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the overseas slave trade but allowed importation from the slaveholding U.S. states. However, Congress could ban importation of slaves from "any State not a member of this
Confederacy." That differs from the U.S. Constitution in which Article I, Section 9 allows but does not require a ban on the "Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit" effective January 1, 1808. Article IV, Section 2, of the Provisional Constitution required the return of escaped slaves, similarly to that in the U.S. Constitution. It differed by specifying who shall return the slaves ("the executive authority" of the state) and adding a requirement of financial compensation equal to the "value of the slave and all costs and expenses" in the case of "abduction or rescue" of the fugitive slave. Unlike the U.S. Constitution, the Confederate Provisional Constitution dispensed with the euphemistic phraseology of "other persons," "such persons," and "Person held to Service or Labour in one State" and forthrightly referred to them as "slaves" and "negroes."
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intent...." Some scholars agree with Davis that the
Provisional Constitution sought to clarify many of the ambiguities of the U.S. Constitution. The language of the former leads most historians to view the Provisional Constitution as emphasizing federalism over a consolidated, centralized federal government. For instance, in its preamble, "We the people" was replaced with "We, the deputies of the sovereign and independent States,...." Words such as "delegated" and "expressly granted" were also used to de-emphasize the power of the federal government and to underscore that the Confederacy was a league of states rather than a single homogeneity: the sovereign power resided within a framework that was "bottom-up," not "top-down."
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debate. The key changes to the committee's draft were an inclusion of the phrase "Invoking the favor of
Almighty God" into the preamble, the addition of an executive line-item veto, a removal of a congressional restriction of 15% on import tariffs, and the combination of the circuit and district court systems into one district system in which each state comprised one district. The Provisional Constitution was then unanimously ratified around midnight on February 8, 1861. It was signed by all members present at noon on the day of
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changes, as well as a clause to allow
Congress to use a two-thirds vote to declare the president unable to perform his duties. Article IV permitted Congress to amend the constitution with another two-thirds vote, and Article VI granted Congress the power to admit other states into the confederacy. In its haste, the Committee of Twelve neglected to include important features such as a ratification process and decided to omit any mention of controversial issues regarding
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422:"executive authority" was responsible for the return, prevented Congress from passing any law "denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves;" guaranteed the right of "transit and sojourn... with their slaves and other property;" required any Confederate territory to allow "the institution of negro slavery, as it now exists in the Confederate States"; and restored the
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The
Statutes at Large of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America: From the Institution of the Government, February 8, 1861, to its Termination, February 18, 1862, Inclusive; Arranged in Chronological Order, Together with the Constitution for the Provisional Government, and the
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Slavery would be additionally addressed in the
Permanent Constitution. In addition to outlawing the slave trade and requiring the return of fugitive slaves, the Permanent Constitution omitted the requirement of financial compensation for slaves abducted or rescued or the specification that the states
417:
Slavery was dealt with very briefly in the
Provisional Constitution. Since the Provisional Constitution did not provide for a House of Representatives, the section dealing with how slaves should be counted for census purposes was omitted. Article I, Section 7, of the Provisional Constitution outlawed
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All committee members were well educated and had extensive legislative experience. The necessity of a constitution made them work with considerable speed and report to the convention on
February 7. Copies were then made and distributed to the convention's members, who spent relatively little time on
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In his inaugural address, President
Jefferson Davis said: "We have changed the constituent parts but not the system of government. The Constitution framed by our fathers is that of these Confederate States." It differed "only from that of our fathers insofar as it is explanatory of their well-known
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However, the most significant difference from the U.S. Constitution was that under the
Provisional Constitution, the Provisional Confederate Congress was a unicameral legislature, with only one chamber, and voting was by states. That was changed to the more-familiar bicameral legislature in the
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as a basis for their own, there are many similarities. Large sections were copied without any change, and others had only cosmetic changes (such as replacing "United States" with "Confederate States" or "Confederacy"). There were also several noticeable differences, including the aforementioned
394:'s inaugural address, February 18, 1861. There were 50 signatures in all, including those of the Texas delegation who were admitted on March 2. The Provisional Constitution was replaced after the ratification of the permanent Constitution of the Confederate States of America, on March 11, 1861.
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from Louisiana to the Committee of Twelve. The committee elected Memminger, who had arrived at the convention with a draft already prepared, as their chair.
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began on February 5, 1861. The Provisional Constitution was formally adopted on February 8. Government under this constitution was superseded by the new
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proposed the creation of a Committee of Thirteen to draft a provisional constitution to grant congressional power to the convention.
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Constitution for the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America
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1862 disestablishments in the Confederate States of America
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Since the framers of the Provisional Constitution used the
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243:. Its drafting by a committee of twelve appointed by the
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1861 establishments in the Confederate States of America
385:, the principal author of the Provisional Constitution
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910:(1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row. p.
781:. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1983. p.
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50 of the 50 delegates to the Montgomery Convention
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443:The signers and the states they represented were:
229:Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States
28:Provisional Constitution of the Confederate States
426:for allocating representatives and direct taxes.
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833:The Confederate Constitutions
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154:February 18, 1861
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580:William Parish Chilton
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255:Background and context
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1073:Robert Barnwell Rhett
534:Alexander H. Stephens
383:Christopher Memminger
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330:from South Carolina,
320:Christopher Memminger
209:Christopher Memminger
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245:Provisional Congress
80:Government structure
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424:Three-Fifths Clause
64:Date effective
1232:J. Patton Anderson
1177:Augustus R. Wright
1156:Martin J. Crawford
1087:James Chesnut, Jr.
998:The Avalon Project
874:. pp. 23–24.
553:J. Patton Anderson
522:Augustus R. Wright
510:Martin J. Crawford
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356:Alexander Stephens
338:from Mississippi,
124:Supreme, Districts
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1342:W. S. Wilson
1328:W. P. Harris
1163:E. A. Nisbet
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336:Wiley Harris
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179:May 21, 1861
176:Last amended
38:Jurisdiction
22:
1319:Mississippi
1191:A. H. Kenan
1053:Howell Cobb
956:. pp.
602:Mississippi
530:A. H. Kenan
448:Howell Cobb
344:James Owens
324:Thomas Cobb
301:Mississippi
281:Independent
218:Signatories
1569:Categories
1459:John Gregg
1301:Tho. Fearn
921:0060142529
870:. Athens:
715:References
681:John Gregg
592:Tho. Fearn
283:States of
261:Montgomery
167:Amendments
158:1861-02-18
143:1862-02-08
101:Unicameral
72:1861-02-08
55:1861-02-08
1381:Louisiana
1142:R. Toombs
974:977599955
809:894677333
759:25389078M
637:Louisiana
502:R. Toombs
305:Louisiana
277:Sovereign
205:Author(s)
120:Judiciary
113:President
108:Executive
1507:Category
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273:Congress
269:deputies
197:Virginia
193:Richmond
184:Location
96:Chambers
86:Branches
33:Overview
1533:Portals
1519:Commons
1243:Alabama
1209:Florida
1133:Georgia
960:, 236.
853:1080371
559:Alabama
540:Florida
497:Georgia
439:Signers
408:tariffs
404:slavery
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1436:Texas
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962:LCCN
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916:ISBN
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