This constitution was for the most part a copy of the Constitution of 1787. Some important changes, however, were made, the chief of which dealt with the executive department. Provision was made for a single presidential term of six years; the right of vetoing any single item in an appropriation bill without invalidating the whole was permitted; no general appropriation of funds could be made unless asked for by the head of a department, except by a two-thirds vote of each house; the President's power of removal was somewhat curtailed; and, lastly, Congress was authorized to grant a seat on the floor of either house to members of the cabinet, who then had the privilege of discussing any measure touching their departments. According to Davis this last provision, “which would have tended to obviate much delay and misunderstanding,” was never put into operation because of the failure of Congress to enact the necessary legislation (Davis, Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, I, 260). The provisional Congress consisted of a single chamber whose members voted by States. Both the provisional and permanent constitutions are printed in Richardson, Messages and Papers of the Confederacy, Vol. I.
