Davis and Stephens refuse office in the CSA

As I understand it both the rebel President and VP thought sessesion was an error. Suppose they had made it clear hat they would not take office.

Would other relartive moderates emerge or would anout an out fire eater take office?
 
The fire eaters were going to push secession. Now absent more "moderate" leaders like Davis & Stephens you might not get as many states to secede, for example Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina might stay in the Union or try the "neutral" route like Kentucky tried at first. Enough of the deep south states were going to follow South Carolina (Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana) no matter who was in a leadership position.
 
Perhaps former Vice President under Buchanan(& later Secretary of War in the
CSA)John Breckinridge would have been
chosen President or Vice-President.
 
Perhaps former Vice President under Buchanan(& later Secretary of War in the
CSA)John Breckinridge would have been
chosen President or Vice-President.

Breckinridge was from Kentucky, which was not a Confederate state, so he wasn't eligable to be Confederate President.
 
As I understand it both the rebel President and VP thought sessesion was an error. Suppose they had made it clear hat they would not take office.

Would other relartive moderates emerge or would anout an out fire eater take office?

At the point the Provisional Congress of the Confederacy voted on a Confederate President, the Confederate states were Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina; so the Confederate President would have to be from one of those states. Texas and Florida were low population enough that is unlikely any politician from there would be picked. If Davis and Stephens, the most likely choices are Howell Cobb or Robert Toombs of Georgia, as well as Robert Rhett of South Carolina, who the Fire Eater of the bunch.
 
Understood- but then how could he have been a cabinet officer, which he was?

The Confederate Constitution required the President to be born in one of the Confederate states, but like the US Constitution, there was no such requirement for Cabinet members. Alexander Hamilton born in the British West Indies, which did not bar him from becoming US Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Kissinger born in Germany, which did not bar him from becoming US Secretary of State,
 
The Confederate Constitution required the President to be born in one of the Confederate states, but like the US Constitution, there was no such requirement for Cabinet members. Alexander Hamilton born in the British West Indies, which did not bar him from becoming US Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Kissinger born in Germany, which did not bar him from becoming US Secretary of State,


Gotcha! Thank you very much for the info- I
should have suspected something like that...
 
The Confederate Constitution required the President to be born in one of the Confederate states, but like the US Constitution, there was no such requirement for Cabinet members. Alexander Hamilton born in the British West Indies, which did not bar him from becoming US Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Kissinger born in Germany, which did not bar him from becoming US Secretary of State,
Alexander Hamilton was a citizen at the time of the adoption of the US Constitution. Therefore he was actually eligible to be president.
 

Skallagrim

Banned
At the point the Provisional Congress of the Confederacy voted on a Confederate President, the Confederate states were Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina; so the Confederate President would have to be from one of those states. Texas and Florida were low population enough that is unlikely any politician from there would be picked. If Davis and Stephens, the most likely choices are Howell Cobb or Robert Toombs of Georgia, as well as Robert Rhett of South Carolina, who the Fire Eater of the bunch.

Cobb or Toombs are the likely contenders. Rhett was the most self-absorbed, spiteful wind-bag that the Western hemisphere ever produced. He had the insane talent of being able to turn every potential friend into an outright enemy.

...come to think of it, it would be hilarious to see him get the job. His attitude may well cause hesitating states to forego secession. His absurd lack of management skills would doom the CSA from the get-go. But at the same time, he was such a horrid racist (even by the standards of the time and place) that his clandestine "embassy" to the UK turned even sympathisers against the CSA in disgust. So with some luck and historical irony, the presidency of Robert Barnwell Rhett could result in a very short Civil War with relatively few casualties, while still putting such a giant spotlight on the evils of slavery that the intitution still gets abolished right after the war! Which would be the exact opposite of what Rhett wanted, and therefore by definition a very good thing.
 
Cobb or Toombs are the likely contenders. Rhett was the most self-absorbed, spiteful wind-bag that the Western hemisphere ever produced. He had the insane talent of being able to turn every potential friend into an outright enemy.

...come to think of it, it would be hilarious to see him get the job. His attitude may well cause hesitating states to forego secession. His absurd lack of management skills would doom the CSA from the get-go. But at the same time, he was such a horrid racist (even by the standards of the time and place) that his clandestine "embassy" to the UK turned even sympathisers against the CSA in disgust. So with some luck and historical irony, the presidency of Robert Barnwell Rhett could result in a very short Civil War with relatively few casualties, while still putting such a giant spotlight on the evils of slavery that the intitution still gets abolished right after the war! Which would be the exact opposite of what Rhett wanted, and therefore by definition a very good thing.
Could somebody please write this? I'm always happy to read a Confederate-screw, especially one leading to a more equal US down the line.
 
Cobb or Toombs are the likely contenders. Rhett was the most self-absorbed, spiteful wind-bag that the Western hemisphere ever produced. He had the insane talent of being able to turn every potential friend into an outright enemy.

Jefferson Davis also had a talent for turning friends into enemies, but Rhett was the master of this failing. In OTL, the man most responsible for Jefferson Davis selection as Confederate President was Rhett's own cousin, Robert Barnwell. William C Davis, in Look Away shows that Barnwell knew that Mississippi would go for Davis, Alabama leaned that way, and Florida would follow South Carolina, giving the 4 states needed for a majority. Barnwell then went to work on his own delegation. Miles and Chestnut were willing to support Davis, after which Barnwell convinced enough of South Carolina delegation that Davis was the least bad choice, with even Robert Rhett agreeing once he was convinced he had no chance of winning.

So the real question on Cobb vs Toombs might be who did Robert Barnwell think would be the better choice.
 
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