Jefferson Davis Leadership

The southern states although far less populated and without initial means to manufacture war supplies did have the strengths to be very competitive. Strong, experienced Confederate leadership in their practiced military, and the overall will power to protect their way of life would prove to be their greatest assets. Jefferson Davis became the president of the Confederacy and was a model leader. He developed a distinguished political career with many years served in the senate, he was a West Point graduate, the former Secretary of War, and a veteran of the Mexican American War. He was the ideal candidate for a president in war times. He had the advantage of having General Robert E. Lee commanding his army after Joseph Johnston was injured in The Battle of Bull run. Robert E. Lee due to strong respect, character and performance in the Mexican American war was Lincoln’s first choice as the Union general but Lee’s patriotism to his home state

Lee was thought to be one of the most, if not the most well respected and known generals in the Civil War. He was born on January 19, 1807, in Virginia to Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, who was a well-renown Revolutionary War veteran. Lee graduated West Point second in his class with no bad mark on his record. After West Point, he joined the Engineer Corp, and worked his way up the ranks to Captain. During this time, he married Mary Anna Randolph Custis, who was related to George Washington’s wife. Marrying her not only got the financial side of his life covered, but also gave him a popularity advantage due to him being (faintly) related to the great Revolutionary War and First President of the United States. During the Mexican War, Lee used his trade as an engineer and helped Major General Winfield Scott with planning and beating the Mexican forces. After the Mexican war, Lee went to become the superintendent of the military academy at West Point, and made major changes such as adding an additional year to the previous four. In 1855, Congress approved the creation of four new regiments. Due to Lee’s want for a faster-promoting job, left his engineering life for the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and for the next six years, he was put in Texas with his regiment. A couple of days after Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, the South began to secede, and offered Lee the Brigadier General rank in their army. Lee would have declined it, and stuck with the Union if it

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.

In 1861, Davis reluctantly, along with Mississippi left the Union. In his farewell address to the Senate, Davis stated the North’s interference with southern social institutions caused Mississippi’s succession from the Union.13 Davis was then elected as President of the Confederacy in 1861. During his time as President, Davis suffered from

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).

Jefferson Davis also influenced the loss of the South in the civil war by ineptly handling the military, with one of his mistakes being giving important positions to his friends. For example, Albert Sidney Johnston was the second highest-ranking Confederate general, but before that he had been an adjutant general, never having led an army before. Lucky for Johnston, however, he was good friends with Jefferson Davis, having attended West Point with him, so Davis promoted him to full general, a position in which he outranked much more experienced men like Robert E. Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard, and Joseph E. Johnston (Rafuse). Albert Sidney Johnston was later killed in the Battle of Shiloh, most likely by one of his own men, a fact which proves that he is inept in commanding an army (Sword 444). Davis’s cabinet was also not free from so-called “friend nepotism.” Judah P. Benjamin became friends with Jefferson Davis after a planned duel between the two, in which they both acknowledged that they respected each other. Davis, following his election as President, appointed him to three different cabinet positions: Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State. As a lawyer who knew almost nothing about military strategy, he was more of a placeholder as Secretary of War, filling the position so Davis could control it behind the scenes (“Judah P. Benjamin Biography”). Jefferson kept taking up other people’s jobs (such as general-in-chief, see below), and it

Each sided started asking for volunteer forces from the different states within their jurisdiction. Jefferson Davis in the South asked for one-hundred thousand volunteers to be raised. After the first few battles and with the high casualties rates the confederates soon realized that they would need more men. By August 8, 1861 they requested four-hundred thousand more volunteers for up to three years and even those numbers were not enough. The next year in April the Confederate States of America would enact the first ever conscription bill in American

The Civil War took place from 1861 to 1865. Perhaps the most influential war in American history, the Civil War was fought between the northern states and the southern states of America over slavery. Shortly after Abraham Lincoln was elected as the president on March 4, 1861, South Carolina Seceded from the Union. Other states followed in suit, forming the Confederate States of America with its capital at Montgomery, Alabama, its president Jefferson Davis. As controversy flared higher as a result of this event, the Confederates took Fort Sumter. Soon, the Union joined the war. The northern states were referred to as the Union army, with leaders including Ulysses S. Grant. The Southern states were referred to as the Confederate

The Confederate States of America was formed in 1861 (Blight, p.22). The first confederate president was elected, Jeffery Davis, in February of 1861. The confederates operated a republican

President Abraham Lincoln took office on November 6, 1860, three months later eleven states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. Lincoln wanted to eradicate slavery and issue the Emancipation Proclamation. He knew it would be hard to unite the north and south, due to southern reliance on slavery in the cotton fields. Confederates were fully aware of President Lincoln’s plan to abolish slavery

Jefferson Davis was in the military also was a hero in the Mexican war ,he also took an active role in dictating confederate military strategy in the Civil war. Born on june 3, 1808 in the state of Kentucky but raised in two state which were Wilkinson and Mississippi. Went to a private school and applied for west point in 1824 finished college at 1828. He got married with Varina Howell in january 15 1835, three months later his wife died from malarial fever September 15,1835. He developed a devotion to southern plantation life, and his own attitude toward his slaves led him to deny fiercely all claims that slavery is cruel to all them.

From 1861 to 1865, Lincoln and Davis oversaw different perspectives of their nation. We may well wonder how much of Kentucky these men took with them in their very different lives. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis had a passion for their beliefs. Both men were willing to sacrifice all they had for their respective countries. Abraham fought for what he thought was right and what many other people thought were right, but he did at times override the Constitution when he felt it was necessary. As for Davis could be a cold and demanding leader.

Washington D.C., summer 1862. The Civil War had been going on for over a year, and it was not going well for Abraham Lincoln. 11 of the 15 southern states where slavery was legal had formed the Confederate States of America (CSA) and were waging a war to break free from the United States. Lincoln was determined that the nation was not going to fall apart on his watch. During the first year of the civil war, the Confederate Army had won the majority of important battles. When Lincoln became president, he had had no intention of abolishing slavery. Though he personally despised slavery and had won the presidency on an anti-slavery platform, he would gladly have given up any chance of ending slavery in the South if it meant that the Confederate states would rejoin the United States.

On February 18, 1861, the provisional Congress of the Confederate States made him provisional president. He was elected to the office by popular vote the same year for a 6-year term and was inaugurated in Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy, on February 22, 1862. Davis failed to raise sufficient money to fight the American Civil War and could not obtain recognition and help for the Confederacy from foreign governments. He was in constant conflict with extreme exponents of the doctrine of states' rights, and his attempts to have high military officers appointed by the president were opposed by the governors of the states. The judges of state courts constantly interfered in military matters through judicial decisions. Davis was nevertheless responsible for the raising of the formidable Confederate armies, the notable appointment of General Robert E. Lee as commander of the Army of Virginia, and the encouragement of industrial enterprise throughout the South. His zeal, energy, and faith in the cause of the South were a source of much of the tenacity with which the Confederacy fought the Civil War. Even in 1865 Davis still hoped the South would be able to

Jefferson Davis ,most famously known as the president of the Confederate States during the Civil War, was an interesting subject of the 19th century. You would think it was because of his contributions to the war or lack thereof, but unfortunately he is associated more with his peculiar characteristics. Many of the characteristics are equivalent to those of basic people carrying out normal lives. The expectancy of loyalty and respect, indecisiveness, and not being capable of admitting faults, we all know someone with at least one of these traits, maybe even all of them. So why was it so unique in the case of Jefferson Davis? Although these were normal traits, the life that Davis lived was not. With such a public demanding job, every aspect of his life was showcased and under close observation. The struggle between Davis and his overpowering attributes not only had an effect on his relationships and friendships, but they also had an impact, not completely negative or positive, on the way he completed his job.