United States
On February 4, 1861, representatives from the first seven southern states convened in Montgomery, Alabama, to form the Provisional Confederate States Congress. They organized a temporary government for the Confederacy, adopting a provisional constitution and electing Jefferson Davis as provisional president. This assembly formalized the break from the Union and began the process of governance for the rebel states. The meeting reflected a rapidly accelerating division within the U.S. over secession. The Confederate government would operate from Montgomery until its capital moved to Richmond in May.
