Montgomery Convention

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MONTGOMERY CONVENTION

MONTGOMERY CONVENTION. The Montgomery Convention assembled at Montgomery, Alabama, on 4 February 1861, to organize the Confederate States of America. Representatives from six states (South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Louisiana) declared the convention a provisional legislature, established a government without waiting for constitutional ratification, and selected provisional leaders. The convention sat in Montgomery until 20 May 1861, when it adjourned to Richmond, Virginia. In Richmond it completed a permanent constitution (adopted 11 March 1861), supervised its ratification, directed congressional and presidential elections in November 1861, and adapted the existing laws and machinery of government to the needs of the new government. With the inauguration of the permanent government (22 February 1862), it adjourned.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

HallieFarmer/c. w.

See alsoCivil War ; Confederate States of America .

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