A confederacy, or confederation, is a political system originating in an agreement made between several independent entities that wish to retain a high degree of autonomy. The idea of confederalism is usually contrasted with that of federalism, which...

Confederacy (or Confederation) may refer to: Confederation, an association of sovereign states or communities Confederate States of America, eleven southern states of the United States of America between 1861 and 1865. "Confederate" may also be used in...

In the U.S. Civil War, the North had distinct military and economic advantages that contributed to the defeat of the South. The Confederacy during the war lost some of its philosophical underpinnings by freeing slaves and centralizing its government.