From THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS: THE CONFEDERATE CONSTITUTION IN CONGRESS,1861–1865, by David P. Currie in The Virginia Law Review, 8/19/2004
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Within two months after its establishment the Confederacy found itself at war with a powerful adversary that denied its very existence and was determined to wipe it off the map. It is thus not surprising that the common defense was the first priority of both Congress and the President and formed the context of most of the constitutional questions raised, debated, and decided by Confederate authorities.
We begin with the confrontation itself. The North called it the War of the Rebellion; in the South it became known as the War Between the States. This contrast in nomenclature reflected fundamental philosophical differences regarding the nature of the conflict. President Lincoln called out the militia to execute the laws and suppress insurrection; the Confederate Congress declared war on the United States.
Hostilities had started before this declaration of war. While protesting that he sought only peace,
President Davis had ordered the famous attack on Fort Sumter. Presidential warmaking? A flagrant violation of the Confederate Constitution, which like that of the United States gave Congress, not the President, power to declare (and thus to initiate) war? The Southern equivalent of the debacle in Vietnam? No. Although the Statutes at Large do not reveal it, the Provisional Congress in February 1861 had secretly directed the President to secure possession of Fort Sumter (and of Fort Pickens in Florida) by negotiation if possible, and, if necessary, by force.
Thus while the Fort Sumter assault may well have been foolish and suicidal, as Tennessee Representative Henry Foote later argued;
while it may have made it pretty questionable for the Confederate Congress to blame the United States, as it did, for starting the war; and while it may well have constituted treason against the
United States,
for which President Davis himself was later indicted and imprisoned; it was in full accord with the Confederate Constitution.
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Regards,
Tim
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Regards,
Tim
Bringing the