Between December 20, 1860, and February 1, 1861, six southern states declared their withdrawal ( secession ) from the United States. On February 4, at Montgomery, Alabama, they organized a separate and independent government called the Confederate States of America ( CSA ) . The states that set up this government were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana. A seventh state, Texas, was admitted to the confederation on March 2.
During the Civil War, Jefferson Davis was president of the Confederate States and Abraham Lincoln led the United States. Both were born in Kentucky, several months apart. The Lincolns moved to Indiana soon after, then to Illinois, while the Davises moved to a small plantation in Mississippi.