confederateconstitution

The Constitution of the Confederate States of America.

In framing the Constitution of the Confederate States, the authors adopted, with numerous elisions and additions, the language of the Constitution of the United States, and followed the same order of arrangement of articles and sections. The changes made in this adaptation of the old Constitution are here shown. The parts stricken out are enclosed in brackets, and the new matter added in framing the Confederate Constitution is printed in italics.]

WE, the People of the [United States] Confederated States, each State acting in its sovereign and independent character, in order to form a [more perfect Union] permanent Federal government, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquillity [provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare], 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 [United] Confederate States of America.

ARTICLE I.

SECTION I.

All legislative Powers herein [granted] delegated, shall be vested in a Congress of the[United] Confederate States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of

Representatives.

SECTION II.

The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year

by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall be citizens of the

Confederate States, and have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most

numerous Branch of the State Legislature; but no person of foreign birth, and not a

citizen of the Confederate States, shall be allowed to vote for any officer, civil or political,

State or federal.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of

twenty-five Years, and [been seven Years a Citizen of the United] 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 [Union] Confederacy, according to their respective

Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons,

including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed,

three-fifths of all [other Persons] slaves. The actual Enumeration shall be made within

three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the [United] Confederate States,

and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law

direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every [thirty] fifty

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 Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut

five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six,

Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five, and Georgia three] 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 Representation from any State, the Executive Authority

thereof shall 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; except that any judicial or other federal officer

resident and acting solely within the limits of any State, may be impeached by a vote of

two-thirds of both branches of the Legislature thereof.

SECTION III.

The Senate of the [United] Confederate States shall be composed of two Senators from

each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years, 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 Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at

the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth

Year, so that one-third may be chosen every second Year; and if Vacancies happen by

Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the

Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the

Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.

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] be a citizen of the Confederate States, and who

shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the [United] Confederate States shall be President of the Senate,

but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the

Absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the

United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that

Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the [United]

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 Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from

Office, and Disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honour, Trust or Profit

under the [United] Confederate States; but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be

liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

SECTION lV.

The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives,

shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof, subject to the provisions of

this Constitution; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such

Regulations, except as to the times and places of chusing 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 appoint a different Day.

SECTION V.

Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own

Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a

smaller Number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the

Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each

House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for

disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds of the whole number

expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the

same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and

Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one-fifth of

those Present, be entered on the Journal

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other,

adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two

Houses shall be sitting.

SECTION VI.

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] Confederate States.

They shall in all Cases, except Treason [Felony] and Breach of the Peace, be privileged

from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in

going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House,

they shall not be questioned in any other Place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be

appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the [United] Confederate States,

which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased

during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the [United] Confederate

States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office. But

Congress may, by law, grant to the principal officers in each of the executive departments

a seat upon the floor of either House, with the privilege of discussing any measures

appertaining to his department.

SECTION VII.

All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House o! Representatives; but the

Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.

Every Bill which shall have passed [the House of Representatives and the Senate] both

Houses, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the [United]

Confederate States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his

Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the

Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such

Reconsideration two-thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent,

together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be

reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But

in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and

the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal

of each House 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. The President may approve any

appropriation and disapprove any other appropriation in the same bill. In such case he

shall, in signing the bill, designate the appropriation disapproved, and shall return a copy

of such appropriation, with his objections, to the House in which the bill shall have

originated; and the same proceedings shall then be had as in case of other bills

disapproved by the President.

Every Order, Resolution, or Vote to which the Concurrence of [the Senate and House of

Representatives] both Houses may be necessary (except on a question of Adjournment),

shall be presented to the President of the [United] Confederate States; and before the

Same shall take Effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, [shall]

may be repassed by two-thirds of [the Senate and House of Representatives] both

Houses, according to the Rules and Limitations prescribed in the Case of a Bill.

SECTION VIII.

The Congress shall have Power

To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, for revenue necessary to pay the

Debts [and], provide for the common Defence [and general Welfare of the United States;

but], and carry on the government of the Confederate States; but no bounties shall be

granted from the treasury, nor shall any duties, or taxes, or importation from foreign

nations be laid to promote or foster any branch of industry; and all Duties, Imposts and

Excises shall be uniform throughout the [United] Confederate States;

To borrow Money on the credit of the [United] Confederate States;

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the

Indian Tribes; but neither this, nor any other clause contained in this Constitution, shall

ever be construed to delegate the power to Congress to appropriate money for any

internal improvement intended to facilitate commerce; except for the purpose of

furnishing lights, beacons, and buoys, and other aids to navigation upon the coasts, and

the improvement of harbors, and the removing of obstructions in river navigation; in all

such cases such duties shall be laid on the navigation facilitated thereby, as may be

necessary to pay the costs and expenses thereof;

To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of

Bankruptcies throughout the [United] Confederate States; but no law of Congress shall

discharge any debt contracted 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 Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the

[United] Confederate States;

To establish Post Offices and post [Roads] routes; but the expenses of the Postoffice

Department, after the first day of March, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and

sixty-three, shall be paid out of its own revenues;

To promote the progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to

Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed 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 Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the [Union] Confederate

States, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia and for governing such

Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the [United] Confederate States,

reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority

of training the Militia according to the Discipline prescribed by Congress;

To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not

exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance

of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the [United] Confederate States,

and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the

Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts,

Magazines, Arsenals, Dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;--And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the

foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government

of the [United] Confederate States or in any Department or Officer thereof.

SECTION IX.

[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 dollars for each Person.] 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 prohibit the

introduction of slaves from any State not a member of, or territory not belonging to, this

Confederacy.

The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in

Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it. No Bill of Attainder or

ex post facto Law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negro slaves, shall

be passed.

No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in Proportion to the Census or

Enumeration 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 [: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 Consequence of Appropriations

made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures

of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

Congress shall appropriate no money from the Treasury except by a vote of two-thirds of

both Houses, taken by yeas and nays, unless it be asked and estimated for by some one of

the heads of departments and submitted to Congress by the President; or for the purpose of

paying its own expenses and contingencies; or for the payment of claims against the

Confederate States, the justice of which shall have been officially declared by a tribunal

for the investigation of claims against the Government, which it is hereby made the duty of

Congress to establish.

All bills appropriating money shall specify in Federal currency the exact amount of each

appropriation and the purposes for which it is made; and Congress shall grant no extra

compensation to any public contractor, officer, agent or servant, after such contract shall

have been made or such service rendered.

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the [United] 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 people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of

grievances.

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.

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, papers, and effects, against

unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue,

but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing

the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

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, liberty or

property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use,

without just compensation.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public

trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been

committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be

informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses

against him; to have Compulsory process for obtaining Witnesses in his favour, and to

have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

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] Confederate States, than according to .the

rules of the common law.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual

punishments inflicted.

Every law or resolution having the force of law, shall relate to but one subject, and that

shall be expressed in the title.

SECTION X.

No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of

Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; [emit Bills of Credit;] make any Thing but gold and

silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, or ex post facto

Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on

Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its

inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on

Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the [United] Confederate

States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Con-troul of the

Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, except on

sea-going vessels, for the inprovement of its rivers and harbors navigated by the said

vessels; but such duties shall nat conflict with any treaties of the Confederate States with

foreign nations; and any surplus of revenue thus derived shall, after making such

improvement, be paid into the common treasury; nor shall any State keep Troops, or

Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another

State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such

imminent Danger as will not admit of Delay. But when any river divides or flows through

two or more States, they may enter into compacts with each other to improve the

navigation thereof.

ARTICLE II.

SECTION I.

[The executive Power shall be vested in a President 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 follows:] The executive power shall

be vested in a President of the Confederate States of America. He and the Vice President

shall hold their offices for the term of six years; but the President shall not be re-eligible.

The President and 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 Representatives to

which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but no Senator or Representative, or

Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the [United] Confederate States, shall

be appointed 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

themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in

distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice President, and they shall make distinct lists

of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice President, and

of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit

sealed to the seat of the government of the [United] Confederate 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 the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives

shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the

votes shall be taken by States, the representation from each State having one vote; a

quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the

States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House

of Representatives shall not choose a President whenever the right of choice shall

devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice

President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional

disability of the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice

President shall be the Vice President, if such number be a majority of the whole number

of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest

numbers on the list the Senate shall choose the Vice President; a quorum for the

purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of

the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally

ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the

[United] Confederate States.

The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which

they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

No Person except a natural born Citizen [or a Citizen of the United States] of the

Confederate States, or a citizen thereof, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution,

or a citizen thereof born in the United States prior to the 20th of December, 1860, shall be

eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who

shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a

Resident within the[United States] limits of the Confederate States, as they may exist at

the time of his election.

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 shah devolve

on the Vice President, and the Congress may by Law provide for the Case of Removal,

Death, Resignation, or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring

what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the

Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which

shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have

been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the

[United} Confederate States or any of them.

Before he enters on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or

Affirmation:--

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of

the [United] Confederate States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and

defend the Constitution [o! the United States] thereof."

SECTION II.

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the [United]

Confederate States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual

Service of the [United] Confederate States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the

principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the

Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and

Pardons for Offences against the [United] Confederate 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 Senators present concur; and he shall nominate,

and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors,

other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers

of the [United] Confederate States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise

provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest

the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone,

in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. The principal officer in each of

the executive departments, and all persons connected with the diplomatic service, may be

removed from office at the pleasure of the President. All other civil officers of the

executive department may be removed at any time by the President, or other appointing

power, when their services are unnecessary, or for dishonesty, incapacity, inefficiency,

misconduct, or neglect of duty; and when so removed, the removal shall be reported to the

Senate, together with the reasons therefor.

The President shall have Power to fill [up] all Vacancies that may happen during the

Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their

next Session.

SECTION III.

[He] The President shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State

of the [Union] Confederacy, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he

shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene bolt,

Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to

the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper;

he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the

Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the officers of the [United]

Confederate States,

SECTION IV.

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the [United] Confederate States,

shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,

Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

ARTICLE III.

SECTION I.

The judicial Power of the [United] Confederate States shall be vested in one [supreme]

Superior Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time

ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold

their Offices during good Behavior, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services

a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.

SECTION II.

The judicial Power shall extend to all cases [in Law and Equity, arising under this

Constitution], arising under this Constitution, ,n law and equity, the Laws of the [United]

Confederate States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;-

to all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers, and Consuls;--to all Cases of

admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction;--to Controversies to which the [United]

Confederate States shall be a Party; --to Controversies between two or more

States;--between a State and Citizens of another State where the State is plaintiff

;--between Citizens claiming lands under grants of different' States,--[between Citizens of

the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States,] and between a State, or

the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects; but no State shall be sued

by a citizen or subject of any foreign State.

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in

which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all

the other Cases before mentioned, the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction,

both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the

Congress shall make.

The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such

Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crime[s] shall have been committed; but

when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the

Congress may by Law have directed.

SECTION III.

Treason against the [United] Confederate States shall consist only in levying War against

them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall

be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt

Act, or on Confession in open Court.

The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder

of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the

Person attainted.

ARTICLE IV.

SECTION I.

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 II.

The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens

in the several States, and shall have the right of transit and sojourn in any State of this

Confederacy, with their slaves and other property; and the right of property in such slaves

shall not be impaired.

A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee

from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive

Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State

having Jurisdiction of the Crime.

No slave or Person held to Service or Labour in [one State] any State or Territory of the

Confederate Slates under the Laws thereof, escaping or unlawfully carried into another,

shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such

Service or Labour, but shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such slave

belongs, or to whom such Service or Labour may be due.

SECTION III.

[New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union;] Other States may be

admitted into this Confederacy by a vote of two-thirds of the whole House of

Representatives and two-thirds of the Senate, the Senate voting by States; but no new State

shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be

formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent

of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.

The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and

Regulations [respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States;

and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the

United States, or of any particular State] concerning the property of the Confederate

States, including the lands thereof.

The Confederate States may acquire new territory, and Congress shall have power to

legislate and provide governments for the inhabitants of all territory belonging to the

Confederate States lying without the limits of the several 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 Confederacy. In all such territory the institution of negro slavery as it now exists in the

Confederate States shall be recognized and protected by Congress and by the territorial

government, and the inhabitants of the several Confederate States and territories shall

have the right to take to such territory any slaves lawfully held by them in any of the States

or Territories of the Confederate States.

[SECTION IV.]

The [United] Confederate States shall guarantee to every State [in this Union] that now

is, or hereafter may become, a member of this Confederacy, a Republican Form of

Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the

Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature [cannot be convened] is not in

session) against domestic Violence.

ARTICLE V.

[The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall

propose Amendments to this Constitution, 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 Intents 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 Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made

prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the

first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State,

without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.]

Upon the demand of any three States, legally assembled in their several Conventions, the

Congress shall summon a Convention of all the States, to take into consideration such

amendments to the Constitution as the said States shall concur in suggesting at the time

when the said demand is made; and should any of the proposed amendments to the

Constitution be agreed on by the said Convention--voting by States --and the same be

ratified by the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several States, or by Conventions in

two-thirds thereof--as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the

general Convention--they shall henceforward form a part of this Constitution. But no State

shall, without its consent, be deprived of its equal representation in the Senate.

ARTICLE VI.

The Government established by this Constitution is the successor of the Provisional

Government of the Confederate States of America, and all laws passed by the latter shall

continue in force until the same shall be repealed or modified; and all the officers

appointed by the same shall remain in office until their successors are appointed and

qualified or the offices abolished.

All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this

Constitution, shall be as valid against the [United] Confederate States under this

Constitution, as under the [Confederation] Provisional Government.

This Constitution and the Laws of the [United] Confederate States [which shall be] made

in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the

authority of the [United] 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 Contrary notwithstanding.

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several

State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the [United]

Confederate States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to

support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification

to any Office or public Trust under the [United] Confederate States.

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or

disparage others retained by the people of the several States.

The powers not delegated to the [United] Confederate States by the Constitution, nor

prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

ARTICLE VII.

The Ratification of the Conventions of [nine] five States, shall be sufficient for the

Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the same.

When five States shall have ratified this Constitution, in the manner before specified, the

Congress under the Provisional Constitution shall prescribe the time for holding the

election of President and Vice President; and for the meeting of the electoral college; and

for counting the votes and inaugurating the President. They shall also prescribe the time

for holding the first election of members of Congress under this Constitution, and the time

for assembling the same. Until the assembling of such Congress, the Congress under the

Provisional Constitution shall continue to exercise the legislative powers granted them, not

extending beyond the time limited by the Constitution of the Provisional Government.

[DONE in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth

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.] Adopted

unanimously March 11, 1861.