Timeline, February 1861

Birth of a Nation

The seven original seceding states—South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas—meet in Montgomery, Alabama, to draft a constitution creating a new nation independent of the United States. The Confederate Constitution will vary little from the U.S. Constitution drafted seventy years earlier. Key differences include clear and specific language legalizing slavery, and a single, six-year term for the president. The assembled representatives elect former Mississippi senator Jefferson Davis as the provisional president of the Confederate States of America. (Wagner 162-63)

Date	Key Events for February 1861
February 1, 1861	Texas Secedes from the Union Opposing secession, Texas governor Sam Houston—the hero of the Battle of San Jacinto and Texas independence—confines himself to his office in the capitol while the vote to leave the Union takes place on the floor above him.  (New York Times Online, “Disunion”)
4	1st Session, Provisional Confederate Congress The seven seceding states meet in Montgomery, Alabama, to convene a convention, form a provisional government, and write a constitution for their new nation. They schedule national elections for the fall. (Wagner 5; Bowman 44)
9	Jefferson Davis Elected Provisional President of the Confederacy
13	The State of Virginia Votes on a Secession Convention The Virginia General Assembly calls for a convention to debate whether Virginia should secede from the Union.
18	Jefferson Davis Inaugurated In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis takes the oath of office as the first president of the Confederate States of America.
23	Texas voters approve secession. President-elect Lincoln arrives in Washington.