Jefferson Davis

Yes by Ms.bell

Even while the Civil War was in progress, the federal government offered amnesty to Confederate citizens in an attempt to encourage loyalty to the Union and to begin the process of reconstruction. The Confiscation Act of 1862 authorized the president of the United States to pardon anyone involved in the rebellion. The Amnesty Proclamation of December 8, 1863, offered pardons to those who had not held a Confederate civil office, had not mistreated Union prisoners, and would sign an oath of allegiance. Another limited amnesty that targeted Southern civilians came into effect on May 26, 1864.

On April 9th 1865, when General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant, the men and officers were allowed to return to their homes, not to be disturbed by United States authority so long as they observe their paroles and the laws in force where they may reside. This stipulation allowed Confederate soldiers to return to their homes without the threat of trials for treason.

On May 29, 1865, President Andrew Johnson provided for amnesty and the return of property to those who would take an oath of allegiance. However, former Confederate government officials, officers with the rank of colonel and above from the Confederate army or lieutenant and above from the Confederate navy, and people owning more than $20,000 worth of property had to apply for individual pardons. Though it was difficult for ex-Confederates to ask for a pardon for something they did not believe had been wrong, thousands did ask for and receive amnesty from President Johnson.

On Christmas Day 1868, Johnson granted an unconditional pardon to all Civil War participants except high-ranking military and civil officials. In May 1872 the Congressional Amnesty Act gave the right to hold office again to almost all Southern leaders who had been excluded from public office by the 14th Amendment.

Former President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis was arrested on May 10, 1861, and charged with conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln. The US Government had planned to bring Jefferson Davis to trial, for treason or other charges. For some of the charges, such as conspiracy in the assassination of Lincoln, there was not enough evidence; for charges of treason it seemed quite possible that Davis would be acquitted.

The government wanted Davis to ask for a pardon, but he refused this, feeling that to do so would be an admission of guilt. Davis actually wanted to stand trial for treason, because he felt certain that he would be vindicated. On May 5, 1867 he was freed on bond at Richmond, and soon after he traveled o a home that had been prepared for him near Montreal, Canada. In October it appeared that he would have to go back to Richmond for a trial, but that likelihood evaporated and he never stood trial at all.

Captain Henry Wirz was the commanding officer of Camp Sumter, a Confederate prisoner of war camp located near Andersonville, Georgia. While commanding this camp, Union prisoners were subject to extreme overcrowding, starvation, little or no protection from the elements and mistreatment at the hands of the guards. Wirz was arrested by federal authorities in May 1865 and charged with conspiracy to impair the lives of Union prisoners of war. He was convicted of the conspiracy charge and 11 of 13 murder charges. He received a death sentence. Wirz asked President Johnson to grant him clemency, but he never received a reply. He was hanged on November 10, 1865.

Henry Wirz was one of only two Confederates, tried, convicted and executed for war crimes during the Civil War. The other was Samuel "Champ" Ferguson. Ferguson was a Confederate Guerrilla who admitted to killing more than 100 people, mostly civilians, who were sympathetic to the Union. He was tried for 53 murders and on October 10, 1865 was convicted and sentenced to death. He was hanged on October 20, 1865.

He didn't want to be. He was hoping to be General-in-Chief.

But he was 'kicked upstairs', because he looked like the good face of slave-owning. (He treated his slaves so well, they didn't want their freedom.) The Confederate government thought this would encourage free nations abroad to grant recognition to the Confederacy and send military aid.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis considered President Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers to be a declaration of war against the South. Davis then sent three commissioners to Europe in an attempt to gain recognition for the new Confederacy. Overtures were to made to Belgium, Great Britain, France and Russia. In addition to recognition, Davis was hopeful that treaties of friendship and trade could also be made.

Dwight Davis was the founder of the Davis Cup. For further information, refer to the Wikipedia link, below.

About 5 feet 6inces

It mattered a great deal.

Lincoln was a largely unknown prairie lawyer, and at the beginning of the war (which everyone expected to be over quickly), he did not know much about how to choose and use the best Generals. By the second half, however, he had skilfully manoeuvred a situation where the British and French could not send aid to the Confederates without looking pro-slavery, and then made the wise decision to back U.S.Grant as his General-in-Chief. Meanwhile he had shown remarkable dexterity in the handling of his talented but rebellious cabinet, and by the time of his tragic assassination, had earned his place as one of the great men of American history, possibly the greatest.

Jefferson Davis was the other way about. He was at the head of a new nation, whose identity was largely based on mythology, some of it rooted in the Cavaliers of the English Civil War, and the novels of Walter Scott. For this job, he appeared well-placed. Among other things, he could claim to be the acceptable face of slavery - he treated his slaves so well that they didn't want their freedom. He could also claim a respectable military record as a Colonel in the Mexican war. And his first wife (who died young) was the daughter of Zachary Taylor, which all added to Davis's prestige. However, this all fell away under the test of supreme wartime command, for which he was shown to be unfitted. Partly because he had hoped to be General-in-Chief of the Confederacy, he feuded with many senior Confederate officers, and could not control his own cabinet. He later admitted that his biggest mistake was his failure to promote the self-taught cavalry leader Bedford Forrest on the grounds of his humble background and unconventional training. Davis's character failed the final test at the time of the Confederate surrender by Lee, who measured up much closer to the ideal of the noble Southern aristocrat. At this point, Davis went into denial, fleeing into Georgia, talking wildly about continuing the struggle from somewhere in the West.

Jefferson Davis said: " The condition of slavery with us is, in a word, Mr. President, nothing but the form of civil government instituted for a class of people not fit to govern themselves. It is exactly what in every State exists in some form or other. It is just that kind of control which is extended in every northern State over its convicts, its lunatics, its minors, its apprentices. It is but a form of civil government for those who by their nature are not fit to govern themselves. We recognize the fact of the inferiority stamped upon that race of men by the Creator, and from the cradle to the grave, our Government, as a civil institution, marks that inferiority." - He said this in the Senate Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on February 29, 1860.

Jefferson Davis was a staunch believer in states' rights. It was his interpretation of the constitution, his belief that the United States was a voluntary union of sovereign states, that actually led him to become the president of the confederacy. In the years leading up to Mississippi's break with the union, the northern states and the federal government were submitting the southern states to abnormal pressure. Basically, the federal government saw the southern states as captive consumers of the northern factories. When the southern states looked overseas for trade, the northern companies through their congressional influence imposed biased tax laws upon the southern consumers. Finally, the south said "we've had enough". The south sent a represetative body to Washington, seeking an audience to discuss peaceful resolutions, but President Lincoln refused to see them.

The south did not declare, nor did they fight, a civil war. By definition, in simple terms, a civil conflict is where one party tries to overthrow the government of another party. The southern confederacy did not try to overthrow the US federal government. the southern states simply wanted to be left alone, to pursue a government that they thought was more just. Rather than look for a peaceful resolution, the federal government knew that the confederate states produced over 75% of the agicultural products of the United States. The federal government did not want to relinguish control over that much prosperity.

How does this relate to Jefferson Davis' view of slavery? Simple. Slavery was part of the economic condition in the south. Davis viewed slaves as property and defended his stance by citing the constitution. But Davis also knew the obvious immoral problem of slavery. He was, as was most of the southern plantation owners, struggling with the solution. But the immediate problem with the formation of the confederacy and the position that the federal government took when it came to heavy-handed governing, caused his public position on slavery to take a back seat.

Davis was in favor of reviving the slave trade and dreamed of a slave-holding empire that included Cuba, Mexico, and farther south. He also showed no interest in territories that did not allow slavery. During the Civil War, he was careful to avoid the appearance of being pro-slavery because he hoped that England, Russia, or France would assist the Confederacy. England and Russia were firmly against slavery and France would not get involved alone.

In one of his speeches, Davis is credited with telling either the US congress or the congress of the confederacy (I can't find the document and I don't remember which speech) that slavery would disappear from this country within two more generations, perhaps sooner.

Some of the biggest benefactors of slavery were the owners of shipping lines residing in the northern states. So don't be too quick to judge the South. Slavery was, and is, an appalling practice that scarred the lives of so many. The world has evolved in many ways, and many of the practices in the history of our planet were barbarious. It is not difficult to understand that our part of the world had to go through the same evolutionary changes. Hopefully we have learned from our past.

Comment: I find it quite ironic that the username of the person who wrote this answer is "FactChecker1" but there isn't a single citation.

Quite cordial - unlike Davis's relations with most of his other Generals, with whom he conducted vicious feuds.

At the start of the war, Davis appointed Lee as an advisor, and it was only when Joe Johnston was wounded and hospitalised that Lee was made an army commander.

In January 1865, when Davis finally recognised the need to appoint a General-in-Chief, Lee was the obvious choice, though it was too late to make much difference.

Possibly Davis recognised in Lee the qualities he believed he himself possessed, but didn't - the inborn nobility of the planter-aristocrat combined with a good battlefield record. (This was the largely mythical quality that the Confederacy was inclined to confer on itself.)

Under the test of surrender, Lee was a model of grace under pressure, while Davis scuttled away from his responsibilities and went into hiding (actually disguised in a woman's hat and cloak), talking wildly about continuing the struggle from somewhere in the West.

39th president Jimmy Carter

Three that were serious. Novella was involved in two of the injuries.

The first injury:

After Jefferson Davis graduated from West Point he entered the army.

During his service in the wilds of Wisconsin, Lieutenant Jefferson was almost blinded by the white snow. He lost 95% of the vision in one eye.

The second injury:

In 1831, after about three years of service, he was assigned to Fort Crawford and was given the task of seeing to it that a saw-mill was constructed in the forest. There he met many Indians. He was interested in learning their culture and customs. He took every opportunity to visit Indian villages and talk to them. The Indians respected Jefferson Davis and began to call him, "White Chief". He met a black haired, brown-eyed half-breed named Novella. Novella was born to an Indian squaw and a French trapper. Novella was a brown-eyed, light skinned beauty. She had social skills and enjoyed dancing. She was always welcome at social events by the white men in the town and at the fort. Jefferson took Novella to an Indian wedding and the celebration that followed. One Indian did not like Jefferson being with Novella. He took out his knife and as he approached Jefferson, Colonel Taylor yelled watch out. Jefferson turned just as the knife blade entered his left forearm. Jefferson pulled his pistol and shot the Indian. Both lived. Jefferson had to have his arm clamped together. After his arm mended, he went looking for Novella, he could not find her and the other Indians in her tribe would not tell him where she was. It was about this time that Colonel Taylor's wife and daughter came to the fort to live. Jefferson liked and fell in love with the colonels daughter, Sarah Knox Taylor. He eventually married Sarah. Three months after their marriage, Jefferson and Sarah caught the fever. Jefferson recovered, Sarah did not.

The third injury:

In October 1835 (after Sarah's death) Jefferson was traveling to one of his cabins in the woods. It was a long trip. As he was passing the Indian reservation he fell asleep on his horse. Jefferson Davis fell from his horse and hit his head. He was confused and decided to spend the night in the woods far from home. In the morning Jefferson heard a loud crack. Then the trunk of a dead tree fell on his leg. Breaking it. The tree was large and he could not move it. He laid there all day pinned under that tree. No one was around and he thought he might die. That night, someone tripped on his body and fell on top of him. It was the half-breed Novella. She was running away from the reservation. (She hated living on the reservation and considered the men cowards for not fighting for their land.) Novella was able to free him, find his horse, and take him to his cabin. She cared for him until he was better. Six weeks later parson James Vernon Dobson married Jefferson and Novella.

Pro-slavery.

He was President of the Confederate States of America.

When Confederate General Joseph Johnston refused to obey the orders of the Confederate Secretary of War, James Seddon, President Davis had every reason to relieve Johnston of duty. Despite the past disagreements with Johnston, and what would turn out to be future disagreements, President Davis did not fire Johnston. Instead, recognizing his good points, Davis tried to help him.

He did so by exploring with him the possibility of a campaign into Kentucky.

President Jefferson Davis believed in a limited central government that emphasized states' rights, reflecting the Confederacy's commitment to preserving the autonomy of individual states. He viewed a strong central authority as a potential threat to liberty and individual freedoms. Davis advocated for a government that served primarily to protect the interests of its member states and their citizens, aligning with the values of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

It's difficult to pinpoint the extent of the damage caused by Jefferson Davis' veto to create the position of general in chief. However, with that said, it's clear that governing the Confederacy and in a defacto manner being the Confederate general in chief divided his large responsibilities. As president he was a political leader of course, and clearly, at times his military decisions on appointing Confederate generals were sometimes political decisions rather than military ones. As an aside, US President Lincoln appointed general in chiefs, the reality, however, was that he was much like Jefferson Davis by becoming far to involved in military operations. This caused problems among his military leaders and created political critics on his methods of handling the Union war effort.

Jefferson and Lincoln were each corresponding cordially with Pope Pius IX.

source: documentary on the Vatican

he was just to old and he was ready to die

Abraham Lincoln

Jaylen Davis goes by Icon Davis.