Jefferson Davis

by Dodd, William E.; Woodworth, Steven E.

• ISBN13: 9780803266094
• ISBN10: 080326609X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr

Summary

Every schoolchild knows that Jefferson Davis was president of the Confederacy. Most adults know little more. Who was this enigmatic man--reportedly aloof but temperamental, ravaged in health but dogged in spirit? What did he think and do as the Civil War clouds gathered and burst? This balanced biography, first published in 1907, gives focus to a character and career not well understood. From his Mississippi roots to West Point to the Mexican War to Congress to the Southern presidency and ruin--from his unique residency in the national house divided--Jefferson Davis begs better acquaintance.

Author Biography

William E. Dodd (1869–1939) taught southern history at Randolph-Macon College and the University of Chicago and served as U.S. ambassador to Germany in the 1930s.

 

Steven E. Woodworth is an assistant professor of history at Texas Christian University and the author of Jefferson Davis and His Generals: The Failure of Confederate Command in the West and Davis and Lee at War.

Table of Contents

CHRONOLOGY	11	(4)
I. EARLY YEARS AND TRAINING	15	(13)
II. ON THE WESTERN BORDER	28	(21)
III. LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS	49	(21)
IV. A DANGEROUS ISSUE	70	(9)
V. ONE YEAR OF WAR	79	(14)
VI. FIRST SESSION IN THE SENATE	93	(11)
VII. SLAVERY AND THE COMPROMISE OF 1850	104	(18)
VIII. THE PASSING OF THE CRISIS IN MISSISSIPPI	122	(8)
IX. IN THE CABINET	130	(21)
X. THE IRREPRESSIBLE CONFLICT	151	(23)
XI. THE BREAK-UP OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY	174	(15)
XII. DAVIS AND SECESSION	189	(26)
XIII. THE FORMATION OF THE CONFEDERACY	215	(11)
XIV. THE CONFEDERATE ADMINISTRATION'S POLICY	226	(15)
XV. MANASSAS	241	(15)
XVI. A GLOOMY WINTER	256	(18)
XVII. THE PROGRESS OF THE WAR	274	(17)
XVIII. RISING TIDE OF CONFEDERATE OPPOSITION	291	(12)
XIX. THE CRISIS OF THE WAR	303	(15)
XX. THE CONFLICT DRAWS TO A CLOSE	318	(25)
XXI. THE COLLAPSE OF THE CONFEDERACY	343	(22)
XXII. AFTER THE WAR	365	(19)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	384	(2)
INDEX	386