AP AS Bonus Assignment

Jamie Hagood

AP AS Bonus Assignment

11-23-09

Analysis of Constitutions

The Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the Confederate States of America both serve as the supreme law of the nation, or group that it is written for. These constitutions are very similar to each other, but also contain distinct differences. Both of these documents are almost replicas of each other, but the Confederate Constitution varies differently in legal content from the other Constitution. The documents vary on citizenship, slavery, and state’s rights.

The Constitution of the Confederate States added provisions to the original text of the articles within the U.S. Constitution. The first twelve amendments (the Bill of Rights) were included in the Confederate Constitution. The Confederates added that those of foreign birth (those who were not a citizen of the Confederate states) were not allowed to vote in said states. Their constitution does however proclaim citizenship to those born before December 20, 1860. Those wishing to run for presidency must have resided in the Confederate line for fourteen years. You now have two foreign nations in one. Yes, population growth can be expected from those states wishing to join the Confederacy, but those who come from the Union are not allowed to do so. Those people are now labeled as foreigners. It seems that the Confederates took what their own country had created and just added their own bits here and there.

Slavery was not even mentioned in the U.S. constitution, except for those who were in bondage, meaning indentured servants. The Confederate Constitution mentions slavery in terms of legality. The Constitution prohibits its Confederate Congress from being able to abolish slavery in some Confederate territories.

State’s rights are not an item of advancement in the Confederate Constitution unlike the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Congress and the Confederate Congress both hold similar authorities. The Confederate Constitution pushed for higher powers in the legislative and executive branches. Like the U.S. Constitution, the Confederate’s also called for a Supreme Court.

The U.S. Constitution and the Confederate Constitution share similarities and differences. Both Constitutions contain similar content, including various articles and the Bill of Rights. The Confederate Constitution takes different views on citizenship, provides its thoughts on slavery, and does not focus on state’s rights as much as the U.S. Constitution does. Overall, the Confederate Constitution took what their nation had put into place and added their thoughts and opinions, creating a different document.