Provisional Confederate States Constitution - Montgomery Convention and The Committee of Twelve

Montgomery Convention and The Committee of Twelve

On February 4, 1861, in Montgomery, Alabama, a convention consisting of delegates from South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Louisiana met to set about creating a new form of government based on that of the United States of America. Their efforts resulted in, among other achievements, the drafting of a Provisional Constitution for what came to be known as the Confederate States of America.

Before the Montgomery Convention could accomplish anything, it required a set of guidelines to follow. On February 5, Christopher Memminger proposed a committee of thirteen be created for the purpose of drafting a provisional constitution in order to grant congressional power to the convention. Thomas R. R. Cobb, of Georgia, moved that the committee be twelve, with two members from each state delegation. The Convention settled on the latter, nominating Memminger and Robert W. Barnwell from South Carolina, William T. S. Barry and Wiley P. Harris from Mississippi, James Patton Anderson and James B. Owens from Florida, Richard W. Walker and Robert H. Smith from Alabama, Stephens and E. A. Nisbet from Georgia, and John Perkins and Duncan F. Kenner from Louisiana to the Committee of Twelve. The committee elected Memminger, who had arrived at the convention with a draft already prepared, as their chair.