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
Provisional Congress of the Confederate States Provisional Congress of the Confederate States The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States, also known as the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America, was a congress of deputies and delegates called together from the Southern States which became the governing body of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America (CSA) from February 4, 1861, to February 17, 1862. It sat in Montgomery, Alabama, until May 20, 1861, when it adjourned to meet in Richmond, Virginia, on July 20, 1861. It added new members as other states seceded and directed the election on November 6, 1861, at