Jefferson Davis: life and political career

Jefferson Davis was born on June 3, 1808 in Kentucky in Todd County, formerly Christian County, Kentucky. Davis was educated at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky and attended the U.S. Military Academy graduating in 1828. David fought in the Mexican War at Monterrey and Buena Visa and was wounded. David retired from the army in 1835 due to health problems. In the same year Jefferson Davis married Miss Sallie Taylor whose father was Zachary Taylor however, Sally died only three months following their wedding. (Alward, nd) After Sallie died, David purchased a cotton plantation complete with slaves working the field and was a successful plantation cotton farmer. In 1845, David married again, this time to Miss Varina Howell. (Alward, nd) Davis was both a devoted father and husband.

DAVIS: SENATOR, CONGRESSMAN, & CONFEDERATE PRESIDENT

Davis was elected U.S. senator from the state of Mississippi serving ten years between 1835 and 1845 and served as a U.S. Congressman from 1846 to 1846 and again from 1857 to 1861. In 1861 when Mississippi seceded from the Union, David withdrew from the U.S. Senate. Davis was appointed the provisional president by the provisional Congress of the Confederate States on February 18, 1861. Davis held the title of the President of the Confederacy until the surrender of General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, 1865.

II. DAVIS: THE AUTHOR

Jefferson Davis wrote the work entitled: "A Short History of the Confederate States of America" published in 1890 and in Chapter 1: Before Secession, the Causes of the War Between the States Davis writes that:

Ignorance and credulity have enable unscrupulous partisans so to mislead public opinion, both at home and abroad, as to create the belief that the institution of African slavery was the chief cause, instead of being a mere incident in the group of causes, which led to war." (Davis, 1890)

Davis goes on to state that the North:

is represented as having fought for the emancipation of the African slaves, and the South for the increase and extension of the institution of African servitude as it existed in the Southern States. Therein is a twofold fallacy. First, the dominant party at the North, in 1861, through their exponent, President Lincoln declared, in his inaugural message: 'I have no purpose, directly, or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so; and I have no inclination to do so.'" (Davis, 1890)

Davis relates that at the time the Articles of Confederation were adopted, "under which the War of Independence was waged, slavery existed in all the States that were parties to that compact." (1890) While slaves were more numerous in Southern States as compared to Northern States, Davis states that "The diversity was caused by differences of climate, soil, and industrial interests." (1890) the problem was that slavery profited the Southern States but no profit was derived from slavery in the Northern States and contrary to popular historical accounts, the truth of the matter is that "No ethical consideration contributed to this diversity, for at that period moral scruples had not appeared as a factor in the problem." (1890) Davis relates that the charge levied against the South as being the seeker of an "extension of slavery" is a charge that is very "unjust." (Davis, 1890)

III. DAVIS: THE SURRENDER

The work entitled: "A History of Mississippi From the Discovery of the Great River, Including the Earliest Settlement Made by the French, to the Death of Jefferson Davis" (1891) states that Davis arrived in the state of Mississippi "while a tender infant, and was nurtured on the soil of the State he loved with the most devoted affection." (Lowry and McGardle, 1891) it is related that Jefferson Davis was raised by his older brother, Joseph E. Davis, until he was eight years old. Joseph lived near Greenville and had a law practice. Joseph was determined that Jefferson would receive a good education and sent Jefferson to Kentucky, under the charge of General Thomas Hinds. (Lowry and McGardle, 1891) states as well that during the time that Jefferson Davis held a seat in the Senate of the United States, he was the peer of the ablest and proudest Senator on that floor." (Lowry and McGardle, 1891) During the time, that Jefferson Davis was president of the Confederate States of American he "waged a gigantic war one with one of the most powerful governments known to our times, for four weary years. He saw in those years the muster rolls of the United States bear the names of three millions of men; while the muster-rolls of the Confederate army bore scant 600,000 names." (Lowry and McGardle, 1891) While there were many victories in the battlefields against terrible odds, it is stated that "the end came on the 9th day of April 1865. The surrender of General Lee was followed by that of other commanders in the field, and the government of the Confederate States became a memory. Jefferson Davis was captured, hurried to Fortress Monroe, and there manacled like a common, vulgar ruffian." (Lowry and McGardle, 1891) it is related that President Johnson had posted a reward of $100,000 for the capture of Jefferson Davis who had been accused of being involved in a conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln. Davis writes his account of this occasion that he surrendered peaceably but Davis states that Colonel Pritchard claimed credit for his capture speaking of the "forbearance shown by his men in not shooting me when I refused to surrender." (Davis, 1890) When Davis was captured, he was placed in shackles of iron and taken to prison where he remained for almost two years.

DAVIS: THE LAST YEARS