How Did Jefferson Davis Keep Slavery?

Jefferson Davis was undoubtedly an important figure in the Confederacy. Davis was placed in charge of nation that had very few soldiers, little industrialization, and a lack of unity. Many historians blame the defeat of the South on Davis for being a “hot-tempered micromanager”. After the war, Davis was made into a scapegoat; a symbol of treason and racism. Who was Jefferson Davis as a person, solider, statesmen, and leader? A focus on Davis’ life, leadership skills, speeches, and actions before, during, and after the war may offer evidence to show who Jefferson Davis truly was. Also, it is crucial to take into account circumstances that affected Davis and his decision making before, during, and after the

It can be said that the South began the Civil War from a winning position. They had declared their independence, formed their own country and government, and they needed only to keep what they already had. But this was a monumental task as the government was required to protect every inch of land within the Confederacy. As a new country, the Confederacy needed to demonstrate the ability to defend its own territory from external threat. Without this ability, the Confederacy could never receive the international recognition and support it needed to survive. Aside from this reason, the South also needed to protect the institution of slavery from outside interference. If the Northern armies took control of a particular Southern area, the Confederates felt that they would free all the slaves, thus destroying the entire structure of society and its economic value. Because of this, Jefferson Davis was forced to devise a flawed war strategy which attempted to preserve the entire Confederacy at the cost of concentrating his forces.

Confederate diplomats were instructed to avoid the question of slavery. In fact they pointed to a statement from Abraham Lincoln that the war was not about slavery and that he did not have the power to remove it. The image of a rebellion against an overbearing ruler seemed gallant too much of Europe. The Confederate diplomats tried to convinced to the leaders in Europe that they are fighting against the northern “infidels”. It seemed to many that the South would prefer a Monarchy under the control of a European power, all in the attempt to win over their allegiance.

The constitution drawn up at Montgomery defined the new government as the creation of "sovereign and independent" states. Davis subscribed to the principles of state sovereignty but he was far less provincial in his views than were many of his fellow Confederates. As the South's chief executive he was tremendously handicapped by the deep and pervasive attachment of Southerners to states rights(Bell I. Wiley).

History is not so much a series of events as it is a series of influential people whose radical actions and ideas changed the world. While one can point to many people and call them influential, a good gauge for seeing which people had a large impact in society is Time Magazine’s Person of the Year issue. Past receivers of the title include Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Adolf Hitler, all of whom have inarguably had an immense effect on the world. But the title did not always exist, so people who lived before the 20th century are, of course, ineligible. It is possible to argue over which person in 1865, the end of the American Civil War, would have received the title, but there is a simple answer. Jefferson Davis is Time’s

In general, the South favored a Confederacy over a Union of states. The main difference is how power is divided. In the ideal Southern Confederacy, the states would have much greater power to do as they wish. These ideas can be seen by a Georgian who had classic southern views. The Anonymous Georgian who wrote to the North, says that the fact that slavery has existed as long as it has is validity for its existence in America (Document B). He also says that the Fugitive Slave Law passed by Congress is more validity of it. This argument is also valid as it simply references what the federal government actually passed. Jefferson Davis was the leader of the Confederate States of America after the South seceded from the Union and can be shown to have similar thoughts as the Gregorian. His opinion on the Constitution was that it was inadequate to keep the states together. (Document H) He also says that it created, “not a compact between states, but was in effect national government, set up above and over the States”. This statement alone is enough to show how the Constitution alone had become a source of sectional

Of slavery, the third President of the United States and co-writer of the Declaration of Independence as well as the Constitution of the United States wrote: "But, as it is, we have the wolf by the ear, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other." This quote illustrates the role that slavery played in the western world at the end of the eighteenth century. In "The Declaration of Independence," Jefferson wrote that: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" (Jefferson 1776). According to this document, all human beings should be considered equal, but this does not take into account Africans who were not treated as equals and were not even treated as human beings at this time in history. Many people, including Jefferson desired that an end to slavery be written into the Constitution, a move that was decided against when the delegates realized that the southern states would never ratify the document if it contained that demand. The conflict between abolitionists and anti-abolitionists was an issue which would not be resolved until nearly a century after Jefferson's writings, but it is clear from this statement that he and others felt the issue keenly and were trying to find a way to deal with it, but were

After the defeat at Fort Sumter there were some northerners that tried to get Lincoln to let the south go. When deciding weather to take Fort Sumter by bombardment, one of Davis's ideas was a bargain with Washington , maybe purchase, for the peaceful turnover of the fort and other federal holding in the seceded states. Thinking Confederate independence was inescapable, Davis prayed that they would slow down long enough to recognize that they could save millions of dollars and many lives by stopping this. He believed that the honor of the Confederate States of America (CSA) would be reestablished if everyone seen Davis challenge Lincoln successfully. While dealing with all of this he still was ready to take Fort Sumter. Davis just wanted peace and to be left alone. The South was fighting a defensive war, which gave it inherent advantage.

Both sides, the union and confederacy, had different opinions as to what honor for their country. The Union believed that should if they should fail in the fight for preservation of the union all that the original founders fought for would be lost. The Confederacy believed possessions, such as slaves, were part of the right to freedom. This is the main reason North wanted to separate from the confederacy. The division between the North and South were very apparent. The South was primarily fighting for “property and homes” (McPherson 117). On the other hand, the North was fighting for freedom of all men and unification.

He defends the South’s position on slavery which is a deeply grounded belief. Abraham Lincoln describes this situation as a disagreement on the definition of liberty in his “Address at Sanitary Fair, Baltimore” (1864). He explains that liberty may mean “for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men” (Forner 287). It is easy to see how this disagreement was heading in a catastrophic direction as the South continued to fight for the whole reason they came to America in the first place. The Confederates were willing to fight to death to defend their definition of freedom because the North winning the war equated to the very same thing in their minds; the end of their lives.

Alexander H. Stephen, in the ‘Cornerstone Speech’, firmly stated that, the Confederacy was basically on racial inequality and slavery. He clearly outlined the existing differences between the new nation and the American United States. Stephen made it clear that, the Confederacy of the cornerstone was not primarily of chattel slavery, but the black people subordination benefited the white people. Thus, he tied slavery to race. Confederacy was the origin of the era of apartheid in South Africa. Stephen made declarations that the new government was founded on the great truth , that the negro was not equal on the side of the white people and that, slavery which was to be a subordination to the white race which was superior, was a normal and a natural condition. Stephen criticized the claims of the northern that, African enslavement was a law violation nature and that it was a wrong principle, morally, politically and socially. He clearly put across that his new government had an idea which was exactly different from the northern claims. He argued that, it was a kind of insanity to believe that the Negro will be equal between the white and black people and also that, enslaving the blacks was wrong. He made predictions that, the Confederate constitution has settled all the questions relating to the African slavery which existed among the white people. Stephen’s arguments led to the outbreak of the civil war in 1865 (The Teaching AmericanHistory.org, 2017).

Jefferson Davis was the only president of the Confederate States of America on November 6, 1861. The group of southern states that seceded from the United States and precipitate the Civil War. Jefferson Davis was elected the president of the Confederate State of the American. Davis ran without antagonism. The election plainly confirmed the commitment that had been made by the associated symposium unseasonable in the year. Davis legacy as a nation-builder, both figuratively and literally, was as a main mover in the huge project to expand the United States Capitol from a small, tiny, state house-like building with an attractive central rotunda into a lie. In 1813 he began his education at the Wilkinson Academy next to the family cotton plantation.

South Carolina also accused the Northern states of instigating “a war [that would] be waged against slavery until it shall cease throughout the United States,” (South Carolina) through the election of Abraham Lincoln as president. In Georgia’s declaration of secession, the reasons for secession are cited as “numerous and serious causes of complaint” (Georgia) against the non-slave holding states that were centered on “the subject of African slavery” (Georgia). In Mississippi, the consensus in the same; Mississippi’s position in the issue “[was] thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery” (Mississippi) and goes to list many reasons pertaining to slavery for its secession, most notably 1) The North “has made combinations and formed associations to carry out its schemes of emancipation” (Mississippi), 2) “has nullified the Fugitive Slave Law in almost every free State in the Union” (Mississippi), and 3) “advocates negro equality” (Mississippi). For these as well as other reasons all pertaining to slavery, the Confederate States seceded from the Union. In the Southern States, as seen through the declarations of secession from the Confederate States, the people, along with the governments of those states all supported secession based on issues arising from the conflict over slavery.

Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens were re-inaugurated on February 22, 1862. Although there were no established parties, “Confederate politics soon divided along pro- and anti-administration lines, and the lack of designated groups only caused confusion and disorganization.”# Some wanted to negotiate peace with the North while others objected to Davis’ policies in supporting the war effort. “Some even promoted that their states secede from the Confederacy and form separate countries. After the next congressional elections, held over a nearly six-month period in 1863 due to the logistical problems of the Union military presence across the South, nearly two-fifths of the Confederate House and one half of the Senate were openly anti-administration.”#

The Civil War was a war between the union, and confederate states in the United States that occurred from 1861-1865. Many people believed that the Civil War was about slavery and southern states right to defend their states’ rights. The confederates were fighting for their liberty and independence under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, who they felt was a tyrant. However, the union, was fighting to preserve their territory, that was created by their founding fathers from chaos and dismemberment. President Jefferson Davis believed that the civil war was based on the confederate rights to secede from the union. Jefferson also felt that Abraham Lincoln was to blamed for the start of the civil war, since he was against slavery. Lincoln’s intended goal was to preserve the union, he claimed slavery was not the reason. “If I could save the union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all slaves I would do it, and if I could slave it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that (Shi &Tindall, 2015, pg.465)”. Lincoln told everyone that if the southern states were to return to the union that slavery would still exist. However, many people believed that Lincoln wasn’t being truthful.