Cabinet of the Confederate States of America Congress, its membership was undistinguished—a contrast with Lincoln's Cabinet, which included highly talented men. Confederate President Jefferson Davis made many of his initial selections to the Cabinet on the basis of political considerations; his choices "Were dictated by the need to assure the various states that their interests were being represented in the government." Moreover, most Confederate talent went into the military rather than the government, and the cabinet suffered from frequent turnover and reshuffling. Sixteen different men serving as one of six Cabinet officers during the four years of the Confederacy's existence. The most talented—but also the most unpopular—member
Congress of the Confederate States among the states in the Confederacy, and on March 6 it authorized raising 100,000 troops for Confederate national forces for a year, with additional levies of state militias for six months. Following President Davis’ assault on Fort Sumter in April, Lincoln responded with a call for a call up of 75,000 troops among loyal states to restore federal property ceded by southern state legislatures to the United States. The Provisional Congress answered by removing its limit on enlistment durations, and following the victory at First Manassas, it authorized a Confederate army of 400,000 for the duration. Davis was authorized an