The Confederate States of America, also known as Confederacy, was an unrecognized breakaway state that existed from 1861 to 1865. It was formed by seven southern states where slavery was legal, who seceded from United States due to disagreements over states' rights and slavery.
Secession: The act by which the southern states withdrew from the Union to form their own government, leading to the Civil War.
Jefferson Davis: The President of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.
Fort Sumter: A sea fort in South Carolina where the first shots of the Civil War were fired by Confederate forces.