Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - November - 2005 Issue
The Civil War Still Rages at Chapel Hill Rare Books
Jefferson Davis' inaugural address
Jefferson Davis was the only president the Confederacy ever had. While some of the leaders of that erstwhile "nation" were amazingly good at what they did, Robert E. Lee in particular coming to mind, Davis' performance was at best mixed. Nevertheless, he remained an enormously popular figure in the South throughout his life, and was more or less forgiven in the Union, though not permitted to run again for public office (that ban was removed in 1978, 89 years after he died). Here are a few works relating to Davis in the Chapel Hill catalogue.
Davis' political career began when he was appointed as a senator from Mississippi. However, his first run at elective office was in 1851, when he resigned from the senate to run for governor. His opponent was the pro-Union Henry Foote. Democratic party leaders persuaded the moderate Davis, neither strongly pro-Union nor secessionist, to run instead of a strong secessionist. Davis received the nomination, but lost the election by a small margin. By 1852, Foote would move to California as rapidly growing secessionist sentiments would soon make his position untenable, though Davis would remain a moderate on the issue almost until the end. Item 53 is an 1851 pamphlet about candidate Davis, A Sketch of the Life of Jeff: Davis, the Democratic Candidate for Governor. By a Citizen of Mississippi. $3,750.
Just as there was only one Confederate President, there was only one Confederate inaugural address. Item 401 is the 1861 Inaugural Address of President Davis... In it, he makes the argument that secession is not a rebellion, but simply the sovereign states exercising their right to leave a union they no longer wished to remain within. He calls for peace while warning that the Confederacy must be prepared militarily. There is much about self-determination, but the topic never even mentioned in his address is slavery. You would think it played no role in the secession. He concludes that the sacrifices to be made should not be weighed in the balance against "honor, and right, and liberty, and equality." Obviously Davis had a different concept of "equality" than those who would add the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution a few years later. $2,750.
Item 372 is a more recent book (1964) which tells of the capture of Davis after the war. The Confederate President would attempt an escape, but was captured in Georgia while trying to reach Mississippi. The Capture of Jefferson Davis, by John A. Fox, tells of his capture through the personal papers of Benjamin Pritchard, the Union officer in charge of his capture. These papers remained unpublished in Pritchard's family possessions for almost a century. Many felt Davis was unfairly treated in captivity. He was released two years later. $35.
