Marie Long
St. Philips College
Author Note
Sierra Hernandez, Focus in Psychology, St. Philips College
This research was supported and funded solely on student.
Jefferson Davis was the first and only president of the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis graduated from the United States Military Academy and went on to contribute to the development of the early United States in a number of meaningful ways. By the time 1861 rolled around, though, Davis was thrust into a position of political leadership that he was ill-suited for, but which he believed he was obligated to fulfill to the best of his ability. After a distinguished career in national politics as Secretary of War under Franklin Pierce, …show more content…
As president, he acted as his own Secretary of War and meddled constantly in southern military strategy. He held less power in the South than Lincoln did in the North and the power he did have rapidly decreased as the Union Army captured large parts of the Confederacy. Davis’s economic policies failed to provide the South with a stable currency or enough industrial capacity to prevail in the war. Towards the end of the war, Davis insisted on holding out until the bitter end, even when it was clear that the Confederacy had lost in recent years, his legacy has suffered in comparison to that of Robert E. Lee, the general he appointed to replace Joe Johnston in …show more content…
During my research, I came across many archives claiming that during Davis’ years of political leadership, hundreds of thousands of American lives were sacrificed at the altar of secession, and how someone had to be the scapegoat and how Davis was the natural outlet for the hostility of both sides. Davis was also a man of stern convectors who felt that his decision could not be wrong. He was very forceful in his beliefs on the justness of the Confederate cause and while he was an intelligent man, it should be remembered that he was also a stubborn