Request Material
Permanent Constitution of the Confederate States of America
Descriptive Summary | |
| Title: Permanent Constitution of the Confederate States of America | |
| Creator: Confederate States of America. Constitutional Convention (1861) | |
| Inclusive Dates: 1861, 1883-1951 | |
| Language(s): English | |
| Extent: 0.25 Linear Feet 1 box and 1 tube | |
| Collection Number: ms1512 | |
| Repository: Hargrett Library | |
Collection Description
Scope and Content
The collection consists of the original signed manuscript of the permanent constitution of the Confederate States of America, adopted on March 11, 1861. The document consists of five vellum sheets pasted together and rolled, signed by Howell Cobb, President of the Congress and delegates from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas.
The collections also includes correspondence related to the ownership of the constitution and three photographs.
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Access
Due to fragility and rarity this item is not available for general access.
Custodial History
This manuscript was part of a wagon load of boxes rescued from the railroad station in Chester, South Carolina in April of 1865 by Felix G. DeFontaine, a newspaper correspondent during the war. The boxes, which had been abandoned by fleeing troops, contained the records of the Confederate government, which were being sent south after the evacuation of Richmond. The prizes among the records which DeFontaine recovered were the two Constitutions of the Confederacy, Provisional and Permanent.
DeFontaine sold the manuscript copy of the Provisional Constitution at auction in New York in 1883. It is now in the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond. He sold the manuscript copy of the Permanent Constitution to Mrs. George Wymberley Jones DeRenne on July 4, 1883. The University of Georgia purchased the Constitution from the DeRenne family in 1939.
Preferred Citation
Permanent Constitution of the Confederate States of America, ms1512, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.
General Notes
The Constitution has been digitized and is available online through the Digital Library of Georgia: https://dlg.usg.edu/record/guan_civilwar_const#text