Confederate Constitutions And Viewpoints

On 04 February 1861, thirty-seven delegates from the seceded states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina met in Montgomery, Alabama to discuss their situation and the possibility of forming a new independent government. After briefly toying with such names as Alleghenia, Chicora, Atlanta, the Georgia Confederacy, and the Republic of Washington, it was agreed upon to name the new nation the Confederate States of North America. On the insistence of Alexander Hamilton Stephens, as they were a Southern country, the "North" part was dropped. One of the first orders of business was to draw up a temporary Constitution for the government to operate with, until a formal one could be debated, adopted, and ratified by the several states. For this purpose, the following committee was chosen, consisting of two delegates from each state of the Confederacy (at that time):
Confederate Constitution Committee (Provisional Version) (A † Indicates The Committee Chairman.)
ALABAMA	LOUISIANA
Robert Hardy Smith Richard Wilde Walker	Duncan Farrar Kenner John Perkins, Jr.
FLORIDA	MISSISSIPPI
James Patton Anderson James Byeram Owens	William Taylor Sullivan Barry Wiley Pope Harris
GEORGIA	SOUTH CAROLINA
Eugenius Aristides Nisbet Alexander Hamilton Stephens	Robert Woodward Barnwell Christopher Gustavus Memminger†
The committee presented their draft for debate on 07 February, and the Provisional Confederate Constitution was adopted the evening of 08 February. A new committee was chosen on 09 February, consisting of two delegates from each state of the Confederacy (at that time) to draw up the basic outline of the Permanent Confederate Constitution. Listed by state, they were:
Confederate Constitution Committee (Permanent Version) (A † Indicates The Committee Chairman.)
ALABAMA	LOUISIANA
Robert Hardy Smith Richard Wilde Walker	Alexandre Etienne DeClouet Edward Sparrow
FLORIDA	MISSISSIPPI
Jackson Morton James Byeram Owens	Alexander Mosby Clayton Wiley Pope Harris
GEORGIA	SOUTH CAROLINA
Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb Robert Augustus Toombs	James Chesnut, Jr. Robert Barnwell Rhett†
Upon completion of the draft, the Permanent Confederate Constitution went into daily Congressional proceedings on 28 February 1861 for purposes of its editing and adoption. The final acceptance, by unanimous vote, came on 11 March 1861. Subsequent ratification votes of the individual Confederate States (at that time) were as follows:
Permanent Constitution Ratification (Alphabetically By State.)
STATE	RATIFICATION DATE	VOTE
ALABAMA	12 March 1861	87-5
FLORIDA	22 April 1861	54-0
GEORGIA	16 March 1861	276-0
LOUISIANA	21 March 1861	102-7
MISSISSIPPI	26 March 1861	78-7
SOUTH CAROLINA	03 April 1861	138-21
TEXAS	23 March 1861	126-2
Below are links to the Provisional and Permanent Confederate Constitutions, as well as the post-war viewpoint of one the framers.