Any lingering hopes of reconciliation between the North and South were dashed in February of 1861, when delegates from six of the seceded Southern states gathered in Montgomery, Alabama, to form a new government. Working with great speed and unanimity of purpose, the convention adopted a provisional constitution after being in session for only four days. Using the United States Constitution as a model, the permanent Constitution of the Confederate States was passed on March 11 and ratified by the required five states by the end of the month. Among the changes implemented was a single six-year term for president and vice president. To the consternation of the radicals, the foreign slave trade was prohibited.