Category 1 Constitution of the Confederate States; March 11, 1861

This document was written by members of the Confederate States, declaring their
sovereignty of land and judicial power within their territories. With the exception of the
additional under the favor of Almighty God, the Preamble along with the majority of
the document resembles our current Constitution almost identically. It is modeled very
similarly, and only has changes made that furthered Confederate interests. The first five
Articles outlined the powers of Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court, and also
outlined the guidelines for statehood and the timing of Congressional assembly.
According to this Constitution, the 14 Union States were in violation of the Confederacy
laws by levying war against them, going as far as to say Treason against the Confederate
States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies,
giving them aid and comfort. It is convenient, though, they got to secede themselves,
and them make up rules against the people who would rightfully challenge that secession.
Overall, the Confederate Constitution had only one main thematic difference between
itself and the current United States Constitution the inclusion of legal slavery. They
claim slaves other human beings as their possessions, and forbid anyone from
intervening from this practice, saying, The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all
the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States; and shall have the right of
transit and sojourn in any State of this Confederacy, with their slaves and other property;
and the right of property in said slaves shall not be thereby impaired. To them, these
people are their property, just like their lands and their homes, and if these pieces of
property happen to escape to freedom it is within the masters legal rights to request
them to be returned. This clear emphasis on differentiating and pronouncing the rights of
slaveholders implies that the Confederate secession very much stemmed from a desire to
keep slaves. Only the Union would not allow it, and when the Confederacy wanted to
secede, the treasonous Union acted to keep at the states together as one country.

Category 2 A Sharecrop Contract
This text is an example of a standard sharecropping contract that existed during the
era of Southern Reconstruction after the Civil War. Slaves had become free men, but
because of their circumstances had no property or land to their name. Essentially,
sharecropping developed as a war for wealthier landowners to make money off of fields
that were devastated during the war, but to also give poor white men and freed slaves the
ability to make money for themselves. However, the system was generally in favor of the
wealthy owners, and like many other times in history it involved extending lines of credit
to people who could never pay it back. Sharecropping induced a cycle of debt; one that
allowed for a sense of personal self-sufficiency, but it was just that only a sense. In
reality, it was practically just as restricting as slavery ever was, but with false hopes
attached as well.
This contract outlines the responsibilities of the croppers, the owners, and the
consequences of violating the agreement. For the most part, it remains heavily in the
landlords favors. It primarily focuses on what the croppers must do, while the owners
seemed to have it very relaxed and easy. The owners primary responsibility was to
furnish basic equipment and a team for every set plot of land (the only others being to gin
and pack the cotton), and the sharecroppers in return would give to them half of the crops
they harvest. It was standard, though, for the croppers to put up their first years crops as
collateral in exchange for food and supplies, leaving them always paying of debt in the
future. They were also required to haul rails, repair bridges, clean stables, etc. and were
only allowed to work on that particular plantation. As stated, it was a very one-sided
system. If the sharecropper failed, they would be even further indebted to the landowner,
while the owner would only have minor losses and could easily find other people to work
the land in addition to the failed cropper who was now paying off their new debt.