Jefferson Davis

“This war must go on till the last of this generation fall in his tracks, and his children seize his musket and fight our battles, unless you acknowledge our right of self-government. We are not fighting for slavery. We are fighting for independence; and that, or extermination, we will have.” Jefferson Davis, July 1864. 

Welcome to Civics and Coffee. My name is Alycia and I am a self-professed history nerd. Each week, I am going to chat about a topic on U.S history and give you both the highlights and occasionally break down some of the complexities in history; and share stories you may not remember learning in high school. All in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of coffee. 

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As the southern states decided to withdraw from the union one by one, there was a significant amount of uncertainty permeating throughout the country. Was secession even allowed under the Constitution? When these former states withdrew from the federal union did they become independent nations? Or were they closer to territories? And if they were territories, would they fall under a single separate government?

As it turned out, the states who chose to secede from the United States decided to form a partnership, of sorts. What we now know as the Confederacy. And in establishing a separate government, the southern states chose Jefferson Davis as their leader.. A former military man with deep ties to the south, Davis would become the one and only president of the Confederacy. But why him?

This week, I am diving into the life of Jefferson Davis. Who was he? What made him the choice for the top job? And what happened once the south lost the Civil War? 

Grab your cup of coffee peeps, lets do this. 

The man who would go down in infamy as the one and only leader of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis was born on June 3, 1807 or 1808 in Kentucky. He was the youngest of ten children born to his father, Samuel and mother Jane. His father was a wealthy tobacco plantation operator and served during the American Revolution and moved the family to Mississippi where Davis spent his youth. As a young child, Davis was reportedly closest with his eldest brother Joseph who was very supportive of education and worked hard to ensure his little brother attended school. 

Perhaps hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps, Davis enrolled at the Westpoint Military Academy where he was an unremarkable pupil. Following the steps of many other young adults experiencing their first breath of freedom from parental authority, Davis seemed more interested in having fun with friends and enjoying the scene than he was in focusing on his studies. He graduated toward the bottom of his class, but it did not seem to matter as he joined the army, serving under then-General Zachary Taylor during the Black Hawk War. 

It was while serving under Taylor that Davis met his first wife, Sarah Knox Taylor. As in daughter of Davis’ commanding officer, Zachary Taylor. Jefferson fell quickly and madly in love with Sarah and wished to make her his bride. Although General Taylor admired the young military man under his charge, he did not approve of the courtship and transferred Davis to another command post. Davis seemed to have an issue with authority and was reprimanded for insubordination before resigning his post in June of 1835. Once out of the military, Davis returned to Mississippi where his brother Joseph helped him establish a cotton plantation.

Despite being miles away, Davis could not let his feelings for Sarah go ignored and corresponded with her from his estate. The young couple were so blinded by love that they decided to get married. It is unclear to me whether General Taylor actually supported the union or if it was done against his wishes as I’ve seen both arguments. Whatever the case, the young love did not last long as only three months into their marriage the couple contracted malaria. While Davis survived, his new bride did not. Sarah passed away on September 15, 1835 at the age of 21. 

Likely in a state of grief, Davis turned his focus into developing his plantation, slowly accumulating the human capital needed to work the fields and pull the lucrative crop. He finally remarried 8 years later, this time to 18 year old Varina Howell. Together, they had a total of six children, four boys and two girls, however only his daughters would live to adulthood. He turned to politics for the first time in the 1840s where he represented Mississippi in the U.S. House of Representatives. However, his tenure did not last long. When war broke out between Mexico and the United States in 1846, Davis resigned his post to once again join the military. 

Davis enjoyed a successful run during his time in service and was offered a promotion in 1847. However, he decided to move back into politics, this time as a United States Senator. As Senator, Davis championed hard for the expansion of slavery into the newly acquired western territories, including arguing heavily against California’s admittance to the union as a free state. An offer to run for Governor of Mississippi prompted Davis to resign his Senate seat, however he lost the election and returned to his plantation as a private citizen. 

Even though he was out of the political scene, Davis remained attuned to national politics, including supporting Franklin Pierce for the presidency in 1852. After his election, Pierce made the arguably questionable decision to bring Davis into his cabinet as Secretary of War. A man who had been expressing some increasingly radical views was perhaps not the smartest choice to run the nation’s military, but regardless it proved to be a positive result for the United States. While in office, Davis upgraded military supplies and successfully lobbied for an increase in pay for soldiers. In a bit of irony, Davis made what would soon become the Union army stronger and better prepared for potential conflict. If he only knew. 

Once it became clear that Pierce would be denied a chance at a second term in office, Davis decided his political future was in the Senate and he was elected once again. Davis’ rhetoric grew increasingly hostile as he championed states’ rights and indicated his belief that the union could and should be dissolved if they failed to recognize said rights. He, like many other southern residents, became increasingly concerned over the likelihood of an abolitionist president. This should come as no surprise considering that at the start of the Civil War, Jefferson Davis owned over one hundred individuals, making him the equivalent of a millionaire in today’s dollars. So it seemed only logical that upon the election of Abraham Lincoln, it was just a matter of time before Davis resigned his seat and headed south. 

Having resigned his political post, Davis hoped to be of service for Mississippi in a military capacity. However, others had a different path in mind and in February of 1861, Jefferson Davis was made the provisional president of the Confederate States of America. Despite his initial hesitation, Davis accepted the post, giving his inaugural address in Montgomery, Alabama on February 18, 1861. Davis’ speech drew heavily from the declaration of independence and he focused on the state’s collective rights to withdraw from the federal government, saying confederate states were quote: “doubly justified by the absence of wrong doing on our part, and by wanton aggression on the part of others, there can be no cause to doubt that the courage and patriotism of the people of the confederate states will be found equal to any measures of defense which honor and security may require,” end quote. In Davis’ opinion, the confederate states were simply following the tenets of American democracy. 

Despite being a compromise candidate, Jefferson Davis enjoyed early enthusiastic support. He was seen as someone who could appease both the moderate and radical factions within the confederacy and, having served in the military, was considered more than capable to oversee any military operations that may be needed in the Confederacy’s pursuit to achieve quote unquote independence from the federal union. However, as time dragged on and the confederacy faced challenge after challenge, Davis’ favorability quickly diminished. Davis, like so many other military men turned political leaders, proved to be a better soldier than administrator. But he wasn’t entirely operating on an even playing field, either. 

Something I have always found interesting about the confederacy is that despite resigning from a form of government that was supposedly tyrannical and ignoring the rights of states, they fashioned their government in the spitting image of the federal union. Perhaps this was a product of working on limited time. As a newly established confederacy, the southern states needed to figure out a way to do the boring, yet essential, aspects of governing. How would the government be funded? Who would be responsible for defense? Negotiating trade? It makes sense that given the truncated timeframe southern politicians went with what they knew instead of trying to start something from scratch. 

I also often think about the monumental challenges facing Jefferson Davis. As a newly formed country of sorts, the confederacy had no infrastructure. As president, Davis was trying to build a government while also overseeing the military and establishing battle plans. Talk about building the airplane as you fly it. From a military standpoint, Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy were simply outmatched. The Union had more men, money, and resources than the Confederacy. Operating with this understanding, it is perhaps curious as to why Jefferson Davis decided to be as aggressive as he was. 

Some scholars have argued that if the goal was to secure independence from the union, the Confederacy didn’t need to overpower the federal government. They just needed to outlast it. However, Davis and his war department opted for a different path, all but guaranteeing the confederacy’s eventual demise. The end was clear as the Union finally overtook the confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia on April 3rd, 1865. Stubborn and refusing to give up hope, Davis quietly vacated the city and made his way further south where he hoped to continue the war effort. After President Lincoln’s assassination on April 15, 1865, any hopes Davis had of making a come back were gone as Union officials indicated the confederate president was responsible. Though these accusations later proved to be without merit, it nevertheless put an extreme amount of pressure and attention on the movements and capture of Davis, who was finally captured on May 10, 1865. 

And here is where things get really interesting. 

The Civil War was over and the United States faced a politically, economically, and socially precarious task of figuring out just how to rebuild and repair the nation without inciting tensions and falling into another conflict. The country had to figure out how to readmit states into the union and what an appropriate punishment was for anyone who took up arms against the union. So in this framework, what was the proper response to Jefferson Davis? It seems like no one really knew. 

Upon his capture, Davis was transferred to Fort Monroe where he was imprisoned for two years. In that time, the federal government tried to figure out how to bring a case against the former confederate leader. Should he be tried in a military court? Was that even allowed since the country was no longer at war? Or was it more appropriate to try Davis in a civilian court? If tried in a civilian court, the case would have to be tried and heard in the jurisdiction Davis committed his crimes. Given that this was Richmond, Virginia - the very heart and former capital of the Confederacy - there was concern about the likelihood of convicting Davis, opening yet another can of constitutional and political worms. The legal team representing Jefferson Davis had a two pronged strategy. First, delay a trial as long as possible to allow national temperatures to cool. Second, argue that Davis ceased being a United States citizen the moment Mississippi seceded from the union, therefore making the charges against Davis null and void. 

In an article in the New Yorker, historian Jill Lepore explored the legal challenges and tactics in trying to determine why the case against former Confederate President Jefferson Davis fell apart. Contrasting it to the contemporary debates about what to do with former president Trump in the aftermath of January 6th, Lepore highlights how historians and legal scholars have varied opinions and ideas for why, when push came to shove, the federal government let their case against Jefferson Davis fall apart. One historian argued that the mere chance that Davis’ legal argument could resonate with a jury was highly concerning and seen as potentially setting a legal precedent permitting secession. There were also concerns that if Davis was convicted, confederate sympathizers would respond violently, potentially inciting another civil war. 

As such, the case was delayed for two years before enough money was raised to post bail for Davis in May of 1867. Awaiting his trial, Davis traveled with this family; first to Canada, then Louisiana, and Cuba. While the decision to move forward with the Davis trial remained influx, Congress shifted their attention on the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. I will get into the impeachment and Johnson’s presidency more in a future episode, but both the federal prosecutor and one of the judges assigned to oversee the Davis trial were brought back to DC to run the impeachment, prompting further delays. 

Finally, on February 15, 1869, the federal government filed a motion with the court announcing it would not be moving forward with their case. The decision to let Davis go free without any sort of punishment angered many in the north, who felt the former confederate leader was long overdue for the hangman’s noose. Officially free, Davis lived first in Tennessee, before settling along the Mississippi coast outside of Biloxi. The estate, known as Beauvoir, still exists today and is open to the public. I got a chance to check it out several years ago while visiting a friend and it was a little surreal walking the grounds of the former confederate president. Visitors can take a tour and I remember docents focusing specifically on the design of the home and how an estate would be managed during Davis’ lifetime, suspiciously avoiding much discussion on the former, and most notorious occupant. 

His post Civil War years were primarily focused on trying to earn a living and support his family. In 1881, Davis wrote The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. Part memoir, the book presented a defense of what the confederate states did and argued their actions were completely lawful. 

Davis lived until 1889, passing on December 6th at the age of 81. Originally buried in New Orleans, Davis’ widow had his body reburied at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. His grave is marked by a statue and plaque in his honor and was the site of several memorials by former confederate soldiers. 

The life and legacy of Jefferson Davis is understandably complicated. On one hand, he was a man of deep principle who believed wholeheartedly in the legality of the confederate cause and the supremacy of the white race. On the other hand, Davis was someone who oversaw concerted efforts to undermine federal democracy and the violent suppression of the rights of Black Americans. The failure to convict him for his actions helped permeate the Lost Cause myth and surprisingly continues to be relevant in our current climate. 

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