The Confederate States of America was a short lived, secessionist republic that existed from 1861 - 1865. We all know that much. But what else do we really know about the CSA? How similar were the US and CS constitutions? How did the Confederates view themselves in the greater drama of American history? The Confederates like to boast about their "lack of political parties", but was their political situation real that simple? Finally, research how Confederates such as Robert E. Lee, Judah Benjamin, Jefferson Davis and Patrick Cleburne viewed the institution of slavery and how freeing Confederate slaves in exchange for military service might have delivered the CSA its independence under the most unlikely of circumstances: emancipation.