Confederate states

Definition

The Confederate states refer to the 11 Southern states that seceded from the United States during the Civil War and formed their own government known as the Confederacy.

Related terms

Union: The Union refers to the Northern states that remained loyal to the United States during the Civil War.

Secession: Secession is the act of formally withdrawing from an alliance or organization. In this case, it refers to the Southern states withdrawing from the United States.

Emancipation Proclamation: The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, which declared that all slaves in Confederate territory were to be set free.