The President of the Confederate States of America was the Head of State and Head of Government of the Confederate States. The only person to hold the office was Jefferson Davis. He was provisional President from February 18, 1861 to February 22, 1862, and then elected president (running unopposed) in November 1861 to a six-year term, theoretically lasting until March 4, 1868. His Vice President was Alexander Stephens. Neither the office nor the country was recognized by any foreign government. Around May 5, 1865, toward the end of the American Civil War, the office ceased to exist.
Much of the President's role was similar to that of the President of the United States, but with some differences. The CS President was only allowed to serve one six-year term without reelection, and was given the power of line-item veto, being able to veto certain parts of bill while signing the rest into law.
| Confederate Whig Freedom |
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The Guns of the South
After General Robert E. Lee led the Confederate States to victory during the Second American Revolution, he became the popular choice to succeed Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederate States.
| № |
President | Term | Party | Vice President | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jefferson Davis | 
|
1861-1868* | None | Alexander Stephens |
| 2 | Robert E. Lee | 
|
1868-incumbent at end of novel | Confederate Party | Albert G. Brown (murdered at start of term) |
* Provisional term February 1861 to February 1862, full six-year term to 1868.
Southern Victory
The President was the executive officer in the Confederate States. From 1861 to 1939, the President was elected every six years and sworn in March 4 of the following year. Originally, the Confederate Constitution limited presidents to one term in office. Burton Mitchel served for almost two full terms because he succeeded Wade Hampton V after Hampton's assassination, and then ran for election in his own right. During Jake Featherston's term in office, a constitutional amendment passed allowing a president to serve more than one term, and Featherston was easily reelected. There was never another presidential election after 1939.
Upon the Confederacy's defeat at the end of the Second Great War in 1944, and the death of Featherston, Don Partridge became president long enough to officially surrender the country. Once this act was completed, the office of President of the Confederate States ceased to exist along with the country itself.
| № |
President | Term | Party | Vice President | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jefferson Davis |
|
1861-1868* | Whig | Alexander Stephens |
| 2-3 | All Unknown | 1868-1880 | Whig | ||
| 4 | James Longstreet | 
|
1880-1886 | Whig | Lucius Q.C. Lamar |
| 5-8 | All Unknown | 1886-1910 | Whig | ||
| 9 | Woodrow Wilson | 
|
1910-1916 | Whig | Gabriel Semmes |
| 10 | Gabriel Semmes | 
|
1916-1922 | Whig | Unknown |
| 11 | Wade Hampton V |
|
March-June, 1922 | Whig | Burton Mitchel (Ascended to presidency) |
| 12 | Burton Mitchel |
|
June, 1922-March, 1934 | Whig | Vacancy 1922-1928 |
| Unknown 1928-1934 | |||||
| 13 | Jake Featherston | 
|
March, 1934-July, 1944 | Freedom | Willy Knight March, 1934-December, 1938 |
| Vacancy December, 1938-March, 1940 | |||||
| Don Partridge March, 1940-July, 1944 (Ascended to presidency) | |||||
| 14 | Don Partridge |
|
July 7-14, 1944 | Freedom | Vacancy |
* Provisional term February 1861 to February 1862, full six-year term to 1868.
- One Confederate President was named Lee. However, there are reasons to believe that this person was not Robert E. Lee, who is otherwise the obvious choice. Nor is there any information as to whether this President Lee served before or after Longstreet.
"Must and Shall"
Jefferson Davis was the only President of the Confederate States, serving until the Great Rebellion was finally suppressed, and the office and the Confederacy itself were abolished.
See Also
- President of the United States, the head of state and government of the United States of America, and the primary model for the President of the Confederate States in OTL.
- Vice President of the Confederate States, the second-highest elected office in the Confederate States.
- Führer of the Greater German Reich, the title used by Adolf Hitler from 1934 to 1945. Turtledove uses the Führer as a model for the Confederate Presidency during Jake Featherston's term.
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