 
118 Civil History of the Government 
 
 in the management of his own affairs, to have 
 peculiar fitness for the task of providing ways 
 and means for a new nationality which had not 
 a dollar in the treasury and was even without a 
 system of taxation. 
 
 The Provisional Constitution ordained that 
 immediate steps should be taken for the set 
 tlement of all matters between the States 
 forming the government and their late con 
 federates of the United States " in relation 
 to the property and the public debt at the 
 time of withdrawal," "these States hereby de 
 claring it to be their wish and earnest desire to 
 adjust everything pertaining to the common 
 property, common liabilities, and common obliga 
 tions, upon the principles of right, justice, equity 
 and good faith." In obedience to this require 
 ment, the Congress, before the inauguration of 
 the President, passed a resolution expressing its 
 wish that a commission of three persons be ap 
 pointed by the President-elect and sent to Wash 
 ington "for the purpose of negotiating friendly 
 relations" between the two governments and for 
 the right and equitable settlement of all ques- 
 
of the Confederate States. 119 
 
 tions of disagreement between them "upon prin 
 ciples of right, justice, equity and good faith." 
 As shown by his inaugural, in which he said, 
 "If a just perception of neutral interests shall 
 permit us peaceably to pursue our separate po 
 litical career, my most earnest desire will have 
 been fulfilled," the President was in entire ac 
 cord with the action of Congress, and next to 
 the organization of the executive departments 
 was the consideration of the commission. The 
 President had previously protested "solemnly 
 in the face of mankind that we desire peace at 
 any sacrifice save that of honor and independ 
 ence; we seek no conquest, no aggrandizement, 
 no concession of any kind from the States with 
 which we were lately confederated; all we ask 
 is to be let alone; that those who never held 
 power over us shall not now attempt our subju 
 gation by arms. This we will, this we must, 
 resist to the last extremity." "With wise discre 
 tion Martin J. Crawford, of Georgia, John 
 Forsyth, of Alabama, and A. B. Eoman, of 
 Louisiana, were chosen, and the Congress, on 
 the 25th of February, the day of their appoint- 
 
120 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ment, confirmed the act of the Executive. "In 
 furtherance of these accordant views of the Con 
 gress and the people," said the President in his 
 first message, 29th April, 1861, "I made choice 
 of three discreet, able, and distinguished citi 
 zens, who repaired to "Washington. Aided by 
 their cordial cooperation and that of the Secre 
 tary of State, every effort compatible with self- 
 
 
 
 respect and the dignity of the Confederacy was 
 exhausted before I allowed myself to yield to 
 the conviction that the Government of the 
 United States was determined to attempt the 
 conquest of this people, and that our cherished 
 hopes of peace were unattainable." 
 
 These commissioners went at once on their 
 mission, and on the 12th of March officially ad 
 dressed the Secretary of State (Mr. Seward), 
 informing him of the purpose of their mission, 
 and stating, in the language of their instruc 
 tions, their wish "to make to the Government of 
 the United States overtures for the opening of 
 negotiations, assuring the Government of the 
 United States that the President, Congress, 
 and people of the Confederate States earnestly 
 
of the Confederate States. 121 
 
 desire a peaceful solution of these great ques 
 tions; that it is neither their interest nor their 
 wish to make any demand which is not founded 
 on strictest justice, nor do any act to injure 
 their late confederates." To this no formal re 
 ply was received until the 8th of April. The 
 annals of diplomacy contain no chapter so full 
 of duplicity, insincerity and deception as that 
 which records the conduct and utterances of 
 William H. Seward, the Secretary of State of 
 the United States, in relation to this attempted 
 adjustment of matters in dispute. He had de 
 clined to receive the commissioners in any 
 official capacity, or to see them personally, but 
 through Judge Campbell, of the Supreme 
 Court, he held semi-official intercourse, orally 
 and in writing, the substance and spirit of 
 which have provoked a controversy which 
 does not admit of an honorable solution. 
 The matter rests on the relative integrity and 
 veracity of Judge Campbell and Secretary 
 Seward, and the South rests her case confidently 
 on the accessible correspondence between these 
 two distinguished men. Seward caused the Con- 
 
 16 
 
122 Civil History of the Government 
 
 federate representatives to be notified of the 
 receipt of their communication to him, and 
 begged that they should not press for an imme 
 diate reply. Twenty-seven days afterwards a 
 reply without signature or address was "filed" 
 in the State Department, but a copy was not 
 handed to the commissioners until the 8th of 
 April. An oral answer had been made at a 
 much earlier date. The immediate question re 
 lated to the course to be pursued by the Govern 
 ment at Washington towards Fort Sumter, 
 whether the garrison should be withdrawn or an 
 attempt be made to relieve it. Through the in 
 termediary, Justice Campbell, assurances were 
 received from the Government of the United 
 States "of peaceful intentions, of the determina 
 tion to evacuate Fort Sumter ; and, further, that 
 no measure, changing the existing status preju 
 dicially to the Confederate States, especially at 
 Fort Pickens, was in contemplation, but that in 
 the event of any change of intention on the 
 subject notice would be given to the commis 
 sioners." Seward may have been in favor of 
 the quiet withdrawal of the garrison; whether 
 
of the Confederate States. 123 
 
 he was or not, the government at Montgomery 
 was informed from an authentic source that 
 the fort would probably be evacuated in a 
 short time and the danger of a conflict be 
 thus avoided. The evidence is that the Cabi 
 net of Mr. Lincoln, by a vote of five to four, 
 favored the abandonment of Sumter, and the 
 commissioners being so informed, wrote to Mr. 
 Toombs that "if there is any faith in man we 
 may rely on the assurances we have as to the 
 status." On May 8th, 1861, President Davis 
 submitted to Congress a narration of the oc 
 currences which had taken place between Judge 
 Campbell and Secretary Seward, and the docu 
 ments were published in full at the time and 
 are now readily accessible to any inquirer. 
 Judge Campbell therein stated what he had 
 done in connection with the commissioners who 
 had been appointed to secure a peaceful adjust 
 ment of the pending difficulties between the two 
 governments. In the papers were letters from 
 Judge Campbell to President Davis and to Sec 
 retary Seward, the latter having been submitted 
 to Mr. Seward, who did not reply or publicly 
 
124 Civil History of the Government 
 
 question the correctness or accuracy of the re 
 cital. From the conferences Judge Campbell 
 felt justified in writing to Mr. Seward: "The 
 commissioners who received these communica 
 tions conclude they have been abused and over 
 reached. The Montgomery government hold 
 the same opinion." "I think no candid man 
 who will read over what I have written, and 
 consider for a moment what is going on at 
 Sumter, but will agree that the equivocating 
 conduct of the administration, as measured and 
 interpreted in connection with these promises, 
 is the proximate cause of the great calamity." 
 He further affirmed the profound conviction of 
 military and naval officers "that there has been 
 systematic duplicity practiced on them through 
 me." President Davis said: "The crooked 
 paths of diplomacy can furnish no example so 
 wanting in courtesy, in candor, in directness, as 
 was the course of the United States Government 
 toward our commissioners in Washington." 
 
 There is no doubt that the Cabinet, probably 
 through the influence of the seven "War 
 Governors" who met at the capital, reversed 
 
of the Confederate States. 125 
 
 its position and policy. Adams, in his life 
 of his father, C. F. Adams, says it was lucky 
 for the country that Mr. Lincoln was "more in 
 terested in the distribution of offices than in the 
 gravity of the crisis 7 (pages 126, 127, 146, 185). 
 Seward continued longer his Machiavellian pol 
 icy of evasion and deceived Justices Campbell 
 and Nelson, who acted as intermediaries between 
 him and the commissioners. Seward had pro 
 fessed that no trouble would grow out of a 
 change of administration and that secession 
 would soon prove a mortifying failure. (Adams, 
 117, 131, 183.) It may as well be stated here 
 that among the public men of the South no one 
 knew better than Mr. Davis the odds against the 
 Confederacy in consequence of her entire want 
 of preparation for the requirements of war. As 
 an educated and trained soldier, he measured 
 the full force of the struggle, and contended that 
 it was likely to last a number of years instead 
 of a few months, as so many predicted. When 
 it was proposed to enlist an army of two or three 
 hundred thousand men for six months, he op- 
 
126 Civil History of the Government 
 
 posed it for military reasons and because the war 
 was likely to be long and bloody. 
 
 When it became a fact that the assurances and 
 pledge as to Sumter were disregarded, the com 
 mission returned to make full report of their 
 work. Publications from members of Mr. Lin 
 coln s Cabinet show the dissensions which pre 
 vailed, but the frank and explicit statements of 
 Judge Campbell leave no doubt of the double- 
 facedness of Seward. The attack on Fort Sum 
 ter made unnecessary all further attempts at a 
 peaceable settlement, and on May 6th war was 
 recognized as having been begun. Mr. Rhett, 
 as chairman of the Committee on Foreign Af 
 fairs, submitted an exhaustive report, vindi 
 cating the right of the States, a right inherent 
 in all sovereignties, to form a new government 
 and resist coercion. 
 
 Mention has been made of the possible and ex 
 pected benefits from the control or sale of cotton. 
 Through diplomatic and commercial agents pro 
 posals for a cotton loan were issued in March, 
 1863, in London and Paris. William L. Yancey, 
 of Alabama, to whom on the day of the inaugu- 
 
of the Confederate States. 127 
 
 ration the option of a place in the Cabinet or on 
 the commission to Europe had been offered; A? 
 P. Host, of Louisiana, and A. D. Mann, of Vir 
 ginia, were early sent abroad, with powers not 
 strictly denned, but with general authority to 
 watch and act for the welfare of the Confed 
 eracy. They had some supervision over the cot 
 ton loans. The bonds for the cotton loan bore 
 interest at 7 per cent in sterling, payable semi- 
 annually. They were exchangeable for cotton 
 or redeemable at par. The special security was 
 the engagement of the government to deliver 
 cotton to the holders. Each bond, at the option 
 of the holder, was convertible at its nominal 
 amount into cotton at the rate of six pence ster 
 ling for each pound of cotton, and this could be 
 done at any time not later than six months after 
 the ratification of the treaty of peace between 
 the belligerents.* The bonds were issued at 90 
 per cent, payable in installments. 
 
 The loan stood in London at 5 per cent pre 
 mium, and this notwithstanding the active 
 
 * Davis Rise and Fall of Confederacy, 496. 
 
128 Civil History of the Government 
 
 and somewhat unscrupulous efforts of agents 
 of the United States Government to cast 
 discredit upon the Government of the Con 
 federate States. The fact that Mr. Davis 
 lived in Mississippi, which had once repu 
 diated certain bonds, was thought to justify 
 the slander that he had favored that action of 
 his State, and would not be restrained by any 
 conscientious scruples from dealing in like man 
 ner with creditors of the Confederate States. 
 The foreign debt, the result of this cotton loan, 
 was twenty-two hundred thousand pounds, and 
 was secured by about 250,000 bales of cotton 
 which the government had collected for that pur 
 pose. This cotton was seized and appropriated 
 by the United States Government. 
 
 In addition to the attempt to place a cotton 
 loan was the effort to secure recognition as an 
 independent power. The primary object of the 
 commissioners was to make preliminary arrange 
 ments for the more formal diplomatic inter 
 course. There was obvious propriety in notify 
 ing all foreign governments of the organic 
 changes which had occurred in America and to 
 

 
 of the Confederate States. 129 
 
 give prompt assurance of the desire to continue 
 with, all the most amicable relations. It was no 
 easy task to eradicate the error, almost universal 
 in the minds of European publicists, largely 
 prevalent with writers and politicians in the 
 Northern States, that the separate sovereignty 
 and independence of the States were merged by 
 the formation of the Union into one common 
 nation, and had, therefore, ceased to exist. 
 /* Access having been obtained to the Secretary 
 for Foreign Affairs in London and to men of 
 equal position in Paris, the Southern position 
 was presented actively and ably, and Great 
 Britain and France recognized the Confederate 
 States as belligerents and entitled to the rights 
 and privileges accorded by the law of nations to 
 belligerency. Yancey wrote a very able paper 
 as a plea for recognition. Separate nationality 
 or independence being deferred until determined 
 by the arbitrament of war, this concession or 
 recognition of belligerency, announced by Earl 
 Russell in the House of Commons on May 6th, 
 was of immense advantage to the struggling Con 
 federacy. Auxiliary to this was the demand 
 
130 Civil History of the Government 
 
 from the foreign powers that the blockade of 
 Southern ports must be effective and not a mere 
 paper blockade. Closing the ports by Executive 
 proclamation thus became a mere brutum ful- 
 men. 
 
 y The treaty of Paris of 1856 was accepted by 
 Great Britain, France, Kussia, Prussia, Austria, 
 and Turkey. Four articles of maritime law were 
 adopted by the signatory powers that priva 
 teering be abolished ; that the neutral flag covers 
 enemy s goods except contraband of war; fhat 
 neutral goods, except contraband, are not liable 
 to capture under the enemy s flag; and that a 
 blockade to be binding must be sustained by an 
 adequate force. Maritime powers were invited 
 to accede and had a right to become parties to 
 the agreement. Europe and South America no 
 tified of their accession, but the United States 
 declined, not being willing to surrender the right 
 to use privateers. 
 
 Tn April, 1861, the State Department in 
 structed all the ministers to negotiate for 
 the United States to become a party to 
 the Paris compact. Undoubtedly the aim of the 
 
of the Confederate States. 131 
 
 Secretary was to relieve the British Government 
 from all fear of injury from privateers and to 
 remove excuses for foreign interference in 
 American affairs. The ulterior purpose was, 
 after the United States became a party to the 
 declaration, to call on Great Britain and the 
 other powers to help to suppress Confederate 
 privateering. Mr. Adams notified Earl Russell 
 of the wish of his country "to accede to the prin 
 ciples of the treaty of Paris, in their entirety, 
 pure and simple." The covert design of the 
 wily Secretary being suspected, Russell asked 
 for the insertion of a clause providing that the 
 "convention should have no bearing, direct or 
 indirect, on the internal difficulties now prevail 
 ing in the United States." To circumvent and 
 cripple the Confederacy being the object of the 
 departure from the long-deferred delay, Mr. 
 Adams declined the addition, and to this day the 
 United States has not become a party to the 
 declaration of 1856. 
 
 The Confederate Government accepted four 
 articles of the convention, declining to sur 
 render privateering, and thus, as Blaine said, 
 
132 Civil History of the Government 
 
 became a party to " an international com 
 pact." Using her undoubted right of pri 
 vateering, officers were commissioned, vessels 
 were bought and captured, and under able com 
 manders great damage was done through them 
 to American shipping. "In three years time," 
 said Mr. Elaine, "$15,000,000 of property had 
 been destroyed, and the shipping of the United 
 States was reduced one-half and the commercial 
 flag of the Union fluttered with terror in every 
 wind that blew from the whale fisheries of the 
 Arctic to the Southern Cross." 
 
 James M. Mason and John Slidell were com 
 missioned to England and France, respectively, 
 and their capture on the high seas by Commo 
 dore Wilkes and forcible abduction from a Brit 
 ish vessel gave rise to the Trent affair, which 
 was so well managed, at the expense of the mor 
 tification of much national pride and self-glorifi 
 cation by the United States Government, as to 
 prevent any special advantage to the Confed 
 eracy as had been expected and hoped for from 
 the illegal seizure. These diplomats, when they 
 reached Europe, gave themselves zealously to 
 
of the Confederate States. 133 
 
 the chief object of their mission the obtaining 
 of recognition. Mr. Mason saw Palmerston and 
 Russell, but not officially, and for some months 
 the ministry was on the point of uniting with 
 France in a simultaneous recognition of the 
 Confederate States. In September, 1862, Earl 
 Russell wrote to Lord Palmerston: "I agree 
 with you, the time is come for offering media 
 tion to the United States Government with a 
 view to the recognition of the independence of 
 the Confederacy. I agree, further, that in case 
 of failure, we ought ourselves to recognize the 
 Southern States as an independent State." Pal 
 merston declared the plan excellent, and added: 
 "Might it not be well to ask Russia to join Eng 
 land and France in this offer of mediation? 7 
 Other and adverse influences finally prevailed 
 and compelled the refusal of any acts favorable 
 to mediation. 
 
 In France the situation was different. The 
 Emperor Napoleon saw Slidell as many as three 
 times, while numbers of the imperial household 
 and ministry held with him unrestrained inter 
 course. Slidell evinced great diplomatic skill, 
 
134 Civil History of the Government 
 
 and Oharles Francis Adams says: "He failed, 
 and failed completely, partly because of the skill 
 and conduct of his opponents, partly from the 
 course of events beyond his power and control; 
 but the game was a great one, and it nowhere as 
 yet appears that he played his hand otherwise 
 than skilfully and for all it was worth." The 
 recognition of the Confederacy, the breaking of 
 the blockade, preventing governmental inter 
 ference with the building of vessels intended for 
 the Confederacy, sale of cotton bonds, were the 
 main points in this "great game." On the 15th 
 of October, 1862, M. Drouyn de Lhuys, the Min 
 ister of Foreign Affairs in Paris, proposed to 
 England and Russia a joint offer of mediation 
 in the American struggle, beginning with an 
 armistice of six months. This meeting with a 
 decided refusal, Russia siding all the time with 
 the United States, the principal work of the Con 
 federate envoys failed. Mr. Yancey had taken 
 passage for home on the arrival of Mason and 
 Slidell. 
 
 The Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar was appointed 
 in November, 1862, envoy to Russia, and he 
 
of the Confederate States. 135 
 
 spent the spring and summer of 1863 in Lon 
 don and Paris. His great ability, large legal 
 and legislative experience and unusual conver 
 sational powers made his companionship much 
 sought after in foreign capitals, and he used his 
 opportunity vigorously for correcting misappre 
 hensions and giving clearer and more philosophic 
 views as to the nature of the Confederacy, the 
 ends proposed, and what had been achieved. He 
 confirms the statements in reference to France. 
 "I know very well that Louis Napoleon was not 
 only in favor of interfering in our behalf, but 
 warmly so. He received me frankly and spoke 
 with utmost kindness on the subject." The 
 state of things in Russia not promising favorable 
 results, the mission was withdrawn. Continued 
 ill health demanding his return, Lamar sailed 
 from Liverpool to Halifax, thence to Bermudas, 
 and succeeded in running the blockade at Wil 
 mington. 
 
 The Hon. Charles Francis Adams, son and 
 grandson of presidents, a genial, intelligent 
 gentleman, patriotic, self-willed, courageous, but 
 always polite and courteous, with whom I had 
 
136 Civil History of the Government 
 
 pleasant acquaintance in the XXXVI Congress, 
 was the Minister Plenipotentiary in London du 
 ring the whole period of the war. He served 
 his country with distinguished ability and suc 
 cess, although he had no bed of roses, and all his 
 patience, tact, equanimity, industry, vigilance, 
 knowledge of international law, were required 
 to protect the interests of his country in that 
 most perplexing and difficult time. Sometimes 
 he was saddened by apparent failures, and grew 
 almost despondent over the unsatisfactory rela 
 tions with Great Britain and in not being able 
 to make Russell and Palmerston see things 
 through his eyes. His biographer resents the 
 appearance in London of diplomatic emissaries 
 of different types, against whom the Minister 
 was at last compelled to make active remon 
 strance. Some were men of repute and energy 
 and discretion; others were puffed up with their 
 own importance, and were busy intermeddlers, 
 to their country s hurt, in what they did not 
 understand. 
 
 At one time the State Department, with 
 the approval of Mr. Lincoln, invited Messrs. 
 
of the Confederate States. 137 
 
 Winthrop, E. Everett, J. P. Kennedy, Arch 
 bishop Hughes and Bishop Mcllvaine to 
 visit Washington, with a view to their going 
 abroad in order that they might, in London, 
 Paris and elsewhere, counteract the influence 
 and labors of Southern representatives. The 
 project was temporarily withdrawn, Winthrop, 
 Everett and Kennedy for various reasons being 
 disinclined to the service, but in the following 
 month Hughes and Mcllvaine went out. Evarts, 
 Beecher and Weed were also commissioned, but 
 not to interfere with the accredited Plenipo 
 tentiary. 
 
 During the dark and troublous days pre 
 ceding and after the election of Mr. Lincoln, 
 Adams and Lamar, as fellow-members in the 
 House of Representatives, were not infrequently 
 seen in close and familiar converse. Lamar 
 spoke to me of the pleasure and profit he derived 
 from the interchange of ideas, and commended 
 Mr. Adams to me as one whose acquaintance 
 should be sought and cultivated. If they had 
 met in London, when the air was full of rumors 
 and when there was the collision of sharpest in- 
 
 18 
 
138 Civil History of the Government 
 
 tellects on every theatre, political, diplomatic, 
 social and commercial, the conversation would 
 have been worthy of record by the most saga 
 cious chronicler. 
 
 Near the then hastening collapse of the Con 
 federacy, in the early part of 1865, the Presi 
 dent appointed the Hon. Duncan F. Kenner, of 
 Louisiana, as special commissioner to Europe, 
 but mainly to Great Britain. Mr. Kenner had 
 unbroken service in the Congress from the or 
 ganization of the government at Montgomery, 
 and for the greater part of our history was the 
 chairman of the Committee on Finance. He 
 was a discreet, well-informed and able man, of 
 large business experience and acquaintance, and 
 from his intimacy with Mr. Davis and Mr. Ben 
 jamin and his familiarity with all legislation and 
 financial operations, was not surpassed by any 
 public man in knowledge of the needs and re 
 sources of the Confederacy. The meagre exist 
 ing records of the State Department and of 
 diplomatic correspondence furnish no copy of 
 the instructions to this special envoy, but he had 
 large and unusual discretionary powers, which 
 
of the Confederate States. 139 
 
 authorized him to negotiate on the questions of 
 slavery and trade and finances. Long delays, 
 annoying detentions, and the rapidly falling and 
 despairing fortunes of the Confederacy pre 
 vented him, upon his arrival in London, from 
 accomplishing any part of the purpose of his 
 mission, or even from making a serious effort 
 thereto. Mr. Kenner s narrative of his jour 
 ney to and brief stay in New York, his secre 
 tion by friends, his disguises, his evasion of 
 spies, his final embarkation, his moving "acci 
 dents by flood and field/ 7 was of thrilling in 
 terest, and I urged him several times after his 
 return to commit to writing his experiences and 
 adventures and the objects of his mission as an 
 honorable episode in his life and as throwing 
 light upon an unknown portion of our history. 
 During the entire life of the Confederacy, 
 Judah P. Benjamin was one of the constitu 
 tional advisers of the President, and in the days 
 of hopes deferred and disappointed, when Con 
 federate agents were so active in trying to se 
 cure foreign recognition and intervention, he 
 was at the head of the State Department, with 
 
140 Civil History of the Government 
 
 hands fettered, it is true, but displaying enor 
 mous energy and capacity. Benjamin was born 
 of Hebrew parentage in one of the West Indies, 
 and came, at an early age, with his father to 
 New Orleans. He studied law and secured a 
 large and lucrative practice. In the Supreme 
 Court of the United States he could fitly be com 
 pared with Wirt, Pinkney, Carter and Choate. 
 His magnificent speech in the Senate, in reply 
 to Seward on the Dred Scott decision, was a 
 masterpiece of polemic discussion and placed 
 him in the foremost rank of the parliamentary 
 orators of our time. Calm and courteous in 
 manner, with a voice as musical as silver bells, 
 with marvelous lucidity of statement and power 
 of analysis, with minutest acquaintance with 
 every detail of facts and principles, with merci 
 less logic exposing sophistry; in precise and 
 guarded language charging misrepresentation, 
 evasion, and perversion, every sentence a ra 
 pier thrust bringing blood; holding auditors, 
 friend and foe, in breathless attention, he added 
 a new lustre to the great council chamber, which 
 for fifty years has been the theatre of oratory 
 
of the Confederate States. 141 
 
 and statesmanship. Escaping abroad after the 
 surrender, he began the practice of his profession 
 in London, became Queen s counsel, and a 
 learned Scotch judge (Lord Shand) told me 
 some years ago in Seville that he stood at the 
 head of the English bar. With much perse 
 verance and readiness and physical endurance, 
 after sitting up all night, he was fresh the next 
 morning for argument in court or Senate or for 
 diplomatic labors. With the versatility of a 
 self-originating intellect, a retentive memory, 
 command of immense resources, strongest con 
 viction of the rightfulness of the Confederate 
 cause, he managed matters committed to his 
 hands, when the house was tumbling about his 
 ears, with a cheerful courage and hopefulness 
 that made him a wonder and a stimulating exam 
 ple in times of adversity and peril. 
 
142 Civil History of the Government 
 
 CHAPTEK VII. 
 
 DAVIS RE-ELECTION UNANIMITY OF THE SOUTH CON- 
 TKAST OF RESOURCES INDIVIDUALITY OF THE STATES 
 AS SEEN IN NORTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, VIRGINIA. 
 
 By the unanimous vote of the Electoral Col 
 lege, Mr. Davis was President for the second 
 time, as by a like vote he had been called to be 
 Chief Executive in the initiative period. The 
 second inauguration under a constitution and 
 government then called "permanent/ now 
 sounding as irony or sarcasm, occurred in Rich 
 mond on the 22d of February, 1862, the Presi 
 dent reading the paper and taking the oath while 
 standing, during a snowstorm, on a platform 
 erected beneath the bronze group surrounding 
 the Washington monument. 
 
 After a year s experience, the hopes of the 
 people were undimmed and their loyalty was un 
 shaken. To the lessening number of the sur 
 vivors of the war few statements are more sur 
 prising than the oft-repeated one of wide divi 
 sions among the citizens of the South. Much 
 
of the Confederate States. 143 
 
 misapprehension seems to exist, to be indus 
 triously fostered, as to Southern sentiment in 
 1861. It is charged that there was a wanton 
 and precipitate severing of the relations to the 
 Union, and that the masses were hurried along 
 against their better judgment by ambitious and 
 unscrupulous leaders. Dr. Palmer, in his ad 
 dress before the recent Confederate reunion 
 (May 30-June 3, 1900), forcibly says: 
 
 "It is simple folly to suppose that such a 
 spontaneous uprising as that of our people in 
 1860 and 1861 could be effected through the 
 machinations of politicians alone. A movement 
 so sudden and so vast, instantly swallowing up 
 all minor contentions, would only spring from 
 some great faith deeply planted in the human 
 heart, and for which men were willing to die. 
 Whatever may have been the occasion of the 
 war, its cardo causae, the hinge upon which it 
 turned, was this old question of State sover 
 eignty as against national supremacy. As there 
 could be no compromise between the two, the 
 only resort was an appeal to the law of force, the 
 ultima ratio regum." 
 
144 Civil History of the Government 
 
 Separation was reluctantly accepted as a dire 
 alternative even by those who were said to be 
 secessionists per se. It was only after the con 
 viction became deep-settled that the powers of 
 the Union were to be used aggressively and in 
 juriously against the South, that a determina 
 tion was slowly reached to let the Union go and 
 to save the Constitution. The conviction was 
 well-nigh unanimous in the seven seceding 
 States, and was as strong among those who ad 
 vised conference, cooperation, delay, "fighting 
 in the Union," as among those who favored the 
 speedier formation of a new government. All 
 classes shared in the fear that the Union was to 
 be perverted from its original intent. The Con 
 stitution was an object of worship. Attachment 
 to it was akin to idolatry, as was demonstrated 
 by its substantial adoption as the organic law 
 of the Confederacy. When sectional feeling at 
 the ^sTorth, growing out of different interests and 
 ideas, embodied itself in the dominance of a hos 
 tile party and the election of a President who 
 was to accomplish by Federal agency what the 
 States who elected him had sought to do by State 
 
of the Confederate States. 145 
 
 action, the seceding States lost confidence in con 
 tinued security for their property and equality. 
 
 The Constitution, the instrument and bond of 
 Union, had been largely in its framing the crea 
 tion of Southern statesmen, and the Federal 
 Government, the creature of the Constitution, 
 had been shaped and administered, for many 
 years, by Southern men. When a sad choice was 
 forced on the South a Union without the Con 
 stitution, or the Constitution to be administered 
 by those who respected and valued it with sur 
 prising unanimity the choice was made to pre 
 serve the Constitution. 
 
 An extract given on a former page from a 
 Georgia document presented with force the 
 unity of sentiment on the part of the people. 
 The manly defence of those who did not hold 
 slaves was more than justified by the composi 
 tion of the army and the ready flocking of all 
 who could* bear arms to the Confederate stand 
 ard. Hundreds of officers and thousands of pri 
 vates never owned slaves, and their cheerful and 
 intelligent determination to sustain the rights 
 
 of the States and constitutional principles was 
 
 19 
 
146 Civil History of the Government 
 
 as clear and courageous as that exhibited by 
 more wealthy comrades. In the annual Confed 
 erate reunions one sees the same unquestioning 
 devotion to heroes and companions as when men 
 were mowed down by the bloody scythe in the 
 carnage of battle. Those sneered at by Northern 
 pens and tongues, never by Southern men and 
 women, as "poor whites," showed the same indis 
 tinguishable courage and endurance and the 
 same unquenchable patriotism as their fellows. 
 "With all, equal sorrow over defeats, equal re 
 joicing over victories, equal devotion to Jackson 
 and Lee. 
 
 Mr. Goldwin Smith, in his " Political His 
 tory of the United States" (pages 256-257), 
 says : " It was complained that the slave-owners, 
 by various subterfuges escaped while they thrust 
 the poor under fire." This is not a direct charge, 
 but an intended implication equally effective, 
 and has been made, less equivocally, by other 
 writers. A gallant Confederate colonel from 
 North Carolina, who was in the army from 
 Manassas to Appomattox, to whom I read the 
 quotation from Professor Smith, said with em- 
 
of the Confederate States. 147 
 
 phasis, " It is a vile slander. I can recall but 
 one slave-owner in my county who was not in 
 the army, and he was in the commissary depart 
 ment." Governor Porter, of Tennessee, in ser 
 vice from the beginning to the end of the war, 
 bears testimony to the presence of the knight 
 hood of the country in the heat of the con 
 flicts. I have gone over the list of "Field Offi 
 cers, Regiments and Battalions of the Confede 
 rate States Army" (ninety-one pages), and while 
 I do not pretend to have known even half of 
 them, yet my acquaintance was very extensive, 
 especially in Alabama, and I have no hesitation 
 in asserting that the accusation is without any 
 just basis. The language is an insult to those 
 charged with being "thrust" into the dangerous 
 foreground, as implying an unwillingness to 
 defend their country, slavish subservience to a 
 comparatively small number of our population 
 and an inability to protect themselves from 
 the wrong and injustice of their neighbors. The 
 proportion of slave-owners to the whole popula 
 tion, including their families in the estimate, 
 was very small. The charge is but a part of the 
 
148 Civil History of the Government 
 
 systematic, incorrigible, un verifiable statements 
 which, for a bad purpose, are repeated in many 
 of the histories written by the conquerors. In 
 the Southern army were no Hessians; no pur 
 chased alien troops; no products of "bounty- 
 jumpers," nor of subsidies of States to relieve 
 their citizens from draft; no hirelings with 
 promise of luxurious pensions; but as our ranks 
 were decimated by battle and sickness, the 
 vacancies had to be filled, if filled at all, by in 
 creasing the minimum and maximum age of 
 liability to service. "No recruits came to the 
 Confederates; there was no nation or people 
 upon whom we could call for help ; ours was the 
 orphan nation of the world, poor, naked and 
 hungry."* In appointments, in promotions, in 
 service rendered, in distinctions won, in loyalty 
 and patriotism, there was no line of demarcation 
 in the Confederate army between classes, be 
 tween slave-owner and non-slave-owner, between 
 rich and poor. The chiefs in command, Lee, 
 the Johnstons, Jackson, Forrest, Semmes, Buch- 
 
 *Address of Gov. Porter, at Paris, Tenn., Oct. 13, 1900. 
 
of the Confederate States. 149 
 
 anan and others, have elicited eulogiums with 
 out stint from foreign critics for their skill and 
 genius in campaign and in battle. None the 
 less of praise and merit is due to the rank and 
 file of all classes who secured the undying fame 
 of these officers. It is strange that Northern 
 writers do not see that detraction from the 
 endurance and valor and patriotism and skill 
 of Southern soldiers is a subtraction from the 
 credit due to Northern soldiers for winning 
 after years of sacrifice the final and complete 
 victory over their antagonists. 
 
 The valor, the skill and the determination of 
 the Northern army to win will be acknowledged 
 by all fair-minded persons. These qualities shine 
 with conspicuous lustre when presented against 
 the background of the extraordinary qualities 
 of the Confederates. In them the United 
 States had quite another opponent than Spain 
 furnished, or than Germany had when mea 
 suring swords with Austria or France. With 
 diminishing numbers, inferior equipments, un 
 der every possible disadvantage, the Confede 
 rates sustained for four years the unequal con- 
 
150 Civil History of the Government 
 
 flict, compelling their adversaries to resort to 
 every available expedient, even the most extreme 
 which the laws of war, always cruel and heart 
 less, can justify or palliate. In his march 
 through Mississippi, General Sherman burned 
 bridges, destroyed cars and locomotives, and 
 gave to the flames vast quantities of cotton and 
 corn. In his official report of operations in 
 Georgia, he said: ""We consumed corn and 
 fodder in the region of country thirty miles on 
 either side of the line from Atlanta to Savan 
 nah; also, the sweet potatoes, hogs, sheep and 
 poultry, and carried off more than ten thousand 
 mules and horses. I estimate the damage done 
 to the State of Georgia at $100,000,000, at 
 least $20,000,000 of which inured to our benefit, 
 and the remainder was simply waste and de 
 struction." In South Carolina and North Caro 
 lina the Weylerism was more pronounced. 
 Shenandoah Valley was "laid waste and ravaged. 
 Grant ordered Sheridan to spare nothing from 
 destruction that might any longer furnish the 
 means of subsistence to the enemy." The con* 
 quest of the Confederacy was so difficult that 
 
of the Confederate States. 151 
 
 by calls, conscription, bounties and other Fed 
 eral enticements, the army and navy ran up to 
 more than three millions of men against six 
 hundred thousand Confederates. At one time, 
 General Grant had under arms at his command 
 700,000 soldiers.* 
 
 Goldwin Smith says that the bulk of the 
 Northern army "to the end was native, though 
 it included many Germans, British and Irish, 
 who had been naturalized." " The South, al 
 most from the first, resorted to conscription." f 
 It is not easy to deal with such inventions in a 
 calm historic spirit. Conscription at the South 
 was not "almost from the first." The earliest 
 act passed was in April, 1862, and its enforce 
 ment was by no means general or attended with, 
 harshness. In South Carolina and other parts 
 of the South the law was scarcely felt, as those 
 liable to military service were already at the 
 front. In Tennessee it was not put in execution, 
 and, until the close of the war, the enlistment of 
 
 *3 Library of American History, pp. 149, 151, 163. 
 tPolitical History of United States, p. 256. 
 
152 Civil History of the Government 
 
 troops did not require, except in individual in 
 stances or particular localities, either stringency 
 or cruelty. What Professor Smith states as to 
 "the bulk" of the army being natives, may be 
 put over against the official and other well- 
 known facts. Early in the struggle, the Federal 
 Government saw that "ninety days would not 
 suffice for finishing it, and that a single-handed 
 contest would be long and doubtful. Agents, in 
 cluding the commissioners mentioned on page 
 137, were dispatched to Europe, to plead the 
 cause of the Union and to entice by bounties and 
 other seductions as many men as possible to en 
 list in the Union army. According to official 
 statistics, furnished by the Federal Secretary of 
 War, more than 720,000 foreigners came over 
 and were enrolled against the South. How 
 many negroes were in the Union army, swell 
 ing the unparalleled odds against the South, I 
 have not been able to ascertain,* but careful 
 statisticians calculate that from the entire 
 
 *See article of M. V. Moore, in New Orleans Times- 
 Democrat, June, 1900. 
 
of the Confederate States. 153 
 
 South more than 500,000, including negroes, 
 were under the flag of the Union. A maximum 
 estimate of the troops in the Confederate army, 
 from beginning to end, would be 700,000. To 
 crush the Confederacy the United States had on 
 her rolls 2,788,304. The strength of the army 
 at the close of the war was 797,007 present, 
 202,700 absent. The strength of the Confed 
 erate army at the surrender, according to Sec 
 retary Stanton s estimate, the highest given, 
 was 174,223. 
 
 Early in the struggle the North realized that 
 the South could not be defeated in a single- 
 handed contest, and so seductive bounties, with 
 prospect of future pensions, were held out to 
 promote the enlistment of the over-crowded 
 population of Europe. With this preponderant 
 avoirdupois, equipped and supported without a 
 day s failure of subsistence, four years of gigan 
 tic struggle, with a thousand battles, unsur 
 passed by Napoleonic wars, were needed to sub 
 jugate the handful of badly armed, poorly clad, 
 poorly fed Southern soldiers. In keeping alive 
 the memory of the achievement of such men 
 
154 Civil History of the Government 
 
 and of the principles which animated them and 
 elicited such superhuman devotion, we are at 
 the same time honoring those who won in the 
 struggle. "When Northern writers and politi 
 cians decry our men and cause, they depreciate 
 their own people and disparage their courage 
 and gallantry. Alexander of Russia gave audi 
 ence to a deputation from the French assem 
 bly when the allied armies occupied Paris. The 
 Frenchmen said: "Sire, we have been waiting 
 a long time for your Majesty." The Emperor 
 replied happily: "You owe- the delay only to 
 French valor." 
 
 To carry on a war, offensive or defensive, for 
 a series of years, is far more than fighting bat 
 tles, winning victories, or sustaining defeats. 
 Quartermaster, subsistence, ordnance, pay and 
 medical departments are necessary to meet the 
 wants of men brought together in large num 
 bers and to make effective the fighting power 
 of an army, "and the talent to satisfy these with 
 order, economy and intelligence forms the 
 science of administration." Troops must be pro 
 cured, supplied with shelter, food and clothing, 
 
of the Confederate States. 155 
 
 armed, transported, paid, cared for when sick 
 or wounded, and everything possible must be 
 provided for their strength, health, spirit and 
 effectiveness. 
 
 To make the best possible use of all the 
 forces in the field, it is necessary to provide an 
 efficient means of transport and a well-arranged 
 system of supply, and these the North had su 
 perabundantly, in addition to her active busi 
 ness, open ports, plenty of money, greater 
 population, and an inexhaustible and available 
 European supply of men. Equipment and sup 
 plies were rarely hindered by lack of transpor 
 tation. Probably among the most marked fea 
 tures connected with the supply of the Federal 
 armies, were the use of the ocean, of railroads 
 and navigable rivers, and the facility with which 
 depots could be and were changed so as to be 
 always in touch with the armies in all their 
 various movements. The extent of the base of 
 operations, or the portion of country from which 
 reinforcements and supplies could be obtained, 
 gave the armies great advantage in selecting 
 lines of invasion exempt from interception when 
 
156 Civil History of the Government 
 
 defeated. Jackson in 1862 flanked Pope and 
 cut him off from the upper Potomac, but could 
 not prevent him from reaching Alexandria. In 
 1863, when Grant was baffled on the Rapidan, 
 he changed his base as he moved around suc 
 cessively to the Pamunkey and the James. The 
 country commanding a sea is limited as to the 
 amount of stores it can transport only by the 
 capacity of the vessels it has at command. The 
 Quartermaster Department had in charge 
 during the war, on ocean and lakes, 399 vessels, 
 having a gross tonnage of 13,706 tons, and 
 there were 238 vessels employed in the lake and 
 ocean service, having a tonnage of 165,248 tons, 
 which were owned by the government. There 
 were 119 steamers, 305 barges, and 109 coal 
 drayage boats and floats belonging to the United 
 States on the Mississippi River and its tributa 
 ries and at Mobile. Besides these, the Quarter 
 master Department had chartered for the same 
 waters 1,750 steamers and other vessels. The 
 theatre of war was bounded largely by the At 
 lantic and Gulf coasts, and the supremacy on 
 the water made possible the Peninsular cam- 
 
of the Confederate States. 157 
 
 paign and the capture of desirable points. The 
 supply of armies operating against Richmond 
 was feasible only because of the monopoly of the 
 sea. Wellington is reported to have said in the 
 Spanish campaign that an army moved upon its 
 belly. Food and transportation enter very 
 largely into every military campaign. One depot 
 at Giesboro, D. C., had a capacity of supplying 
 30 ? 000 animals. During the first nine months 
 of 1864 the supply of horses by the Cavalry 
 Bureau averaged about 500 per diem, and the 
 supply to Sheridan during his Shenandoah cam 
 paign was 150 per day. In 1862, 125,000 men, 
 14,592 animals, 44 batteries of artillery, the 
 wagons and ambulances, pontoon trains, and 
 the enormous equipage required for the Army 
 of the Potomac, were transported in about 900 
 steamers and sailing craft. During Grant s 
 campaign against Richmond a large fleet was 
 constantly employed in supplying troops at va 
 rious stations along the coast from Chesapeake 
 to ISTew Orleans. From May 1 to August 12, 
 1864, the daily average number of rations for 
 warded from Chattanooga to Sherman s army, 
 
158 Civil History of the Government 
 
 which numbered about 105,000 men, was 412,- 
 000, more than three rations for every man that 
 left Chattanooga on that campaign. In 1864 
 Grant s wagon train would have extended from 
 the Rapidan to Richmond if marched in single 
 file upon one road. (Journal of the Military 
 Service Institution. Jan., 1896, pp. 45-95.) 
 
 What a contrast to the Southern army, half 
 clad, half fed, half armed ; without any adequate 
 supply of the needed transports, of the needed 
 medical staff, of the needed engineers for 
 bridging, for telegraph work and other en 
 gineer duties; with few depots of supply, and a 
 gradually contracting area of territory shut off 
 from the sea by a rigorous blockade. It is a 
 notorious fact that our army at various stages of 
 the war relied largely on the captures from the 
 enemy for clothing, food, wagons, ammunition, 
 guns and other necessary supplies. General 
 Banks was habitually spoken of in the Valley as 
 "General Jackson s Commissary-General." For 
 two or more years the government, as has been 
 detailed on page 110, levied a tax in kind, and 
 corn, wheat, oats, bacon, mules, &c., were sup- 
 
of the Confederate States. 159 
 
 plied by this method. In the last years of the 
 war, a long railway between Meridian and Rich 
 mond, over 800 miles with dilapidated equip 
 ments, furnished the single line of transporta 
 tion for army and supplies. For repairs of 
 waste and loss in rails, locomotives, and other 
 needful means, there was hardly the pretence of 
 establishments, and one such line as the Penn 
 sylvania, or the Baltimore and Ohio, has to-day 
 more ample and readier facilities and more 
 abundant resources than the whole Confederacy 
 then possessed. 
 
 General Gordon writes to me: 
 
 "You are quite right. Every expedient was 
 resorted to. Officers and men were detailed, 
 when necessary, to catch fish when the season 
 permitted. I summoned all the commissaries of 
 my command, from corps commissaries to regi 
 mental commissaries, before me and told each 
 that he must send out wagons into the country, 
 into North Carolina, to get in small quantities 
 of supplies to keep the men from starving. We 
 had to take the risk of getting wagons captured, 
 because we could not stand still. You can de- 
 
160 Civil History of the Government 
 
 scribe the wagons of regiment, brigade, division 
 and corps, roaming over the country in the by 
 ways, &c., hunting for anything that would fill 
 the craving stomachs of the soldiers. But we 
 depended, also, on living off the enemy by cap 
 turing supplies." 
 
 Despite this immense disparity, we learn from 
 the Library of American History, above quoted 
 from, that after Yicksburg and Gettysburg, 
 "the war must soon end or bankruptcy ensue." 
 "By the beginning of 1862, more than a million 
 of dollars daily was required to meet the out 
 lay." "At the end of the conflict the national 
 debt proper had reached the astounding sum of 
 nearly three thousand millions of dollars, and to 
 this prodigious almost incalculable aggre 
 gate, the exigencies of war were adding more 
 than two millions daily. Had the war con 
 tinued another year, national bankruptcy must 
 have ensued."* 
 
 Party distinctions were marked before the 
 war, but "Whig, American, Democrat, were for- 
 
 *3 Library of American History, 147, 151, 175, 177, 178. 
 
of the Confederate States. 161 
 
 gotten in the struggle, and all made common 
 cause. After the election of Mr. Lincoln, Major 
 James Longstreet, then stationed at Albu 
 querque, New Mexico, wrote to me, expressing 
 the opinion that Alabama would resist, and au 
 thorizing me to tender to Governor Moore what 
 ever services he might render. Events moved 
 so rapidly that he sent a second letter with a 
 similar offer to the Confederacy. Mr. Davis was 
 much pleased, and at once gave him a commis 
 sion in the regular army, which began his illus 
 trious career as a soldier and an officer. From 
 Eaphael Semmes, Matthew Maury and John B. 
 Floyd, before or after the establishment of the 
 Confederacy, letters came to me full of valu 
 able suggestions in reference to the duty and 
 possibilities of the South. So, with like promi 
 nence, scores and scores of persons of Northern 
 birth and parentage aligned themselves with 
 Southern brethren and displayed the same sacri 
 fices, the same zeal and fidelity, in the holy cause 
 of freedom. When an address to the people was 
 prepared by Congress, it was eagerly signed by 
 every member and ordered to be distributed in 
 
162 Civil History of the Government 
 
 the army. At the head of many brigades it was 
 read, and copies were sought for wider circula 
 tion. 
 
 Every race has its qualities, and every State 
 in the South has its distinguishing peculiarities 
 and prejudices, which were not surrendered by 
 a partnership with other States. Retaining idio- 
 syncracies was not inconsistent with loyalty to 
 the cause. 
 
 A few States may be singled out as illustra 
 tive of what characterized all. No organized 
 community in America is more distinguished 
 than North Carolina for conservatism, fidelity 
 to engagements, sterling honesty and courage 
 ous devotion to liberty. Her history from colo 
 nial period down juts out with elevations from 
 the common level, showing exceptional, early 
 and consistent protests against tyranny and in 
 advocacy of equality and right. Only after de 
 liberation and thorough understanding of the 
 terms of the compact did she ratify the Consti 
 tution of the United States, but her assent car 
 ried with it the pledge, nobly f ulfilled : of allow 
 ing no other State? to. render truer and more 
 
of the Confederate States. 163 
 
 faithful allegiance. So she was not in haste to 
 unite with the Confederate States, as she pre 
 ferred more conservative and successful resist 
 ance; but when her faith was plighted no State 
 surpassed her in sacrifices and labors and cour 
 age. 
 
 She claims to have furnished 125,000 men 
 actually in the field, and to have lost more in 
 battle than any other State. These troops were 
 transported at her cost to camps of instruction 
 and were well drilled before they were turned 
 over to the Confederacy. During the entire war 
 these troops were by her supplied with cloth 
 ing, shoes and blankets. The Confederacy, on 
 one or two occasions, drew on the depot at Ra 
 leigh for clothing for other troops. Vance, 
 known as the great War Governor, said that 
 quantities of shoes, blankets and clothing were 
 turned over for soldiers from other States. Af 
 ter the battle of Chickamauga he sent to Long- 
 street s corps 14,000 complete suits, and at Gen 
 eral Johnston s surrender he had 92,000 suits 
 of uniforms and stores of blankets, leather, &c. 
 
 North Carolina engaged in direct trade with 
 
164 Civil History of the Government 
 
 England, purchasing supplies and transporting 
 them in her own ship. The Quartermaster De 
 partment of the Confederacy never owned a 
 transport ship during the war, and it was as 
 late as the fall of 1863 before an order was is 
 sued requiring all vessels running the blockade 
 to give up one-third of their cargoes to the pur 
 chases or needs of the Confederacy. The State 
 imported clothing, leather, shoes, oil, factory 
 findings, cotton and woollen cards, sheet iron 
 and tin, arms and ammunition, medicine, dye- 
 stuffs, blankets, cotton bagging and rope, spirits 
 and coffee, and purchased several thousand bales 
 of cotton, which were deposited in Liverpool. 
 On the day after the battle of First Manassas 
 the Governor received a telegram from the "War 
 Department, informing him there was not pow 
 der enough in the Confederacy for another day s 
 fight, and asking him to put nitre agents in the 
 field. Several nitre agents were promptly ap 
 pointed, who continued until the end of the war. 
 The Chief of Ordnance took possession of the 
 Salisbury machine shop and of the Cranberry 
 Iron Works, which were converted into service- 
 
of the Confederate States. 165 
 
 able arsenals. The policy of the State was to 
 encourage the manufacture at home of every 
 thing that was needed, as no country, said Mr. 
 Calhoun in 1816, ought to be dependent on 
 another for its means of defence. Before the 
 war ended the commissary of North Carolina 
 was "feeding about half of Lee s army."* 
 
 Georgia has been a synonym for self-reliance 
 and independence from earliest days, not hesi 
 tating to array herself in opposition to the Gen 
 eral Government whenever her territory or the 
 rights of her citizens were infringed by that gov 
 ernment. And so during the war, while her con 
 tributions of men and money were prodigal and 
 cheerful, she and her public men were never 
 backward in insisting that the Confederate Gov 
 ernment was not infallible and must confine 
 itself within the limits of the Constitution and 
 the general welfare. 
 
 In the Federal judiciary, in the army and 
 navy, in diplomacy and in Congress, Georgia 
 
 * See Dowd s Vance and the valuable report of Judge 
 Clark, "Organization of Troops," etc. 
 
166 Civil History of the Government 
 
 has not been behind her sisters in the num 
 ber, ability and patriotism of her sons in these 
 fields of public service, yet it has been a tra 
 dition and a principle that the State, in internal 
 administration, should have the very best. 
 An examination of Georgia s history will show 
 : a number of able men in law, legislation, medi 
 cine, pulpit and banking, not surpassed in any 
 State in the Union. Unfortunately, the popular 
 series of American Statesmen and Common 
 wealths largely ignore the South, and these men 
 are unknown in other parts of the country. 
 
 Joseph Brown, as Governor, was a typical 
 Georgian. He and the State were in fullest sym 
 pathy with the Southern cause, but not always 
 in harmony with the administration. The con 
 script law brought him into controversy with 
 President Davis, and he argued that there was 
 no necessity for such harsh and coercive meas 
 ures, as they sought to secure more men when 
 the government could not arm those already en 
 listed. Notwithstanding this divergence of opin 
 ion and the opposition to the views of the Presi 
 dent, the Governor gave obedience to the law 
 
of the Confederate States. 167 
 
 rather than seemingly embarrass the Confed 
 eracy, and Mr. Davis, in a letter to him of May 
 29, 1862, said the "noble State responded to 
 every call it has been my duty to make on her." 
 Virginia, in throwing in her fortunes with 
 the Confederacy, gave evidence of deathless de 
 votion to principle and as sublime and heroic 
 exhibition of courage and self-sacrifice as his 
 tory records of any people. When she acted it 
 was with full knowledge that her proximity to 
 Washington and exposedness would make her 
 the theatre of the war, which the Federal Gov 
 ernment purposed and was preparing for. It is 
 well there was hid from her eyes the cruel and 
 revengeful tragedy that was to befall her, when, 
 disregardful of her generous magnanimity in 
 surrendering for the public good a princely ter 
 ritory, the government and the States which 
 had been carved out of her cession Ohio, In 
 diana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Min 
 nesota made a partition of her soil by as 
 despotic and unconstitutional an act as ever dis 
 graced a civilized people. At once the State, 
 with her sic semper tyrannis record, became and 
 
168 Civil History of the Government 
 
 remained the leader, and this position of su 
 premacy was accorded without hesitation and 
 without envy by the other States. Hill, Stuart, 
 Jackson, Johnston, Lee and others were ac 
 cepted as leaders by Divine right, and no one 
 questioned their superiority. Those who served 
 in Virginia are full of grateful memories, and 
 overflow with emotion on their recurrence. On 
 the train it is not an uncommon sight to see an 
 old Confederate shed tears in passing Culpeper, 
 Orange, Winchester, Richmond, as he recalls a 
 house or person where or by whom, when wea 
 ried or sick or wounded, he was ministered to 
 by angel hands. 
 
of the Confederate States. 169 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 WHAT SOUTHEEN WOMEN DID HOSPITALS PRIVATION IN 
 SOUTHERN HOMES COMPARATIVE STRENGTH OF THK 
 ARMIES RELIGION IN CAMPS MINISTERS IN ARMS 
 RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION. 
 
 After the battle of Manassas and up to Appo- 
 mattox, Richmond and other cities were freely 
 used as homes for sick and wounded soldiers. 
 In Richmond, and the same was true elsewhere, 
 tobacco factories were turned into hospitals, pro 
 vided with cots, bedding and other comforts, 
 and doctors and nurses and preachers were in 
 constant and helpful attendance. A list, printed 
 in the Whig newspaper in 1862, gives the 
 names and location of thirty-five public and 
 private hospitals in Richmond. Supplies were 
 sent from all the States as well as by indi 
 viduals and women s organizations. Women, 
 the most refined, the noblest and best cul 
 tured in the land, left their homes, took up 
 their residences adjacent to hospitals, and be 
 came Florence Nightingales, daughters of the 
 
170 Civil History of the Government 
 
 Red Cross, for all who needed care or com 
 fort. It is resproachfully said by alien writers 
 that the Southern women are more " unrecon 
 structed rebels " than the men. It is cer 
 tainly true that they did as much as the men 
 in winning the battles, and they are now fore 
 most in building monuments and preserving the 
 record of immortal deeds. 
 
 As the years went on leaden footed, the 
 greater was the number of those who returned 
 no more and the severer became the privations 
 of home life, with scantier list of comforts and 
 "shortened tale of hopes." Transportation, 
 mills, factories, were monopolized for govern 
 ment uses, the circulating medium became 
 hourly more worthless in purchasing power; 
 medicines, luxuries, and even necessaries were 
 shut out by the blockade. No house had an 
 idler, hands of the aged and of children were 
 busy in the field, in the garden, in the kitchen, 
 at the spinning wheel and the loom, and all were 
 helping in works of charity and patriotism. For 
 coffee a substitute was found in toasted corn and 
 wheat and potatoes; for tea, in sassafras; sor- 
 
of the Confederate States. 171 
 
 ghum supplied sugar and molasses, and earthen 
 floors of smokehouses, saturated by the drip 
 ping of bacon, were dug up and boiled for neces 
 sary salt. 
 
 "We hear and read much of delicately pam 
 pered "females" in ancient Rome and modern 
 Paris and Newport, but in the time of which I 
 speak in this Southland of ours womanhood was 
 richly and heavily endowed with duties and oc 
 cupations and highest social functions, as wife 
 and mother and neighbor, and these responsi 
 bilities and duties underlay our society in its 
 structure and permanence as solid foundations. 
 Instead of superficial adornments and supine 
 action, the intellectual sympathies and interests 
 of these women were large, and they undertook, 
 with wise and just guidance, the management 
 of households and farms and servants, leaving 
 the men free for war and civil government. 
 These noble and resolute women were the 
 mothers of the Gracchi, of the men who built 
 up the greatness of the Union and accomplished 
 the unexampled achievements of the Confed 
 eracy. Knowing no position more exalted and 
 
172 Civil History of the Government 
 
 paramount than that of wife and mother, with 
 the responsibilities which attach to miniature 
 empire, the training of children and guidance 
 of slaves, each one was as Caesar would have 
 had his companion, above reproach and above 
 suspicion, and whose purity was so prized that 
 a violation of personal dignity was resented and 
 punished, by all worthy to be sons and husbands 
 and fathers of such women, with the death of 
 the violator. "Strength and dignity were her 
 clothing; she opened her mouth with wisdom, 
 and the law of kindness was on her tongue. She 
 looked well to the ways of her household, and 
 she ate not the bread of idleness. Her children 
 rose up and called her blessed; her husband 
 
 Our "peculiar institution" of domestic Afri 
 can slavery in ante bellum days created and nur 
 tured a class of women never surpassed in the 
 world. A plantation was a little kingdom, pre 
 sided over by husband and wife, betwixt whom 
 there existed mutual respect, deference, admi 
 ration and love. In the household gathered re 
 spectful, obedient, loving children. Near and 
 
of the Confederate States. 173 
 
 around were dependents, who did not claim 
 social equality, but rendered cheerful obedience 
 and service and were cared for tenderly from 
 cradle to coffin. Those who dominated were 
 intelligent, masterful, patriotic, loving home, 
 kindred, State and country, dispensing a prodi 
 gal hospitality, limited only by the respecta 
 bility and behavior of guests. Among girls, 
 refinement, culture, modesty, purity and a be 
 coming behavior were the characteristic traits; 
 among boys, courtesy, courage, chivalry, respect 
 to age, devotion to the weaker sex, scorning 
 meanness, regarding dishonor and cowardice as 
 ineffaceable stains. Their education was respect 
 for women, riding, hunting, speaking the truth. 
 Poetry and romance have yet to portray, in 
 truthful colors, the attractions and beauties of 
 the Southern home, now of the irrevocable past. 
 When inequality was threatened and States were 
 to be degraded to counties, and the South be 
 came one great battle-field, and every citizen 
 was aiding in the terrible conflict, the mothers, 
 wives, sisters, daughters, with extraordinary 
 unanimity and fervor, rallied to the support of 
 
174 Civil History of the Government 
 
 their imperiled land. While the older women 
 from intelligent conviction were ready to sus 
 tain the South, political events and the necessity 
 of confronting privations, trials, and sorrows 
 developed girlhood into the maturity and self- 
 reliance of womanhood. Anxious women with 
 willing hands and loving hearts rushed eagerly 
 to every place which sickness or destitution or 
 the ravages of war invaded, enduring sacrifices, 
 displaying unsurpassed fortitude and heroism. 
 Churches were converted into hospitals or places 
 for making, collecting, and shipping clothing 
 and needed supplies. Innumerable private 
 homes, near or adjacent to battle-fields, were 
 filled with the sick and the wounded. It was 
 not uncommon to see grandmother and youthful 
 maiden engaged in making socks, hats and other 
 needed articles. Untrained, these women en 
 tered the fields of labor with the spirit of Christ, 
 rose into queenly dignity and enrolled them 
 selves among the immortals. Energies, time, 
 lives were given to the alleviation of the suffer 
 ing, cheering of the homesick, and to the inspi 
 ration of the hopeless and the despairing. With 
 
of the Confederate States. 175 
 
 active courage, resolute endurance, cheerful 
 self-restraint and exulting self-sacrifice, they 
 imparted fresh courage to the brave, quickened 
 response of the laggard and poured shame and 
 contempt on him who shirked or sought the 
 bomb-proof. Day and night these ministering 
 angels seemed as if they had made an exodus 
 from Heaven. Boundless patriotism, courage 
 ous endurance, surprising elation of thought 
 and action were exhibited. Feminine tender 
 ness was broadened and deepened by this self- 
 sacrificing ministry. Superadded to these trials 
 and duties were the necessary supervision of ser 
 vants and farms and the performance of duties 
 which hitherto had devolved upon the men. 
 Hanging over homes and hearts were ceaseless 
 apprehensions and the weary absence of the 
 loved ones. 
 
 One of the most interesting books, written 
 on a high plane of Christian sympathy and prin 
 ciple, is "Christ in the Camp," whose author is 
 well known as "the fighting chaplain." Full of 
 intelligent zeal and saintly curiosity, besides 
 what he saw and shared in, Dr. Jones has gath- 
 
176 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ered thrilling incident and holy example from 
 camp and hospital, principally from the armies 
 east of the Mississippi. It is not claiming too 
 much to say that the Southern people were an 
 unusually religious people, free from heresies 
 and isms and trusting implicitly in an inspired 
 Bible and in the religion of Christ. This inr 
 volved a reliance on Providence, more marked 
 in that day than in this. The early movement^ 
 at the South were invariably associated with re 
 ligious ceremonies, and autograph letters from 
 Jackson show that he opposed Sunday mails and 
 urged the appointment of chaplains for the 
 army. With the first regiments went out regi 
 mental chaplains, Protestant and Catholic, whp 
 were generally neighbors and friends and well 
 known to "the boys." In camp, on the march, 
 these spiritual advisers were not strangers nor 
 alien in thought and feeling, but in fullest sym 
 pathy with the soldiers, having known many 
 from childhood and being intimate with their 
 parents. When battles occurred they were near 
 the firing line, ready with canteen and needed 
 
of the Confederate 
 
 supplies to minister to the wounded or to assist 
 to the hospital in the rear. 
 
 !N~ot infrequently the warrior spirit was awak 
 ened and chaplains forgot themselves and seized 
 a musket to repel, or make successful, a charge. 
 Churches gave up their pastors and theological 
 seminaries suspended their work that students 
 might go to the front. One famous Richmond 
 preacher found pulpit on a caisson or in the end 
 of a wagon, and was not regarded as heterodox 
 when, on the invitation of a clerical brother, he 
 took his place within the chancel, minus a cleri 
 cal gown and even in his shirt sleeves. It was 
 a camp rumor, too much in keeping with their 
 piety to be denied, that Generals Jackson and 
 Gordon held torches so that the preacher might 
 read the Scriptures. 
 
 When in winter quarters the soldiers would 
 construct wooden tents, in which worship was 
 conducted sometimes for weeks, and the best 
 preachers of the States were glad to officiate. 
 Revivals were frequent, and the different 
 de-nominations had their membership much 
 enlarged by faithful converts. Dr. Jones esti- 
 
178 Civil History of the Government 
 
 mates conversions at 15,000 in Lee s army; Dr. 
 Bennett puts the number in all the Confederate 
 armies at 50,000. The names of the preachers 
 and colporteurs not holding official appointments 
 are legion, but I recall Bishops Early, Quintard, 
 McFerrin, Marvin, Pierce, and Doggett; 
 Palmer, the Hoges, Jeter, Burrows, the 
 Rylands, Cobb, Broadus, Minnigerode, Ed 
 wards, Duncan, Renfroe, Father Ryan, Tiche- 
 nor, Haygood, Dickinson, Slaughter, the Tay 
 lors, Pritchard, and scores more. 
 
 The pulpit furnished some of the best officers. 
 The most conspicuous was Bishop Polk, who 
 became a lieutenant-general, and not far from 
 whom I was standing when he was killed. Sev 
 eral generals were on the brow of a hill making 
 observations when they attracted the fire of the 
 enemy. All withdrew a few paces except the 
 Bishop, and he, lingering, received a fatal 
 wound, which threw the army in North Georgia 
 into deepest sorrow. From the ministry came 
 also such officers as Lowry, Evans, Pendleton, 
 Capers, Mell, Talbird, Smith, Shoup, Dabney, 
 Harrison, Willis, Peterkin, Chapman, Kelly, 
 
of the Confederate States. 179 
 
 Hiden, and others. Hundreds of preachers were 
 in the ranks. 
 
 In several of the States were interferences 
 both by military and civil authorities with 
 churches and worship. In Alexandria, Ya., one 
 preacher was made to ride on a "cow-catcher" 
 so as to keep Mosby s men from firing on the 
 Union soldiers, and he was forbidden to preach 
 or to celebrate marriages. Professor Shaler 
 says that ministers of the Gospel were re 
 quired to swear allegiance before they could 
 legally perform the marriage rite. " In fact, it 
 came about that even loyal people could hardly 
 get through the activities of a day without at 
 least once or twice swearing allegiance to the 
 State and Federal Government." "In his ordi 
 nary contacts with the people, an officer was 
 constantly engaged in swearing men and women 
 as to what they had done in the past or would 
 do in the future."* 
 
 This degradation of religion was illustrated in 
 Alabama, when General Woods issued an order 
 
 * Shaler s Kentucky, page 322. 
 
180 Civil History of the Government 
 
 by which Bishop Wilmer and all his clergy were 
 suspended from their functions and forbidden 
 to preach or perform divine service. In Mis 
 souri the tyranny was carried to such an ex 
 treme as to close all churches, Protestant and 
 Catholic, whose ministers or members were not 
 in active sympathy with the Union. 
 
 Muc h which it has been thought proper to 
 include in this book time has made obsolete, and 
 the only value is that of vindication from sinis 
 ter motives and from perversions of history and 
 law. It is freely conceded that secession and 
 slavery have been settled unalterably against 
 the contention of the South. The issues of 1861 
 can never be revived. African slavery, with 
 universal consent and approval, has ceased as a 
 fact, as an institution, in the United States. The 
 freedom and citizenship of the negro, weighted 
 by universal manhood suffrage, have, because 
 of the unwise embarrassment, generated prob 
 lems difficult and perilous, the right and safe 
 solution of which lies in the remote future. Un- 
 
of the Confederate States. 181 
 
 fortunately, the presence of the negro, almost 
 exclusively in the South, and the illusions so 
 industriously inculcated as to the consequences 
 of emancipation, have prevented the Southern 
 States from doing what they wished and it was 
 their duty to do, in respect to the restored 
 Union and for the amelioration of the negro. 
 Despite these obstacles, the negro has been 
 the beneficiary of the most prodigal and self- 
 sacrificing liberality in the establishment and 
 support of free schools, to which white and 
 black have equal access, and the Union has 
 received evidence of loyalty and affection, 
 unsurpassed by the sacrifices and gifts of any 
 other part of the country. 
 
 If the South be freed from unjust aspersions, 
 with patriotism and courage acknowledged, civic 
 as well as military virtues freely accorded, ac 
 tions based upon long-asserted State rights and 
 the guarantees of the Constitution justly recog 
 nized, there will be in the future, with its ques 
 tions demanding united energies, a whole coun 
 try, with no alienations, no unappeased hates, 
 no wrangling over "dead past," no pulling in 
 
182 Civil History of the Government 
 
 opposite directions. North and South, East and 
 West, joined in purpose and hope and effort, for 
 honor and freedom and glory, will not be sepa 
 rated, in sentiment or party, upon questions deep 
 buried in the irrevocable past. They will be con 
 trolled by a common desire to make America 
 prosperous, contented, happy and free, a consti 
 tutional, representative, Federal republic, the 
 example to all nations struggling for good gov 
 ernment, the beneficent illustration of " Liberty 
 Enlightening the World." 
 
LEGAL JUSTIFICATION OF THE 
 SOUTH IN SECESSION. 
 
LEGAL JUSTIFICATION OF THE 
 SOUTH IN SECESSION. 
 
 The Southern States have shared the fate of all 
 conquered peoples. The conquerors write their 
 history. Power in the ascendant not only makes 
 laws, but controls public opinion. This precedent 
 should make the late Confederates the more anx 
 ious to keep before the public the facts of their 
 history, that impartial writers may weigh and pro 
 perly estimate them in making up the verdict of 
 an unbiased posterity. Besides, as they have been 
 the objects of persistent misrepresentation, and 
 authentic records have been perverted to their 
 prejudice, their descendants are liable to receive 
 and hold opinions hostile and derogatory to their 
 fathers. 
 
 In this series of volumes, pertaining to the his 
 tory of the Confederate States, all concerned wish 
 to disclaim in advance any wish or purpose to 
 reverse the arbitrament of war, to repeal the late 
 amendments to the Constitution, to revive African 
 slavery, or secession as a State right or remedy; or 
 
 24 (185) 
 
186 Civil History of tlie Government 
 
 to organize any party or cultivate an opinion 
 which, directly or indirectly, shall inculcate disloy 
 alty to the Union, or affect the allegiance of citi 
 zens to the Federal Government. Let it be stated, 
 once for all, that this argument as to the right of 
 the South to be protected in property in slaves and 
 the exclusive right of a State to be the final judge 
 of the powers of the General Government, and to 
 apply suitable remedies, is based on the Consti 
 tution and the rights of the States as they existed 
 in I860.* The amendments made since that year 
 in Federal and State constitutions put an en 
 tirely new and different phase on the subjects dis 
 cussed, for these changes have expurgated slavery 
 and secession from our institutions. Our sole 
 object is to present the Southern side of the con 
 troversy as it existed in 1860, and to vindicate it 
 from accusations and aspersions which are based 
 on ignorance and injustice. As the South is ha 
 bitually condemned and held criminal for seeking 
 to perpetuate a great wrong, it is well to inquire 
 and investigate who was responsible for the state 
 of things which precipitated and prolonged the 
 crisis of 1860-1865. If the act of secession can 
 not be justified, the Southern people will be stig- 
 
 * See resolutions of Pennsylvania Legislature in 
 1811. 
 
of the Confederate States. 187 
 
 matized as a brave and rash people deluded by bad 
 men, who attempted in an illegal and wicked man* 
 ner to overthrow the Union. Painfully are we 
 conscious of the disadvantages in any effort to 
 vindicate the motives and principles and conduct 
 of the Southern States and secure a rehearing and 
 readjudication of a suit which seems to have been 
 settled adversely by the tribunal of public opinion. 
 We have a right to ask of our fellow-citizens and 
 of the world a patient and fair hearing while we 
 present anew the grounds of our action. We chal 
 lenge the closest scrutiny of facts and arguments, 
 and if they cannot be disproved and refuted, jus 
 tice and honesty demand a modification or re 
 versal of the adverse judgment. Few writers seem 
 to comprehend the underlying idea of secession 
 or the reasons for the establishment of the South 
 ern Confederacy. Swayed by passion or political 
 and sectional animosity, they ignore the primary 
 facts in our origin as a government, the true prin 
 ciples of the Constitution, the flagrant nullifica 
 tions of the Northern States; and, when they 
 philosophize, conclusions are drawn from false 
 premises, and hence injustice is done. Too often, 
 in the endeavor to narrate the deeds of and since 
 the war, prejudiced and vicious statements as to 
 
188 Civil History of the Government 
 
 character and motives have been accepted and 
 acted on as verifiable or undeniable facts. 
 
 In deciding upon the Tightness or wrongness of 
 secession, in passing judgment upon the Confed 
 erate States, it is essential to proper conclusions 
 that the condition of affairs in 1860 be understood 
 and that clear and accurate notions be had of the 
 nature and character of the Federal Government 
 and of the rights of the States under the consti 
 tutional compact. And here at the threshold one 
 is confronted by dogmas which are substituted 
 for principles, by preconceived opinions which are 
 claimed to be historical verities, and by sentimen 
 tality which closes the avenues to the mind against 
 logic and demonstration. To a student of our po 
 litical and constitutional history it is strange how 
 stubborn historical facts are quietly set aside and 
 inferences and assumptions are used as postulates 
 for huge governmental theories. These errors are 
 studiously perpetuated, for in prescribed courses 
 of reading in civics and history are books full of 
 grossest misstatements, teaching sectional opinions 
 and latitudinous theories, while works which pre 
 sent opposite and sounder views are rigorously 
 excluded. State rights is perhaps the best term, 
 although not precise or definite in its signification, 
 for suggesting the view of the Constitution and of 
 
of the Confederate States. 189 
 
 Federal powers, as held by the Southern States. 
 During the administration of General Washington 
 those who were in favor of protecting the re 
 served rights of the States against threatened or 
 possible encroachment of the delegated powers as 
 sumed the name of the Eepublican party, but 
 were often called the State Eights party.* There 
 is no ultimate nor authoritative appeal for deter 
 mining the political differences between the North 
 and South except the Constitution, but some pre 
 liminary inquiries, answers to which will be sug 
 gestive and argumentative, may aid in understand 
 ing and interpreting that instrument. 
 
 Our Constitution is not a mere temporary ex 
 pedient. It exists in full force until changed by 
 an explicit and authentic act, as prescribed by the 
 instrument, and in its essential features is for all 
 time, for it contains the fundamental principles 
 of all good government, of all free representative 
 institutions. Among these requisites, unalterable 
 by changing conditions of society, are individual 
 
 * "In the great historic debate in the Senate in 1830, 
 Robert Y. Hayne, of South Carolina, said that they 
 assumed the name of Democratic Republicans in 1812. 
 True to their political faith they have always been 
 in favor of limitations of power; they have insisted 
 that all powers not delegated to the Federal Govern 
 ment are reserved, and have been constantly strug- 
 
190 Civil History of the Government 
 
 liberty, freedom of labor, of human development, 
 rights of conscience, equality of the States, dis 
 tribution of political powers into independent 
 executive, legislative, and judicial departments, 
 and a careful restriction of those powers to public 
 uses only, the healthy action of concurrent ma 
 jorities, a careful safeguarding that the power 
 which makes the laws and the power which applies 
 them shall not be in the same hands, and local 
 self-government. The people are ultimately the 
 source of all political power, and the powers dele 
 gated are in trust, alterable or terminable only in 
 a legitimate and prescribed manner. Changes 
 cannot be made to conform to a supposed moral 
 sense, or to new environments, either by the 
 "fierce democracy" or by the action of a depart 
 ment or by a combination of all departments. 
 
 To obtain a correct comprehension of the dig 
 nity and power of the States it is well to consider 
 
 gling to preserve the rights of the States and to pre 
 vent them from being drawn into the vortex and swal 
 lowed up by one great consolidated government. As 
 confirmatory of the statement that the South has been 
 misrepresented and vilified through ignorance, it may 
 be said that, while schoolboys are familiar with "Web 
 ster s eloquent periods, few writers and politicians 
 have read the more logical and unanswerable argu 
 ment of Hayne." 
 
of the Confederate States. 191 
 
 them as they emerged from their colonial condi 
 tion, having waged a tedious and successful war 
 against the mother country, having achieved sepa 
 rate independence and established a new form of 
 government, a federal union of concurrent ma 
 jorities, under a written constitution. The Ameri 
 can colonies have not had sufficient importance 
 ascribed to them for their agency in achieving 
 civil and religious liberty; and, with their rights 
 and powers as separate governments, as the po 
 tential forerunners of our constitutional, repre 
 sentative, Federal republic. The institutions 
 founded in this western world, in the essential ele 
 ments of law and freedom, were far in advance of 
 contemporary transatlantic institutions. The re 
 lations they sustained to one another and to the 
 controlling English Government, their large meas 
 ure of local administration, must be clearly com 
 prehended to do them justice for what they 
 wrought out, and to understand what character 
 and power they preserved as States in the govern 
 ment of their creation under the Federal Consti 
 tution. Their precise political condition prior to 
 the Revolution cannot be obscured. The colonies 
 were separate in the regulation of domestic con 
 cerns, in home affairs, but sustained a common 
 relation to the British empire. The colonists were 
 
192 Civil History of the Government 
 
 fellow-subjects, owed allegiance to the same crown, 
 had all the rights, privileges, and liabilities of 
 every other British subject.* The inhabitants of 
 one colony owed no obedience to the laws, were 
 not under the jurisdiction, of any other colony; 
 were under no civil obligation to bear arms or pay 
 taxes, or in any wise to contribute to the support 
 or defense of another, and were wholly distinct 
 and separate from all others in political functions, 
 in political rights, and in political duties. In so 
 far as all the colonists were one people and had 
 common rights, it was the result of their mutual 
 relation to the same sovereign, of common de 
 pendence on the same head, and not any result of 
 a relation between themselves. There was neither 
 alliance nor confederacy between the colonies. 
 
 When hostilities between Great Britain and the 
 colonies became imminent, because of adverse im 
 perial legislation and the unlimited claim of the 
 right of taxation, and united effort was obvious 
 and imperative to relieve themselves from the bur 
 dens and injustice of the laws and the claims of a 
 distant government, the colonies, each acting for 
 
 * Some of these principles are ably discussed by the 
 Hon. Thomas F. Bayard in an address, 7th of Novem 
 ber, 1895, before tne Edinburgh Philosophical Institu 
 tion. It was this same paper that excited the partisan 
 ire of the House of Representatives in 1896. 
 
of the Confederate States. 193 
 
 itself and not conjointly with any other, sent 
 deputies to a general congress, and when the body 
 assembled each colony had a single vote, and on all 
 questions of general concern they asserted and re 
 tained their equality. The Congresses of 1774, 
 1775 and 1776 were occasional and not permanent 
 bodies, claimed no sovereign authority, had no 
 true governmental powers, and seldom assumed to 
 go beyond deliberation, advice and recommenda 
 tion. When under stress of war and the dan 
 ger or impossibility of delay they acted as a de 
 facto government, their acts were valid, had the 
 force and effect of law only by subsequent con 
 firmation or tacit acquiescence. The common op 
 pressions and dangers were strong incentives to 
 concert of action and to assent and submission to 
 what was done for resistance to a common enemy. 
 There never was any pretense of authority to act 
 on individuals, and in all acts reference was had 
 to the colonies, and never to the people, individu 
 ally or as a nation. 
 
 Virginia made a declaration on the 12th of 
 June, 1776, renouncing her colonial dependence 
 on Great Britain and separating herself forever 
 from that kingdom. On the 29th of June, in the 
 same year, she performed the highest function of 
 independent sovereignty by adopting and ordain- 
 
 25 
 
194: Civil History of the Government 
 
 ing a constitution,, prescribing an oath of fealty 
 and allegiance for all who might hold office tinder 
 her authority, and that remained as the organic 
 law of the Old Dominion until 1829. 
 
 The Declaration of Independence, proclaimed 
 on the 4th of July, was an act of Congress de 
 claring absolution of the colonies from allegiance 
 to the Crown and Government of Great Britain, 
 and that they were "free and independent States." 
 The Congress which made this declaration was ap 
 pointed by the colonies in their separate and dis 
 tinct capacity. They voted on its adoption in 
 their separate character, each giving one vote by 
 all its own representatives, who acted in strict 
 obedience to specific instructions from their re 
 spective colonies, and the members signed the 
 Declaration in that way. The members had au 
 thority to act in the name of their own colony, 
 and not of any other, and were representatives 
 only of the colony which appointed them. Judge 
 Story, in his "Commentaries on the Constitution/ 
 reasons upon this instrument as having the effect 
 of making the colonies "one people/ merging 
 their existence as separate communities into one 
 nation. 
 
 The Declaration of Independence is sometimes 
 quoted as an authoritative political document, de- 
 
of the Confederate States. 195 
 
 fining political rights and duties, as on a parity 
 with the Constitution, and as binding parties and 
 people and courts and States by its utterances. 
 The platform of the Eepublican party in 1856 and 
 1860 affirms the principles of this Declaration to 
 be essential to the preservation of our republican 
 institutions, the Constitution and the rights of 
 the States, when, in truth and in fact, its main 
 and almost its sole object was to declare and jus 
 tify the separation from, and the independence of, 
 the British crown. In no sense was the paper or 
 the act intended as a bill of rights, or to enunciate 
 the fundamental principles of a republic, or to 
 define the status of the colonies, except in their 
 relation to the mother country. No true Ameri 
 can wiH underrate the significance or the impor 
 tance of the act of separation from a foreign 
 empire, or hold otherwise than with the highest 
 respect the reasons which our fathers gave in vin 
 dication of their momentous and courageous ac 
 tion. Refusing to be subject to the authority of 
 the Crown and the Parliament was a heroic un 
 dertaking, dictated by the loftiest patriotism and 
 a genuine love of liberty. Putting into the minds 
 and hearts of our ancestors more far-reaching and 
 prescient purposes than they possessed will not 
 magnify their virtues nor enhance their merit. 
 
196 Civil History of the Government 
 
 They met the issues presented with the sagacity 
 of statesmen, and were not guilty of the folly of 
 the propagandised of the French revolutionists a 
 few years later. 
 
 The colonies being distinct and separate com 
 munities, with sovereignty vested in the British 
 crown, when the tie which bound them to that 
 sovereignty was severed, upon each colony 
 respectively was devolved that sovereignty and 
 each emerged from provincial dependence into an 
 independent and sovereign State. A conclusive 
 proof of the relation of the colonies to one an 
 other and to the revolutionary government is to 
 be found in the recommendation in 1776 for the 
 passing of laws for the punishment of treason, and 
 it was declared that the crime should be consid 
 ered as committed against the colonies individ 
 ually and not against them all as united together. 
 The joint expression of separate wills in reference 
 to continued union with England expressed no 
 opinion and suggested no action on the subject of 
 a common government or of forming a closer 
 union. It completed the severance of the rapidly 
 disuniting ties which bound to the government 
 across the seas. Some of the colonies, prior to the 
 4th of July, had declared their independence and 
 established State constitutions, and now all, by a 
 
of the Confederate States. 197 
 
 more public and stronger and more effective af 
 firmation,, united in doing what had by some been 
 separately resolved upon. Ceasing to be depend 
 ent communities involved no change in relations 
 with one another beyond what was necessarily in 
 cident to separation from the parent country. The 
 supremacy which had previously existed in Great 
 Britain, separately over each colony and not 
 jointly over all, having ceased, each became a free 
 and independent State, taking to herself what 
 applied to and over herself. The Declaration of 
 Independence is not a form of government, not an 
 enumeration of popular rights, not a compact be 
 tween States, but was recognized in its fullest de 
 mands, when, in 1783, Great Britain acknowledged 
 New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, South 
 Carolina, Georgia and the other colonies to be 
 "free, sovereign, and independent States." 
 
 Stress is laid on the revolutionary government 
 and on the Declaration of Independence by those 
 who are anxious to establish the theory of a na 
 tional or consolidated government, reducing the 
 States to mere dependencies upon central power. 
 As has been shown, the contention, derived from 
 those sources, is without legal or historical foun 
 dation; but the temporary government, largely 
 for war purposes, was superseded by the Articles 
 
198 Civil History of the Government 
 
 of Confederation, which, because of the reluctance 
 of the States to delegate their powers, did not be 
 come obligatory until 1781, as their ratification 
 Tby all the States was a condition precedent to their 
 having any binding force. These articles, in ex 
 plicit .terms, incapable of misinterpretation, de 
 clare that "each State retains its sovereignty, free 
 dom, and independence, and every power, jurisdic 
 tion, and right, which is not by this confederation 
 expressly delegated to the United States in Con 
 gress assembled." There can be no mistake here 
 as to the reservation of entire freedom, entire in 
 dependence, entire sovereignty. These were re 
 tained without qualification or limitation, and the 
 use of the word "retains" is the clearest assertion 
 that these unsurrendered prerogatives were pos 
 sessed under the previous government. 
 
 This historical review was not necessary except 
 argumentatively as throwing light on the real 
 facts, and as raising the strong presumption, to 
 be rebutted only by irrefragable proof, that a 
 State once sovereign has not voluntarily surren 
 dered that ultimate supreme power of self-govern 
 ment or self-existence. While in a colonial con 
 dition the people of the several States were in no 
 proper political sense a nation or "one people"; 
 by the declaration and the treaty of peace eacK 
 
of the Confederate States. 199 
 
 State became a complete sovereignty within its 
 own limits; the revolutionary government was a 
 government of the States as such through Con 
 gress as the common agent, and by the Articles 
 of Confederation each State expressly reserved its 
 entire sovereignty and independence. In all this 
 succession of history there was no trend to con 
 solidation, and the most conspicuous feature was 
 the jealous retention by the States of their sepa 
 rate sovereignty. 
 
 EQUALITY AND SOVEREIGNTY OF THE STATES . 
 
 In forming the Constitution of the United 
 States, from whose ratification our "more per 
 fect union" resulted, did the States surrender their 
 equality and sovereignty, and transfer to a central 
 government the powers and rights which in all 
 previous history had been so carefully maintained ? 
 This is the crucial question determining the right 
 of the Southern States in 1860 and 1861 to se 
 cede from the Union and to establish for their 
 own defense and welfare a new Federal Union. 
 Obviously this question should be approached and 
 considered and decided, not by prejudice or pas 
 sion or sectionalism or interest or expediency 
 or wishes of men, but by the Constitution, in its 
 proper meaning as to rights and powers delegated 
 
200 Civil History of the Government 
 
 and rights and powers reserved. Whether seces 
 sion was wise or unwise, expedient or inexpedient, 
 approved or disapproved by a majority of the 
 States, or of the inhabitants, has no relevancy, 
 nothing whatever to do with this discussion. The 
 naked matter is one of right. Was there a su 
 premacy in Congress or in any other department 
 of the government of the Union, or did the 
 States assert and retain their sovereignty as 
 against the world ? 
 
 The States were not created by the government 
 of the Union, but antedated and created that or 
 ganism. Our systems of government are singu 
 larly complex, and hence unintelligible to many 
 foreigners. There are two divisions of power 
 that between the people and their governments 
 and that between the State governments and the 
 Government of the Union. The system is com 
 pounded of the separate governments of the sev 
 eral States, and the one common government of 
 all the members of the Union, called the Govern 
 ment of the United States. Each was formed by 
 written constitutions; those of the several States 
 by the people of each acting separately and in 
 their sovereign character, and that of the United 
 States by the same, acting in the same character, 
 but jointly and in concert instead of separately. 
 
of the Confederate States. 201 
 
 Both governments derive their power from the 
 same source, and were ordained and established 
 by the same authority. These governments are 
 coordinate, and there is a subordination of both 
 to the people of the respective States. Limited 
 rights are delegated by the people to their govern 
 ments, or trustees, and all the residue of the attri 
 butes of sovereignty are retained. The division 
 of the powers into such as are delegated specifi 
 cally to the common and joint government of all 
 the States, to be exercised for the benefit and 
 safety of each and all, and the reservation of all 
 to the States respectively, to be exercised through 
 the separate governments, are what makes ours a 
 system of governments. Taking all the parts to 
 gether, the people of forty-five independent and 
 sovereign States, confederated by a solemn con 
 stitutional compact into one great Federal com 
 munity, with a system of government, in all of 
 which powers are separated into the great primary 
 divisions of the constitution-making and the law- 
 making powers; those of the latter class being di 
 vided between the common and joint government 
 of all the States, and the separate and local gov 
 ernments of each State, respectively; and finally, 
 the powers of both distributed among three sepa 
 rate and independent departments legislative, 
 
 26 
 
202 Civil History of the Government 
 
 executive, and judicial present, in the whole, a 
 political system as remarkable for its grandeur as 
 it is for its novelty and refinement of organiza 
 tion.* 
 
 Under the English form of government this 
 division with limitations is unknown, and Parlia- ! 
 ment is supreme. Madison, in the Federalist, says: | 
 "The Federal and State governments are, in fact, I 
 but different agents and trustees of the people, in 
 stituted with different powers and designed for dif 
 ferent purposes." Hamilton says : "In the com 
 pound republics of America, the power surren 
 dered by the people is first divided between two 
 distinct governments, and the portion allotted to 
 each sub-divided among distinct and separate de 
 partments. Hence a double security arises to the 
 rights of the people. The different governments 
 will control each other at the same time that each 
 will be controlled by itself." 
 
 The Union is not the primary social or politi 
 cal relation of those who formed it. The State 
 governments were already organized and were ade 
 quate to all the purposes of their municipal con 
 cerns. The Federal Government was established 
 only for such purposes as the State governments 
 
 *1 Calhoun s Works, 112, 113, 199. 
 
of the Confederate States. 203 
 
 and the confederation could not sufficiently an 
 swer namely, the common purpose of all the 
 States. The people of the States, not as a unit, 
 not in the aggregate, hut separately, hold in them 
 selves all governmental power. One portion they 
 granted to the State governments ; another to the 
 government of the Union, and the residue they 
 retained undelegated in themselves. The grants 
 were in trust for their "benefit, and created the 
 division of political power "between the Federal 
 and the State governments, which division con 
 stitutes the gist and sum total of the controversy 
 "between the government at Washington and the 
 seceding States. During and soon after a war 
 waged for eight years to resist a claim to legislate 
 for them locally and internally, inferred from par 
 liamentary supremacy, the colonies or States con 
 structed two unions and established in hoth a 
 division of power hearing a strong similitude to 
 that upon which they were willing to have con 
 tinued their union with England namely, yield 
 ing to her the regulation of war, peace, and com 
 merce, and retaining for themselves local and in 
 ternal legislation. The first union "retains" to 
 the States the sovereignty and rights not dele 
 gated to the United States; the second "reserves * 
 to the States the powers not delegated to the 
 
204 Civil History of the Government 
 
 United States. The first confers upon Congress 
 almost all the powers of importance bestowed by 
 the second, except that of regulating commerce; 
 the second only extends the means for executing 
 the same powers by bestowing on Congress a lim 
 ited power of taxation; but these means were by 
 neither intended to supersede nor defeat those 
 ends retained or reserved by both. By the first, 
 unlimited requisitions to meet "the charges of 
 war and all other expenses for the common defense 
 and general welfare" were to be made by Con 
 gress upon the States. By the second, Congress is 
 empowered to lay taxes, under certain restrictions, 
 to "provide for the common defense and general 
 welfare." A sovereign or absolute right to dis 
 pose of these requisitions or taxes without any 
 restriction is not given to Congress by either. The 
 general terms used in both are almost Kterally the 
 same, and, therefore, they must have been used in 
 both under the same impression of their import 
 and effect.* 
 
 An obiter dictum of Justice Miller, of the Su 
 preme Court, gives point to the value of restric 
 tions and of enforcing them. "To lay with one 
 hand the power of the government on the pro- 
 
 Baylor s Construction Construed, p. 55. 
 
of the Confederate States. 205 
 
 perty of the citizen, and with the other to bestow 
 it upon favored individuals to aid private enter 
 prises and build up private fortunes, is none the 
 less a robbery because it is done under the favor 
 of the law." 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION MADE BY STATES. 
 
 As everything in this discussion depends on the 
 Constitution it seems prudent to state with some 
 particularity its origin, its establishment, and its 
 terms. The confederation was found to be inade 
 quate to the ends of an effective government. The 
 States adopted conflicting and even hostile com 
 mercial regulations, and trade suffered from these 
 embarrassments. The Legislature of Virginia, 
 impressed with the necessity of a government of 
 larger powers, appointed in 1786 commissioners 
 to meet commissioners from other States at An 
 napolis to prepare for adoption by the States a 
 uniform plan of commercial regulations. Some 
 met and recommended to their respective legisla 
 tures to appoint delegates to meet in general con 
 vention at Philadelphia for the purpose of re 
 forming the government as the interests of the 
 States might require. Congress approved the 
 recommendation and suggested a convention of 
 delegates to be appointed by the several States to 
 
206 Civil History of the Government 
 
 meet in Philadelphia and to report to Congress 
 and the several legislatures such alteration of the 
 Articles of Confederation as shall, when agreed 
 to in Congress and confirmed by the States, ren 
 der the Federal Constitution adequate to the 
 exigencies of government and the preservation of 
 the Union. 
 
 Accordingly, the convention was composed 
 of deputies appointed by the States, and they 
 voted as States. Madison, in recording their 
 action, on agreeing to the Constitution, says : "It 
 passes in the affirmative, all the States concur 
 ring." It was transmitted to the several State 
 legislatures, to be by them submitted to State 
 conventions, and each State for itself ratified at 
 different times, without concert of action, except 
 in the result to be ascertained. As the jurisdic 
 tion of a State was limited to its own territory, 
 its ratification was limited to its own people. The 
 Constitution got its validity, its vitality, not from 
 the inhabitants as constituting one great nation, 
 nor from the people of all the States considered 
 as one people, but from the concurrent action of 
 a prescribed number of States, each acting sepa 
 rately and pretending to no claim or right to act 
 for or control other States. That each of these 
 States had the right to decline to ratify and re- 
 
of the Confederate States. 207 
 
 main out of the Union for all time to come, no 
 sane man will deny. Ehode Island and North 
 Carolina did, in the undoubted exercise of an un 
 disputed right, refuse to enter the compact until 
 after the government was organized arid Wash 
 ington entered upon his duties as President. "The 
 assent and ratification of the people," says Madi 
 son, "not as individuals composing an entire na 
 tion, but as composing the distinct and inde 
 pendent States to which they belong, are the 
 sources of the Constitution. It is, therefore, not 
 a national, out a federal compact." 
 
 Virginia, in her ratification as a distinct, sov 
 ereign community, had said : "The delegates do, in 
 the name and in behalf of the people of Virginia, 
 declare and make known that the powers granted 
 under the Constitution, being derived from the 
 people of the United States, may be resumed by 
 them whensoever the same shall be perverted to 
 their injury or oppression, and that every power 
 not granted thereby remains with them and at 
 their will/ * 
 
 Maryland declared that nothing in the Consti 
 tution "warrants a construction that the States 
 
 *5 Bulletin of the Bureau of Rolls, 145. 1 Calhoun a 
 Works, 248-251. 
 
208 Civil History of the Government 
 
 do not retain every power not expressly relin 
 quished by them and vested in the General Gov 
 ernment of the Union." New York more ex 
 plicitly said: "That the powers of government 
 may be reassumed by the people whenever it 
 should become necessary to their happiness, that 
 every power, jurisdiction, and right which is not 
 by the said Constitution clearly delegated to the 
 Congress of the United States or the departments 
 of the government thereof, remains to the people 
 of the several States, or to their respective State 
 governments, to whom they may have granted the 
 same; and that those clauses in the said Constitu 
 tion which declares that Congress shall not have 
 or exercise certain powers, do not imply that Con 
 gress is entitled to any powers not given by the 
 said Constitution, but such clauses are to be con 
 strued either as exceptions to certain specified 
 powers or as inserted merely for greater caution." 
 Ehode Island lingered until 1790, and then 
 adopted the cautious phraseology of New York, 
 specifying certain rights and declaring that they 
 shall not be abridged or violated, and that the pro 
 posed amendments would speedily become a part 
 of the Constitution, gave her assent to the com 
 pact, but declared that "the powers of govern- 
 
of the Confederate States. 209 
 
 merit may be reassumed by the people whenever it 
 shall become necessary to their happiness."* 
 
 Other States showed equal concern and jealousy. 
 Besides the clear assertion on the part of ratifying 
 States of the right to reassume delegated powers, 
 a larger number were so apprehensive and dis 
 trustful of Federal encroachment, so jealous in 
 the maintenance of their respective rights, that 
 they attached bills of rights to their assent or 
 proposed amendments to restrict the general gov 
 ernment, the incorporation of which into the Con 
 stitution was earnestly insisted upon. 
 
 It has now been demonstrated that with jealous 
 vigilance the States retained their separateness 
 as sovereign communities in all the forms of po 
 litical existence through which they passed. That 
 they adopted their separate State constitutions in 
 their sovereign character is indisputable. That 
 the deputies who framed the Federal Constitution 
 were appointed by the several States each on its 
 own authority; that they voted in the convention 
 by States; that their votes were counted by 
 States; that when framed the instrument was 
 submitted to the people of the several States for 
 their independent ratification; that the States 
 
 *5 Bureau of Rolls, 140-145, 190, 191, 311. 
 
 27 
 
210 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ratified and adopted, each for itself, as distinct 
 sovereign communities; that the Constitution had 
 no binding force over a State or its citizens except 
 in consequence of this adoption; that it was valid 
 as a covenant of union, the Federal compact, only 
 as between the States so ratifying the same, are 
 facts alike incontestable. All these acts were by 
 the States and for the States, without any partici 
 pation on the part of the people regarded in the 
 aggregate as forming a nation. Our controversy 
 arose, not so much from these historical incidents 
 (although historians, judges, editors and congress 
 men have denied or misinterpreted them all) as 
 from the import and effect and construction of the 
 agreement so formally and cautiously made. 
 
 Did the act of ratification of itself, or does the 
 Constitution in its grants, divest the States of 
 their character as separate political communities 
 and merge them all into one nation, one American 
 people? The Constitution superseded the Articles 
 of Confederation because the parties to those arti 
 cles agreed that it should be so. If they have not 
 so agreed the articles are still binding on the 
 States. In point of fact the Constitution did be 
 come obligatory as a compact of government 
 by the voluntary and separate ratification and 
 adoption of the several States. Massachusetts 
 
of the Confederate States. 211 
 
 and New Hampshire, in their ratification, call 
 the Constitution a compact, and the Federal 
 Union must be so ? or the result of a compact, 
 because sovereign States would not otherwise 
 have agreed and expressed their agreement. Some 
 made provisos, others suggested -amendments, 
 which make plain the intention of the fathers 
 in entering the Union. The apprehensions of 
 consolidation were so strong that to guard 
 against such a possible evil, provisions to pre 
 vent were incorporated in the acts of assent. 
 
 The right to resume surrendered powers, as af 
 firmed by three of the States, has been mentioned. 
 Massachusetts, South Carolina, New Hampshire 
 and Virginia were so alarmed at the liability to 
 absorption of unsurrendered powers that they pro 
 posed an amendment to the effect that each State 
 shall respectively retain every power, jurisdiction 
 and right which had not been delegated in the 
 Constitution. This was modified and adopted in 
 regular constitutional form, and is known as the 
 Ninth Article. All the suggestions were in the 
 nature of limitations and restrictions, showing 
 distrust of centralization and a determined pur 
 pose to preserve from invasion or impairment the 
 rights of the States. It was felt that time and 
 experience would show the wisdom of changes and 
 
212 Civil History of the Government 
 
 of adaptations to new environments, and thus it 
 was wisely provided that amendments might be 
 made, but should be valid only "when ratified by 
 the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 
 States or by conventions in three-fourths thereof/ 
 As the States -only could make a constitution, so 
 three-fourths of them, as separate political cor 
 porations, could amend the instrument. The fa 
 vorite theory of many, that the States were 
 merged into the government of the Union, into 
 an aggregated unit, is an assumption totally irre 
 concilable with the fact that this same people can 
 neither alter nor amend their government. When 
 that essential function has to be performed, it is 
 indispensable to summon into new life and ac 
 tivity those very State sovereignties, which, by 
 the supposition, lost their individual power and 
 vitality by the very act creating the instrument 
 which they are required to amend. Had the Con 
 stitution originated from the people inhabiting 
 the territories of the whole Union, its amendment 
 would have remained to them, as the amendment 
 of a State constitution belongs to the people of 
 the State. But as such a body of associated peo 
 ple is a myth, a figment of the brain, the power of 
 amendment is left in the hands of the existing 
 bodies politic, the creators of the Constitution and 
 
of the Confederate States. 213 
 
 of the Union. The positive supervising power 
 bestowed by the compact upon the State govern 
 ment and the people over the whole Federal Gov 
 ernment flatly contradicts the idea that the same 
 compact designed constructively to bestow a su 
 pervising power upon Congress or other depart 
 ment over the State governments. 
 
 The government was organized in 1789, and as 
 sumed its place among the nations of the earth. 
 Soon amendments proposed by the ratifying 
 States were submitted, as the Constitution pre 
 scribed, to the respective States and adopted by 
 them. These amendments have no direct rela 
 tion to the immediate objects for which the Union 
 was formed, and, with few exceptions, were in 
 tended to guard against improper constructions 
 of the Constitution, or the abuse of the delegated 
 powers, or to protect the government itself in the 
 exercise of its proper functions. They sought to 
 guard the people and the States against Federal 
 usurpation, and one of them Jefferson pronounced 
 "the corner stone of the Constitution." The 
 ninth amendment prohibits a construction by 
 which the rights retained by the people shall be 
 denied or disparaged by the enumeration, but the 
 tenth, in language that tyranny cannot pervert 
 or dispute, "reserves to the States respectively or 
 
214 Civil History of tlie Government 
 
 to the people the powers not delegated to the 
 United States nor prohibited to the States/ 
 
 Could any language more conclusively show the 
 ultimate authority of the States, or that the Gen 
 eral Government has no more right to enforce its 
 decision against those of the several States where 
 they disagree as to the extent of their respective 
 powers than the latter have of enforcing their 
 decisions in like cases ? This reservation was in 
 corporated from a caution deemed unnecessary 
 and excessive by some, because such a reservation 
 is of the very essence and structure of the Con 
 stitution, but it has been vindicated as a marked 
 demonstration of the wisdom and sagacity of the 
 fathers. Instead of receiving powers, the States 
 bestowed them, and in confirmation of their 
 original authority most carefully reserved every 
 right they had not relinquished. The powers re 
 served by those who possessed them, the distinct 
 people of each State, are those not delegated or 
 prohibited, and were intended to remove a sus 
 picion of a tendency in the Constitution toward 
 consolidation which had been vigorously charged 
 by some of those who had opposed the ratifica 
 tion. It cannot be reiterated too often that the 
 people do not derive their rights from govern 
 ment. In England Magna Charta and other fran- 
 
of the Confederate States. 215 
 
 ehises were granted by kings and residuary rights 
 remain in and with the government; here un- 
 granted rights remain with the grantors, and 
 these are the people of the States. 
 
 RELATION OF STATES TO THE UNION UNDER THE 
 CONSTITUTION. 
 
 We are now prepared to consider the action of 
 the South, which rested upon the relation which 
 the States and the Federal Government bore to 
 each other. What the South maintained was that 
 the Union, or General Government, emanated 
 from the people of the several States, acting in 
 their separate and sovereign capacity, as distinct 
 political communities; that the Constitution, be 
 ing a compact to which each State was a party f 01 
 the purpose of good government and the protec 
 tion of life, liberty and property, the several 
 States had the right to judge of infractions of the 
 Constitution, or of the failure of the common gov 
 ernment to subserve its covenanted ends, and to 
 interpose by secession or otherwise for protecting 
 the great residuary mass of undelegated powers, 
 and for maintaining within their respective limits 
 the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining 
 to them. The third Virginia resolution of 1798, 
 drawn by Madison, puts this very clearly: "That 
 this assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily de- 
 
216 Civil History of the Government 
 
 clare that it views the powers of the Federal Gov 
 ernment as resulting from the compact to which 
 the States are parties, as limited by the plain sense 
 and intention of the instrument constituting 
 that compact, as no further valid than they are 
 authorized by the grants enumerated in the com 
 pact, and that in case of deliberate, palpable and 
 dangerous exercise of other powers not granted by 
 the said compact, the States, who are parties 
 thereto, have the right and are in duty bound to 
 interpose for arresting the progress of the evil 
 and for maintaining within their respective limits 
 the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining 
 to them." 
 
 The States, in adopting the Constitution and 
 surrendering many attributes of sovereignty, 
 might have surrendered all their powers and 
 even their separate existence. Were they guilty 
 of this felo de se, or did each retain the equal 
 right to judge of the failure of the govern 
 ment to accomplish stipulated objects as well as 
 of the mode and measure of redress and the means 
 of protecting its citizens ? We have held that the 
 obvious and chief purpose of the Constitution was 
 to invest the Federal Government with such pow 
 ers only as equally affected the members of the 
 community called the Union and to leave to the 
 
of the Confederate States. 217 
 
 States all remaining powers. The greater part of 
 the powers delegated to the General Government 
 relate directly or indirectly to two great divisions 
 of authority the one pertaining to the foreign 
 relations of the country; the other of an internal 
 character the purposes for which the Constitu 
 tion was formed being power, security and re 
 spectability without, and peace, tranquillity and 
 harmony within. Mr. Calhoun, in early political 
 life, stated clearly our dual system. The Ameri 
 can Union is a democratic federal republic a po 
 litical system compounded of the separate govern 
 ments of the several States and of one common 
 government of all the States, called the Govern 
 ment of the United States. The powers of each 
 are -sovereign, and neither derives its powers from 
 the other. In their respective spheres neither is 
 subordinate to the other, but coordinate; and, 
 being coordinate, each has the right of protecting 
 its own powers from the encroachments of the 
 other, the two combined forming one entire and 
 separate government. The line of demarkation 
 between the powers delegated to the Federal Gov 
 ernment and the powers reserved to the States is 
 plain, inasmuch as all the powers delegated to 
 the General Government are expressly laid down, 
 
 28 
 
218 Civil History of the Government 
 
 and those not delegated are reserved to the States 
 unless specially prohibited. 
 
 Much is said and written in praise of the British 
 Constitution, but in large degree it is intangible 
 and indefinable. It exists in no exact form, except 
 as contained in Magna Charta, Petition of Eight 
 and some other muniments of liberty. Elsewhere it 
 is to be searched for in usage, tradition, precedent 
 and public opinion, and chiefly consists in direct 
 parliamentary control of the responsible heads of 
 the great departments of state. Knowing how 
 illusory and deceptive were constitutional guaran 
 tees, which existed only in repealable statutes or 
 the varying will of parliament, our ancestors pre 
 ferred to repose on fixed definitions and asserted 
 rights, embodied in organic law, having more dig 
 nity, permanence and sacredness than a mere 
 municipal or statutory regulation. In proportion 
 as power was liable to be abused, it was thought 
 wise to impose and strengthen checks and re 
 straints. If the judgment of the governing body 
 be the only limit to its powers, then there is noth 
 ing to control that judgment or to correct its 
 errors. The minority is regulated to the uncer 
 tain remedy of rebellion or revolution. Restric 
 tions, however clear and ascertainable, if there 
 be no right or power to enforce, will end in legis- 
 
of the Confederate States. 219 
 
 lative omnipotence which makes useless a written 
 constitution. True liberty demands severe re 
 straints to prevent degeneracy into license and 
 needs a discipline to be compelled by some exte 
 rior authority. It is absurd to make one s rights 
 contingent upon the conscience or reason of an 
 other. 
 
 There is but one safe rule to be adopted 
 by those intrusted with ecclesiastical or civil 
 power if you do not wish to hurt me, put it out 
 of your power to do so. If a government, or a 
 department of a government, can interpret finally 
 its own powers, or take without hindrance what 
 powers it pleases, then it may as well have had 
 originally all powers, without the mockery of a 
 verbal limitation. Mr. Jefferson deprecated 
 "usurpation of the powers retained by the States, 
 interpolations into the compact, and direct in 
 fractions of it," and as late as 1825 solemnly as 
 serted that though a dissolution of the Union 
 would be a great calamity, submission to a gov 
 ernment of unlimited powers would be a greater. 
 Under our written Constitution the powers of the 
 government were distributed among several co 
 ordinate departments, and instead of being left 
 to be scrambled for were denned with such pre 
 cision that generally each may ascertain its own, 
 
220 Civil History of the Government 
 
 unless blinded by ambition or partisanship or sel 
 fishness. The jurisdiction of each is limited to 
 certain enumerated objects, and this division, 
 with checks and balances, was to prevent the evils 
 Jefferson deplored, and which have always at 
 tended irresponsible and ill-defined authority. 
 
 As the written Constitution, with all its supe 
 riority to unwritten usage, is not self-executory, 
 the practical and vital question continually arises, 
 who is to guard and enforce its limitations, and 
 who is the ultimate arbiter in case of dangerous 
 infractions? The famous Kentucky resolutions 
 of 1798, drawn by Jefferson, affirm that the States 
 composing the Union are not united on the prin 
 ciple of unlimited submission to their general 
 government; that each State, while delegating 
 certain definite powers to that government, re 
 served the residuary mass of right to their own 
 self-government; and that the government created 
 by the compact to which each State acceded as a 
 State and is an integral party, was not made the 
 exclusive or final judge of the powers delegated 
 to itself, since that would have made its discre 
 tion and not the Constitution the measure of its 
 powers. In 1799 he reaffirmed the declaration 
 and added that the principle that the General 
 Government was the exclusive judge of the pow- 
 
of the Confederate States. 22.1 
 
 ers delegated to it stopped nothing short of des 
 potism. 
 
 The favorite allegation of consolidationists is 
 that the Constitution and the laws made in 
 pursuance thereof are the supreme law of the 
 land. No one questions that statement, but what 
 is the Constitution what laws are in pursuance 
 thereof? The consequent assumption is that the 
 Supreme Court is the safe referee and the final 
 judge. In all questions of a judicial nature of 
 which the court has lawful cognizance, it is the 
 final judge and interpreter, and there is no power 
 in the government to which the court belongs to 
 reverse its decisions or resist its authority, but the 
 jurisdiction of the Federal courts is limited and 
 the Federal judiciary is only a department of the 
 government whose acts are called in question. 
 Numerous instances of usurped powers might oc 
 cur which the form of the Constitution could 
 never draw within the control of the judicial de 
 partment. The Supreme Court might assume 
 jurisdiction over subjects not allowed by the Con 
 stitution, and there is no power in the General 
 Government to gainsay it. 
 
 Charles Sumner, associated in the Northern 
 mind with John Brown as a semi-inspired apostle, 
 spoke in 1854 in lofty scorn of according to the 
 
222 Civil History of the Government 
 
 Supreme Court the "power of fastening such, 
 interpretation as they see fit upon any part of 
 the Constitution adding to it, or subtracting 
 from it, or positively varying its requirements 
 actually making and unmaking the Constitu 
 tion; and to their work all good citizens must 
 bow as of equal authority with the original in 
 strument." Sometimes the court is divided, the 
 dissenting judges possessing hy universal con 
 cession the greater wisdom, more legal learn 
 ing and ability; sometimes, not bound by its 
 own judgment, the court reverses its decisions and 
 stands on both sides of a question. "If the court 
 itself be not constrained by its own precedents, 
 how can coordinate branches under oath to sup 
 port the Constitution," and the creating States, 
 "like the court itself, called incidentally to inter 
 pret the Constitution, be constrained by them?" 
 Sometimes to procure a reversal it is held that the 
 court, by action of Congress, may hereafter be 
 constituted differently, and we have a memorable 
 precedent of the enlargement of the court and of 
 the appointment of additional justices, whose 
 opinions were well known in advance, in order to 
 secure a reversal of the legal tender decision. 
 
 Jefferson, in 1820, saw how by the silent and 
 potential influence of judicial interpretation the 
 
of the Confederate States. 223 
 
 government was in great danger, and he wrote to 
 Thomas Eitehie: "The judiciary of the United 
 States is the subtle corps of sappers and miners 
 constantly working underground to undermine 
 the foundations of our confederated fabric. * * 
 A judiciary independent of a king or executive 
 alone is a good thing, but independence of the will 
 of the nation is a solecism, at least in a republican 
 government." The powers reserved in the tenth 
 amendment are not only reserved against the 
 Federal Government in whole, but against each 
 department, the judicial as well as the legislative 
 and executive. Otherwise the Federal sphere is 
 supreme and the spheres of the States are subor 
 dinate. 
 
 It cannot be tolerated for a moment that the 
 Supreme Court has the right to modify every 
 power inhering in the State governments, or un- 
 delegated by the people, so as to exempt its own 
 action from, their influence. That would be to 
 concentrate absolute sovereignty in the court. If 
 the Federal Government, in its entirety, has no 
 authority in the last resort to judge of the extent 
 of its own powers, how can a single department, 
 even the Supreme Court, have this authority? 
 What folly for the States to reserve powers 
 against the Federal Government if that govern- 
 
224: Civil History of the Government 
 
 merit, in whole or in part, has the ultimate deci 
 sion as to what was reserved! To the Supreme 
 Court all the jurisdiction which properly belongs 
 is cheerfully yielded, but in it no more than in 
 the other departments can be safely reposed the 
 trust of ascertaining, defining, or limiting the un- 
 delegated powers of the States. 
 
 History is said to be constantly repeating itself. 
 This assumption of the Federal Government 
 through all or either of the departments to de 
 cide, ultimately and authoritatively, upon the 
 character and extent of the grants and limitations 
 of the Constitution, upon the powers it possesses, 
 is a claim of absolute sovereignty and is not dis 
 tinguishable from the unrepublican theory of 
 the Divine Right, as expounded by Filmer and 
 other such writers. Reduced to its real signifi 
 cance, it is practically what was asserted by the 
 "Holy Alliance" of 1815, when certain European 
 sovereigns, under a kind of approved orthodox 
 despotism, assumed the prerogative to perpetuate 
 existing dynasties, to suppress rebellions and revo 
 lutions, and to- crush out civil and religious lib 
 erty. This alliance insisted that governments did 
 not derive their authority or legitimacy from the 
 assent of the people; that all who asserted such 
 political heresies were outlaws and traitors; that 
 
of the Confederate States. 225 
 
 constitutions have no legitimate source except 
 absolute power; that governments grant or with 
 hold what they please; that every movement in 
 opposition to the "powers that he" is a monster 
 to he crushed; and that all resistance to oppression 
 is involved in the same anathema, however legiti 
 mate or defensible. 
 
 There are some who see and concede the un 
 reasonableness of making the discretion of a ma 
 jority in Congress the measure of the powers 
 granted or withheld in the Constitution, and that 
 this nullifies the limitations and guarantees of 
 the compact, and they recognize the necessity of 
 resistance and interposition where reserved rights 
 have been trampled on. Declining to accept the 
 State rights theory, they have, under the stress 
 of the necessity of not leaving wrongs unrighted 
 and guarantees disregarded, suggested that the 
 true remedy is an appeal to the "sober second 
 thought" of the people, or, that failing, to a popu 
 lar uprising to overthrow the offending govern 
 ment. This is the logical fallacy of begging the 
 question. What people? En masse? No such 
 people politically ever existed. The people who 
 offended ? Who will convince them of their error ? 
 
 " When self the wavering balance shakes, 
 It s rarely right adjusted" 
 
226 Civil History of the Government 
 
 Rebellion or revolution assumes that the acts 
 complained of were done by legitimate authority, 
 in due course of procedure, according to valid 
 forms. That is the gist of the question in issue. 
 If successful, rebellion becomes right; if unsuc 
 cessful, it is treason. It is not an appeal to reason, 
 justice, morality, law, but to brute force. It be 
 longs to the slave, and is the mere right of self- 
 preservation. It is a travesty on freedom, on con 
 stitutions, on civilizations. Might can never make 
 right. It is great only in the service of right 
 eousness. Were Satan omnipotent he would be 
 none the less Satan, rather all the more the in 
 carnation of evil, in potent antagonism to the 
 good. Our fathers do not deserve such a re 
 proach. They were not guilty of such folly. With 
 a prescient statesmanship, far beyond their times, 
 they made adequate protection for the rights and 
 liberties of posterity, and made not their main 
 tenance dependent on avoirdupois or the fluctu 
 ating will of an interested or fanatical populace. 
 
 STATES MUST DECIDE SECTIONALISM PRODUCED DIS 
 UNION. 
 
 The Federal Government, as the representative 
 and embodiment of the delegated powers, has no 
 disposition, and, within itself or in its organiza- 
 
of the Confederate States. 227 
 
 tion, no provisions to prevent the delegated from 
 encroaching on the powers reserved to the severa] 
 States. This government, neither through th$ 
 President, the Congress, nor the courts, having 
 the right to determine finally whether the com 
 pact has been dangerously violated or has failecj 
 to subserve the purpose of its formation, it follows, 
 irresistibly that where the forms of the Constitu 
 tion prove ineffectual against dangers to the equal 
 ity and essential rights of the States, the parties 
 to it, these States have the sole right to inter^ 
 fere for arresting the progress of the evil and for 
 maintaining within their respective limits the 
 rights and liberties appertaining to them. The 
 interposition of a State in its sovereign character, 
 as a party to the constitutional compact, was th<* 
 only means furnished by the system to resist en 
 croachments and prevent entire absorption of the, 
 powers which were purposely withheld from the 
 General Government. Madison said: "Where re 
 sort can be had to no tribunal superior to the 
 authority of the parties, the parties themselves 
 must be the rightful judges in the last resort, 
 whether the bargain made has been pursued or 
 violated. The Constitution of the United States 
 was formed by the sanction of the States, given 
 by , each in its sovereign capacity. The States, 
 
228 Civil History of the Government 
 
 then, being parties to the constitutional compact 
 and in their sovereign capacity, it follows of ne 
 cessity that there can be no tribunal above their 
 authority to decide, in the last resort, whether 
 the compact made by them be violated, and con 
 sequently that, as the parties to it, they must 
 themselves decide, in the last resort, such ques? 
 tions as may be of sufficient magnitude to require 
 their interposition." An assemblage of citizens 
 of Boston in Faneuil Hall, in 1809, state, in a 
 celebrated memorial, that they looked only to the 
 State legislatures, who were competent to devise 
 relief against the unconstitutional acts of the 
 General Government. "That your power is ade 
 quate to that object is evident from the organiza 
 tion of the confederacy." 
 
 How the States were to exercise this high power 
 of interposition, which constitutes so essential a 
 portion of their reserved rights that it cannot be 
 delegated without an entire surrender of their 
 sovereignty and converting our system from a 
 federal into a consolidated government, is a ques 
 tion that the States only are competent to deter 
 mine. The reservation of powers is to "the. 
 States respectively"; that is ? to each State sepa 
 rately and distinctly. The Constitution contains- 
 
of the Confederate States. 229 
 
 no provision whatsoever for the exercise of the 
 rights reserved nor any stipulation respecting it. 
 
 It does not seem reasonable to look to the 
 Government of the United States, in which the 
 delegated powers are vested, for the means of re 
 sisting encroachments on the reserved powers. 
 That would be to expect power to tie its own 
 hands, to relinquish its own claims, or to look for 
 protection against danger to the quarter from 
 which only it could possibly come.* 
 
 Every sovereignty is the judge alone of its 
 own compacts and agreements. Each State must 
 have the right to interpret the agreement for 
 itself unless it has clearly waived that right in 
 favor of another power. That it has not been 
 waived has been placed beyond refutation, for 
 otherwise the powers of the government at Wash 
 ington are universal and the enumerations and 
 reservations are idle mockeries. And so a written 
 constitution, however carefully guarded the grant 
 and limitations, is no barrier against the usurpa 
 tions of governments and no security for the 
 rights and liberties of the people. Restrictions 
 are contemptuously disregarded or undermined 
 by the gradual process of usurpation, until the in 
 strument is of no more force, nor any more re- 
 
 
 *1 Calhoun, 237. 
 
230 Civil History of the Government 
 
 spected, than an act of Congress. Constitutional 
 scruples are hooted at, and suggested barriers of 
 want of authority are ridiculed as abstractions or 
 the theories of political doctrinaires. The Federal 
 judiciary, the Congress, the Executive, the Con 
 stitution, the Union, are but emanations of the 
 sovereignty of the States, and the States are not 
 bound by their wishes, necessities, action, except 
 as they have agreed to be bound, and this agree 
 ment was made, not with the Union, the Federal 
 Government, their agent and creature, but with 
 one another. "Vicious legislation must be reme 
 died by the people who suffer from the effects of 
 it, and not by those who enjoy its benefits. 
 (Bryan). They made their compact as sovereign 
 States, and as such they alone are to determine 
 the nature and extent of that agreement and how 
 far they are to be bound. Each State was grantor 
 and grantee receiving precisely what it had 
 granted. 
 
 The Federal Government was in no sense a 
 party to the Constitution; it has no original 
 powers and can exert only what the States 
 surrendered to it, and these States, from the 
 very nature and structure of the common gov 
 ernment, are alone competent to decide, in the 
 last resort, what powers they intended to confer 
 
of the Confederate States. 231 
 
 upon their agent. The States were not so stupid 
 as to confer upon their creature, the Union, the 
 power to obliterate them, or reduce them to the 
 relation of dependence which counties sustain to 
 the State. This high, supreme, ultimate power 
 of our whole system resides in its fullness in the 
 people of the several States, the only people 
 known to us as performing political functions. 
 The General Government is not superior to the 
 States, and has no existence nor autonomy out 
 side, irrespective of, contrary to, the States. The 
 Union could not exist a day if all of the States 
 were to withdraw their cooperation. The Presi 
 dent, the Senate and Eepresentatives, with all 
 their powers, are conditioned upon the action of 
 the States. Hamilton, in Federalist, No. LIX., 
 said: "It is certainly true that the State legisla 
 tures, by forbearing the appointment of senators, 
 may destroy the National Government/ The 
 Federal Government, the Union, as a corporate 
 body politic, does not claim its life, nor a single 
 power, from the people apart from State organi 
 zations. 
 
 In truth and in fact there is not, nor ever has 
 been, such a political entity as the people of 
 the United States in the aggregate, separated 
 from, independent of, the voluntary or covenanted 
 
232 Civil History of the Government 
 
 action of the States. That anything is consti 
 tutional or admissible simply because the judi 
 ciary, or the Executive,, or the Congress, or the 
 moral convictions of citizens approve, or the 
 country will be benefited by it, is a modern in 
 vention, and has no basis in our constitutional 
 federal republic. To put in it the least objec 
 tionable form, the States, in their undelegated 
 powers, are as important, as supreme, as the Gen 
 eral Government, and the theory of State sub 
 jugation, of provincial dependencies, is a pure 
 afterthought to justify arbitrary and ungranted 
 authority. It is indisputable that by far the 
 greater part of the topics of legislation, the whole 
 vast range of rights of person and property 
 where the administration of law and justice comes 
 closest home to the daily life of the people are 
 exclusively or chiefly within the power of the 
 States. The number of topics of legislation which 
 lie outside the pale of national legislation greatly 
 exceeds the number to which the power of State 
 legislation does not extend.* 
 
 If the Union be indissoluble, with equal or 
 greater propriety, we may affirm that the States 
 are equal and indestructible. 
 
 ^Federalist, No. XIV.; Mich. Lect. 244; 1 Calhoun, 
 197, 204, 214, 215. 
 
of the Confederate States. 233 
 
 When the adoption of the Constitution was un 
 der discussion before the State conventions, with 
 an uncertain result, its enemies were alarmed on 
 account of the magnitude of powers conferred on 
 the General Government, and its friends were 
 fearful because of alleged feebleness in compari 
 son with extent of reserved powers; but neither 
 party contended that an increase or diminution 
 of power could constitutionally be made by im 
 plication and inference so as to equip the central 
 government with all the means it derived in the 
 warfare with antagonists. The authors of The 
 Federalist the essays written to secure the ac 
 ceptance of the Constitution insisted that the 
 apprehended inequality did not exist, and that 
 should it be developed the States would be able to 
 control. Hamilton wrote: "The General Gov 
 ernment can have no temptation to absorb the 
 local authorities left with the States. * * * It 
 is, therefore, improbable that there should exist a 
 disposition in the Federal councils to usurp the 
 powers with which commerce, finance, negotia 
 tion and war are connected. Should wantonness, 
 lust of domination, beget such a disposition, the 
 sense of the people of the several States would 
 control the indulgence of so extravagant an ap 
 petite." This redundant exposition of the doc- 
 
234 Civil History of the Government 
 
 trine that there can be no tribunal above the 
 authority of the States, and that in them reside 
 the ultimate decision, has been made because 
 there is such a painful misunderstanding of the 
 relation the Federal Government sustains to the 
 States, and of the comparative authority, power 
 and value of the Union and of the States. 
 
 The forebodings of those who dreaded an un 
 due enlargement of the powers of the central 
 government the increase of centripetal tenden 
 cies to the weakening of the centrifugal have 
 been more than realized. Instead of a rivalry be 
 tween the General Government and the States, 
 between the delegated and the reserved powers, 
 the antagonism has proved unreal and fallacious, 
 and the strong trend has been arid is to centrLli- 
 zation, justifying the prediction of Jefferson that 
 "when all government, domestic and foreign, in 
 little as in great things, shall be drawn to Wash 
 ington as the center of all power, it will render 
 powerless the checks provided of one government 
 on another, and will become as venal and op 
 pressive as the government from which we sepa 
 rated." By an irresistible tendency the stronger 
 has absorbed the weaker, and is concentrating in 
 itself unlimited and uncontrollable power. This 
 usurpation has been carried so far that nothing 
 
of the Confederate States. 235 
 
 short of an absolute negative on the part of the 
 States can protect against the encroachments of a 
 growingly centralized government. 
 
 For a few years, and naturally, States were supe 
 rior in dignity, and two citizens of South Carolina 
 declined positions on the Supreme Court, one the 
 chief-justiceship. The enlargement of territory, the 
 multiplication of States, the glory resulting from 
 successful wars, the enormous prosperity caused 
 by varied climate and products, free interstate 
 commerce, religious liberty, the stimulus of free 
 institutions, extensive landed proprietorship, the 
 immense Federal and subsidizing expenditures, 
 government partnership in business, the building 
 up of favored classes and interests by protective 
 tariffs and bounties and discriminating fiscal pol 
 icy, the vast number of Federal offices constitu 
 ting Executive patronage and conferred not as a 
 trust for the public good, but as spoils of office 
 and rewards for partisans ; a huge pension system, 
 destroying local patriotism of recipients and cor 
 rupting States have magnified the Government 
 at Washington and given from exuberance of 
 strength a resistless impulse, adverse to its Fed 
 eral and favorable to a consolidated character. 
 This revolutionary change has been attended by 
 the grossest inequality, because a majority has 
 
236 Civil History of the Government 
 
 centered in one section, giving it absolute con 
 trol on all questions which coincide with its views 
 and interests. 
 
 As the government has been centralized, 
 nationalized, lost its original character as a 
 constitutional Federal republic, its power has 
 grown by what it has fed upon and its patronage 
 has become more tempting and widespread. Pro 
 portionate with power and patronage, and in 
 creasing with their increase, will be the desire to 
 possess the control over them, for the purpose of 
 individual or sectional aggrandizement; and the 
 stronger this desire the less will be the regard for 
 principles and the Constitution, and the greater 
 the tendency, accompanied by increase of ability, 
 to unite for sectional domination.* 
 
 The tariff system, framed in the interests 
 and at the dictation of classes and persons 
 that contribute liberally in elections; the taxa 
 tion practically of agricultural exports, grown 
 preponderantly in one section ; the partial, inequi 
 table appropriations for rivers, harbors, public 
 buildings; the concentration of the financial 
 operations of the government in one quarter of 
 the Union; the theories of the latitudinous inter- 
 
 *1 Calhoun, 241, 371. 
 
of the Confederate States. 237 
 
 pretation of the Constitution which dominated 
 parties and dictated political and legislative ac 
 tion at the North, investing Congress with the 
 right to determine what ohjects helong to the 
 general welfare, have been most potential in en 
 riching one section to the prejudice of the other, 
 and in enlarging the power, prestige and influence 
 of the Union. 
 
 The power of Congress to levy duties on im 
 ports for specific purposes has been enlarged 
 into an unlimited authority to protect domestic 
 manufactures against foreign competition. The 
 effort of this has been "to impose the main 
 burden of taxation upon the Southern people, 
 who were consumers and not manufacturers, 
 not only by the enhanced price of imports, but 
 indirectly by the consequent depreciation of the 
 value of exports, which were chiefly the products 
 of the Southern States." The increase of price 
 was not always paid into the public treasury, but 
 accrued somewhat to . the benefit of the manu 
 facturer. What revenues went into the treasury 
 were disbursed most unequally, and the sectional 
 discrimination, enriching one portion to the in 
 jury and inequality of the other, tended to direct 
 immigration to the North and to increase the 
 functions and influence of the Federal Govern- 
 
238 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ment. The majority, doing the injustice, claim 
 to be the sole judges of the lightness of their ac 
 tion and whether or not the power is lodged in 
 their hands. The minority have no rights which 
 the majority are bound to respect, or if they have, 
 there are no means of asserting and vindicating 
 them. The majority, which are sectional, possess 
 the government, measure its powers, and wield 
 them without responsibility. Enriched by their 
 own acts, becoming proud, insolent, greedy of 
 power and gain, inflamed by cupidity, avarice, 
 monopoly, they arrogate and usurp; and, with 
 each succeeding day, what was very questionable 
 becomes by force of unresisted precedent a prin 
 ciple, and self-conceit transmutes exercise of 
 power into piety, and the judgment of parties and 
 the interest of classes into a higher law, into the 
 will of God. 
 
 We find in England and other countries an 
 aristocracy, the classes in the enjoyment of pen 
 sions, tithes, monopolies, vested rights, exclu 
 sive privileges, until, with blunted sensibilities 
 and beclouded intellects, they delude themselves 
 into acquiescence in, and support of, such in 
 equalities and wrongs. So in the United States, 
 tinder powers granted in the Constitution, such as 
 levying duties and taxes, regulating commerce, 
 
of the Confederate States. 239 
 
 war, appropriating money, disposing of territory 
 and other property, admitting new States, the 
 government during the Confederate war incor 
 porated banks, made fiat money or promises to 
 pay a legal tender, constructed roads, granted 
 bounties and monopolies, gave away the property 
 of the people, prescribed State constitutions, 
 emancipated slaves, fixed terms and conditions of 
 suffrage, dictated manner of appointing and elect 
 ing senators, assumed control over railways and 
 industries, and absorbed and exercised a sovereign 
 power over interstate commerce, capital, labor, 
 currency and property. We have seen an alliance 
 between Congress and eleemosynaries, senators 
 taking care of their private affairs in revenue 
 bills, and manufacturers before sub-committees 
 of ways and means and of finance dictating the 
 subjects to be taxed and the amount of duties to 
 be levied. 
 
 One wonders how these revolutions and iniqui 
 ties have been accomplished. Governor Morris 
 wrote to Timothy Pickering that "the legislative 
 lion will not be entangled in the meshes of a logi 
 cal net. The legislature will always make the 
 power which it wishes to exercise." One of the 
 ablest expounders of the Constitution deplores 
 "the science of verbality," the artifice of so ver- 
 
240 Civil History of the Government 
 
 balizing as to assail and destroy the plainest pro 
 visions. The instrumentality of inference has 
 sapped and mined our political system. Acute- 
 ness of misinterpretation and construction has 
 accomplished what the framers of the Constitu 
 tion exerted all their faculties, by specifications 
 and restrictions, to prevent, so that constructive 
 powers have been as seed-bearing of mischief and 
 usurpation as the doctrine of constructive trea 
 son. 
 
 Alexander Hamilton believed honestly that 
 nothing short of monarchical institutions would 
 prove adequate to the wants of the country, and 
 in the convention of 1787 he sought to conform 
 the new government, while in process of construc 
 tion, to the model of the British, which he re 
 garded as the best ever devised by the wit of 
 man. He had not a single supporter, and after 
 ward, ably and effectively, with marked patriot 
 ism, he threw his pen and voice in favor of ratifi 
 cation. But this he did avowedly as a temporary 
 bond of union and as the only avenue of escape 
 from anarchy. Appointed to assist in carrying 
 the government into effect and sincerely believing 
 that with no other powers than those he so well 
 knew it was intended to authorize, it must prove 
 a failure, and the government must go to pieces, 
 
of the Confederate States. 241 
 
 he decided unhesitatingly to do under it whatever 
 he, in good faith, might think would promote the 
 general welfare, without reference to the inten 
 tion of the authors of the Constitution. The dis 
 cussions to show that his principal measures were 
 authorized by the instrument, were in deference 
 to the prejudices and ideas of the people nothing 
 more. The principle of construction he espoused 
 was to make good all laws which Congress might 
 deem conducive to the general welfare, and which 
 were not expressly prohibited, a power similar to 
 that contained in the plan he proposed in the 
 convention. He desired, in short, to make the 
 Constitution a tablet of wax upon which each suc 
 cessive administration would be at liberty to im 
 press its rescripts to be promulgated as constitu 
 tional edicts.* 
 
 Hamilton laid the foundation of his policy so 
 deep and with so much skill that it has been 
 impossible to reverse, especially under conditions 
 eo favorable to centralization. He invoked in 
 support of his measures the selfishness, the cu 
 pidity, the ambition of classes, and sought to 
 make the strength of the government depend, as 
 in England, on the interested support of an in 
 telligent and combined few. An impulse in ac- 
 
 *Van Buren s Pol. Parties in U. S., 211, 213. 
 
 31 
 
242 Civil History of the Government 
 
 cordance with his theory was impressed, and has 
 since constantly been strengthened. It is not un 
 common to hear the Constitution ridiculed as an 
 abstraction or an effete formula. The govern 
 ment has grievously departed from its federal 
 character, and reserved powers are so far removed 
 from possible application in case of controversy, 
 that State rights, when seriously mentioned, pro 
 voke contempt or ridicule. In 1824 Jefferson 
 wrote to Van Buren: "General Washington was 
 himself sincerely a friend to the republican prin 
 ciples of our Constitution. His faith might not, 
 perhaps, have been as confident as mine, but he 
 repeatedly declared to me that he was determined 
 it should have a fair chance of success, and that 
 he would lose the last drop of his blood in its 
 support against any attempt which might be made 
 to change it from its republican form." 
 
 WHY THE SOUTH RESISTED FEDERAL ENCROACHMENTS. 
 
 It can now clearly be seen why the South, being 
 a minority section, with agriculture a,s the chief 
 occupation, and with the peculiar institution of 
 African slavery fastened on her by Old England 
 and New England, adhered to the State rights, or 
 Jeffersonian, school of politics. Those doctrines 
 contain the only principles or policy truly con 
 servative of the Constitution. Apart from them 
 
of the Confederate States. 243 
 
 checks and limitations are of little avail, and the 
 Federal Government can increase its powers in 
 definitely. Without some adequate restraint or 
 interposition, the whole character of the govern 
 ment is changed, and forms, if retained, will be ? 
 as they have been in other countries, merely the 
 disguises for accomplishing what selfishness or 
 ambition may dictate. The truest friends of the 
 republic have been those who have insisted upon 
 obedience to constitutional requirements. The 
 real enemies, the true disunionists, have been 
 those who, under the disguise of a deceptive name, 
 have perverted the name and true functions of the 
 government and Have usurped, for selfish or parti 
 san ends, or at the demand of crazy fanaticism, 
 powers which States never surrendered. 
 
 Those who contend most strenuously for the 
 rights of the States and for a strict construction of 
 the Constitution are the genuine lovers and friends 
 of the Union. Their principles conserve law, good 
 order, justice, established authority ; and their un 
 selfish purpose has been to preserve and trans 
 mit our free institutions as they came from the 
 fathers, sincerely believing that their course and 
 doctrines were necessary to preserve for them and 
 posterity the blessings of good government. The 
 States have no motive to encroach on the Federal 
 Government, and no power to do so, if so inclined, 
 
244 Civil History of the Government 
 
 while the Federal Government has always the in 
 clination and always the means to go beyond what 
 has been granted to it. iSTo higher encomium 
 could be rendered to the South than the fact, sus 
 tained by her whole history, that she never vio 
 lated the Constitution, that she committed no ag 
 gression upon the rights or property of the North, 
 and that she simply asked equality in the Union 
 and the enforcement and maintenance of her 
 clearest rights and guarantees. The latitudinous 
 construction, contended for by one party and one 
 section, has been the open door through whi.ch 
 have entered the grievances of which the people 
 have complained. A strict construction gives 
 to the General Government all the powers it can 
 beneficially exert, all that is necessary for it to 
 have, and all that the States ever purposed to 
 grant. 
 
 Passion, revenge, cupidity, ignorance and fa 
 naticism have created an incurable misunder 
 standing of secession, its source and object. In 
 its simplest form and logically it meant a peace 
 able and orderly withdrawal from the compact of 
 union, a dissolution of the civil partnership, a 
 claim of the paramount allegiance of citizens, a 
 declension to continue under the obligations due 
 to or from the Federal Government or the other 
 States. The authority of the Constitution re- 
 
of the Confederate States. 245 
 
 mained intact and unimpaired over the States re 
 maining in the Union, and ceased only as to the 
 seceding States. The remaining or continuing 
 States had no right of coercion nor of placing the 
 " wayward sisters " in the attitude of an enemy. 
 The history of the Union does not show any 
 eagerness on the part of any State to interpose its 
 sovereign power for protection. During the first 
 quarter of our existence as a confederate union, 
 New England showed much impatience at remain 
 ing under the bonds, made angry and repeated 
 threats of dissolution, hut did not execute her 
 menaces. The truth is, that the Union is so 
 strong, has so many advantages, so many patriotic 
 associations, that the motives and reasons for 
 continuance in it, for patient forbearance, for 
 submission even to iniustice and wrong, are well- 
 nigh overwhelming. 
 
 The Southern States through many years 
 showed the strength of their attachment to the 
 Union by immeasurable sacrifices, illustrated their 
 patriotism by acts of heroic devotion, and got 
 their reluctant consent to a separation only after 
 a series of unendurable wrongs, and the most in 
 disputable demonstration of the purpose of a 
 united North to deprive them of solemn guaran 
 tees of equality in the Union. From the "Mis 
 souri compromise" prohibiting Southern exten- 
 
246 Civil History of tlie Government 
 
 sion north of the line of thirty-six degrees thirty 
 minutes substituting a new confederation for 
 the old, drawing a geographical line, south of 
 which was to he equality, north of which the 
 Southern States were proscribed, dishonored, 
 stigmatized, establishing the policy of an inter 
 ference by Congress with an interest not common 
 among all the States, and thus creating two great 
 combinations of States, between which mutual 
 provocations were manufactured, down to the War 
 between the States, the Congress and the govern 
 ment repeatedly and offensively declared that the 
 Southern States were not the equals of the North 
 ern States in the benefits of the Union, that prop 
 erty recognized and guaranteed in the Constitu 
 tion must be restricted within narrow lines, and 
 that "territory of the United States," obtained 
 at the cost of common blood and common treas 
 ure, was not to be equally enjoyed, but was to be 
 for the exclusive possession of the Northern 
 States with their civilization and property. 
 
 Wendell Phillips, the scholar, lawyer, orator, 
 wrote a pamphlet in 1845, " Can Abolitionists 
 Vote or Take Office Under the United States Con 
 stitution?" and later a more elaborate treatise, 
 "The Constitution a Pro-Slavery Compact," in 
 which he alleged and proved that the Constitution 
 was a " compromise," " granting to the slave- 
 
of the Confederate States. 247 
 
 holder distinct privileges and protection for his 
 slave property, in return for certain commercial 
 concessions on his part toward the North." The 
 extracts from the Madison Papers and other con 
 temporaneous documents, prove, said Phillips, 
 "that the nation at large was fully aware of this 
 bargain at the time, and entered into it willingly 
 and with open eyes." " Every candid mind must 
 acknowledge that the Constitution is clear and 
 explicit." " If the unanimous, concurrent, un 
 broken practice of every department of the gov 
 ernment, judicial, executive and legislative, and 
 the acquiescence of the whole people for fifty years, 
 do not prove what is the true construction, then 
 how and where can such a question ever be set 
 tled?" (See pages 5, 7, 8, et passim). 
 
 The Northern States, not in the regular and 
 prescribed form, but in most irregular, illegal, 
 and contemptuous manner, by ecclesiastical action 
 and influence, by legislative and judicial annul 
 ment, by public meetings, by pulpit and press, by 
 mobs and conspiracies and secret associations, 
 made null and void a clear mandate of the Con 
 stitution, protective of Southern property and 
 adopted as an indispensable means for securing 
 the entrance of the Southern States into the 
 Union. To use the language of President Harri 
 son: "Government of the mob was given prefer- 
 
248 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ence over government of the law enforced by the 
 court decrees and by executive orders." The high 
 est Northern judicial and historical authorities 
 concede that the Union would never have been 
 formed without these compacts of guarantee and 
 protection. This constitutional provision was 
 sustained by the Supreme Court and by every 
 Congress and President up to 1861. 
 
 Ten Northern States, with impunity, with the 
 approval of such men as Governor Chase, after 
 ward Secretary of the Treasury under Mr. Lin 
 coln and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 
 nullified the Constitution, declared that its 
 stipulation in reference to the reclamation of 
 fugitives from labor was " a dead letter," and 
 to that extent they dissolved the Union, or made 
 an ex parte change of the terms upon which 
 it was formed. These States did not formally 
 secede, but of themselves, without assent of 
 those Mr. Jefferson described as " coparties with 
 themselves to the compact," changed the con 
 ditions of union and altered the articles of agree 
 ment. Releasing themselves by their own motion, 
 in most arbitrary, extra-judicial, extra-consti 
 tutional manner, of a covenant or injunction 
 of the Constitution, because in their opinion 
 it was unwise, they still, while thus in flagrante 
 delicto, demanded obedience to the Constitution 
 
of the Confederate States. 249 
 
 and laws on the part of the other cosignitaries to 
 the league of government. 
 
 In the election of 1860, on sectional issues and 
 securing sectional ascendency, this rebellion 
 against legitimate authority, this nullification, 
 this assumption of a right to self-release from an 
 imperative constitutional requirement, this set 
 ting up of private judgment, of individual or cor 
 porate whim, against statutory and organic law, 
 and unbroken line of judicial precedents and the 
 undisputed history of the formation of the Consti 
 tution, was sanctioned by the popular vote of the 
 North and the election of President Lincoln, who 
 had boldly declared that the States could not re 
 main in union as they had originally agreed and 
 stipulated. In that election, in direct antagonism 
 to the opinions and covenants of the men who 
 achieved our independence and framed and 
 adopted the Constitution which made the Union, 
 it was deliberately decided that the States could 
 not exist together as slaveholding and non-slave- 
 holding, and that "the irrepressible conflict" be 
 tween them must go on until "the relic of barba 
 rism" should be effaced from constitutions and 
 laws. 
 
 That election divided the Union into fixed hos 
 tile geographical parties, strongly distinguished by 
 institutions, traditions, opinions and productions 
 
 82 
 
250 Civil History of the Government 
 
 and pursuits, the stronger struggling and by the 
 popular verdict licensed to enlarge its powers, and 
 the weaker striving to save its equality and rights. 
 It placed in the hands of the stronger, dominated 
 by a fanatical spirit, the power to crush the 
 weaker section and institutions, to destroy at will 
 the existing constitutional relation between the 
 races, and to leave no alternative but reduction to 
 provincial condition, or resistance. With the as 
 cendency previously acquired by territorial mo 
 nopoly and government favoritism, it was now 
 made certain that political power was centralized 
 permanently in the North for the control and sub 
 jection of the South whenever the feelings or in 
 terests of the sections came into conflict. What 
 the result would be it required no seer to pro 
 phesy.* 
 
 * Whether the North had any purpose to uphold the 
 Constitution and give equality in the Union may be 
 judged from the appended opinions: 
 
 "There is a higher law than the Constitution which 
 regulates our authority over the domain. Slavery 
 must be abolished, and we must do it." Wm. H. 
 Seivard. 
 
 "The time is fast approaching when the cry will 
 become too overpowering to resist. Rather than tol 
 erate national slavery as it now exists, let the Union 
 be dissolved at once, and then the sin of slavery will 
 rest where it belongs." TV. 7. Tribune. 
 
 "The Union is a lie. The American Union is an im- 
 
of the Confederate States. 251 
 
 The Southern States believed that the transfer 
 of the government to pronounced hostility to 
 their institutions involved a repudiation of the 
 covenanted faith of their sister States, and re 
 leased them from the burden of their own cove 
 nants when they were denied the benefit of the 
 corresponding covenant of the other contracting 
 States. Seeing the hopelessness of security from 
 President, or Congress, or courts, or public opin- 
 
 posture, a covenant with death and an agreement with 
 hell. We are for its overthrow! Up with the flag of 
 disunion, that we may have a free and glorious re 
 public of our own." William Lloyd Garrison. 
 
 "I look forward to the day when there shall be a 
 servile insurrection in the South; when the black man, 
 armed with British bayonets, and led on by British 
 officers, shall assert his freedom and wage a war of 
 extermination against his master. And, though we 
 may not mock at their calamity nor laugh when their 
 fear cometh, yet we will hail it as the dawn of a 
 political millennium." Joshua R. Giddings. 
 
 "In the alternative being presented of the continu 
 ance of slavery or a dissolution of the Union, we are for 
 a dissolution, and we care not how quick it comes." 
 Rufus P. Spaulding. 
 
 "The fugitive-slave act is filled with horror; we are 
 bound to disobey this act." Charles Sumner. 
 
 "The Advertiser has no hesitation in saying that it 
 does not hold to the faithful observance of the fugi 
 tive-slave law of 1850." Portland Advertiser. 
 
 "I have no doubt but the free and slave States ought 
 to be separated. * * * The Union is not worth 
 
252 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ion, all inflexibly averse to their constitutional 
 rights, as understood by the patriot fathers, they 
 felt constrained to withdraw from a government 
 which had ceased to be what those fathers made 
 it. Not to have done this would have been to 
 leave the stronger section in entire and hostile 
 control of the government and to consolidate the 
 powers of our compound system in the central 
 head. The last hope of preserving the Constitu- 
 
 supporting in connection with the South." Horace 
 Greeley. 
 
 "The times demand and we must have an anti- 
 slavery Constitution, an anti-slavery Bible, and an 
 anti-slavery God." Anson P. Burlingame. 
 
 "There is merit in the Republican party. It is this; 
 It is the first sectional party ever organized in this 
 country. * * * It is not national; it is sectional. 
 It is the North arrayed against the South. * * * 
 The first crack in the iceberg is visible; you will yet 
 hear it go with a crack through the centre." Wendell 
 Phillips. 
 
 "The cure for slavery prescribed by Redpath is the 
 only infallible remedy, and men must foment insur 
 rection among the slaves in order to cure the evils. 
 It can never be done by concessions and compromises. 
 It is a great evil, and must be extinguished by still 
 greater ones. It is positive and imperious in its ap 
 proaches, and must be overcome with equally positive 
 forces. You must commit an assault to arrest a bur 
 glar, and slavery is not arrested without a violation 
 of law and the cry of fire." Independent Democrat, 
 Leading Republican Paper in New Hampshire. 
 
of the Confederate States. 253 
 
 tion of the Union being extinguished, nothing re 
 mained except to submit to a continuation of the 
 violation of the compact of union, the perversion 
 of the grants of power from their original and 
 proper purposes, or to assert the sovereign right 
 of reassuming the grants which the States had 
 made. 
 
 SECESSION THE SEPARATE AND LEGAL ACT OF THE 
 STATES. 
 
 It is not uncommon to confound the secession 
 of a State, as a separate, independent, sovereign 
 act, with the subsequent establishment of a con 
 federacy or a common government, by the co 
 operative action of several States after they had 
 seceded. A State, by virtue of its individual, sov 
 ereign right, demonstrated in this introductory 
 chapter, repealed or withdrew its act of accept 
 ance of the Constitution, as the basis or bond of 
 union, and resumed the powers which had been 
 delegated and enumerated in that instrument. 
 This act of resumption of delegated powers, as 
 sertion of undelegated sovereignty, was not by 
 the legislature. There is in our American system 
 what is not found elsewhere, a power above that 
 of the Federal or of the State government, the 
 power of the people of the State, who ordained 
 and established constitutions for and over them- 
 
254: Civil History of the Government 
 
 selves. No secret conspiracy was needed, no mask 
 to conceal the features of the State, no secret 
 place in which to concoct or consummate the 
 designs. Everything was done in broad daylight, 
 and inspection was invited to the accomplishment 
 of what had been repeatedly avowed as the logical 
 consequence of sectional supremacy. The people 
 of the State the only "people" then known un 
 der our political system had a regularly and 
 lawfully constituted government already in their 
 hands and subject to their direction. They had 
 a complete corps of administrative officers, an 
 executive, a legislature, a judiciary, filling every 
 department of a free, representative government, 
 all holding office under State authority alone and 
 wearing no badge of official subordination to any 
 power. This government was complete in all its 
 functions and powers, unchanged as to its inter 
 nal affairs, altered only in its external or Federal 
 relations, and law and order reigned in every por 
 tion of the State precisely as if no change had 
 occurred. The secession was as valid as the act 
 of ratification by which the State entered the 
 Union. The secession, or withdrawal of a State 
 from a league, had no revolutionary or insurrec 
 tionary character, and nothing which could be 
 tortured into rebellion or treason except by igno 
 rance or malignity. 
 
of the Confederate States. 255 
 
 Several States having openly, with most public 
 declaration of purposes, withdrawn from the com 
 pact, they established a union, a confederacy of 
 States, for themselves. The Confederate Constitu 
 tion was formed, adopted and ratified in precisely 
 the same manner and by the same forms and 
 agencies as the Constitution of the United States. 
 Not a clause nor article interfered with the right 
 of any Northern State or citizen. No assault 
 was made upon property or institutions of any 
 other people. The model of the Constitution, 
 of the Union, which had been respected, obeyed 
 and revered by the Southern States, was followed, 
 with only such changes as time and experience had 
 demonstrated to be necessary for the States to 
 retain their equality in the Union and have their 
 guaranteed rights respected. There seemed no 
 other alternative for the security of the domestic 
 institutions of self-governing States institutions 
 over which neither the Federal Government nor 
 people outside the limits of such States had any 
 control, and for which they had no moral or legal 
 responsibility. Southern life was habitually de 
 nounced as utter "barbarism/ and an institution 
 of the remotest origin, sanctioned in the Old and 
 New Testaments and by the law of nations, and 
 upheld for centuries by all civilized governments, 
 and existing at the time of the Declaration of Inde- 
 
256 Civil History of the Government 
 
 pendence in all the States, was held up to odium 
 as "the sum of all villainies," and the Constitu 
 tion, "because of its explicit recognition a-nd guar 
 antee of this institution, was spurned as "a cove 
 nant with death and an agreement with hell." It 
 was a logical and inevitable inference that the 
 predominant and fanatical sentiment of the North 
 should purge the country of such an "unmitigated 
 crime" hy its speedy suppression, and that in 
 vested with or arrogating supreme power, it 
 should throw its irresistible weight in the sacrifice 
 of Southern interests to a remorseless and de 
 structive propagandism. 
 
 No one would now hazard the assertion that if 
 the Southern States had acquiesced in the result 
 of the elections of 1860, the equality and rights 
 of the Southern States could have continued un 
 impaired by the unfriendly action of the govern 
 ment at Washington and of the Northern States. 
 We need not be left to conjecture as to what would 
 have occurred, for a few years later not during 
 the frenzy of the war, but in the flush of victory 
 and the strength of peace we had a notable il 
 lustration of the insecurity of reliance upon the 
 clearest constitutional prohibition. The Supreme 
 Court, exercising its constitutional power and 
 duty, gave an interpretation to the legal tender 
 law that was not pleasing to Congress and certain 
 
of the Confederate States. 257 
 
 moneyed interests. As a rebuke and remedy tKe 
 court was reconstructed, the number of judges 
 was increased, to reconsider and reverse the judg 
 ment, and this process President Harrison, speak 
 ing on a kindred subject in a political address in 
 New York, characterized as "packing the court 
 with men who will decide as Congress wants them 
 to." 
 
 Perhaps more conclusive proof of the insecurity 
 of a minority and of unresisted tendency toward 
 assumption of all power which may be supposed 
 to be needed for the accomplishment of coveted 
 ends, may be found in the reconstruction meas 
 ures, which were deliberately purposed to punish 
 "the rebels" and to subject the white people to 
 negro domination. Roger Foster, in his com 
 mentaries on the Constitution, 1896 (pages 265- 
 267), speaks of the dealings of Congress and the 
 Federal Government with the Southern States 
 during the period of reconstruction. At his hands 
 the story becomes a gloomy tale of vacillation, in 
 timidation and fraud; but he tells it with plain 
 ness and directness and with more than his usual 
 force. In his opinion "the validity of the acts of 
 Congress" is "open to investigation," and, "in 
 view of the language of the Constitution, the de 
 cisions of the courts on cognate questions, and 
 the action of Congress in other respects towaxd 
 
 3:5 
 
258 Civil History of the Government 
 
 the States which were the seat of the insurrection, 
 it seems impossible to find any justification for 
 them in law, precedent, or consistency. * * * 
 The reconstruction acts must consequently be 
 condemned as unconstitutional, founded on force, 
 not law, and so tyrannical as to imperil the lib 
 erty of the entire nation should they be recog 
 nized as binding precedents." 
 
 The change of sentiment in reference to John 
 Brown is a startling revelation of the rapidity 
 with which sectional and political hostility can 
 pervert the judgment and the conscience. In 
 October, 1859, this bold, bad man attempted 
 his bloody foray into Virginia,, fraught with 
 most terrible consequences of spoliation of prop 
 erty, arson, insurrection, murder and treason. 
 The raid was a compound of foolhardiness and 
 cruelty. Conservative and respectable journals 
 and all decent men and women denounced at 
 the time the arrogant and silly attempt of the 
 murderer to take into his destructive hands the 
 execution of his fell purposes. Sympathy with 
 those purposes and his methods was vehemently 
 disclaimed by representatives of all parties in Con 
 gress, conspicuously by Hon. John Sherman. Few, 
 except red-handed and insane fanatics, lifted voice 
 against his execution, after a fair trial and just 
 verdict by a Virginia court. A Senate committee, 
 
of the Confederate States. 259 
 
 after a laborious investigation of the facts, sub 
 mitted a report, accompanied by evidence, and 
 said: "It was simply the act of lawless ruffians, 
 under the sanction of no public or political au 
 thority, distinguishable only from ordinary felo 
 nies by the ulterior ends in contemplation by them, 
 and by the fact that the money to maintain the 
 expedition, and the large armament they brought 
 with them, had been contributed and furnished 
 by the citizens of other States of the Union under 
 circumstances that must continue to jeopard the 
 safety and peace of the Southern States, and 
 against which Congress has no power to legis 
 late/ Now, John Brown inspires a popular song 
 and poetry and eloquence, almost a national air, 
 and Northern writers and people compare him to 
 Jesus Christ and put him in the Saints Calendar 
 of Freedom. 
 
 The organization of the Grand Army of the 
 Eepublic has become a potent political agency, 
 demanding that Union soldiers shall have prefer 
 ence, and making connection with the army, irre 
 spective of service or personal merit, the highest 
 consideration in appointments to places of profit 
 and trust. Akin to this, a gigantic pension sys 
 tem, heavier and more exhaustive than the sup 
 port of the huge standing army of Germany, has 
 been fastened on the public treasury, subsidizing 
 
260 Civil History of the Government 
 
 States and making the name of soldier or sailor 
 the passport to the support of himself and family. 
 The strange and vicious doctrine has been affirmed 
 over executive protest that fraud and perjury do 
 not vitiate a pension once allowed, and that any 
 disabilities incurred, whether in the line of duty 
 or of pecuniary aggrandizement, within the 
 "sphere of communication" with either army, are 
 sufficient grounds for the paternal adoption of 
 such a son. And a presidential candidate, in his 
 letter of acceptance of the nomination, seeking 
 argument for popular support, makes the "need" 
 of a soldier or sailor, however that need may have 
 been created, a sufficient plea for "generous aid" 
 by the government. 
 
 As has been affirmed and reiterated, the action 
 of the seceding States was deliberate and most 
 publicly pre-announced. The Northern States 
 and the government at Washington were not 
 taken by surprise, for the purpose of the South, 
 in a certain anticipated contingency, was well 
 known and had been repeatedly and solemnly 
 declared. Exercising a right claimed by the 
 States in their ratification and adoption of the 
 Constitution, and reaffirmed from that day con 
 tinuously, the seceding States neither desired nor 
 expected resistance to their action. The power to 
 coerce States had been explicitly rejected in the 
 
of the Confederate States. 261 
 
 convention. Hamilton said: "To coerce the 
 States was one of the maddest projects ever de 
 vised." No provision had been made by any of 
 the States to meet a resistance to their withdrawal 
 from the partnership.* 
 
 Not a gun, not an establishment for their manu 
 facture or repair, nor a soldier, nor a vessel, had 
 been provided as preparation for war, offensive 
 or defensive. On the contrary, they desired to 
 live in peace and friendship with their late con 
 federates, and took all the necessary steps to 
 secure that desired result. There was no appeal 
 to the arbitrament of arms, nor any provocation 
 to war. They preferred and earnestly sought to 
 make a fair and equitable settlement of common 
 interests and disputed questions with their for 
 mer associates, so as to preserve most amicable 
 relations and avoid the infliction of any damage 
 or loss. 
 
 On May 8th, 1861, the President submitted a 
 special message to Congress, communicating a re 
 port of Judge Campbell, stating what he had done 
 in connection with the commissioners who had 
 been appointed to secure a peaceful adjustment 
 of the pending difficulties between the two gov- 
 
 *Madison Papers, 732, 761. 822, 914; 2d Elliot s De 
 bates, 199, 232, 233. 
 
262 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ernments. In the papers were letters from 
 Judge Campbell to President Davis and to Sec 
 retary Seward, the latter having been submitted 
 to Mr. Seward, who did not reply or publicly 
 question the correctness or accuracy of the recital. 
 Judge Campbell held written and oral conferences 
 with Secretary Seward, and from these he felt 
 justified in writing to Mr. Seward: "The com 
 missioners who received these communications 
 conclude they have been abused and overreached. 
 The Montgomery Government hold the same opin 
 ion." "I think no candid man who will read over 
 what I have written, and consider for a moment 
 what is going on at Sumter, but will agree that 
 the equivocating conduct of the administration, 
 as measured and interpreted in connection with 
 these promises, is the proximate cause of the great 
 calamity/ He further affirmed the profound 
 conviction of military and civil officers "that there 
 has been systematic duplicity practiced on them 
 through me/ President Davis had previously 
 said: "The crooked paths of diplomacy can fur 
 nish no example so wanting in courtesy, in candor, 
 in directness, as was the course of the United 
 States Government toward our commissioners in 
 Washington." 
 
 A peace convention was held in Washington 
 city, with representatives from border and other 
 
of the Confederate States. 263 
 
 States, to devise terms of honorable adjustment 
 and prevent the calamity of war or disunion. Mr. 
 Crittenden, of Kentucky, a statesman of experi 
 ence, ability and conservatism, submitted a series 
 of compromise measures, and they were indig 
 nantly and insultingly rejected. The Speaker of 
 the House of Representatives was not allowed 
 even to present certain proposed amendments to 
 the Constitution, looking to pacification, while 
 the convention in Virginia, so unwilling, so re 
 luctant, to take extreme steps, tendered to Sena 
 tor Crittenden, by a unanimous vote, the thanks 
 of the people of the State for his able and pa 
 triotic efforts "to bring about a just and honor 
 able adjustment of our national difficulties." 
 
 It is not within the scope of this article to de 
 tail incidents of the war; it is fitting, however, to 
 animadvert upon an oft-repeated accusation and 
 to furnish such proof of its falsity as to leave 
 hereafter no loop to hang a doubt upon. It is a 
 common excuse for early defeat and inability "to 
 crush the rebellion in ninety days," that the Con 
 federacy was better supplied than the government 
 of the United States with the means and ap 
 pliances of war. This explanation on its face is 
 
264 Civil History of the Government 
 
 absurd, for how could an infant, suddenly impro 
 vised government, without a dollar, without a 
 sailor, without a ship, without a manufactory of 
 guns or powder, be better equipped than a strong, 
 well-established government, constantly engaged 
 in Indian wars and having a regularly equipped 
 army and navy and no inconsiderable plants for 
 their maintenance ? Mr. Goldwin Smith, of Can 
 ada, in his work on the United States, says that 
 at the beginning of the war the South was able to 
 draw upon the supplies stored in the arsenals, 
 which had been "well stocked by the provident 
 treason of Buchanan s Minister of War." Sena 
 tor Sherman, in his "Recollections/ repeats the 
 absurd story, and says that in the early days of 
 the war the Confederates, because of this surrep 
 titious aid, had superior means of warfare. Gen 
 eral Scott endorsed the accusation against Secre 
 tary Floyd in regard to what has been called "the 
 stolen arms," and thus contributed to the belief 
 of respectable people that the Confederate States 
 fought with cannon, rifles and muskets treacher 
 ously placed in their hands. 
 
 In the book on his administration (and there 
 can be no better authority) Mr. Buchanan says, 
 page 220: "This delusion presents a striking 
 illustration of the extent to which public pre 
 judice may credit a falsehood, not only without 
 
of the Confederate States. 265 
 
 foundation, but against the clearest official evi 
 dence/ Eighteen months before General Scott s 
 endorsement of the charge it had been con 
 demned as unfounded by the report of the Com 
 mittee on Military Affairs of the House of 
 Eepresentatives. The disproved slander that arms 
 had been fraudulently or otherwise sent to the 
 South to aid the " approaching rebellion " is in 
 accord with the concerted purpose of writers and 
 politicians to falsify the record and make apology 
 for Northern reverses. General Scott made spe 
 cific charge that Secretary Floyd removed 
 "115,000 extra muskets and rifles, with all their 
 implements and ammunition, from Northern 
 repositories to Southern arsenals, so that, on the 
 breaking out of the maturing rebellion, they 
 might be found without cost, except to the United 
 States, in the most convenient positions for dis 
 tribution among the insurgents." He also charged 
 that 130 or 140 pieces of heavy artillery were or 
 dered from Pittsburg to Ship Island and Galves- 
 ton, forts not yet erected. The charge vouched 
 for by public rumor underwent a searching offi 
 cial investigation by a committee authorized to 
 send for persons and papers and to report at any 
 time. It was most easy to establish the charge, 
 if true, for these arms could not have been re- 
 
 34 
 
266 Civil History of the Government 
 
 moved without the knowledge and active partici 
 pation of the officers of the Ordnance Bureau, 
 whose loyalty had never "been impugned nor sus 
 pected. The accusation may be reduced to three 
 indictments : 
 
 First. That arms were improperly distributed 
 to the Southern States prior to and preparatory 
 for premeditated rebellion. Tables furnished 
 from the Ordnance Bureau show that these States 
 received much less, in the aggregate, instead of 
 more, than the quota of arms to which they were 
 justly entitled under the law for arming the mili 
 tia. It is a significant fact, utterly disproving the 
 charge and the belligerent intent, that Arkansas, 
 Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina and Texas 
 did not receive any portion of army muskets of 
 the very best quality to which they were entitled, 
 and which would have been delivered to each on 
 a simple application to the Ordnance Bureau. Of 
 the muskets distributed the South received 2,091, 
 and of long-range rifles of the army calibre, 758 ! 
 Not enough to arm two full regiments! 
 
 Second. That Secretary Floyd sent cannon to 
 the Southern States. If he did the fact could not 
 have been concealed, for their size and ponderous 
 weight would have made it impossible to escape 
 detection. The committee reported that there 
 
of the Confederate States. 267 
 
 was no evidence that any cannon had been trans 
 ported to the South. Secretary Floyd may have 
 made an order for the transfer of guns, but it was 
 never executed, and the officer in charge, Colonel 
 Maynadier, said : "It never entered his mind that 
 there could be any improper motive or object in 
 the order." 
 
 Third. The committee extended their inquiry 
 into the circumstances under which Secretary 
 Floyd ordered the removal of the old percussion 
 and flint-lock muskets from the Springfield ar 
 mory, where they had accumulated in inconvenient 
 numbers. These arms were to be removed from 
 time to time, as might be most suitable for econ 
 omy and transportation, and were to be distri 
 buted among the arsenals in proportion to their 
 respective means of proper storage. These arms 
 had been condemned by inspectors, and were 
 recommended to be sold, and they were advertised 
 for sale, but the bids did not average $1.50 each, 
 and were not accepted. The committee did not in 
 the slightest degree implicate Secretary Floyd. 
 Alas! what becomes of Senator Sherman s con- 
 jured-up superior preparation for war and of Gen 
 eral Scott s "good arms stolen"? It is of a piece 
 with the rifle pitfalls with whicb. Northern papers, 
 after the Bull Run escapade, in which some Re- 
 
268 Civil History of the Government 
 
 publican congressmen shared, said the whole coun 
 try was honeycombed.* 
 
 Secretary Floyd, by inheritance and conviction, 
 was a thorough believer in State rights, but was 
 opposed to secession and in favor of employing 
 every right and proper expedient for averting or 
 postponing it. His diary of the secret meetings 
 and discussions of Mr. Buchanan s Cabinet, during 
 November, 1860, shows how averse he was to what 
 he regarded the unwise and precipitate action of 
 South Carolina. He addressed himself with great 
 assiduity to the task of repressing the disposition 
 manifested by the Southern States to take forcible 
 possession of the forts and arsenals within their 
 limits, and just prior to the time alleged for his 
 distribution of public arms for aiding the seces 
 sion movement he had published, in a Richmond 
 paper, a letter which gained him high credit at 
 the North for his boldness in rebuking the per 
 nicious views of many in his own State, f 
 
 It may not be impossible that this persistent 
 perversion of history is intended to shield the 
 North from any reproach that might attach to 
 
 *See Reports of House Committee on Military Affairs, 
 9th January, 1861, and 18th February, 1861, Report 
 No. 85. 
 
 fPollard s Lee and His Lieutenants, pages 790-796, and 
 Administration of Buchanan, page 220. 
 
of the Confederate States. 269 
 
 her because of inability, with her immense supe 
 riority of military resources, to make an early 
 conquest of the South. Besides the enormous 
 means at her command in aid of commissary, 
 quartermaster and ordnance departments, the 
 North recruited her largely preponderant armies 
 by purchased "Hessians" from Europe, by enlist 
 ment of negroes, and by pecuniary stimulants for 
 substitutes or volunteers offered by individuals 
 and towns and States and the General Govern 
 ment. 
 
 The frauds practiced on the poor negroes in 
 enlistments, in withholding bounties, in misap 
 plication of what had been accumulated under 
 orders of Butler and other generals, constitute a 
 dark chapter in the mysterious history of the 
 Freedmen s Bureau and in other unrecorded oc 
 currences of the war. In 1870 was published the 
 report of the commissioners on equalization of the 
 municipal war debts by the General Assembly of 
 Maine. It contains curious and disgraceful mat 
 ters of history in regard to the method of furnish 
 ing men for the army and navy. It transpires in 
 that official comment that "substitute brokers" 
 did a business so important and profitable as to 
 call for the formation of partnerships, which plied 
 their "iniquitous transactions" so adroitly and 
 actively and fraudulently as to obtain large sums, 
 
270 Civil History of the Government 
 
 "hundreds of thousands of dollars," for men who 
 were never reported for duty. This "wrong" to 
 the municipalities, "double and cruel wrong to 
 the brave men lying in the trenches of the Appo- 
 mattox and the James," occurred, says this merci 
 less exposure, "when the army lay panting and 
 exhausted in front of Petersburg," "when the gov 
 ernment was calling loudly for recruits and new 
 regiments," "when the gallant men were calling 
 for help and succor," "when the conviction had 
 been at last forced home upon the government 
 that the people and the rebellion could only be 
 subdued by being thoroughly whipped in its en 
 trenched strongholds, and that to do this the army 
 of freedom must be kept full and strong by con 
 stant reinforcements. 7 * 
 
 *See Portland Advertiser, January 31, 1870. 
 
of the Confederate States. 271 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 As information upon the constitutional and 
 political status of the Confederate States Govern 
 ment and of the several State governments during 
 the war, it is deemed not irrelevant to present a 
 memorandum of several decisions of the Supreme 
 Court. 
 
 It has frequently been decided by the Supreme 
 Court of the United States that the Confederate 
 States Government was an illegal organization, 
 within the provision of the Constitution of the 
 United States prohibiting any treaty, alliance, or 
 confederation of one State with another; and 
 whatever efficacy, therefore, its enactments pos 
 sessed in any State entering into that organiza 
 tion must be attributed to the sanction given by 
 that State. 
 
 It is further held that the Confederate Govern 
 ment was not a de facto government, within the 
 meaning of that phrase as denned by the court, 
 and that whatever de facto character might be 
 ascribed to it consisted "solely in the fact that 
 for nearly four years it maintained a contest with 
 the United States, exercised dominion over a large 
 extent of territory," and, "while it existed, that it 
 was simply the military representative of the in- 
 
272 Civil History of the Government 
 
 surrection against the authority of the United 
 States." When its military forces were over 
 thrown, it utterly perished with all its enactments. 
 See opinion of Judge Field in William v. Bruffy, 
 96 IT. S. Reports, page 176, etc.; also, case of 
 Hickman v. Jones, 9 Wallace s U. S. Reports, 
 pages 197, 200; also, Stevens v. Griffith, 111 IT. S. 
 Reports, page 48, opinion "by Mr. Justice Field. 
 
 In United States v. The Insurance Companies, 
 22 Wallace, pages 99, 101, Mr. Justice Strong, 
 speaking of the so-called rebel Legislature of the 
 State of Georgia, observed : "If not a Legislature 
 of the State de jure it was at least a Legislature 
 de facto. It was the only law-making body which 
 had any existence. Its members acted under color 
 of office, by an election, though not qualified ac 
 cording to the requirements of the Constitution 
 of the United States." It was accordingly held 
 that a corporation chartered by this Legislature 
 for the purpose of conducting an insurance busi 
 ness, not being in hostility to any of the pro 
 visions of the Constitution, was a legal body, with 
 authority to sue in the United States courts. 
 
 It was further said that all the enactments of 
 the de facto legislatures in the insurrectionary 
 States during the war, which were not hostile to 
 the Union, or to the authority of the General Gov 
 ernment, and which were not in conflict with the 
 
Ml/1 
 
 *M 
 
 of the Confederate States. 273 
 
 Constitution of the United States or of the States, 
 have the same validity as if they had been enact 
 ments of legitimate legislatures. Any other doc 
 trine than this would work great and unnecessary 
 hardship upon the people of those States, without 
 any corresponding benefit to the citizens of the 
 other States, and without any advantage to the 
 National Government (page 103). 
 
 The court has also held that Tennessee and 
 other State governments which entered into the 
 formation of the Confederate States were de facto 
 governments, having remained the same bodies 
 politic during the rebellion as were organized and 
 admitted originally into the Union; and, being 
 the same political organizations during the rebel 
 lion and since, all their acts, legislative and other 
 wise, during the War between the States, were 
 valid and obligatory on the State, except where 
 they were done in aid of the rebellion, or were in 
 conflict with the Constitution and laws of the 
 United States, or were intended to impeach its 
 authority. See opinion of Mr. Justice Miller in 
 Keith v. Clark, 97 U. S. Reports, page 454, and 
 authorities there cited. 
 
 The subject of the relation of the States to the 
 Union, and of the questions raised by war, is ably 
 discussed by the Hon. John Randolph Tucker in 
 his work on the Constitution, lately issued. 
 
 35 
 
274 Civil History of the Government 
 
 PARALLEL CONSTITUTIONS. 
 
 CONSTITUTION or THE UNITED 
 STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 We. the people of the United 
 States, in order to form a 
 more perfect union, establish 
 Justice, insure domestic Tran- 
 ojaintXx _J>ro y ide_ Jor_ Jthe^comj; 
 mojnjkifence, promote the gen- 
 ^ elraT~Welfare, aira^secuFe" the 
 Blessings of Liberty to our 
 selves and our Posterity, do 
 ordain and establish this CON 
 STITUTION for the United 
 States of America. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 SECTION 1. All legislative Pow 
 ers herein granted shall be vest 
 ed in a Congress of the United 
 States, which shall consist of a 
 Senate and House of Represen 
 tatives. 
 
 SECTION 2. The House of Rep 
 resentatives shall be composed 
 of Members chosen every sec 
 ond Year by the People of the 
 several States, and the Electors 
 in each State shall have the 
 Qualifications requisite for Elec 
 tors of the most numerous 
 Branch of the State Legisla 
 ture. 
 
 CONSTITUTION OF THE CONFED 
 ERATE STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 WE, the people of the Confed 
 erate States, each State act-* 
 ing in its sovereign and in 
 dependent character, in order 
 to form a permanent federal 
 government, establish Justice, 
 insure domestic tranquility, 
 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 Con 
 federate States of America. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 SECTION 1. All legislative / 
 powers herein delegated shall be v 
 vested in a Congress of the Con 
 federate States, which shall con 
 sist of a Senate and House of 
 Representatives. 
 
 SECTION 2. The House of Rep 
 resentatives 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 elec 
 tors 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. 
 
 CP 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 275 
 
 No Person shall be a Repre 
 sentative who shall not have at 
 tained to the Age of twenty- 
 five years, and been seven Years 
 a Citizen of the Uniteo r ~StlTes, 
 and who shall not, when elected, 
 be an Inhabitant of that State 
 in which he shall be chosen. 
 
 Representatives and direct 
 Taxes shall be apportioned 
 among the several States which 
 may be included within this 
 Union, according to their re 
 spective Numbers, which shall 
 be determined by adding to the 
 whole Number of free Persons, 
 including those bound to Ser 
 vice for a term of years, and 
 excluding Indians not taxed, 
 three-fifths of all other Persons. 
 The actual Enumeration shall 
 be made within three Years 
 after the first meeting of the 
 Congress of the United States, 
 and within every subsequent 
 Term of Ten years, in such 
 Manner as they shall by Law 
 direct. The Number of the Rep 
 resentatives shall not exceed one 
 for every thirty Thousand, but 
 each State shall have at Least 
 one representative ; and until 
 such enumeration shall be made, 
 the State of New Hampshire 
 shall be entitled to chuse three, 
 Massachusetts eight, Rhode Is 
 land and Providence Plantations 
 one, Connecticut five, New York 
 six, New Jersey four, Pennsyl 
 vania eight, Delaware one, Mary 
 land six, Virginia ten, North 
 Carolina five, South Carolina 
 five, and Georgia three. 
 
 When vacancies happen in the 
 
 No person shall be a Repre- 
 sentative who shall not have at 
 tained 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. 
 
 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 exclud 
 ing Indians not taxed, three- 
 fifths of all slaves. The actual 
 enumeration shall be made with 
 in 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 num 
 ber of Representatives shall not 
 exceed one for every fifty thou 
 sand, 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. 
 
 When vacancies happen in the 
 
276 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 Representation from any State, 
 the Executive Authority thereof 
 Bhall issue Writs of Election to 
 fill such Vacancies. 
 
 The House of Representatives 
 shall chuse their Speaker and 
 other officers ; and shall have the 
 sole Power of impeachment. 
 
 SECTION 3. The Senate of the 
 United States shall be composed 
 of two Senators from each State, 
 chosen by the Legislature there 
 of, for six Years ; and each Sen 
 ator shall have one Vote. 
 
 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 Expira 
 tion 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 otherwise, 
 during the Recess of the Legisla 
 ture of any State, the Executive 
 thereof may make temporary 
 Appointments until the next 
 Meeting of the Legislature, 
 
 representation from any State, 
 the Executive authority thereof 
 shall issue writs of election to 
 fill such vacancies. 
 
 The House of Representatives () 
 shall choose their Speaker and 
 other officers ; and shall have the 
 sole power of impeachment ; ex 
 cept that any judicial or other 
 Federal officer, resident and act- /7) 
 ing solely within the limits of *-r 
 any State, may be impeached v 
 by a vote of two-thirds of both 
 branches of the Legislature 
 thereof. 
 
 SECTION 3. The Senate of the P 
 Confederate States shall be com 
 posed 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. 
 
 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 expira 
 tion 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 otherwise, 
 during the recess of the Legis 
 lature of any State, the Execu 
 tive thereof may make tem 
 porary appointments until the 
 next meeting of the Legislature 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 277 
 
 which shall then fill such Va 
 cancies. 
 
 No person shall be a Senator 
 who shall not have attained to 
 the Age of thirty Years, and been 
 nine Years a citizen of the 
 United"" States, and who shall 
 not, when elected, be an Inhabi 
 tant of that State for which he 
 shall be chosen. 
 
 The Vice President of the 
 United States shall be President 
 of the Senate, but shall have no 
 Vote, unless they be equally di 
 vided. 
 
 The Senate shall chuse their 
 other Officers, and also a Presi 
 dent pro tempore, in the absence 
 of the Vice President, or when 
 he shall exercise the Office of 
 President of the United States. 
 
 The Senate shall have the sole 
 Power to try all Impeachments. 
 When sitting for that Purpose, 
 they shall be on Oath or Affir 
 mation. When the President of 
 the United States is tried, the 
 Chief Justice shall preside : And 
 no Person shall be convicted 
 without the Concurrence of two- 
 thirds of the Members present. 
 
 Judgment in Cases of Im 
 peachment shall not extend fur 
 ther than to removal from 
 Office, and Disqualification to 
 hold and enjoy any Office of 
 Honour, Trust or Profit under 
 the United States : but the party 
 convicted shall nevertheless be 
 liable and subject to Indictment, 
 Trial, Judgment and Punish 
 ment, according to Law. 
 
 SECTION 4. The Times, Places 
 
 which shall then fill such va 
 cancies. 
 
 No person shall be a Senator (S> 
 who shall not have attained the 
 age of thirty years, and 6e a cit 
 izen of the Confederate States ; 
 and who shall not, when elected, 
 be an inhabitant of the State 
 for which he shall be chosen. 
 
 The Vice President of the Con- (U) 
 federate States shall be Presi 
 dent of the Senate, but shall 
 have no vote unless they be 
 equally divided. 
 
 The Senate shall choose their (j), 
 other officers ; and also a Presi 
 dent pro tempore in the ab 
 sence of the Vice President, or 
 when he shall exercise the office 
 of President of the Confederate 
 States. 
 
 The Senate shall have the sole (>. 
 power to try all impeachments. 
 When sitting for that purpose, 
 they shall be on oath or affir 
 mation. 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. 
 
 Judgment in cases of impeach- (f). 
 ment shall not extend further 
 than to removal from office, and 
 disqualification to hold and en 
 joy 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 ac 
 cording to law. 
 
 SUCTION 4. The times, places () 
 
278 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 and Manner of holding Elections 
 for Senators and Representa 
 tives, shall be prescribed in each 
 State by the Legislature there 
 of : but the Congress may at any 
 time by Law make or alter such 
 Regulations, except as to the 
 places of chusing Senators. 
 
 The Congress shall assemble 
 at least once in every Year, and 
 such Meeting shall be on the 
 first Monday in December, un 
 less they shall by Law appoint 
 a different Day. 
 
 SECTION 5. 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 ab 
 sent Members, in such Manner, 
 and under such Penalties as 
 each House may provide. 
 
 Each House may determine the 
 Rules of its Proceedings, pun 
 ish its Members for disorderly 
 Behaviour, and, with the Con 
 currence of two-thirds, expel a 
 Member. 
 
 Each House shall keep a Jour 
 nal 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 en 
 tered on the Journal. 
 
 and manner of holding elections 
 for Senators and Representa 
 tives, 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. 
 
 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, ap 
 point a different day. 
 
 SECTION 5. Each House shall 
 be the judge of the elections, re 
 turns, 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 ab 
 sent members, in such manner 
 and under such penalties as 
 each House may provide. 
 
 Each House may determine 
 the rules of its proceedings, pun 
 ish its members for disorderly 
 behavior, and with the concur 
 rence of two-thirds of the whole 
 number expel a member. 
 
 Each House shall keep a jour 
 nal 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 de 
 sire of one-fifth of those pres 
 ent, be entered on the journal. 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 279 
 
 Neither House, during the Ses- 
 lon of Congress, shall, without 
 the Consent of the other, ad 
 journ for more than three days, 
 nor to any other Place than that 
 in which the two Houses shall 
 be sitting. 
 
 SECTION 6. The Senators and 
 Representatives shall receive a 
 compensation for their Services, 
 to be ascertained by Law, and 
 paid out of the Treasury of the 
 United 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. 
 
 No Senator or Representative 
 shall, during the time for which 
 he was elected, be appointed to 
 any civil Office under the Au 
 thority of the United States, 
 which shall have been created, 
 or the Emoluments whereof 
 shall have been increased during 
 such time ; and no Person hold- 
 Ing any Office under the United 
 States, shall be a Member of 
 either House during his Contin 
 uance in Office. 
 
 SBCTicm 7. All Bills for rals- 
 
 Neither House, during the ses- (j) 
 ion of Congress, shall, without 
 the consent of the other, ad 
 journ for more than three days, 
 nor to any other place than that 
 in which the two Houses shall 
 be sitting. 
 
 SECTION 6. The Senators and CD 
 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 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 speeca 
 or debate in either House, they 
 shall not be questioned in any 
 other place. 
 
 No Senator or Representative (& 
 shall, during the time for which 
 he was elected, be appointed to 
 any civil office under the au 
 thority of the Confederate 
 States, which shall have been 
 created, or the emoluments 
 whereof shall have been in 
 creased during such time ; and 
 no person holding any office un- 
 . der the Confederate States shall 
 be a member of either House 
 during his continuance in office. 
 But Congress may, 6y law, grant J 
 to the principal officer in each 
 of the Executive Departments a 
 teat upon the floor of either 
 House, with the privilege of dis 
 cussing any measures appertain 
 ing to his department. 
 
 SECTION 7. All bills for rals- 
 
280 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ing Revenue shall originate in 
 the House of Representatives ; 
 but the Senate may propose or 
 concur with Amendments as on 
 other Bills. 
 
 Every Bill which shall have 
 passed the House of Representa 
 tives and the Senate, shall, be 
 fore it become a Law, be pre 
 sented to the President of the 
 United States ; if he approve, 
 he shall sign it, but if not he 
 shall return it, with his Objec 
 tions to that House in which 
 it shall have originated, who 
 shall enter the Objections at 
 large on their Journal, and pro 
 ceed 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 respectively. 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. 
 
 ing the revenue shall originate 
 In the House of Representatives ; 
 but the Senate may propose or 
 concur with the amendments, 
 as on other bills. 
 
 Every bill which shall have 
 passed both Houses, shall, be 
 fore it becomes a law, be pre 
 sented to the President of the 
 Confederate States ; if he ap 
 prove, 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 respectively. 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 re 
 turn ; in which case it shall not 
 be a law. The President may 
 approve any appropriation and 
 disapprove any other appropria- 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 281 
 
 Every Order, Resolution, or 
 Vote, to which the Concurrence 
 of the Senate and House of Rep 
 resentatives may be necessary 
 (except on a question of Ad 
 journment) shall be presented 
 to the President of the United 
 States ; and before the Same 
 shall take Effect, shall be ap 
 proved by him, or being disap 
 proved by him, shall be repassed 
 by two-thirds of the Senate and 
 House of Representatives, ac 
 cording to the Rules and Limi 
 tations prescribed in the Case of 
 a Bill. 
 
 SECTION 8. The Congress shall 
 have Power 
 
 To lay and collect Taxes, 
 Duties, Imposts and Excises, to 
 pay the Debts and provide for 
 the common Defence and gen 
 eral Welfare of the United 
 States ; but all Duties, Imposts 
 and Excises shall be uniform 
 throughout the United States ; 
 
 tion in the same Mil. In such 
 case he shall, in signing the Mil, 
 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 pro 
 ceedings shall then be had as in 
 case of other bills disapproved 
 by the President. 
 
 Every order, resolution or 
 vote, to which the concurrence 
 of both Houses may be neces 
 sary, (except on a question of 
 adjournment,) shall be pre 
 sented to the President of the 
 Confederate States ; and, before 
 the same shall take effect, shall 
 be approved by him ; or, being 
 disapproved, shall be re-passed 
 by two-thirds of both Houses, 
 according to the rules and limi 
 tations prescribed in case of a 
 bill. 
 
 SECTION 8. The Congress shall 
 have power 
 
 To lay and collect taxes, 
 duties, imposts, and excises, for 
 revenue necessary to pay the 
 debts, provide for the common 
 defence, and carry on the gov 
 ernment of the Confederate 
 States ; but no bounties shall be 
 granted from the treasury; nor 
 shall any duties or taxes on im 
 portations from -foreign nations 
 be laid to promote or foster any 
 branch of industry; and all 
 duties, imposts, and excises shall 
 be uniform throughout the Con 
 federate States: 
 
282 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 To borrow Money on the credit 
 of the United States ; 
 
 To regulate Commerce with 
 foreign Nations, and among the 
 several States, and with the In 
 dian Tribes; 
 
 To establish an uniform Rule 
 of Naturalization, and uniform 
 Laws on the subject of Bank 
 ruptcies throughout the United 
 States ; 
 
 To coin Money, regulate the 
 Value thereof, and of foreign 
 Coin, and fix the Standard of 
 Weights and Measures ; 
 
 To provide for the punishment 
 of counterfeiting the Securities 
 and current Coin of the United 
 States ; 
 
 To establish Post Offices and 
 post Roads; 
 
 To borrow money on the credit 2 
 of the Confederate States : 
 
 To regulate commerce with & 
 foreign nations, and among the 
 several States, and with the In- j 
 dian tribes ; but neither this, nor I 
 any other clause contained in 
 the constitution, shall ever be 
 construed to delegate the power /~* 
 to Congress to appropriate (& 
 money for any internal improve 
 ment intended to facilitate com 
 merce; except for the purpose of 
 furnishing lights, beacons, and 
 buoys, and other aids to naviga 
 tion 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: 
 
 To establish uniform laics of @) 
 naturalization, and uniform laws 
 on the subject of bankruptcies, 
 throughout the Confederate 
 States ; but no law of Congress 
 shall discharge any debt con- C 
 tracted before the passage of the 
 same: 
 
 To coin money,, regulate the () 
 value thereof and of foreign 
 coin, and fix the standard of 
 weights and measures : 
 
 To provide for the punish- () 
 ment of counterfeiting the se 
 curities and current coin of the 
 Confederate States : 
 
 To establish post-offices and (^ 
 post routes; but the expenses of 
 the Post-office Department, after 
 the first day of March in the 
 year of our Lord eighteen hun~ 
 
 (9 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 283 
 
 To promote the progress of 
 Science and useful Arts, by se 
 curing for limited Times to 
 Authors and Inventors the ex 
 clusive Right to their respective 
 Writings and discoveries ; 
 
 To constitute Tribunals infe 
 rior to the Supreme Court ; 
 
 To define and punish Piracies 
 and Felonies commited on the 
 high seas, and Offences against 
 the Law of Nations ; 
 
 To declare War, grant Letters 
 of Marque and Reprisal, and 
 make Rules concerning Captures 
 on Land and Water ; 
 
 To raise and support Armies, 
 but no Appropriation of Money 
 to that Use shall be for a longer 
 Term than two Years ; 
 
 To provide and maintain a 
 Navy ; 
 
 To make Rules for the Gov 
 ernment and Regulation of the 
 land and naval Forces ; 
 
 To provide for calling forth 
 the Militia to execute the Laws 
 of the Union, suppress Insur 
 rections and repel invasion ; 
 
 To provide for organizing, 
 arming, and disciplining, the 
 Militia, and for governing such 
 Part of them as may be em 
 ployed in the Service of the 
 United States, reserving to the 
 States respectively, the Appoint 
 ment of the Officers, and the 
 Authority of training the Militia 
 according to the Discipline pre 
 scribed by Congress ; 
 
 To exercise exclusive Legisla- 
 
 dred and sixty-three, shall be 
 paid out of its own revenue: 
 
 To promote the progress of () 
 science and useful arts, by se 
 curing for limited times to 
 authors and inventors the ex 
 clusive right to their respective 
 writings and discoveries : 
 
 To constitute tribunals infe- (> 
 rior to the Supreme Court : 
 
 To define and punish piracies /To) 
 and felonies committed on the 
 high seas, and offences against 
 the law of nations : 
 
 To declare war, grant letters dD 
 of marque and reprisal, and 
 make rules concerning captures 
 on land and on water : 
 
 To raise and support armies ; (Q) 
 but no appropriation of money 
 to that use shall be for a longer 
 term than two years : 
 
 To provide and maintain a (T3p 
 navy : 
 
 To make rules for the govern- (ft|D 
 ment and regulation of the land 
 and naval forces : 
 
 To provide for calling forth (&} 
 the militia to execute the laws 
 of the Confederate States, sup 
 press insurrections, and repel in 
 vasions : 
 
 To provide for organizing, (fj> 
 arming, and disciplining the mi 
 litia, 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 author 
 ity of training the militia ac 
 cording to the discipline pre 
 scribed by Congress : 
 
 To exercise exclusive legisla- (7j) 
 
284: 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 tlon in all Cases whatsoever, 
 over such District (not exceed 
 ing ten Miles square) as may, 
 by Cession of particular States, 
 and the Acceptance of Congress, 
 become the Seat of the Govern 
 ment of the United States, and 
 to exercise like Authority over 
 all Places purchased by the Con 
 sent of the Legislature of the 
 State in which the bame shall 
 be, for the Erection of Forts, 
 Magazines, Arsenals, Dock Yards, 
 and other needful Buildings ; 
 And 
 
 To make all Laws which shall 
 be necessary and proper for 
 carrying into Execution the fore 
 going Powers, and all other Pow 
 ers vested by this Constitution 
 In the Government of the United 
 States, or in any Department 
 or Officer thereof. 
 
 SECTION 9. The Migration or 
 Importation of such Persons as 
 any of the States now existing 
 shall think proper to admit, 
 shall not be prohibited by the 
 Congress prior to the Year one 
 thousand eight hundred and 
 eight, but a Tax or Duty may 
 be Imposed on such Importation, 
 not exceeding ten dollors for 
 ach Person. 
 
 The Privilege of the Writ of 
 Habeas Corpus shall not be sus 
 pended, unless when in Cases 
 of Rebellion or Invasion the 
 public safety may require it. 
 
 No Bill of Attainder or ex 
 post facto Law shall be passed. 
 
 tion, in all cases whatsoever, 
 over such district (not exceed 
 ing ten miles square) as may, 
 by cession of one or more States 
 and the acceptance of Congress, 
 become the seat of the govern 
 ment 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, mag 
 azines, arsenals, dockyards, and 
 other needful buildings : and 
 
 To make all laws which shall 
 be necessary and proper for 
 carrying into execution the fore 
 going powers, and all other pow 
 ers vested by this Constitution 
 In the government of the Con 
 federate State, or in any depart 
 ment or officer thereof. 
 
 SECTION 9. 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. 
 
 Congress shall also have power 
 to proJiibit the introduction of 
 slaves from any State not a 
 member of, or Territory not be 
 longing to, this Confederacy. 
 
 The privilege of the writ of 
 habeas corpus shall not be sus 
 pended, unless when in case of 
 rebellion or invasion the public 
 safety may require it. 
 
 No bill of attainder, ex post 
 facto law, or law denying or im- 
 
 (<$> 
 
 a> 
 V 
 
 6) 
 
 j 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 285 
 
 No Capitation, or other di 
 rect, Tax shall be laid, unless 
 In Proportion to the Census or 
 Enumeration herein before di 
 rected to be taken. 
 
 No Tax or Duty shall be laid 
 on Articles exported from any 
 State. 
 
 No Preference shall be given 
 by any Regulation of Commerce 
 or Revenue to the Ports of one 
 State over those of another ; nor 
 shall Vessels bound to, or from, 
 one State, be obliged to enter, 
 clear, or pay Duties in another. 
 
 No Money "shall be drawn 
 from the Treasury, but in Con 
 sequence of Appropriations made 
 by Law ; and a regular State 
 ment and Account of the Re 
 ceipts and Expenditures of all 
 public Money shall be published 
 from time to time. 
 
 pa[i}ring the right of property 
 in negro slaves shall be passed. 
 
 No capitation or other direct 
 tax shall be laid, unless in pro 
 portion to the census or enumer 
 ation hereinbefore directed to be 
 taken. 
 
 No tax or duty shall be laid 
 on articles exported from any 
 State, except by a vote of two- 
 thirds of both Houses. 
 
 No preference shall be given 
 by any regulation of commerce 
 or revenue to the ports of one 
 State over those of another. 
 
 No money shall be drawn from 
 the treasury, but in consequence 
 of appropriations made by law; 
 and a regular statement and ac 
 count of the receipts and ex 
 penditures of all public money 
 shall be published from time to 
 time. 
 
 Congress shall appropriate no 
 money from the treasury, ex 
 cept by a vote of two-thirds of 
 both Houses, taken by yeas and 
 nays, unless it be asked and es 
 timated for by some one of the 
 heads of departments, and sub 
 mitted to Congress by the Pres 
 ident; or for the purpose of pay 
 ing its own expenses and con 
 tingencies; or for the payment 
 of claims against the Confed 
 erate States, the justice of 
 which shall have been judicially 
 declared by a tribunal for the 
 investigation of claims against 
 the government, which it is 
 
286 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 No Title of Nobility shall be 
 granted by the United States; 
 and no Person holding any 
 Office of Profit or Trust under 
 them, shall, without the Con 
 sent of the Congress, accept of 
 any present, Emolument, Office, 
 or Title, of any kind whatever, 
 from any King, Prince, or for 
 eign State. 
 
 hereby made the duty of Con 
 gress to establish. 
 
 All bills appropriating money 
 shall specify in federal cur 
 rency the exact amount of each 
 appropriation and the purposes 
 for which it is made; and Con 
 gress shall grant no extra com 
 pensation to any public contrac 
 tor, officer, agent or servant, 
 after such contract shall have 
 been made or such service ren 
 dered. 
 
 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. 
 
 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 peo 
 ple peaceably to assemble and 
 petition the government for a 
 redress of grievances. 
 
 A well-regulated militia be 
 ing necessary to the security of 
 a free state, the right of the 
 people to keep and bear arms 
 shall not be infringed. 
 
 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. 
 
 The right of the people to be 
 secure in their persons, houses, 
 
of the Confederate States. 287 
 
 papers, and effects, against un 
 reasonable searches and seizures, 
 shall not be violated; and no 
 warrants shall issue but upon 
 probable cause, supported by 
 oath or affirmation, and partic 
 ularly describing the place to be 
 searched, and the persons or 
 things to be seized. 
 
 No person shall be held to an- (Jjgt 
 swer for a capital or otherwise 
 Infamous crime, unless on a pre 
 sentment or indictment of a 
 grand jury, except in cases aris 
 ing 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 wit 
 ness against himself ; nor be de 
 prived of life, liberty, or prop 
 erty without due process of 
 law ; nor shall private property 
 be taken for public use, without 
 just compensation. 
 
 In all criminal prosecutions, (T?> 
 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 wit 
 nesses against him ; to have 
 compulsory process for obtain 
 ing witnesses in his favor ; and 
 to have the assistance of coun 
 sel for his defence. 
 
288 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 SECTION 10. No State shall 
 enter into any Treaty, Alliance, 
 or Confederation : grant Letters 
 of Marque and Reprisal ; coin 
 money; jnnit JBiHs^^f Credit; 
 make any Thing but gold and 
 silver Coin a Tender in Payment 
 of Debts; pass any Bill of At 
 tainder, ex post facto Law, or 
 Law impairing the Obligation of 
 Contracts, or grant any Title of 
 Nobility. 
 
 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 exe 
 cuting 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 United States; and all such 
 Laws shall be subject to the Re- 
 yision and Controul of the Con 
 gress. 
 
 No State shall, without the 
 
 In suits at common law, where 
 the value in controversy shall 
 exceed twenty dollars, the right 
 of trial by jury shall be pre 
 served ; and no fact so tried by 
 a jury shall be otherwise re- 
 examined in any court of the 
 Confederacy, than according to 
 the rules of common law. 
 
 Excessive bail shall not be re- 
 quired, nor excessive fines im 
 posed, nor cruel and unusual 
 punishment inflicted. 
 
 Every law, or resolution hav- 
 ing the force of law, shall re- 
 late to but one subject, and that 
 shall be expressed in the title. 
 
 SECTION 10. No State shall 
 enter into any treaty, alliance, 
 or confederation ; grant letters 
 of marque and reprisal ; coin 
 money ; make any thing but gold 
 and silver coin a tender in pay 
 ment 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. 
 
 No State shall, without the 
 consent of the Congress, lay any 
 imposts or duties on imports or 
 exports, except what may be ab 
 solutely necessary for executing 
 its inspection laws ; and the nett 
 produce of all duties and Im 
 posts, laid by any State on im 
 ports or exports, shall be for the 
 use of the Treasury of the Con 
 federate States ; and all such 
 laws shall be subject to the re 
 vision and control of Congress. 
 
 No State shall, without the QP 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 289 
 
 Consent of Congress, lay any 
 Duty of Tonnage, 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 en 
 gage in War, unless actually in 
 vaded, or in such imminent Dan 
 ger as will not admit of Delay. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 SECTION 1. The executive 
 Power shall be vested in a Pres 
 ident of the United States of 
 America. He shall hold his 
 Office during the Term of four 
 Years, and, together with the 
 Vice President, chosen for the 
 same Term, be elected, as fol 
 lows : 
 
 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 Repre 
 sentatives to which the State 
 may be entitled in the Congress : 
 
 37 
 
 consent of Congress, lay any 
 duty on tonnage, except on sea 
 going vessels, for the improve 
 ment of its rivers and harbors 
 navigated by the sott? vessels; 
 but such duties shall not con 
 flict with any treaties of the 
 Confederate States with foreign 
 nations; and any surplus rev 
 enue 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 1. The executive 
 power shall be vested in a Pres 
 ident of the Confederate States 
 of America. He and the Vice 
 President shall hold their of 
 fices for the term of sisa years ; 
 but the President shall not be 
 re-eligible. The President and 
 the Vice President shall be 
 elected as follows : 
 
 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 Repre 
 sentatives to which the State 
 may be entitled in the Congress ; 
 
 r 
 
290 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 but no Senator or Representa 
 tive, or Person holding an Office 
 of Trust or Profit under the 
 United States, shall be appoint 
 ed an Elector. 
 
 The Electors shall meet in 
 their respective States, and vote 
 by Ballot for two Persons, of 
 whom one at least shall not be 
 an Inhabitant of the same State 
 with themselves. And they shall 
 make a List of all the Persons 
 voted for, and of the Number of 
 Votes for each ; which List they 
 shall sign and certify, and 
 transmit sealed to the Seat of 
 the Government of the United 
 States, directed to the president 
 of the Senate. The President of 
 the Senate shall, in the Presence 
 of the Senate and House of Rep 
 resentatives, open all the Cer 
 tificates and the Votes shall then 
 be counted. The Person hav 
 ing the greatest Number of 
 Votes shall be the President, if 
 such Number be a Majority of 
 the whole Number of Electors 
 appointed ;{and if there be more 
 than one who have such Ma 
 jority and have an equal Num 
 ber of Votes, then the House of 
 Representatives shall immedi 
 ately chuse by Ballot one of 
 them for President ;)and if no 
 Person have a Majority, then 
 from the five highest on the List 
 the saidllouse shall in like 
 Manner chuse the President. 
 But in chusing the President, 
 the Votes shall be taken by 
 States, the Representation from 
 each State having one Vote ; a 
 Quorum for this Purpose shall 
 
 but no Senator or Representa 
 tive or person holding an of 
 fice of trust or profit under the 
 Confederate States, shall be ap 
 pointed an elector. 
 
 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 them 
 selves ; they shall name in their 
 ballots the person voted for as 
 President, and in distinct bal 
 lots the person voted for as Vice 
 President, and they shall make 
 distinct lists of all persons voted 
 for as President, and all per 
 sons voted for as Vice President, 
 and of the number of votes for 
 each, which list they shall sign 
 and certify, and transmit, sealed, 
 to the seat of the government 
 of the Confederate States, di 
 rected to the President of the 
 Senate; the President of the 
 Senate shall, in the presence of 
 the Senate and House of Repre 
 sentatives, open all the certifi 
 cates, 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 a majority, then, from 
 the persons having the highest 
 numbers, not exceeding three, on 
 the list of those voted for aa 
 President, the House of Repre 
 sentatives shall choose immedi 
 ately, by ballot, the President. 
 But in choosing the President, 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 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. 
 In every Case, after the Choice 
 of the President, the Person hav 
 ing the greatest Number of Votes 
 of the Electors shall be the 
 Vice President, but if there 
 should remain two or more who 
 have equal Votes, the Senate 
 shall chuse from them by Bal 
 lot the Vice-President. 
 
 The Congress may determine 
 the Time of chusing the Elec 
 tors, and the Day on which they 
 shall give their Votes; which 
 Day shall be the same through 
 out the United States. 
 
 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 ma 
 jority 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 fourth day of March next 
 following, then the Vice Presi 
 dent shall act as President, as 
 in the case of the death, or other 
 constitutional disability of the 
 President.^ 
 
 The person having the great 
 est 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. 
 
 But no person constitutionally 
 ineligible to the office of Presi 
 dent shall be eligible to that of 
 Vice President of the Confeder 
 ate States. 
 
 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 Con 
 federate States. 
 
292 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 No person except a natural- 
 born Citizen, or a Citizen of the 
 United States, at the time of the 
 Adoption of this Constitution, 
 shall be eligible to the Office of 
 President ; neither shall any 
 Person be eligible to that Office 
 who shall not have attained to 
 the age of thirty five Years, and 
 been fourteen Years a Resident 
 within the United States. 
 
 In Case of the Removal of the 
 President from Office, or of his 
 Death, Resignation, or Inability 
 to discharge the Powers and 
 Duties of the said office, the 
 same shall devolve on the Vice 
 President, and the Congress 
 may by Law provide for the 
 Case of Removal, Death, Resig 
 nation, or Inability, both of the 
 President and Vice President, 
 declaring what Officer shall then 
 act as President, and such 
 Officer shall act accordingly, un 
 til the Disability be removed, 
 or a President shall be elected. 
 
 The President shall, at stated 
 Times, receive for his Services, 
 a Compensation, which shall 
 neither be encreased nor dimin 
 ished during the Period for 
 which he shall have been elect 
 ed, and he shall not receive 
 within that Period any other 
 Emolument from the United 
 States, or any of them. 
 
 Before he enter on the Exe 
 cution of his Office, he shall 
 
 No person except a natural C> 
 born citizen of the Confederate 
 States, or a citizen thereof at 
 the time of the adoption of this 
 Constitution, or a citizen thereof 1 
 lorn in the United States prior I 
 to the 20th of December, I860, 
 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 Con 
 federate States, as they may ex 
 ist at the time of his election. 
 
 In case of the removal of the (3D 
 President from office, or of his 
 death, resignation, or inability 
 to discharge the powers and 
 duties of the said office, the same 
 shall devolve on the Vice Presi 
 dent ; and the Congress may, by 
 law, provide for the case of re 
 moval, death, resignation, or In 
 ability, both of the President 
 and Vice President, declaring 
 what officer shall then act aa 
 President ; and such officer shall 
 act accordingly, until the disa 
 bility be removed or a President 
 shall be elected. 
 
 The President shall, at stated @> 
 times, receive for his services 
 a compensation, which shall 
 neither be increased nor dimin 
 ished 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. 
 
 Before he enters on the ere- (jjD 
 cution of his office, he shall take 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 293 
 
 take the following Oath or Af 
 firmation : 
 
 "I do solemnly swear (or 
 "Affirm) that I will faithfully 
 "execute the Office of President 
 "of the United States, and will 
 "to the best of my Ability, pre- 
 "serve, protect and defend the 
 "Constitution of the United 
 "States." 
 
 SECTION 2. The President shall 
 be Commander in Chief of the 
 Army and Navy of the United 
 States, and of the Militia of the 
 several States, when called into 
 the actual Service of the United 
 States ; he may require the 
 Opinion, in writing, of the prin 
 cipal Officer in each of the exe 
 cutive Departments, upon any 
 subject relating to the Duties 
 of their respective Offices, and 
 he shall have Power to grant 
 Reprieves and Pardons for Of 
 fences against the United States, 
 except in Cases of Impeachment. 
 
 He shall have Power, by and 
 with the Advice and Consent of 
 the Senate, to make Treaties, 
 provided two thirds of the Sen 
 ators present concur ; and he 
 shall nominate, and by and with 
 the Advice and Consent of the 
 Senate, shall appoint Ambassa 
 dors, other public Ministers and 
 Consuls, Judges of the supreme 
 Court, and all other Officers of 
 the United States, whose Ap 
 pointments are not herein other 
 wise provided for, and which 
 shall be established by Law; 
 but the Congress may by Law 
 vest the Appointment of such in- 
 
 the following oath or affirma 
 tion: 
 
 "I do solemnly swear (or 
 affirm) that I will faithfully 
 execute the office of President of 
 the Confederate States, and will, 
 to the best of my ability, pre 
 serve, protect, and defend the 
 Constitution thereof." 
 
 SECTION 2. The President 
 shall be commander-in-chief of 
 the army and navy of the Con 
 federate States, and of the 
 militia of the several States, 
 when called into the actual ser 
 vice of the Confederate States ; 
 he may require the opinion, in 
 writing, of the principal officer 
 in each of the executive depart 
 ments, upon any subject relating 
 to the duties of their respective 
 offices ; and he shall have power 
 to grant reprieves and pardons 
 for offences against the Confed 
 erate States, except in cases of 
 impeachment. 
 
 He shall have power, by and 
 with the advice and consent of 
 the Senate, to make treaties ; 
 provided two-thirds of the Sen 
 ators present concur ; and he 
 shall nominate, and by and with 
 the advice and consent of the 
 Senate, shall appoint ambas 
 sadors, other public ministers 
 and consuls, judges of the Su 
 preme Court, and all other of 
 ficers 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 
 
 (vj). 
 
294 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ferior Officers, as they think 
 proper, In the President alone, 
 in the Courts of Law, or in the 
 Heads of Departments. 
 
 The President shall have the 
 Power to fill all Vacancies that 
 may happen during the Recess 
 of the Senate, by granting Com 
 mission which shall expire at 
 the End of their next Session. 
 
 SECTION 3. He shall from time 
 to time give to the Congress In 
 formation of the State of the 
 Union, and recommend to their 
 Consideration such Measures aa 
 he shall judge necessary and ex 
 pedient ; he may, on extraordi 
 nary Occasions, convene both 
 Houses, or either of them, and 
 in Case of Disagreement be 
 tween them, with Respect to the 
 time of Adjournment, he may 
 adjourn them to such Time as 
 he shall think proper ; he shall 
 
 such inferior officers, as they 
 think proper, in the President 
 alone, in the courts of law, or 
 in the heads of departments. 
 
 The principal officer in each 
 of the executive departments, 
 and all persons connected with 
 the diplomatic service, may be 
 removed from, of/Ice at the pleas 
 ure of the President. All other 
 civil officers of the executive de 
 partment may be removed at 
 any time by the President, or 
 other appointing power, when 
 their services are unnecessary, 
 or for dishonesty, incapacity, in 
 efficiency, misconduct, or neglect 
 of duty; and when so removed, 
 the removal shall be reported to 
 the Senate, together with the 
 reasons therefor. 
 
 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 per 
 son rejected by the Senate shall 
 be reappointed to the same of 
 fice during tJieir ensuing recess. 
 
 SECTION 3. The President 
 shall, from time to time, give to 
 the Congress information of the 
 state of the Confederacy, and 
 recommend to their considera 
 tion such measures as he shall 
 judge necessary and expedient ; 
 he may, on extraordinary occa 
 sions, convene both Houses, or 
 either of them ; and in case of 
 disagreement between them, with 
 respect to the time of adjourn 
 ment, he may adjourn them to 
 such time as he shall think 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 295 
 
 receive Ambassadors and other 
 public Ministers; he shall take 
 Care that the Laws be faithfully 
 executed, and shall Commission 
 all the officers of the United 
 States. 
 
 SECTION 4. The President, 
 Vice President and all civil 
 Officers of the United States 
 shall be removed from Office on 
 Impeachment for, and Convic 
 tion of, Treason, Bribery, or 
 other high Crimes and Misde 
 meanors. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 SECTION 1. The Judicial Power 
 of the United 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 Compensa 
 tion which shall not be dimin 
 ished during their Continuance 
 in Office. 
 
 SECTION 2. The Judicial Power 
 shall extend to all Cases, jta 
 Law and Equity, arising under 
 this Constitution, the Laws of 
 the United States and Treaties 
 made, or which shall be made 
 under their Authority ; to all 
 Cases affecting Ambassadors, 
 other public Ministers and Con 
 suls ; to all Cases of admiralty 
 and maritime Jurisdiction ; to 
 Controversies to which the 
 United States shall be a Party; 
 to Controversies between two 
 
 proper ; he shall receive ambas 
 sadors and other public minis 
 ters ; he shall take care that the 
 laws be faithfully executed, and 
 shall commission all the officers 
 of the Confederate States. 
 
 SECTION 4. The President, 
 Vice President, and all civil of 
 ficers 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 1. 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, re 
 ceive for their services a com 
 pensation which shall not be 
 diminished during their contin 
 uance in office. 
 
 SECTION 2. 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 con 
 suls ; to all cases of admiralty 
 and maritime jurisdiction ; to 
 controversies to which the Con 
 federate (States shall be a party ; 
 to controversies between two or 
 more States; between a State 
 
296 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 or more States ; between a 
 State and Citizens of another 
 State ; between Citizens of dif-_ 
 feren_t__ates, between ^Ttizens 
 of the same State claiming 
 Lands under Grants of different 
 States and between a State, or 
 the Citizens thereof, and for 
 eign States, Citizens or Sub 
 jects. 
 
 In all Cases affecting Ambas 
 sadors, other public Ministers 
 and Consuls, and those in which 
 a State shall be Party, the su 
 preme Court shall have original 
 Jurisdiction. In all the other 
 Cases before mentioned, the su 
 preme Court shall have appellate 
 Jurisdiction, both as to Law and 
 Fact, with such Exceptions, and 
 under such Regulations as the 
 Congress shall make. 
 
 The Trial of all Crimes, ex 
 cept 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 com 
 mitted within any State, the 
 Trial shall be at such Place or 
 Places as the Congress may by 
 Law have directed. 
 
 SECTION 3. Treason against 
 the United 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 Con 
 fession in open Court. 
 
 The Congress shall have Power 
 to declare the Punishment of 
 
 and citizens of another State, 
 where the State is plaintiff; be 
 tween citizens claiming lands 
 under grants of different States ; 
 and between a State or the citi 
 zens thereof, and foreign states, 
 citizens or subjects. But no 
 State shall be sued by a citizen 
 or subject of any foreign state. 
 
 In all cases affecting ambas- 
 sadors, other public ministers 
 and consuls, and those In which 
 a State shall be a party, the Su 
 preme Court shall have original 
 jurisdiction. In all the other 
 cases before mentioned, the Su 
 preme Court shall have appellate 
 jurisdiction both as to law and 
 fact, with such exceptions and 
 under such regulations as the 
 Congress shall make. 
 
 The trial of all crimes, ex- 
 cept 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 com 
 mitted within any State, the trial 
 shall be at such place or places 
 as the Congress may by law 
 have directed. 
 
 SECTION 3. 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 wit 
 nesses to the same overt act, or 
 on confession In open court. 
 
 The Congress shall have power 
 to declare the punishment of 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 297 
 
 Treason, but no Attainder of 
 Treason shall work corruption 
 of Blood, or Forfeiture except 
 during the Life of the Person 
 attained. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 SECTION A. Full Faith and 
 Credit shall be given in each 
 State to the public Acts, Re 
 cords, and judicial Proceedings 
 of every other State. And the 
 Congress may by general Laws 
 prescribe the Manner in which 
 such Acts, Records and Proceed 
 ings shall be proved, and the 
 Effect thereof. 
 
 SECTION 2. The Citizens of 
 each State shall be entitled to 
 all Privileges and Immunities 
 of Citizens in the several States. 
 
 A Person charged in any State 
 with Treason, Felony, or other 
 Crime, who shall flee from Jus 
 tice, 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. 
 
 No Person held to Service or 
 Labour in one State, under the 
 Laws thereof, escaping into an 
 other, shall, in Consequence of 
 any Law or Regulation therein, 
 be discharged from such Service 
 
 treason ; but no attainder of 
 treason shall work corruption of 
 blood, or forfeiture, except 
 during the life of the person at 
 tainted. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 SECTION 1. 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. 
 
 SECTION 2. The citizens of 
 each State shall be entitled to 
 all the privileges and immuni 
 ties of citizens in the several 
 States ; and shall have the right 
 of transit and sojourn in any 
 State of this Confederacy, icith 
 their slaves and other property; 
 and the right of property in 
 said slaves shall not be thereby 
 impaired. 
 
 A person charged in any State 
 with treason, felony, or other 
 crime against the laws of such 
 State, who shall flee from jus 
 tice, 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. 
 
 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 conse- 
 
298 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 or Labour, but shall be delivered 
 up on Claim of the Party to 
 whom such Service or Labour 
 may be done. 
 
 SECTION 3. New States may 
 be admitted by the Congress 
 into this Union ; 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 Con 
 gress. 
 
 The Congress shall have power 
 to dispose of and make all need 
 ful Rules and Regulations re 
 specting the Territory or other 
 Property belonging to the United 
 States ; and nothing in this Con 
 stitution shall be so construed 
 as to Prejudice any Claims of 
 the United States, or of any 
 particular State. 
 
 quence 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 be 
 longs, or to whom such service 
 or labor may be due. 
 
 SECTION 3. Other States may %/ |J 
 be admitted into this Confed 
 eracy by a vote of two-thirds 
 of the whole House of Repre 
 sentatives 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, with 
 out the --consent of the legisla 
 tures of the States concerned, 
 as well as of the Congress. 
 
 The Congress shall have power 
 to dispose of and make all need 
 ful rules and regulations con 
 cerning the property of the Con 
 federate States, including the 
 lands thereof. 
 
 The Confederate States may 
 acquire new territory; and Con 
 gress shall have power to legis 
 late and provide governments 
 for the inhabitants of all terri 
 tory belonging to the Confed 
 erate States, lying without the 
 limits of the several States; 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 Confed 
 eracy. In all such territory, the <J 
 institution of negro slavery, as 
 it now exists in the Confederate 
 States, shall be recognized and 
 
 6> 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 299 
 
 SECTION 4. The United States 
 shall guarantee to every State 
 in this Union a Republican 
 Form of Government, and shall 
 protect each of them against In 
 vasion, and on Application of 
 the Legislature, or of the Exe 
 cutive (when the Legislature 
 cannot be convened) against do 
 mestic Violence. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 The Congress, whenever two- 
 thirds of both Houses shall deem 
 it necessary, shall propose 
 Amendments to this Constitu 
 tion, or on the application of 
 the Legislatures of two-thirds 
 of the several States, shall call 
 a Convention for proposing 
 Amendments, which, in either 
 Case, shall be valid to all In 
 tents and Purposes, as Part of 
 this Constitution, when ratified 
 by the Legislatures of three 
 fourths of the several States, 
 or by Conventions in three 
 fourths thereof, as the one or 
 the other Mode of Ratification 
 may be proposed by the Con 
 gress : Provided that no Amend 
 ment which may be made prior 
 to the Year one thousand eight 
 hundred and eight shall in any 
 
 protected by Congress and by 
 the territorial government: and 
 the inhabitants of the several 
 Confederate States and Territo 
 ries 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. 
 
 The Confederate States shall 
 guarantee to every State that 
 now is, or hereafter may become, 
 a member of this Confederacy, 
 a republican form of govern 
 ment ; 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 1. Upon the demand 
 of any three States, legally as 
 sembled in their several con- 
 ventions, the Congress shall 
 summon a convention of all the 
 States, to take into considera 
 tion 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 rati 
 fied 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 pro 
 posed by the general convention 
 they shall thenceforward form 
 
300 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 Manner affect the first and 
 fourth Clauses in the Ninth Sec 
 tion of the first Article ; and 
 that no State, without its Con 
 sent, shall be deprived of its 
 equal suffrage in the Senate. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 All Debts contracted and En 
 gagements entered into, before 
 the Adoption of this Constitu 
 tion, shall be as valid against 
 the United States under this 
 Constitution, as under the Con 
 federation. 
 
 This Constitution, and the 
 Laws of the United States 
 which shall be made in Pursu 
 ance thereof : and all Treaties 
 made, or which shall be made, 
 under the authority of the United 
 States, shall be the supreme Law 
 of the Land ; and the Judges in 
 every State shall be bound there 
 by, any Thing in the Constitu 
 tion or Laws of any State to 
 the Contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 The Senators and Represen 
 tatives before mentioned, and 
 the Members of the several State 
 Legislatures, and all executive 
 
 a part of this Constitution. But 
 no State shall, without its con 
 sent, be deprived of its equal 
 representation in the Senate. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 The Government established 
 ty this Constitution is the suc 
 cessor of the Provisional Govern 
 ment of the Confederate States 
 of America, and all the laws 
 passed by the latter shall con 
 tinue in force until the same 
 shall lie repealed or modified; 
 and all the officers appointed by 
 the same shall remain in of 
 fice until their successors are 
 appointed and qualified, or the 
 offices abolished. 
 
 All debts contracted and en- 
 gagements entered into before 
 the adoption of this Constitution 
 shall be as valid against the 
 Confederate States under this 
 Constitution as under the Pro 
 visional Government. 
 
 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, any 
 thing in the Constitution or 
 laws of any State to the con 
 trary notwithstanding. 
 
 The Senators and Representa- 
 tives before mentioned, and the 
 members of the several State 
 legislatures, and all executive 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 301 
 
 and judicial Officers, both of the 
 United 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 United 
 States. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 The Ratification of the Con 
 ventions of nine States, shall be 
 sufficient for the Establishment 
 of this Constitution between the 
 States so ratifying the Same. 
 
 and judicial officers, both of the 
 Confederate States and of the 
 several States, shall be bound 
 by oath or affirmation to sup 
 port this Constitution ; but no 
 religious test shall ever be re 
 quired as a qualification to any 
 office or public trust under the 
 Confederate States. 
 
 The enumeration, in the Con- ( 
 Btitution, of certain rights, shall 
 not be construed to deny or dis 
 parage others retained by the 
 people of the several States. 
 
 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. 
 
 The ratification of the con 
 ventions of five States shall be v 
 sufficient for the establishment 
 of this Constitution between the 
 States so ratifying the same. 
 
 When five Spates 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 Elec 
 toral College; and for counting 
 the rotes, and inaugurating the 
 President. They shall, also, pre 
 scribe the time for holding the 
 first election of members of Con 
 gress under this Constitution, 
 and the time for assembling the 
 same. Until the assembling of 
 such Congress, the Congress un- 
 
302 
 
 Civil History of the Government 
 
 DONE in Convention by the 
 Unanimous Consent of the 
 States present the Seven 
 teenth Day of September in 
 the Year of our Lord one 
 thousand seven hundred 
 and Eighty seven and of 
 the Independance of the 
 United States of America 
 the Twelfth. IN WITNESS 
 whereof We have hereunto 
 subscribed our Names, 
 
 GEO WASHINGTON 
 Presidt and deputy from 
 Virginia 
 
 New Hampshire. 
 
 JOHN LANGDON, 
 
 NICHOLAS OILMAN. 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 NATHANIEL GORHAM, 
 
 RUFUS KING. 
 Connecticut. 
 
 WM. SAML. JOHNSON, 
 
 ROGER SHERMAN. 
 New York. 
 
 ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 
 New Jersey. 
 
 WIL : LIVINGSTON, 
 
 WM. PATERSON, 
 
 DAVID BREARLEY, 
 
 JON A. DAYTON. 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 B. FRANKLIN, 
 
 ROBT. MORRIS, 
 
 THO : PITZSIMONS, 
 
 JAMES WILSON, 
 
 dtr the Provisional Constitution 
 thall 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, in the city of 
 Montgomery, Alabama, on 
 the Eleventh day of March, 
 In the year Eighteen Hun 
 dred and Sixty-One. 
 
 HOWELL COBB, 
 President of the Congress. 
 
 South Carolina. 
 
 R. BARNWELL RHHTT, 
 C. G. MEMMINGER, 
 WM. POHCHER 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, 
 JAMES B. OWENS. 
 
 Alabama. 
 
 RICHARD W. WALKHB, 
 ROBT. H. SMITH, 
 
of the Confederate States. 
 
 303 
 
 THOMAS MIPPLIN, 
 
 GEO : CLYMER, 
 
 JARED INGERSOLL, 
 
 Gouv : MORRIS. 
 Delatcare. 
 
 GEO : READ, 
 
 JOHN DICKINSON, 
 
 JACO: BROOM, 
 
 GUNNING BEDFORD, Jun r, 
 
 RICHARD BASSETT. 
 Maryland. 
 
 JAMES M HENRY, 
 
 DAN : OF ST. THOS. JENIFER. 
 
 DANL. CARROLL. 
 Virginia. 
 
 JOHN BLAIR, 
 
 JAMES MADISON, Jr. 
 North Carolina. 
 
 WM. BLOUNT, 
 
 RICH D DOBBS SPAIGHT, 
 
 Hu. WILLIAMSON. 
 South Carolina. 
 
 J. RTJTLEDGE, 
 
 CHARLES COTESWORTH PINCK- 
 
 NEY, 
 
 CHARLES PINCKNEY, 
 PIERCE BUTLER. 
 Georgia. 
 
 WILLIAM FEW, 
 ABR. BALDWIN. 
 Attest : 
 
 WILLIAM JACKSON, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 COLIN J. McRAB, 
 
 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. CON HAD, 
 
 DUNCAN F. KENNEK, 
 
 HENRY MARSHALL. 
 Texas. 
 
 JOHN HEMPHILL, 
 
 THOMAS N. WAUL, 
 
 JOHN H. REAGAN, 
 
 WILLIAMSON S. OLDHAM, 
 
 Louis T. WIGFALL. 
 
 JOHN GREGG, 
 
 WILLIAM BECK OCHILTREB. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM THE JOUR 
 NAL OF THE CONGRESS. 
 CONGRESS, March 11, 1861. 
 
 On the question of the adop 
 tion of the Constitution of the 
 Confederate States of America, 
 the vote was taken by yeas and 
 nays ; and the Constitution was 
 unanimously adopted, as fol 
 lows : 
 
304: Civil History of the Government 
 
 Those who voted in the affirm 
 ative being Messrs. Walker, 
 Smith, Curry, Hale, McRae, 
 Shorter, and Fearn, of Alabama, 
 (Messrs. Chilton and Lewis be 
 ing absent) ; Messrs. Morton, 
 Anderson, and Owens, of Flor 
 ida ; Messrs. Toombs, Howell 
 Cobb, Bartow, Nisbet, Hill, 
 Wright, Thos. R. R. Cobb, and 
 Stephens, of Georgia, (Messrs. 
 Crawford and Kenan being ab 
 sent) ; Messrs. Perkins, de 
 Clouet, Conrad, Kenner, Spar 
 row, and Marshall, of Louisiana ; 
 Messrs. Harris, Brooke, Wilson, 
 Clayton, Barry, and Harrison, 
 of Mississippi, (Mr. Campbell 
 being absent) ; Messrs. Rhett, 
 Barnwell, Keitt, Chesnut, Mem- 
 minger, Miles, Withers, and 
 Boyce, of South Carolina ; 
 Messrs. Reagan, Hemphill, Waul, 
 Gregg, Oldham, and Ochiltree, of 
 Texas, (Mr. Wigfall being ab 
 sent). 
 
 A true copy : 
 
 J. J. HOOrER, 
 Secretary of the Congress. 
 
 CONGRESS, March 11, 1861. 
 
 I do hereby certify that the 
 foregoing are, respectively, true 
 and correct copies of "The Con 
 stitution of the Confederate 
 States of America," unanimously 
 adopted this day, and of the 
 yeas and nays on the question 
 of the adoption thereof. 
 
 HOWELL COBB, 
 President of the Congress. 
 
of the Confederate States. 305 
 
 The following is prefixed to the first ten Amendments : 
 "CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 "Begun and held at the City of New York, on Wednesday, the fourth 
 of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine. 
 
 "The Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of 
 their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to pre 
 vent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declara 
 tory and restrictive clauses should be added : And as extending the 
 ground of public confidence in the Government, will best insure the 
 beneficent ends of its institution ; 
 
 " Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America, in Congress assernbJed, two thirds of both 
 Houses concurring, That the following Articles be proposed to the 
 Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitu 
 tion of the United States, all, or any of which articles, when rati 
 fied by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all 
 intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution ; viz. 
 
 " Articles in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of 
 the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by 
 the Legislatures of the several States pursuant to the fifth article 
 of the original Constitution." 
 
 Articles in Addition to, and Amendment of, the Constitution of the 
 United States of America. Proposed ~by Congress, and ratified 
 ~by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth 
 article of the original Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE I. 
 
 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of re 
 ligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; or abridging the 
 freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people peace 
 ably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of 
 grievances. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 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. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 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. 
 
306 Civil History of the Government 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 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 
 tbe place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 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 offence to be twice put 
 in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any Criminal 
 Case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, lib 
 erty, or property, without due process of law ; nor shall private 
 property be taken for public use, without just compensation. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to 
 a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and dis 
 trict 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 obtain 
 ing Witnesses in his favour, and to have the Assistance of Counsel 
 for his defence. 
 
 ARTICLE VII. 
 
 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 tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any 
 Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the com 
 mon law. 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
 nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted. 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not 
 be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitu- 
 
of the Confederate States. 307 
 
 tion, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 
 respectively, or to the people. 
 
 ARTICLE XI. 
 
 The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to 
 extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted 
 against any of the United States by citizens of another State, or 
 by citizens or subjects of any foreign State. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 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 dis 
 tinct 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 United States, directed 
 to the President of the Senate ; The President of the Senate shall, 
 in 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 th e 
 list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives 
 shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choos 
 ing the President, the votes shall be taken by states, the representa 
 tion 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 fourth day of March next following, then the Vice Presi 
 dent shall act as President, as in the case of death or other con 
 stitutional disability of the President ; The person having the 
 greatest number of votes as Vice President, shall be the Vice Presi 
 dent, 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 Presi 
 dent ; 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. But no person constitutionally in- 
 
308 Civil History of the Government 
 
 eligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice 
 President of the United States. 
 
 ARTICLE XIII. 
 
 SECTION 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as 
 a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly 
 convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place sub 
 ject to their jurisdiction. 
 
 SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
 appropriate legislation. 
 
 ARTICLE XIV. 
 
 SECTION 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, 
 and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United 
 States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make 
 or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immuni 
 ties of citizens of the United States ; nor shall any state deprive 
 any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, 
 nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection 
 of the laws. 
 
 SECTION 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the sev 
 eral states according to their respective numbers, counting the 
 whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. 
 But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors 
 for President and Vice-President of the United States, representa 
 tives in Congress, the executive or judicial officers of a state, or the 
 members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male 
 inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citi 
 zens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for par 
 ticipation in rebellion or other crime, the basis of representation 
 therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such 
 male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens 
 twenty-one years of age in such state. 
 
 SECTION 3. No person shall be a senator or representative in 
 Congress, or elector of President or Vice-President, or hold any 
 office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, 
 who having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress, or 
 as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state 
 Legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to 
 support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged 
 in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or com 
 fort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two- 
 thirds of each house, remove such disability. 
 
 SECTION 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, 
 authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pen- 
 
of the Confederate States. 309 
 
 sions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or re 
 bellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States 
 nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred 
 in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or 
 any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave ; but all such 
 debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. 
 
 SECTION 5. Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate 
 legislation, the provisions of this article. 
 
 ARTICLE XV. 
 
 SECTION 1. The rights of citizens of the United States to vote 
 shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any 
 state, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 
 
 SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by 
 appropriate legislation. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Acts of Provisional Congress 55 
 
 Adams, C. P 125, 134-136 
 
 Adams, John 15 
 
 Alabama, Cruiser 61 
 
 Alabama, Secession of 37 
 
 Amendment, Ninth 213-214 
 
 Amendment, Tenth 223 
 
 Amos on Slavery 27 
 
 Anderson, Colonel Patton 45 
 
 Annapolis Convention 205, 206 
 
 Articles of Confederation, How made binding 197-199 
 
 Articles of Confederation 206 
 
 Bacon, Lord, on Revolution 16, 17 
 
 Barnwell, R. W 44, 117 
 
 Bayard, Thomas F. (foot note) 192 
 
 Benjamin, J. P 59, 106, 138-141 
 
 Blaine, James G 77 
 
 Border States 96-98, 104-106 
 
 Bradford, Mrs 44 
 
 Breckenridge, John C 60 
 
 Brown, Governor 166 
 
 Brown, John 221, 258, 259 
 
 Brown, John, and Senate Committee 258, 259 
 
 Brown, John, and Jesus Christ 259 
 
 Buchanan, President 264, 265 
 
 Bull Run, Rifle pit-falls at 267, 268 
 
 Burlingame, A. P. (foot note) 252 
 
 Butler, General 269 
 
 Cabinet, Confederate 59, 60 
 
 Calhoun, J. C., on imports and duties 29 
 
 Calhoun, J. C., 202 (footnote), 207 (foot note); on dual 
 system, 217, 232 (foot note), 236, 237 (foot note). 
 
 Campbell, Judge 43, 64, 121-126, 261, 262 
 
 Chase, Chief Justice 97 
 
 Chase, Governor 248 
 
 Chilton 44 
 
 (311) 
 
312 Index. 
 
 Page 
 
 Churches closed 180 
 
 Cobb, Howell 43, 46, 47, 52, 63, 106 
 
 Cobb, T. R. R 43 
 
 Confederacy, Currency of, 110-112; revenues of, 109- 
 
 111; statesmanship in the 108 
 
 Confederation, Articles of 12 
 
 Confederate Congress, Representatives in, from Va 103 
 
 Confederate Constitution 255 
 
 Colonies, Political condition of 191-194 
 
 Confederate Government and U. S. war supplies. .. .263-269 
 
 Colonies, Relation of, to one another 196, 197 
 
 Commissioners of South Carolina 36, 37 
 
 Committee on Military Affairs exonerates Floyd 265-267 
 
 Congress removes to Richmond 103 
 
 Conrad 43, 64 
 
 Constitution, Close of, in Article VII, 41; devotion of 
 South to, 244; English, 80, 81; made by States, 205 
 et seq.f not a national compact, 207; nullified at the 
 North, 247-249; overthrow of, 28; permanent, 
 adopted, 56; permanent, committee on, 63; perma 
 nent, adopted, 63; U. S. and Confederate, compared, 
 49-51, 64-77, 82-84, 87-89; validity of, how secured, 
 206, 207; and slavery, 25-27; and Southern States.. 29 
 
 Convention of Deputies 42 
 
 Convention of 1787 11 
 
 Cost of war 160 
 
 Cotton bonds 115, 126-129 
 
 Cotton, King 112-115 
 
 Courts-Martial 31, 32 
 
 Courts, Power of 221-224 
 
 Crittenden Compromise 99, 100 
 
 Crittenden, Senator 263 
 
 Cushing, Caleb, on Secession, 34, 35 (foot note). 
 
 Davis, Jefferson, 
 
 24, 32, 33, 52, 53, 106, 117, 119, 123-125, 138, 142, 161, 
 
 166, 167, 262 
 
 Davis (from N. C.) 60 
 
 Debt of Confederacy 112 
 
 Declaration of Independence 11, 12, 194, 195 
 
 Declaration of Independence and a National Govern 
 ment 197, 198 
 
 Duties and imports, Sectional 28 
 
Index. 313 
 
 Page 
 
 Elliott s Debates (foot note) 261 
 
 Emancipation Proclamation, New England professor on, 30 
 
 Unconstitutional 30 
 
 Justice Curtis on 30 
 
 Enrollment of troops 151-154 
 
 Equipment of armies 148-160 
 
 Federalist, The 202 
 
 Federalists, 231, 232 (foot note). 
 
 Federal Usurpation, Why resisted, 242 et seq. 
 
 Florida, Secession of %$7 
 
 Floyd, Secretary, Charge against, 265-268; opposed to 
 
 secession 268 
 
 Foreign relations 117, 128-139 
 
 Freedmen s Bureau 269 
 
 Freeman, E. A 69 
 
 Fugitive Slave Law, The first, 14, 15; Justice Story on, 
 14; Marshall on, 14; Webster on, 15; McLean on, 
 15; Nullification of 15 
 
 Garrison, Wm. Lloyd, and disunion, 250, 251 (foot note). 
 
 Georgia, Secession of, 37, 38; Declaration of 37, 38 
 
 Geddings, Joshua R., and war of extermination (foot 
 
 note) 251 
 
 Georgia s record in war 165-167 
 
 Government, Usurpation of powers by 235-239 
 
 Grand Army of Republic 259-260 
 
 Gordon, General 159, 160 
 
 Grant, U. S 150, 151, 157, 158 
 
 Greeley, Horace 97 
 
 Habeas corpus suspended 31, 32 
 
 Hamilton, Alexander 13, 202, 231, 233, 240-242, 260, 261 
 
 Harris, Governor 43, 105 
 
 Harrison 44 
 
 Harrison, President 247-248 
 
 Hayes, R. B 74 
 
 Hayne, R. Y., 189-190 (foot note). 
 
 Hessians in Northern Army 209 
 
 Hill, Benjamin 43, 64 
 
 Hoar, Senator, on courts-martial 32 
 
 Holy Alliance 224, 225 
 
 Hospitals 169, 170 
 
 Hunter, R. M. T 60, 103, 106 
 
 40 
 
3U Index. 
 
 Page 
 
 Inaugural address 54 
 
 Independence, South fighting for 24 
 
 Ingalls, John J 13 
 
 Insurrection fomented (foot note) 252 
 
 Jefferson, Thomas. 13, 95, 213, 219, 220, 222, 223, 234, 242, 248 
 
 Johnson, President 77, 106 
 
 Johnston, J. E 115 
 
 Kenner, D. F 44, 138, 139 
 
 Kentucky resolutions 220 
 
 Kentucky and secession 104 
 
 Lamar, L. Q. C 134-138 
 
 Lee, R. E 106 
 
 Letcher, Governor 101 
 
 Lewis, Sir G. Cornwall (foot note) 95 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham 14, 123, 136, 137, 161, 248, 249 
 
 Lincoln Inaugural address 101 
 
 Log-rolling 75 
 
 Longstreet, General 161 
 
 London Times 98 
 
 Louisiana, Secession of 37 
 
 McLean 15 
 
 Maynadier, Colonel, exonerates Floyd 267 
 
 Madison, James 202, 206, 207, 227, 228 
 
 Madison Papers (foot note) 261 
 
 Magna Charta 214, 215, 218 
 
 Maine and fraudulent claims 269, 270 
 
 Maine and nullification (foot note) 251 
 
 Mallory, S. R 59 
 
 Manly, Dr. Basil 53 
 
 Marshall, Chief Justice 15 
 
 Maryland and secession 106, 107 
 
 Maryland, Declaration of, on powers of States 207, 208 
 
 Mason and SHdell 132 
 
 Massachusetts and the constitutional compact 210, 211 
 
 Memminger, C. G 43, 47, 48, 59 
 
 Miller, Justice : 204, 205 
 
 Mississippi, Secession of 37 
 
 Mississippi bonds 128 
 
 Missouri Compromise .245, 246 
 
 Missouri and secession 104 
 
Index. 315 
 
 Page 
 
 Montgomery, Convention meets at 37 
 
 Mosby, John S 179 
 
 Negro citizenship 180, 181 
 
 Negroes defrauded 269 
 
 Negro and schools 180, 181 
 
 Nelson, Justice 125 
 
 New England and Slavery 242 
 
 New Hampshire and the constitutional compact 211 
 
 New York reserves right to secede 208, 209 
 
 Nisbet 44 
 
 North Carolina refuses to enter Union, 207; secedes.... 103 
 
 North Carolina s record in war 162-105 
 
 Nullification, of fugitive slave law, 15; of Northern 
 States, 187, 247-249; advocated by Seward, 250 (foot 
 note); by Garrison, Sumner and Portland Advertiser 
 (foot note) 251 
 
 Palmer, B. M 143 
 
 Paris compact 130-132 
 
 Parties, Rise of 12, 13 
 
 Peace Commission 118-126 
 
 Peace Congress 100 
 
 Peace Convention 262, 263 
 
 Pension system 259, 260 
 
 People, The, a political myth 225, 226 
 
 Personal Liberty Laws, repealed by Rhode Island 16 
 
 Phillips, Wendell, 246, 247; on sectionalism (foot note).. 252 
 
 Pickens, Fort 122 
 
 Plutocracy 86, 87 
 
 "Poor Whites" 146-152 
 
 President elected 52, 53 
 
 Privations in the South 170, 171 
 
 Provisional Congress 42-44, 117 
 
 Provisional Constitution adopted 52 
 
 Provisional Government, Commissioners appointed to 
 
 form 36, 37 
 
 Public debt of Confederacy 112 
 
 Randolph, G. W 60 
 
 Reagan, John H 59 
 
 Reconstruction 33, 34, 257, 258 
 
 Rhett, R. B 43, 46, 63 
 
 Rhode Island refuses to enter Union, 207; reserves right 
 to secede 208, 209 
 
316 Index. 
 
 Page 
 
 Religion in camp ............. *,!. 4. ........ 175-178 
 
 Religion degraded 179, 180 
 
 Republican party, sectional (foot note) 252 
 
 Republican platforms, 1856-1860 195 
 
 Ritchie, Thomas 223 
 
 Russell, Dr 98 
 
 Scott, General 265 
 
 Secession a deliberate act, 260, 261; advocated by 
 Spaulding and Greeley, 251,252 (foot note); advocated 
 In Connecticut, 16; a separate and legal act, 253 et 
 seq.; caused by sectionalism, 226 et seq.; demanded 
 by NCAV York Tribune, 250 (foot note); justified by 
 South Carolina, 23; New York reserves right of, 
 207-209; of South Carolina, 34; Caleb Gushing on, 34, 
 35 (foot note); legal justification of 185 et seq.; 
 Rhode Island retains right of, 208, 209; right of, 24, 
 25, 38-41; right of, claimed by several States, 211; 
 threatened by New England, 245; Virginia reserves 
 
 right of 207-209 
 
 Sectionalism, 226 et seq. 
 
 Seddon, James A 60 
 
 Semmes, Raphael 60 
 
 Seward, W. H 14, 97, 98, 120-125, 250, 262 
 
 Shaler, Professor N. S 179 
 
 Sheridan, General 150, 151 
 
 Sherman, John, and John Brown 258 
 
 Sherman s march through Georgia 150-151 
 
 Sherman, Senator 264, 267 
 
 Simmons, Senator 21 
 
 Slaves, Valuation of 16 
 
 Slavery, In colonies, 13; Ingalls on, 13; Lincoln on, 14; 
 Seward on, 14; Stephens on, 26, 27 (foot note); 
 Amos on, 27; and Constitution, 
 
 25-27, 89-92, 242, 255, 256 
 
 Slave Trade, Vessels engaged in 15 
 
 Slldell 106, 132 
 
 Smith, Goldwln 146-152, 264 
 
 Smith, Robert H 19 
 
 South Carolina justifies secession, 23; secession of, 84; 
 convention of 1860, 34-36; commissioners appointed 
 
 by 36, 37 
 
 Spoils system 79 
 
Index. 317 
 
 Page 
 
 States Rights 40, 41, 65, 66, 126, 143, 188, 189 
 
 States, Readmission of, 33; independence recognized 
 separately, 197; antedate the Union, 200, 201; can 
 destroy National Government, 231; status of, 194; 
 
 sovereignty of, 197, 203, 204; relation to Union 215 
 
 States, Southern, not prepared for war, 261-270; desire 
 
 peace 261-263 
 
 Stephens, A. H., 18, 26, 27 (foot note), 
 
 43, 47, 56-59, 63, 01, 102 
 
 Stevens, Thaddeus, on changing Constitution 30, 31 
 
 Story, Chief Justice 15, 194 
 
 Sumner, Chas., 97, 221, 222, 251 (foot note). 
 
 Sumter, Fort 122-126, 262 
 
 Supreme Court decisions on political status of Confed 
 erate States Government and State governments 
 
 during the war 271-273 
 
 Supreme Court packed 256-257 
 
 Taui, Thomas 44, 45 
 
 Teller, H. M 73 
 
 Tennessee abolishes slavery, 106; secedes 103, 105 
 
 Texas secedes 60 
 
 Toombs, Robert 17-24, 43, 52, 59, 64, 104, 106, 117 
 
 Treaty of 1782 12 
 
 Trenholm, George A 48, 60 
 
 Tucker, John Randolph 273 
 
 Tyler, Ex-President 103, 104 
 
 Tyrannical acts 81, 32 
 
 Union, Conditions of remaining in, 22, 23; causes of se 
 ceding from, 28; three division of powers, 68; relation 
 of States to, 215 et seq. 
 
 United Country, How to gain 181, 182 
 
 United States, Powers of, defined 219-220 
 
 United States shipping destroyed 132 
 
 Van Buren, 241 (foot note) 242 
 
 Vance, Governor 115, 163, 164 
 
 Vance, Senator 101 
 
 Virginia Convention, 100, 101; secedes, 102; record in 
 war, 167, 168; colony of, separates from Great Bri 
 tain, 193, 194; appoints commissioners, 205; reserves 
 
 right to secede, 207; peace convention 268 
 
 Von Hoist , 28 
 
318 Index. 
 
 Page 
 
 Walker, L. P ,..43, 59, 64 
 
 War governors 124, 125 
 
 War vessels 156, 157 
 
 Washburne, E. B 77, 78 
 
 Washington, George 242 
 
 Watts 60 
 
 Webster, Daniel, 15, 189, 190 (foot note). 
 
 Wilmer, Bishop 180 
 
 Withers 44, 64 
 
 Women, Southern 169-175 
 
 Woods, General 179-180 
 
 Yancey, W. L 126, 127 
 
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