Published in 1960, this study of the Confederate Congress and its relation to the Jefferson Davis administration describes the legislation, debates, personalities, and politics of this turbulent time. Initially, the Confederate Congress and President Davis were in agreement on how to win the war and lawmaking proceeded in a routine manner. However, as the war progressed conflicts arose as Congress and the President were faced with the difficulties of providing a poor nation with the facilities to combat a richer one. Much of the later legislation was written only after bitter political controversy. An appendix gives brief biographical data on the Confederate congressmen, including their voting records on the Davis administration proposals.

This collection of thirteen essays examines the leaders of the southern states during the Civil War. Malcolm C. McMillan writes of the futile efforts of Alabama's wealthy governors to keep the trust of the poor non-slaveholding whites. Paul D. Escott shows Georgia Governor Joseph Emerson Brown's ability to please both the planter elite and the yeoman farmers. John B. Edmunds, Jr. examines the tremendous problems faced by the governors of South Carolina, the state that would suffer the highest losses. Each of the contributors describes the governor's reaction to undertaking duties never before required of men in their positions--urging men to battle, searching for means to feed and clothe the poor, boosting morale, and defending their state's territories, even against great odds.