Jefferson Davis (Brothers No More)

Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American and Confederate politician who served as the first President of the Confederate States. He played a large part in winning the Southern War of Independence and guiding the Confederate States through their early years. He is remembered as one of the great Confederate Presidents and a hero of the Confederacy.

Early Life
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U.S. Politician
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President of the Confederate States
Davis resigned his senate seat upon hearing of Mississippi's secession ordinance. He told the Confederate government to place him in whatever position they wished, hoping that they would make him a general. To Davis's disappointment, he was instead named provisional president. He led the early war effort as president, getting mixed results.

President Davis ran for a legitimate term in the 1861 presidential election, winning unanimously. From that point on he oversaw the rest of the Southern War of Independence. Success began coming in 1863 with several major battle victories. This led France to enter the war on the Confederates' side. Their fleet managed to break up the Union blockade of the South.

The war ended with the Battle of Alexandria in 1865. President Davis became an extremely popular hero in his new country.

After the war, the work of setting up the rest of the Confederate government had to be carried out. Davis appointed five justices to the Supreme Court, which so far remains a record. He signed into law many bills establishing new procedures and regulations in the Confederacy. He was not universally popular- privately, Vice President Alexander H. Stephens challenged him on many things. Publicly, Stephens supported the beloved president.

Near the end of his term, Davis endorsed Robert E. Lee to succeed him as president. He made the personal recommendation of Judah P. Benjamin to be Lee's running mate, and the general accepted the idea. Davis handed off the presidency to Lee in a jubilant ceremony in Richmond.

Post-Presidency
After leaving office, Davis went on a tour of the country, where he received huge ovations in every city. He then returned home to his Mississippi plantation and lived there for the rest of his life.

Davis supported the idea of a war with Mexico and advised President Lee to accept France's offer to join the Mexican Civil War. When the Mexican-Confederate War began, Davis requested a position in the military. He was commissioned a general and went to war at age 62, finally getting his wish to serve as a Confederate general.

General Davis mainly led the Baja California campaign, where his army attacked from Arizona and worked its way down the Baja California Peninsula. Resistance was relatively light and Davis made relatively quick work of his adversaries. After the peninsula was secure, he moved into Northern/Central Mexico, where he fought alongside General Stonewall Jackson in the campaign to take Mexico City. By 1871, both warring factions in Mexico had surrendered. Davis returned to Mississippi to big celebrations.

After the war, Davis remained at home and mostly stayed out of politics. He considered running for a senate seat, a race that he would surely win, but he knew both Mississippi senators personally and didn't want to unseat them. Eventually he decided to enter formal retirement, living out his days on his plantation.

Davis supported Stonewall Jackson in the 1873 election, and did some groundwork to help him secure victory in Mississippi. This work proved to be vital, as Jackson narrowly won the state over Alexander H. Stephens. Davis supported Jackson through the early stage of his presidency, but was unsettled by the president's attempts to court the United States government. He strongly advised against working with the Union in any capacity. Davis believed that cooperation with the North would be possible and even desirable at some point in the future, but he knew that it was still much too soon for the public to appreciate such a thing. Jackson ignored Davis's warnings, leading to the formation of the Southern Party.

Davis strongly opposed the concept of political parties in the Confederacy, and he especially opposed the Southern Party. The Southern Party was made up of politicians who had harshly criticized Davis during his time as president, and now they were running a campaign based on reversing his policies. He worked hard to get James Longstreet elected in the 1879 election. His efforts were almost successful, as Mississippi was the closest race out of all the states Stephens won. In the end, though, the attempt was futile. Stephens' administration worked to end the policies of the previous three presidents, and Davis felt as if his reputation was being personally damaged.

Despite his previous opposition to political parties, Davis eventually accepted that they would be an inevitability moving forward. He joined the Confederate Party in 1884, a move that was widely publicized by the party. He supported the Confederate campaign in 1885.

Davis began writing his memoirs in 1886 and got them published in 1888. The memoirs became a best-selling book in the Confederacy and remained popular well into the 20th Century. Davis went on another speaking tour in 1888 to promote his book. One year later, he died on his plantation from bronchitis complicated by malaria at age 81. His funeral was a massive event, drawing visitors from far and wide. Many foreign dignitaries attended, as well as some of Davis's old military friends from the U.S. His body lied in state at the Confederate Capital and was then buried in Richmond.

Legacy
Jefferson Davis is recognized as a founder of the Confederacy and one of its great presidents. In historical rankings, he is usually ranked in the top 5 Confederate Presidents of all-time. His memoirs make up one of the best selling books ever in the Confederacy and sold many copies all throughout the 20th Century. He is honored with the other Confederate presidents with a statue in the Confederate Capital Building in Richmond.

In the North, he was seen as the leader of a terrible rebellion and oppressive society. His image softened entering the 20th Century, and for a short time his book even sold well in the U.S. That all changed during World War I, when his image as the leader of traitors was restored. He retained this image throughout the turbulent 20th Century, and is now seen as a complicated figure to talk about in the North.