WE, THE PEOPLE of the Confederate States, each state acting in its sovereign and independent character, in order to form a permanent government, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity invoking the favor and guidance of almighty God; humbly acknowledging Him as the source of all authority and power in civil government, His revealed will as the supreme law of the land in order to constitute a moral government; to form a more perfect union do ordain and establish this constitution for the Confederate States Of America.
That the general, great, and essential principles of liberty and free government may be recognized and established we declare, that --
1. The Confederate States has no inherent rights or powers, neither implicit nor explicit, except for those functions and duties assigned to the Confederate States by this Constitution and the means necessary to accomplish those functions and duties. The Confederate States nor any elected or appointed Officer or official shall assume any function, power, or authorization not specifically assigned or authorized by this Constitution except by Amendment.
2. All political power is inherent in the People, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit; their sovereignty is the supreme, ultimate power, abiding in the people of an organized community or state.
3. That sovereignty is one, indivisible, inalienable, and imprescriptible.
4. That all other power in the state is derived from and is subordinate to, and revocable by, the sovereignty.
5. That governments are not sovereign, but the creatures of the sovereignty, ordained and established by it, for the purpose of a convenient exercise of its ordinary powers, in the enactment, administration, and execution of laws, to establish Justices, and to promote the peace, good order, security, and prosperity of the state and the People have at all times the unalienable right to alter, reform, or abolish their form of government, in such manner as they may think expedient.
6. That constitutions or fundamental laws are the direct enactments of the sovereignty, organizing governments, delegating, defining, and limiting their powers, and enumerating the purposes for which those powers are to be exerted.
7. That allegiance is due only to the sovereignty and obedience is due to government only as its regularly constituted organ.
8. That no mere government, whether it be a government proper or improper, has a right to resist the regularly expressed will of the sovereignty which created it, either for the purpose of retaining power, or of continuing its existence against that will.
9. That there ought to be established a real and effective responsibility on the part of all officials in every department of government.
10. That power given for one purpose cannot rightfully be exercised for any other, and therefore the taxing power can be exercised only to raise revenue to defray the expenses of government, defend the state, or for some other purpose specified in the grant of the power.
11. That the system of taxation adopted in a free state, ought to be just and equal in its operation as between individuals, classes, and sections; and ought to be generally and thoroughly understood by the people, in order that they may be enabled to hold their representatives to a real responsibility, and secure simplicity, economy, and purity, in the administration.
12. That in its relation to individuals, the protection of person, property, and character, against violence, fraud, and defamation, is the sole legitimate object of all just government; and an incompetent government which cannot, or a corrupt government, which will not give it, ought to be reformed or overthrown.
13. That it is the indispensable duty of a good government, to provide an easy, prompt, and adequate remedy for the infraction of every right; and a just, but certain punishment for every wrong or crime.
14. The People, when they form a social compact, have equal rights; and no person, or group of persons, is entitled to exclusive separate public emoluments or privileges, but in consideration of public services. All rights are retained by each person and shall never be denied, infringed, or violated in any way except in the sole circumstance of conviction of a crime or tort by due process of law and then only as directed in the particular case.
15. Every person has the inherent right of liberty, which is the unrestrained exercise of free will, which shall never be infringed, provided the exercise thereof does not violate the rights of any other person, and no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, property, or privileges, outlawed, or in any manner disfranchised, except by due course of the law of the land.
16. Each State retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not delegated to the Confederate Government. The enumeration, in the Constitution, of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the People of the several States.
17. The rights in this Constitution shall never be violated on any pretence whatever. And in order to guard against the transgression of the high powers that we have delegated, we declare that every thing in this Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or the People thereof.
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