confederacy

con·fed·er·a·cy

C0558800 (kən-fĕd′ər-ə-sē)n. pl. con·fed·er·a·cies 1. a. A union of persons, parties, or states; a league.b. The persons, parties, or states joined in such a union.c. Confederacy The Confederate States of America.2. A group of people who have united for unlawful practices; a conspiracy.

[Middle English confederacie, from Anglo-Norman, from Late Latin cōnfoederātiō, cōnfoederātiōn-, agreement, from cōnfoederātus, past participle of confoederāre, to unite; see confederate.]

confederacy

(kənˈfɛdərəsɪ; -ˈfɛdrəsɪ) n, pl -cies1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a union or combination of peoples, states, etc; alliance; league2. (Law) a combination of groups or individuals for unlawful purposes[C14: from Anglo-French confederacie, from Late Latin confoederātiō agreement, confederation] conˈfederal adj

Confederacy

(kənˈfɛdərəsɪ; -ˈfɛdrəsɪ) n (Placename) the Confederacy another name for Confederate States of America

con•fed•er•a•cy

(kənˈfɛd ər ə si, -ˈfɛd rə si)

n., pl. -cies. 1. an alliance between persons, parties, states, etc., for some purpose. 2. a group of persons, parties, states, etc., united by such a confederacy. 3. a combination of persons for unlawful purposes; conspiracy. 4. the Confederacy, Confederate States of America. [1350–1400; < Anglo-French]

Confederacy

a combination of persons, of states or nations. See also alliance, league.Example: confederacy of Dunces.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Confederacy - the southern states that seceded from the United States in 1861Confederate States, Confederate States of America, Dixie, Dixieland, Southslave state - any of the southern states in which slavery was legal prior to the American Civil WarAlabama, Camellia State, Heart of Dixie, AL - a state in the southeastern United States on the Gulf of Mexico; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil WarArkansas, Land of Opportunity, AR - a state in south central United States; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil WarEverglade State, FL, Florida, Sunshine State - a state in southeastern United States between the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil WarEmpire State of the South, Georgia, Peach State, GA - a state in southeastern United States; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil WarLouisiana, Pelican State, LA - a state in southern United States on the Gulf of Mexico; one of the Confederate states during the American Civil WarMagnolia State, Mississippi, MS - a state in the Deep South on the gulf of Mexico; one of the Confederate States during the American Civil WarMissouri, Show Me State, MO - a midwestern state in central United States; a border state during the American Civil War, Missouri was admitted to the Confederacy without actually seceding from the UnionNC, North Carolina, Old North State, Tar Heel State - a state in southeastern United States; one of the original 13 coloniesPalmetto State, SC, South Carolina - a state in the Deep South; one of the original 13 coloniesTennessee, TN, Volunteer State - a state in east central United StatesLone-Star State, Texas, TX - the second largest state; located in southwestern United States on the Gulf of MexicoOld Dominion, Old Dominion State, VA, Virginia - a state in the eastern United States; one of the original 13 colonies; one of the Confederate States in the American Civil War
	2.	confederacy - a union of political organizationsconfederation, federationnation - a federation of tribes (especially Native American tribes); "the Shawnee nation"Creek Confederacy - a North American Indian confederacy organized by the Muskogee that dominated the southeastern part of the United States before being removed to OklahomaHanseatic League - a commercial and defensive confederation of free cities in northern Germany and surrounding areas; formed in 1241 and most influential in the 14th century when it included over 100 towns and functioned as an independent political power; the last official assembly was held in 1669union - a political unit formed from previously independent people or organizations; "the Soviet Union"
	3.	confederacy - a group of conspirators banded together to achieve some harmful or illegal purposeconspiracyband, circle, lot, set - an unofficial association of people or groups; "the smart set goes there"; "they were an angry lot"coconspirator, conspirator, machinator, plotter - a member of a conspiracy
	4.	confederacy - a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful actconspiracyconspiracy of silence - a conspiracy not to talk about some situation or event; "there was a conspiracy of silence about police brutality"agreement, understanding - the statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promises; "they had an agreement that they would not interfere in each other's business"; "there was an understanding between management and the workers"

confederacy

noun union, league, alliance, coalition, federation, compact, confederation, covenant, bund Vienna was established as the political and cultural capital of a new confederacy of Germanic states.

confederacy

nounAn association, especially of nations for a common cause:alliance, Anschluss, bloc, cartel, coalition, confederation, federation, league, organization, union.

Translations

同盟

confederate

(kənˈfedərət) noun a person who has agreed to work with others (eg on something dishonest). He and his confederates were found with stolen money in their possession.共谋者conˈfederacy (-rəsi) – plural conˈfederacies – noun a league or alliance (of states etc). 同盟conˌfedeˈration noun (the forming of) a league or alliance, especially of states etc. 同盟，邦联

Confederacy

Confederacy,

name commonly given to the

Confederate States of America

(1861–65), the government established by the Southern states of the United States after their secessionsecession,
in political science, formal withdrawal from an association by a group discontented with the actions or decisions of that association. The term is generally used to refer to withdrawal from a political entity; such withdrawal usually occurs when a territory or state
..... Click the link for more information. from the Union. (For the events leading up to secession and for the military operations of the Confederacy in the conflict between North and South which followed, see Civil WarCivil War,
in U.S. history, conflict (1861–65) between the Northern states (the Union) and the Southern states that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy.
..... Click the link for more information. .)

Formation of the Government

South Carolina, the first Southern state to secede (Dec. 20, 1860) after the election of the Republican President Abraham Lincoln, was soon followed out of the Union by six more states—Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. On Feb. 4, 1861, delegates from these states (except the Texans, who were delayed) met at Montgomery, Ala., and organized a provisional government. The convention passed over the radical secessionists R. B. Rhett and W. L. Yancey and elected (Feb. 9) Jefferson DavisDavis, Jefferson,
1808–89, American statesman, President of the Southern Confederacy, b. Fairview, near Elkton, Ky. His birthday was June 3. Early Life

Davis's parents moved to Mississippi when he was a boy.
..... Click the link for more information. of Mississippi and Alexander H. StephensStephens, Alexander Hamilton,
1812–83, American political leader, Confederate vice president (1861–65), b. Taliaferro co. (then part of Wilkes co.), Ga. He was admitted to the bar in 1834, served six terms in the Georgia legislature, and was a Whig (later a
..... Click the link for more information. of Georgia president and vice president respectively. The convention also drafted a constitution (adopted on Mar. 11) and functioned as a provisional legislature pending regular elections.

The constitution closely resembled the Constitution of the United States, even repeating much of its language, but naturally had states' rightsstates' rights,
in U.S. history, doctrine based on the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
..... Click the link for more information. provisions. Slavery was "recognized and protected," but the importation of slaves "from any foreign country other than the slave-holding States or Territories of the United States of America" was prohibited. The general welfare clause of the old Constitution was omitted, protective tariffs were forbidden, and for most appropriations a two-thirds vote of congress was required. There were other, less important, departures from the U.S. Constitution, e.g., the president and vice president were to be elected for six years, but the president was not "reeligible"; members of the president's cabinet might be granted seats in either house of the Confederate congress to discuss legislation affecting their departments; and amendment to the constitution (by two thirds of the states, with congress having no voice) was made easier.

The new government seized or pressed its claims for U.S. property within its domain, especially forts and arsenals, and, when the Union declined to surrender Fort Sumter, ordered the firing (Apr. 12–13) that formally began the hostilities. Lincoln's immediate call for troops brought four more Southern states—Arkansas, North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee—into the Confederacy, which now comprised 11 states. The border slave states of Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri remained in the Union although they contained many Southern sympathizers; Confederate state governments were established at Neosho, Mo., and Russellville, Ky., in opposition to the official governments. In May it was decided to transfer the capital from Montgomery to Richmond, Va., because of Virginia's prestige; that move, considering Richmond's proximity to the North, has generally been regarded as a serious mistake.

The new constitution was ratified (the approval of only five states was needed), general elections for congress and for presidential electors (as under the federal Constitution) were held in Nov., 1861, and on Washington's birthday in 1862, the "permanent" government was inaugurated at Richmond. Davis and Stephens had been chosen without opposition to head it. Judah P. BenjaminBenjamin, Judah Philip,
1811–84, Confederate statesman and British barrister, b. Christiansted, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, of Jewish parents. His family moved (c.1813) to Wilmington, N.C., and finally settled (1822) in Charleston, S.C.
..... Click the link for more information. , successively attorney general, secretary of war, and secretary of state, was the most important figure in Davis's cabinet. Only two other men remained in the cabinet for its entire brief existence—Stephen R. MalloryMallory, Stephen Russell,
c.1813–73, U.S. Senator, secretary of the navy in the Confederacy, b. Trinidad, West Indies. He was raised in Key West, Fla., where he practiced law and was a customs official. Elected to the U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. , secretary of the navy, and John H. ReaganReagan, John Henninger
, 1818–1905, American political leader, b. Sevierville, Tenn. He moved to Texas in 1839, became a lawyer, and held several state offices before serving (1857–61) as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
..... Click the link for more information. , postmaster general.

Search for Recognition and Support

The story of the Confederacy is essentially the story of the loss of the Civil War. Even with its early military triumphs, the Confederacy experienced trying days. It never won recognition as an independent government, although Southerners had been confident that "king cotton" would bring this about. In 1861 they instituted an embargo on the export of cotton and voluntarily limited cultivation of the staple on the theory that these self-imposed and unofficial restrictions would make a cotton-hungry England eager to acknowledge the new nation that could supply in abundance the most important raw material in Britain's industrial system. The British, however, were well provided with cotton from previous boom years, and when their stocks finally were depleted, other sources of supply became available.

Lincoln's Emancipation ProclamationEmancipation Proclamation,
in U.S. history, the executive order abolishing slavery in the Confederate States of America. Desire for Such a Proclamation

In the early part of the Civil War, President Lincoln refrained from issuing an edict freeing the slaves despite
..... Click the link for more information. enhanced the Union cause in the eyes of the average Briton, and the British government, no matter how pro-Confederate some of its individual members were, was not disposed to fly in the face of popular opinion. The Confederate cruisersConfederate cruisers,
in U.S. history, warships constituting the South's seagoing navy. At the outbreak of the Civil War the United States ranked next to Great Britain in merchant marine.
..... Click the link for more information. built or bought in England were a scourge to the U.S. merchant marine, and later at the settlement of the Alabama claimsAlabama claims,
claims made by the U.S. government against Great Britain for the damage inflicted on Northern merchant ships during the American Civil War by the Alabama
..... Click the link for more information. , Great Britain was adjudged partly responsible for their depredations; but beyond this the Confederate missions of James M. MasonMason, James Murray,
1798–1871, U.S. Senator and Confederate diplomat, b. Georgetown, D.C.; grandson of George Mason. He began to practice law in Winchester, Va., in 1820.
..... Click the link for more information. , John SlidellSlidell, John
, 1793–1871, American political leader and diplomat, b. New York City. He became a prominent lawyer and political figure in New Orleans and served as a Democrat in Congress (1843–45). In 1845, Slidell was appointed special U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. , William L. YanceyYancey, William Lowndes,
1814–63, American leader of secession, b. Warren co., Ga. Admitted (1834) to the bar in Greenville, S.C., he soon moved to Alabama. There he became an outstanding lawyer, was elected to the state house of representatives (1841) and the state senate
..... Click the link for more information. , and others in Europe achieved little. Napoleon IIINapoleon III
(Louis Napoleon Bonaparte), 1808–73, emperor of the French (1852–70), son of Louis Bonaparte (see under Bonaparte, family), king of Holland. Early Life
..... Click the link for more information. would probably have followed Britain in recognizing the Confederacy, but not even the Confederate offer to recognize the French-dominated government of MaximilianMaximilian,
1832–67, emperor of Mexico (1864–67). As the Austrian archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, he was denied a share in the imperial government by his reactionary brother, Emperor Francis Joseph.
..... Click the link for more information. in Mexico could induce the emperor to go off on this diplomatic venture alone.

On the other hand, both the British and French recognized the blockade of the South, which the Union had proclaimed at the beginning of the war. This was particularly galling to Southerners because at first the blockade was not very effective; it is estimated that not more than a tenth of the ships running the blockade in 1861 were captured. But as the war progressed the blockade became more effective, and by 1865 one of every two blockade runners was being taken. When, in Oct., 1863, Davis expelled the British consuls who had remained in the South, the Confederacy had resigned itself to European nonrecognition, which was mostly influenced by the rising tide of Union successes in the war.

Conscription and States' Rights Extremists

The Confederate army early found that volunteers alone were insufficient, and the first conscription law was passed in Apr., 1862. By a later act (Feb., 1864), white men within the ages of 17 and 50 were drafted into military service. Provisions permitting the hiring of substitutes and exempting one owner or overseer for each 20 blacks were highly unpopular among the yeomanry, who grumbled about "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight." Joseph E. BrownBrown, Joseph Emerson,
1821–94, U.S. public official, b. Pickens District, S.C. As governor of Georgia during the Civil War, Brown quarreled with Jefferson Davis over conscription and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus despite their common secessionist stand.
..... Click the link for more information. and Zebulon B. VanceVance, Zebulon Baird,
1830–94, American political leader, Confederate governor of North Carolina (1862–65) in the Civil War, b. Buncombe co., N.C. A lawyer and a Whig, he served in the state legislature (1854) and in Congress (1858–61).
..... Click the link for more information. , the governors of Georgia and North Carolina, led the denunciation of conscription and further berated Davis for the assumption of state troops into the Confederate army, the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and the Confederate tax program. Their extreme states' rights views represented a logical development of the theory that had led the Southern states to secede, but their insistence on maintaining these views at a time when unity was imperative was an added factor in the Confederate defeat. The fact that Brown, Vance, and others like them were able men and no less set on victory than was Davis only emphasizes this glaring deficiency in the nature of the Confederacy.

Financial Difficulties

From the very beginning, the Confederacy was in bad financial condition, lacking in both specie and banks. It had difficulty in negotiating loans and was forced to finance its operations through issues of paper money, which by 1864 reached $1 billion in face value, more than twice that of the greenbacks issued by the Union. The gold value of these notes declined dangerously. Christopher G. MemmingerMemminger, Christopher Gustavus
, 1803–88, American politician, Confederate secretary of the treasury, b. Württemberg, Germany. He was brought to Charleston, S.C., as a child and became a successful lawyer.
..... Click the link for more information. , secretary of the treasury, was forced to resign in 1864, but the situation was beyond the abilities of any person.

The Collapse of the "Lost Cause"

With the men at war, the women of the Confederacy carried on at home. They did not face wholesale death as did the soldiers in the field, yet they knew war; it was brought to them in the mighty Union invasion of 1864–65. Feeling the pinch of the Union blockade and already lacking the bare necessities of life—shoes, iron goods, paper, clothing—because the South was nonindustrial (the armies were kept supplied with ammunition, but beyond that industry was negligible), they now saw their country devastated by Union forces such as those led by Sherman and Sheridan. Many, both men and women, cried for peace, but the Union price was too great (see Hampton Roads Peace ConferenceHampton Roads Peace Conference,
meeting held on Feb. 3, 1865, on board the Union transport River Queen in Hampton Roads, Va., with the object of ending the Civil War. President Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward represented the Union, and A. H. Stephens, R.
..... Click the link for more information. ), and most Southerners hung on grimly. Benjamin's proposal that blacks who willingly enlisted in the fight be freed indicates how desperate affairs became before the Confederacy collapsed.

That the Confederacy was able to continue the war as long as it did is a tribute to its stout soldiers and a few brilliant commanders, notably Robert E. Lee. For the South, less populous than the North and largely made up of scattered agricultural communities, defeat was inevitable. However, the measures adopted by the South during the Civil War resulted in a remarkable degree of self-sufficiency and a highly successful mobilization effort. The heroic aspect of the South's struggle was tarnished by its retention and defense of the institution of slavery, yet it long revered the "lost cause" of the Confederacy as its greatest tradition.

Bibliography

See J. Davis, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government (1881, abr. ed. 1961); R. S. Henry, The Story of the Confederacy (1931, rev. ed. 1957); F. L. Owsley, King Cotton Diplomacy (1931, new ed. 1959); J. G. Randall, The Civil War and Reconstruction (1937; rev. ed. by D. Donald, 1961); C. H. Wesley, The Collapse of the Confederacy (1937, repr. 1968); E. M. Coulter, The Confederate States of America, 1861–1865 ("A History of the South" series, Vol. VII, 1950); C. Eaton, A History of the Southern Confederacy (1954); M. W. Wellman, They Took Their Stand (1959); C. P. Roland, The Confederacy (1960); W. B. Yearns, The Confederate Congress (1960); H. S. Commager, The Defeat of the Confederacy (1964); E. M. Thomas, The Confederacy as a Revolutionary Experience (1971); R. H. Sewell, A House Divided (1988); D. Hartzler, Confederate Presentations: Swords, Guns, and Knives (1989); G. W. Gallagher, The Confederate War (1997); W. C. Davis, An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government (2001); A. S. Rubin, A Shattered Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy, 1861–1868 (2007); E. M. Thomas, The Confederate Nation: 1861–1865 (2011).

Confederacy

the eleven Southern states that seceded from the U.S. and banded together. [Am. Hist.: NCE, 623]See: Cooperation

Confederacy

government of 11 Southern states that left the Union in 1860. [Am. Hist.: EB, III: 73]See: Southern States

confederacy

1. Politics a union or combination of peoples, states, etc.; alliance; league 2. Law a combination of groups or individuals for unlawful purposes

Confederacy

the. another name for the Confederate States of America

confederacy

con·fed·er·a·cy

confederacy

Confederacy

con•fed•er•a•cy

Confederacy

confederacy

confederacy

confederate

Confederacy

Confederacy,

Confederate States of America

Formation of the Government

Search for Recognition and Support

Conscription and States' Rights Extremists

Financial Difficulties

The Collapse of the "Lost Cause"

Bibliography

Confederacy

Confederacy

confederacy

Confederacy

confederacy

Confederacy

confederacy

Confederacy

Synonyms for Confederacy

noun union

Synonyms

Synonyms for Confederacy

noun an association, especially of nations for a common cause

Synonyms

Synonyms for Confederacy

noun the southern states that seceded from the United States in 1861

Synonyms

Related Words

noun a union of political organizations

Synonyms

Related Words

noun a group of conspirators banded together to achieve some harmful or illegal purpose

Synonyms

Related Words

noun a secret agreement between two or more people to perform an unlawful act

Synonyms

Related Words