Jefferson Davis takes the oath of office to become the first official president of the Confederate States of America.

Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Jefferson Davis takes the oath of office to become the first official president of the Confederate States of America.
Elections take place throughout the Confederacy to replace the provisional national government with a permanent one.
Prominent U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas, a Democrat who supports the Lincoln administration’s war effort, dies at 48.
Virginians mobilize to defend their state against an impending Federal invasion from Washington.
The new Confederate vice president takes office, and the Provisional Congress gets started on making laws for the new nation.
Delegates to the Montgomery convention adopt a constitution, a Congress, and a chief executive in just five days.