[CIVIL WAR-CONFEDERATE] Constitution or form of government for the people of Florida, as revised and amended at a Convention of...
[Tallahassee: 1862]. First edition thus. Stitched as issued, housed in a red quarter morocco case. 9 3/4 x 6 1/4 (24.5 x 15.5 cm); 48 pp., the last signatures unopened. The cover leaf is lightly toned and with an ink burn and spot in the lower margin, the edges somewhat curled and creased with a few short tears or chips, a few pencil and crayon marks, generally well preserved and in original condition.

The very rare final Florida Confederate constitution. Following the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860, a special secession convention known as the "Convention of the People of Florida" was called by Governor Madison S. Perry and occurred starting January 3rd, 1861. By January 10th, the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of secession and convention delegates formally adopted an Ordinance of Secession. Florida was the third state to secede after South Carolina and Mississippi. About this time the constitution was printed at Tallahassee by Dyke and Carlisle at a length of 68 pages. Florida joined the larger Confederacy and the war began in April 1861. In October Governor Perry was replaced by John Milton who reversed some of Perry's resolutions and a new convention was called for January 14th, 1862. The present constitution is the result of that convention and, with its updated resolutions including an executive council to serve alongside the governor, is the wartime constitution for Florida. It stood until the war's end in 1865 (the year both Perry and Milton died). Both issues of the constitution appear equally rare with Rare Book Hub listing no copies at auction and the most recent trade listings being with Goodspeed in the 1940s. We trace 18 institutionally held copies of the 1862 constitution.

C The Collection of Jay I. Kislak sold to benefit the Kislak Family Foundation

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