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Period______ Date _________________________________ would soon come to a head. Name Jefferson Davis By Mary L. Bushong What do you know about Jefferson Davis? You may not recognize his name unless you are a student of the Civil War. As the appointed President of the Confederate States, he led the South during the war, but it was not a position he wanted. Jefferson Davis was born in Kentucky on June 3, 1808. When he was three, his father moved the family to a plantation in Mississippi. As a young teenager, he began attending Transylvania University in Kentucky. When he was 16, he was appointed to West Point Military Academy as a cadet, and he graduated four years later. Then Davis was commissioned as a lieutenant and served during the Black Hawk war. In 1835, he married Sarah Knox Taylor, the daughter of a future U.S. president. He resigned his commission, and they moved to Mississippi to carve out a plantation. Their happiness was short-lived. She died three months later from malaria. Davis was so grief stricken that he stayed in seclusion and worked on his plantation for seven years. As he worked on the plantation, he also studied Constitutional law. Ten years after the death of his first wife, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and married his second wife, Varina Howell. Just a year later, Davis resigned from Congress to serve in the war with Mexico. He was hailed as a hero for winning the battle of Buena Vista. He was wounded and returned home. Once there, he was appointed to finish the Senate term of Senator Speight who had died. Davis enjoyed being in the Senate and made a point of staying away from factions on both sides of the growing controversy over slavery. Even after being appointed Secretary of War in 1853, he continued to work tirelessly to smooth out differences between the North and South. As more time passed, however, it became obvious that trouble After Abraham Lincoln was elected, many in the South were convinced that he would try to force them to change many aspects of their culture. When the state of Mississippi seceded in 1861, Davis resigned from his place in the Senate. He was not in favor of secession himself, but he believed that the constitution allowed it. A short time after returning home, he was notified that he had been chosen to be President of the new Confederate States of America. This was not a job he wanted. Davis saw the direction events were going, and he sent a peace commission of several people to Lincoln in an attempt to stop the coming war. Lincoln refused to see them. When Union forces fired on Fort Sumter, in Charleston, SC, it signaled the start of the Civil War. The war was a very difficult time for Davis. The Southern army started out winning many battles, but problems began to crop up more and more often. Davis could not direct the battles well from a distance, and many of the officers he appointed did not live up to expectations. He disliked having to draft men into the army, and as the war progressed, money and supply problems plagued every aspect of the war. When Lee surrendered in 1865, Davis did not. He and several of his advisors attempted to escape to Mississippi (from Virginia) to regroup and continue the battle. He was captured in Georgia and held in chains by the Union military. They imprisoned him in a damp basement for a short time, until public outcry forced them to keep him under house arrest. He was charged with crimes but never given the trial he demanded. It was not until three years later that he was released on bond. Davis traveled to Europe and spoke occasionally, but he avoided the spotlight. He encouraged Southerners to maintain their principles. He also wanted them to make the best possible use of their resources to rebuild wisely. People admired his character and were sympathetic regarding the troubles he endured. Jefferson Davis died in New Orleans on December 5, 1889. His funeral train took his body from there to Richmond, Virginia. As it passed by, people lined the tracks to honor him. Even in the face of overwhelming trouble, he kept his honor and continued to care for the people in his trust. He never settled for doing less than the best that he could. 5. Why would Davis work so hard to avoid a war between the states? Name Jefferson Davis Questions 1. Why would Davis not want to be President of the Confederate states? A. He wanted to stay with the Union. B. He did not want to leave the Senate. C. He did not want the South to split away from the Union. D. He wanted peace. 6. Lincoln refused to meet with Davis's peace commission. A. False B. True 7. Why would a public outcry be needed to allow Davis a better prison? 2. Davis was appointed to which military academy? A. V.M.I. B. West Point C. Citadel D. Old Navy 3. What event caused Davis to stay in seclusion for seven years? 8. Davis was thought to be a man of principles. Which of the following would not reinforce that idea? A. He would lie for his own benefit. B. He tried to maintain the peace when he could. C. He cared deeply for people. D. He encouraged others to maintain their principles. 4. Why did Davis resign from Congress? A. He wanted to join in the war with Mexico. B. The Civil War was beginning. C. He wanted to join in the Black Hawk war. D. He wanted to get married again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFxxXKH8VbY ________________________________________________________________After General Lee surrendered at the end of the Civil War, Davis and ________________________________________________________________ his advisors tried to escape to Mississippi to continue the battle there. __________________________________________________ How could this have helped him if he had succeeded? No Essay Name Jefferson Davis did not want to be President of the Confederacy. He supported states' rights but did not want the Union dissolved. How would this make his new position more difficult?