Sworn

[whitworth]

To Protect and Defend


Constitution of the Confederate States of America


(3) Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States, which may be

included within this 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 slaves.



Sec. 9. (1) 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.



(2) 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.



(4) No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in

negro slaves shall be passed.


Sec. 2. (1) The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the 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 said slaves shall not

be thereby impaired.


(3) No slave or other person held to service or labor in any State or Territory of the Confederate

States, under the laws thereof, escaping or lawfully carried into another, shall, in consequence of

any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor; but shall be delivered up on

claim of the party to whom such slave belongs,. or to whom such service or labor may be due.


(3) 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 be 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.

 

[DHPatrick]

Witworth,

I'll respond if I know your question or purpose.

 

[Borderruffian]

I'll go out on a limb and say that it relates to slavery being the main issue in the war. And that the post provides the proof. But I'm just spit ballin here.

 

[DHPatrick]

I'll go out on a limb and say that it relates to slavery being the main issue in the war. And that the post provides the proof. But I'm just spit ballin here.

Borderruffian

Parsed as it is, you are probably right.

 

[tory_loyalist]

I'll go out on a limb and say that it relates to slavery being the main issue in the war. And that the post provides the proof. But I'm just spit ballin here.

Border:

I think he is saying that Slavery in any new Confederate Territories is protected, unlike what the North threatened against the South.

I think he is showing how the South was willingly and
purposefully curbing Slavery WHERE IT EXISTED, and
for the purposes of one day doing away with it, altogether. Virginia had been behind such an act during the time of Patrick Henry.

I think he is saying that the United States Constitution, had it been written in this fashion, would have prevented Secession in the first place.

But that is just a Wild Guess, on my part!

Tory

 

[ole]

The Confederacy had claim/access only to the New Mexico Territory. Kinda makes one wonder what territories the Constitution was considering. The Caribbean? Mexico? Central and South America?

The Confederate Constitution made changes in the original only to "correct" those deficiences they wished had been addressed. Expansion had little attention when the first Constitution was under construction. When the latter was under construction, expansion was desperately desired.

I think he is showing how the South was willingly and
purposefully curbing Slavery WHERE IT EXISTED, and for the purposes of one day doing away with it, altogether. Virginia had been behind such an act during the time of Patrick Henry.

Where did you see that? It is quite clear that the Confederate Constitution would protect slavery in all territories, present and anticipated; i.e., expansion. And yes, Virginia did consider doing away with slavery until Nat Turner put the kibosh on it. Virginia was looking at the meteoric rise of northern business at the expense of Richmond and its ports and naval yards.

ole

 

[timewalker]

Given the fact that the expansion of slavery into the Territories was the cause celebre of the fire-eaters and that they considered expansion of slavery, not contraction, to be necessary for the maintenance of their particular institution, I simply cannot comprehend the argument that the Confederacy was in any way willing to halt the spread of slavery, limit its growth, or restrict it in order to lead to its abolishion. The same for arguments that the Confederacy would have honored the treaties with the Indians and respected their territorial integrity. In the minds of the fire-eaters, slavery had to expand or die and they were not willing to see it die.

The arguments that the Confederacy was going to restrict slavery or that it would have ended slavery on its own are simply attempts to bolster the argument that secession was not about slavery in the first place. "See, the fact that the South was going to/was in the process of abolishing slavery on its own proves that the war was not really about slavery."

So much bunk, in my humble opinion. (Okay, maybe not so humble).

 

[whitworth]

Sworn: To Protect and Defend

Who in the Confederacy was sworn to protect and defend the Confederate Constitution. That was the president and the soldiers in the Confederate army.
Regardless of what one now thinks of slavery, at the time of the Civil War, slavery was protected by the Constitution of the Confederate States and Jefferson Davis, R.E. Lee and the soldiers had pledged by oath to defend and protect the Confederate States and their Constitution.

My initial post indicates how important slavery was to the Confederacy and what these officials, officers and soldiers were really defending.

Slavery was an expressed right in the Confederate Constitution.
Sec. 2. (1) The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all the 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 said slaves shall not be thereby impaired.

In Article 10, Confederate Articles of War, each soldier gave an oath to
"bear true allegiance to the Confederate States of America,"

The President gave his oath as expressed in that Constitution
ARTICLE II. Section I.
(10) 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 Confederate States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution thereof."

In summary, the Confederate States were about preserving the right of slavery in those states. That the Confederate president was to preserve, protect, and defend that right in the Confederate Constitution.

That the Confederate soldiers had given their oath to protect the Confederacy and by inference its constitution.

"I, ..............., do solemnly swear or affirm (as the case may be) that I will bear true allegiance to the Confederate States of America, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemy and opposors whatsoever; and observe and obey the orders of the President of the Confederate States, and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the Rules and Articles for the government of the armies of the Confederate States."