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Information about President Of The Confederate States Of America

The President of the Confederate States of America was the Head of State of the Confederate States of America, which was formed from the states which declared their secession from the United States. The only person to hold the office was Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. He was President from February 18, 1861, to May 5, 1865, and his Vice President was Alexander Stephens. Howell Cobb, as president of the Provisional Confederate Congress, was the de facto head of the Confederacy before the election of Davis, but he was not titled President of the Confederate States.

Office

According to the Confederate States Constitution, the President's office was almost entirely the same as that of the President of the United States. The President was to be:
  • chosen by an electoral college from each state in the Confederacy. Each state had as many electors as they had members in Congress (senators + representatives).
  • elected jointly with a Vice Presidential running mate (but the President and VP could not be citizens of the same state)
  • either a born citizen of the Confederacy or a born citizen of the United States born prior to December 20, 1860 and to have "been fourteen years a resident within the limits of the Confederate States, as they may exist at the time of his election."
  • at least thirty-five years of age

Powers

Enlarge picture
Jefferson Davis was the first and only President of the Confederate States.


The President of the Confederacy held most of the same powers as the President of the United States. Though he could not directly propose legislation, he was given the power to nominate members of the Supreme Court of the Confederate States, ambassadors, cabinet members, and other executive officials to be approved by the Senate.

He was also Commander-in-Chief of the Confederate States Army and held veto power over legislation.

The President could be impeached by Congress for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

Differences

There were a few key differences between the Confederate President and the United States President:
  • Unlike the United States, which allowed for indefinite re-election (until the passage of the 22nd Amendment in 1951) of both the President and Vice President after a four-year term, the Confederacy limited both offices to only one six-year term. After the war, this innovation gained considerable popularity in the re-constituted Union, most notably being endorsed by Rutherford B. Hayes in his inaugural address.
  • One unique power granted to the Confederate president was the ability to subject a bill to a line item veto, a power held by some state governors.

See also

For the comedy film of the same name, see .


Head of state or Chief of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation,
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The Confederate States of America (also called the Confederacy, the Confederate States, and CSA) was the government formed by eleven southern states of the United States of America between 1861 and 1865.
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United States of America

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Politics and government of
the United States


Federal government
Constitution
Taxation

President Vice President
Cabinet


Congress
Senate
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Secession (derived from the Latin term secessio) is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or political entity. It is not to be confused with succession, the act of following in order or sequence.
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War.
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February 18 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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May 5 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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  • 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins.

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Alexander Hamilton Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883) was Vice President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He also served as a congressman from Georgia and as Governor of Georgia from 1882 until his death in 1883.
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Howell Cobb (September 7, 1815 – October 9, 1868) was an American political figure. A Southern Democrat, Cobb was a five-term member of the United States House of Representatives and Speaker of the House from 1849 to 1851.
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The Provisional Confederate Congress, for a time the legislative branch of the Confederate States of America, was the body which drafted the Confederate Constitution, elected Jefferson Davis President of the Confederacy, and designed the first Confederate flag.
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De facto is a Latin expression that means "in fact" or "in practice" but not spelled out by law. It is commonly used in contrast to de jure (which means "by law") when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique (such as standards), that are found in the
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Constitution of the Confederate States of America was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America, as adopted on March 11, 1861 and in effect through the conclusion of the American Civil War.
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electoral college is a set of electors, who are empowered as a deliberative body to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these electors represent a different organization or entity with each organization or entity by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted
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vice president is an officer in government or business who is next in rank below a president. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning in place of. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president.
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A running mate is a person running for a subordinate position on a joint ticket during an election.

The term is usually used in reference to a prospective vice president of the United States, who the prospective president appoints sometime during the course of the election
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December 20 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 69 - Vespasian, a former general under Nero, enters Rome to claim the title of emperor.

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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
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supreme court functions as a court of last resort whose rulings cannot be challenged. However, in some jurisdictions other phrases are used to describe the highest courts. There are also some jurisdictions where the supreme court is not the highest court.
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cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of government, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council or an Executive Committee.
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commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function.
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The Confederate States Army (CSA) was organized in February 1861 to defend the newly formed Confederate States of America from military action by the United States government during the American Civil War. As many as 1.4 million men fought in the Army throughout the war.
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The word veto comes from a Latin word and literally means I forbid. It is used to denote that a certain party has the right to stop unilaterally a certain piece of legislation. In practice, the veto can be absolute (as in the U.N.
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Legislation (or "statutory law") is law which has been promulgated (or "enacted") by a legislature or other governing body. The term may refer to a single law, or the collective body of enacted law, while "statute" is also used to refer to a single law.
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impeachment is the first of two stages in a specific process for a legislative body to remove a government official without that official's agreement. The second stage is called conviction.

Impeachment is so rare that the term is often misunderstood.
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United States of America

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United States Constitution

Original text of the Constitution
Preamble
Articles of the Constitution
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