The merit of the Confederate Constitution was the provision which unlike the United States Constitution of the time limited the importation of slaves into the Confederacy to only one Coounty by name. That country was the United States of America.

This provision made England a "player" in the war because a defeat of the north by the Confederacy would eliminate a major market for the world slave trade. It was at this point in 1862 when the Provisional Confederate Constitution was ratified as the permenant Constitution of the Confederate States of America in February of 1862 that forced Abraham Lincoln to try another tactic to try and turn Englands involvement in the war on the southern side. Lincoln entered into negocations in the spring of 1862 with England which had started these negocation on eliminating the slave trade on the High Sea, and long a high priority objective of Englands.

The negocation hit a snag when it was realized that the United States law and Constitution under the 4th Amendment prohibited the confiscation of private property. That any slaves found on any ship would, under United States law, still remain the property of the "Owners" of the ship, under the ruling of the US Courts in the Amistad Affair case. In order to circumvent these laws Lincoln was forced to take executive action by proclaiming the Emanciaption Proclaimation in September 1862 that any slave in territory then in "rebellion" were declared to be freed, even thought the President of the United States had no powers to free any slaves then in "enemy" territories. Sounds like a strange proclaimation then doesn't it?

But the point was than any slave ship seized on the HIgh Seas, no matter where it was from, or where it was bound to, could then be considered to be heading to the Confederate States, whether it was or not, and therefore it cargo of slaves could be considered as "Contriband "of the Confederate States and therefore set free under this executive order and circumvent the federal laws and court rulings of the United States.

As we know the Emancipation Proclaimation was issue January 1st 1863. The High Seas Slave treaty was ratified in April 1863 by both the United States Senate and Parliment and superceeded the previous slave trade treaties between the England and the United States which had been in effect, and England became a bystander as far as the American war was concerned.

The Gettysburg Campaign begining in Mid June was the attempt by the Confederacy to win back Englands support by demonstrating that the South could win this War. However, from the English standpoint no matter which side won at that point either the United State because of the Emancipation Proclaimation or the Confederate States because of that provision a major player in the world slave market would be elimination. Then being the United States as a whole, as a supplier, or consumer.

England was the GREAT Emancipator, NOT Lincoln.

You use to be able to find this Treaty in the Yale University Law Liberary and many people will debate as to its actual effectiveness. But, its negocations did have the effect of keeping England neutral and out of the War on the side of the Confederacy. And changed the War Aims of the North from "Preserving the Union" to "Ending Slavery".

That (in my opinion) is the impact of the Confederate Constitution on the outcome of that war.