Confederate States presidential election Confederate States presidential election The 1861 Confederate States presidential election was the only presidential election held under the Permanent Constitution of the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis, who had been elected president and Alexander H. Stephens, who had been elected vice president, under the Provisional Confederate States Constitution, were elected to six-year terms (February 22, 1862 – February 22, 1868) as the first permanent President and Vice President of the Confederate States of America. The Provisional Confederate States Congress met at Montgomery, Alabama, on February 4, 1861. A provisional constitution was adopted on February 8, 1861. On February 9,
Economy of the Confederate States of America Economy of the Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America had an agrarian-based economy that relied heavily on slave-worked plantations for the production of cotton for export to Europe and the northern US states. If ranked as an independent nation, it would have been the fourth richest country of the world in 1860. When the Union blockaded its ports in summer 1861, exports of cotton fell 95 percent and the South had to restructure itself to emphasize food and munitions production. After losing control of its main rivers and ports, it had to depend on a weak railroad