Confederate Constitution Adopted: The South Gets Its Own Government
The Confederate Constitution explicitly protected slavery while also *banning* the international slave trade—a cynical bid for European recognition that fooled no one. Jefferson Davis and his delegates spent just four days in Montgomery drafting their founding document, borrowing heavily from the U.S. Constitution they'd just rejected. They kept the Preamble's "We the People" but stripped out "form a more perfect Union." The contradiction was built in from day one: states' rights zealots created a central government that forbade states from ever abolishing slavery. Within four years, their nation was ash, but here's the thing—that hasty February draft became the blueprint for justifying segregation for another century.
March 11, 1861
165 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on March 11
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