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Autobiography of Jefferson Davis [1890]
An abbreviated autobiography by the Ex-President of the Southern Confederacy published a month after his death in "Belford's Magazine". The years before & after the War Between the States are the focus of this brief account of his life. A detailed chronological outline of the life of Mr. Davis precedes the autobiography. Each section has been extracted from "Jefferson Davis Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers and Speeches," Vol. 1, Compiled and Edited by Dunbar Rowland, 1923.
19 pages, Nook
First published October 13, 2010
About the author
Jefferson Davis
213 books13 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American military officer, statesman, and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as the President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865.
A West Point graduate, Davis fought in the Mexican-American War as a colonel of a volunteer regiment, and was the United States Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. Both before and after his time in the Pierce Administration, he served as a U.S. Senator representing the state of Mississippi. As a senator he argued against secession but believed each state was sovereign and had an unquestionable right to secede from the Union.
Davis resigned from the Senate in January 1861, after receiving word that Mississippi had seceded from the Union. The following month, he was provisionally appointed President of the Confederate States of America and was elected to a six-year term that November. During his presidency, Davis was not able to find a strategy to defeat the more industrially developed Union, even though the south only lost roughly one soldier for every two union soldiers on the battlefield.
After Davis was captured May 10, 1865, he was charged with treason, though not tried, and stripped of his eligibility to run for public office. This limitation was posthumously removed by order of Congress and President Jimmy Carter in 1978, 89 years after his death. While not disgraced, he was displaced in Southern affection after the war by its leading general, Robert E. Lee.
Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American military officer, statesman, and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as the President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865.
A West Point graduate, Davis fought in the Mexican-American War as a colonel of a volunteer regiment, and was the United States Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. Both before and after his time in the Pierce Administration, he served as a U.S. Senator representing the state of Mississippi. As a senator he argued against secession but believed each state was sovereign and had an unquestionable right to secede from the Union.
Davis resigned from the Senate in January 1861, after receiving word that Mississippi had seceded from the Union. The following month, he was provisionally appointed President of the Confederate States of America and was elected to a six-year term that November. During his presidency, Davis was not able to find a strategy to defeat the more industrially developed Union, even though the south only lost roughly one soldier for every two union soldiers on the battlefield.
After Davis was captured May 10, 1865, he was charged with treason, though not tried, and stripped of his eligibility to run for public office. This limitation was posthumously removed by order of Congress and President Jimmy Carter in 1978, 89 years after his death. While not disgraced, he was displaced in Southern affection after the war by its leading general, Robert E. Lee.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 27, 2016
A very short and condensed autobiography in which the author seems, strangely, more proud of his accomplishments during the Mexican-American War than anything else in his life as he spends infinitely more time on this portion of his life than anything else.
January 28, 2017
A good short book where Davis gives the highlights of his life. It doesn't get bogged down with rhetoric about the problems he faced , both political and personal. He skips over the war years , referring the reader to his work on the Confederacy and the War.
His role in the Mexican war is interesting.
I highly recommend this book. It should be required reading for all history students.
His role in the Mexican war is interesting.
I highly recommend this book. It should be required reading for all history students.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews