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1st Confederate States Congress

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"First Confederate Congress" redirects here. For Provisional Congress, see Provisional Congress of the Confederate States.

The 1st Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, convened between February 18, 1862, and February 17, 1864. This assembly took place during the first two years of Jefferson Davis's presidency, convening at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia.[1]

1st Confederate States Congress
Equestrian portrait of Washington (after the statue which surmounts his monument in the capitol square, at Richmond,) surrounded with a wreath composed of the principal agricultural products of the Confederacy, (cotton, tobacco, sugar cane, corn, wheat and rice,) and having around its margin the words: "The Confederate States of America, twenty-second February, eighteen hundred and sixty-two," with the following motto: "Deo vindice"
Seal of the Confederate States
Logo
Flag of the Confederate States (1863–1865)
Type
Type
HousesSenate
House of Representatives
History
FoundedFebruary 18, 1862 (1862-02-18)
DisbandedFebruary 17, 1864 (1864-02-17)
Preceded byProvisional Congress
Succeeded by2nd
Leadership
Meeting place
Second Capitol of the Confederate States (1861-1865)
Virginia State Capitol
Richmond, Virginia
Confederate States of America
Constitution
Constitution of the Confederate States

Sessions

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The following sessions were held during the period February 18, 1862, and February 17, 1864, at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia.

  • 1st Session – February 18, 1862 to April 21, 1862
  • 2nd Session – August 18, 1862 to October 13, 1862
  • 3rd Session – January 12, 1863 to May 1, 1863
  • 4th Session – December 7, 1863 to February 17, 1864

Leadership

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Senate

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Senate President
 
Alexander H. Stephens
President pro tempore
 
R. M. T. Hunter

House

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House Speaker
 
Thomas S. Bocock

Officers

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Senate

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House

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  • Clerk: Robert Emmett Dixon Sr., Georgia (died April 24, 1863)
    • Albert Reese Lamar, Georgia — sessions 3 and 4
  • Assistant Clerk: James McDonald, Virginia
  • Assistant Clerk: David Louis Dalton, Alabama — sessions 3 and 4
  • Doorkeeper: Robert Harrison Wynne, Alabama

Members

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Senate

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Confederate States senators were elected by the state legislatures, or appointed by state governors to fill casual vacancies until the legislature elected a new senator. It was intended that one-third of the Senate would commence fresh six-year terms with each subsequent Congress following the inaugural one.

Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their terms. In this Congress, all senators were newly elected. Senators of Class 1 served a two-year term, expiring at the end of this Congress, requiring a new election for the six-year term,1864–1870. Class 2 senators served what was intended to be a four-year term, due to end on the expiry of the next Congress in 1866. Class 3 senators were meant to serve a six-year term, due to expire at the end of the Third Confederate Congress in 1868. As the Confederate Congress lasted less than four full years, the distinction between classes 2 and 3 was ultimately academic.

The members of the classes were selected by drawing of lots, which was done during the meeting of the Senate on February 21, 1862.[3]

The class is indicated before the name.

Alabama

Arkansas

Florida

Georgia

Kentucky

Louisiana

Mississippi

Missouri

North Carolina

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas

Virginia

House of Representatives

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X: Originally member of the Provisional Confederate Congress

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

Alabama

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Arkansas

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Florida

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Georgia

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Kentucky

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Louisiana

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Mississippi

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Missouri

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According to the Confederate law, the people of Missouri were entitled to elect thirteen representatives. The state never implemented the re-apportionment, and continued to use its existing seven districts. Pending an election, the appointed members of the delegation to the Provisional Congress were assigned to serve in the First Congress. Since No election was held, the appointed members served throughout the Congress.[5]

North Carolina

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South Carolina

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Tennessee

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Texas

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Virginia

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Delegates

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Non voting members of the House of Representatives.

Arizona Territory

Cherokee Nation

Choctaw Nation

Senate committees

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Accounts[9]

Claims

Commerce

Engrossment and Enrollment

Finance

Foreign Affairs

Indian Affairs

Judiciary

Military Affairs

Naval Affairs

Patents

Pay and Mileage (Session 1)

Post Offices and Post Roads

Printing

Public Lands

Rules (Session 1)

Territories

House committees

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Accounts[9]

Claims

Commerce

Currency (Session 4)

Elections

Enrolled Bills

Foreign Affairs

Indian Affairs

Judiciary

Medical Department (Sessions 2 - 4)

Military Affairs

Naval Affairs

Ordnance and Ordnance Stores (Sessions 2 - 4)

Patents

Pay and Mileage (Sessions 1 - 2)

Post Offices and Post Roads

Printing

Public Buildings

Quartermaster's and Commissary Departments and Military Transportation (Sessions 2 - 4)

Rules and Officers of the House (Sessions 1 - 3)

Territories and Public Lands

War Tax (Session 2)

Ways and Means

Joint committees

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Buildings (Session 1)[9]

Engrossment and Enrollment (Session 1)

Flag and Seal (Sessions 1 - 3)

Inauguration (Session 1)

Printing

Rules (Session 1)

Notes

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  1. ^ Historical Atlas ..., pp. 131-134
  2. ^ Casper Branner and his Descendants, John C. Branner, 1913, p. 218
  3. ^ Permanent Constitution of the Confederate States and Confederate Senate Journal
  4. ^ a b Historical Atlas ..., p. 132
  5. ^ Historical Atlas ... pp. 20 and 62-63
  6. ^ Historical Atlas ..., p. 133
  7. ^ Historical Atlas ..., p. 134 and note p. 139
  8. ^ Historical Atlas ..., p. 134
  9. ^ a b c "First Confederate Congress (18 February 1862 - 17 February 1864)". Archived from the original on February 8, 2007.

References

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  • The Historical Atlas of the Congresses of the Confederate States of America: 1861-1865, by Kenneth C. Martis (Simon and Schuster 1994)
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