The Constitution of The Confederate States of America.

Item Number: 125394

Greenneville [sic], Tenn.: Printed And For Sale by J. M. Robertson, 1861.

Scarce 1861 Tennessee printing of The Constitution of The Confederate States of America, adopted on March 11, 1861. Octavo, original wrappers. In very good condition, wrappers laminated in glassine. Housed in a custom cloth chemise and half morocco slipcase. Exceedingly rare, being the only example printed in Tennessee in the year of the Constitution’s adoption to appear in auction records.

Adopted on March 11, 1861, the Constitution of the Confederate States was the supreme law of the Confederate States of America. It was in effect from 22 February 1862, to the conclusion of the American Civil War in May 1865. The majority of its provisions follow the United States Constitution verbatim; however, there are critical differences between the two documents regarding slavery. Whereas the original U.S. Constitution did not use the word "slavery" or the term "Negro Slaves" but instead used "Person[s] held to Service or Labour," which included whites and Native Americans in indentured servitude, the Confederate Constitution addresses the legality of slavery directly and by name. Though Article I, Section 9 (1), of both constitutions are quite similar in banning the importation of slaves from foreign nations, the Confederate Constitution permitted the Confederate States to import slaves from the United States and specified the "African race" as the subject. The importation of slaves into the United States, including the South, had been illegal since 1808.