View source for Jefferson Davis

{{short description|President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865}}
{{About|the president of the Confederate States|other uses}}
{{featured article}}
{{protection padlock|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = President-Jefferson-Davis.jpg
| caption             = Photograph {{circa|1859}}
| office              = [[President of the Confederate States of America|President of the Confederate States]]
| vicepresident       = [[Alexander H. Stephens]]
| term_start          = February 22, 1862
| term_end            = May 5, 1865<br />[[Provisional government|Provisional]]: February 18, 1861 – February 22, 1862
| predecessor         = Office established
| successor           = Office abolished
| jr/sr1              = United States Senator
| state1              = [[Mississippi]]
| term_start1         = March 4, 1857
| term_end1           = January 21, 1861
| predecessor1        = [[Stephen Adams (politician)|Stephen Adams]]
| successor1          = [[Adelbert Ames]] (1870)
| term_start2         = August 10, 1847
| term_end2           = September 23, 1851
| predecessor2        = [[Jesse Speight]]
| successor2          = [[John J. McRae]]
| office3             = 23rd [[United States Secretary of War]]
| president3          = [[Franklin Pierce]]
| term_start3         = March 7, 1853
| term_end3           = March 4, 1857
| predecessor3        = [[Charles Magill Conrad|Charles Conrad]]
| successor3          = [[John B. Floyd]]
| state4              = [[Mississippi]]
| district4           = {{ushr|MS|AL|at-large}}
| term_start4         = December 8, 1845
| term_end4           = October 28, 1846<br /> Seat D
| predecessor4        = [[Tilghman Tucker]]
| successor4          = [[Henry T. Ellett]]
| birth_name          = Jefferson F. Davis
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1808|6|3}}
| birth_place         = [[Fairview, Kentucky]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1889|12|6|1808|6|3}}
| death_place         = [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], U.S.
| resting_place       = [[Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)|Hollywood Cemetery]]
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| otherparty          = [[Southern Rights Party|Southern Rights]]
| spouse              = {{ubl|{{marriage|[[Sarah Knox Taylor]]|1835|1835|end=died}}|{{marriage|[[Varina Davis|Varina Howell]]|1845}}}}
| children            = 6, including [[Varina Anne Davis|Varina]]
| education           = [[United States Military Academy]]
| signature           = Jefferson Davis Signature.svg
| signature_alt       = Cursive signature in ink
| allegiance          = [[United States]]<br>[[Mississippi]]
| branch              = {{ubl|[[United States Army]]|[[United States Volunteers]]|[[Mississippi in the American Civil War|Mississippi Army]]}}
| serviceyears        = {{ubl|1825–1835|1846–1847|1861}}
| rank                = {{ubl|[[US First Lieutenant|First lieutenant]]|[[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]]|[[Major general (United States)|Major general]]}}
| unit                = [[1st Cavalry Regiment (United States)|1st U.S. Dragoons]]
| commands            = [[Mississippi Rifles (Mexican–American War)|1st Mississippi Rifles]]
| battles             = {{Tree list}}
* [[American Indian Wars]]
** [[Black Hawk War]]
* [[Mexican–American War|Mexican-American War]]
** [[Battle of Monterrey]]
** [[Battle of Buena Vista]]{{WIA}}
{{Tree list/end}}
}}
'''Jefferson F. Davis''' (June 3, 1808{{snd}}December 6, 1889) was the only [[President of the Confederate States of America|president of the Confederate States]] from 1861 to 1865. He represented [[Mississippi]] in the [[United States Senate]] and the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] as a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] before the [[American Civil War]]. He was the 23rd [[United States Secretary of War|United States secretary of war]] from 1853 to 1857.

Davis, the youngest of ten children, was born in [[Fairview, Kentucky]], but spent most of his childhood in [[Wilkinson County, Mississippi]]. His eldest brother, [[Joseph Emory Davis]], secured the younger Davis's appointment to the [[United States Military Academy]]. Upon graduating, he served six years as a lieutenant in the [[United States Army]].

After leaving the army in 1835, Davis married [[Sarah Knox Taylor]], daughter of future president [[Zachary Taylor]]. Sarah died from [[malaria]] three months after the wedding. Davis became a cotton [[planter class|planter]], building [[Brierfield Plantation]] in Mississippi on his brother Joseph's land and eventually owning as many as 113 [[Slavery in the United States|slaves]]. In 1845, Davis married [[Varina Davis|Varina Howell]]. During the same year, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, serving for one year. From 1846 to 1847, he fought in the [[Mexican–American War]] as the colonel of a volunteer regiment. He was appointed to the United States Senate in 1847, resigning to unsuccessfully run for governor of Mississippi. In 1853, President [[Franklin Pierce]] appointed him Secretary of War. After Pierce's administration ended in 1857, Davis returned to the Senate. He resigned in 1861 when Mississippi [[Secession in the United States|seceded]] from the United States.

During the Civil War, Davis guided the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]]'s policies and served as its commander in chief. When the Confederacy was defeated in 1865, Davis was captured, arrested for alleged complicity in the [[assassination of Abraham Lincoln]], accused of [[Treason#United States|treason]], and imprisoned at [[Fort Monroe]]. He was released without trial after two years. Immediately after the war, Davis was often blamed for the Confederacy's defeat, but after his release from prison, the [[Lost Cause of the Confederacy]] movement considered him to be a hero. In the late 19th and the 20th centuries, his legacy as a Confederate leader was celebrated in [[Southern United States|the South]]. In the 21st century, his leadership of the Confederacy has been seen as constituting treason, and he has been frequently criticized as a supporter of slavery and racism. Many of [[List of memorials to Jefferson Davis|the memorials dedicated to him]] throughout the United States [[Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials|have been removed]].

==Early life==
===Birth and family background===
Jefferson F.{{efn|Davis used the initial F., but there is no evidence what his middle name was. Some historians argue that the claim that it was "Finis" originated in Davis's biography by [[Hudson Strode]], who provides no citation.{{sfnm|1a1=Cooper|1y=2000|1p= 711 fn 1|2a1=Hattaway|2y=1992|2pp=1178–1179|3a1=Williams|3a2=Cooper|3a3=Roland|3y=2003|3p=429 fn 53}} (Also see {{harvnb|Rice University|2018}}.)}} Davis was the youngest of ten children of Jane and Samuel Emory Davis.{{sfn| Davis|1991|p=6}} Samuel Davis's father, Evan, who had a [[Wales|Welsh]] background, came to the [[colony of Georgia]] from Philadelphia.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=9|Davis|1991|2p=4|Eaton|1977|3p=2}}{{efn|[[Clement Eaton]], William Davis, and William Cooper agree that evidence about Evan Davis's origins is unclear (cf., {{harvnb|Davis|1927|pp=16–19}}, which is cited by Eaton.)}} Samuel served in the [[Continental Army]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]], and received a land grant for his service near present-day [[Washington, Georgia]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=4–5}} He married Jane Cook, a woman of [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scotch-Irish]] descent whom he had met in [[South Carolina]] during his military service, in 1783.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=11|Eaton|1977|2pp=2–3}} Around 1793, Samuel and Jane moved to Kentucky.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=3}} Jefferson was born on June 3, 1808,{{efn|Historians [[William C. Davis (historian)|William Davis]] and William Cooper acknowledge that Davis's birth year is uncertain; he may have been born in 1807. William Davis argues that 1807 is more likely correct based on Davis's own writings, his [[West Point]] muster rolls, and an 1850 biography by [[Collin S. Tarpley]] written in collaboration with Davis;{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=709 fn 8}} Cooper argues that 1808 is more likely correct because Davis stated in two letters written in 1858 and 1878 that this was the year his mother told him.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=662 fn1}}}} at the family homestead in Davisburg, a village Samuel had established that later became [[Fairview, Kentucky]].{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=662 fn1|Davis|1991|2p=6|Rennick|1984|3p=97}} He was named after then-President [[Thomas Jefferson]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=3}}

===Early education===
In 1811, the Davis family moved to the vicinity of [[Bayou Teche]], in [[Attakapas County, Orleans Territory]], now [[St. Mary Parish, Louisiana]].{{sfn|Fleming|1917|p=158}} Less than a year later, they moved to a farm near [[Woodville, Mississippi|Woodville]], in [[Wilkinson County, Mississippi|Wilkinson County]], [[Mississippi Territory]], where Samuel [[Cotton Belt|cultivated cotton]], acquired twelve slaves,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=12–14}} and built a house that Jane called [[Rosemont (Woodville, Mississippi)|Rosemont]].{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=4}} During the [[War of 1812]], three of Davis's brothers served in the military.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=7}} When Davis was around five, he began attending a rudimentary schoolhouse near Woodville.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=15}} When he was about eight, his father sent him and his relatives to attend [[St. Rose Priory|Saint Thomas College]], a Catholic preparatory school run by [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]] near [[Springfield, Kentucky]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=10–13}} They were escorted on their journey northeast on the [[Natchez Trace]] by planter and Mississippi militia officer [[Thomas Hinds]].{{sfn|Jones|1886}} In 1818, Davis returned to Mississippi, where as a 10-year-old he briefly studied at [[Jefferson College (Mississippi)|Jefferson College]] in [[Washington, Mississippi|Washington]]. He then attended the [[Wilkinson Academy]] near Woodville for five years.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=15}} In 1823, Davis attended [[Transylvania University]] in [[Lexington, Kentucky]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=23–24}} While he was still in college in 1824, he learned that his father Samuel had died. Before his death, Samuel had fallen into debt and sold Rosemont and most of his slaves to his eldest son [[Joseph Emory Davis]], who already owned a large estate in [[Davis Bend, Mississippi]], about {{Convert|15|mi|km|abbr=}} south of [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=23–24}} Joseph, who was 23 years older than Jefferson,{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=8}} informally became his surrogate father.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=17}}

===West Point and early military career===
[[File:P16919coll3_459_14(1)_page_1.jpg|alt=Refer to caption|thumb|1825 West Point class register listing Jefferson Davis {{efn|Davis entered the same year as future Civil War figures [[Hugh W. Mercer]], [[Seth Eastman]], and [[Thomas Drayton]]; his [[Natchez District]] neighbor Walter B. Guion (son of [[Isaac Guion]]), who was expelled after the [[eggnog riot]]; and [[Samuel J. Hays]], a nephew of [[Andrew Jackson]].}}]]
His older brother Joseph got Davis appointed to the [[United States Military Academy]] at West Point in 1824, where he became friends with classmates [[Albert Sidney Johnston]] and [[Leonidas Polk]].{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=39|Davis|1991|2pp=25, 28{{endash}}29}} Davis frequently challenged the academy's discipline.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=33|Davis|1991|2pp=28–29}} In his first year, he was [[court-martial]]ed for drinking at the nearby tavern of [[Benny Havens]]. He was found guilty but was pardoned.{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|p=4}} The following year, he was placed under house arrest for his role in the [[eggnog riot]] during Christmas 1826 but was not dismissed.{{sfn|Crackel|2002|p=88}} He graduated 23rd in a class of 33.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=57}}

Second Lieutenant Davis was assigned to the [[1st Infantry Regiment (United States)|1st Infantry Regiment]]. He was accompanied by his personal servant James Pemberton, an enslaved [[African American]] whom he inherited from his father.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=49}} In early 1829, he was stationed at Forts [[Fort Crawford|Crawford]] and [[Fort Winnebago|Winnebago]] in [[Michigan Territory]] under the command of Colonel [[Zachary Taylor]],{{sfn|Scanlan|1940|p=175}} who later became [[president of the United States]].

Throughout his life, Davis regularly suffered from ill health.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=3, 217, 309}} During the northern winters, he had [[pneumonia]], colds, and [[bronchitis]].{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|p=6}} He went to Mississippi on furlough in March 1832, missing the outbreak of the [[Black Hawk War]], and returned to duty just before the [[Battle of Bad Axe]], which ended the war.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=54–55}} When [[Black Hawk (Sauk leader)|Black Hawk]] was captured, Davis escorted him for detention in St. Louis.{{sfn|Scanlan|1940|pp=178–179}} Black Hawk stated that Davis treated him with kindness.{{sfn|Black Hawk|1882|p=112}}

After Davis's return to Fort Crawford in January 1833, he and Taylor's daughter, [[Sarah Knox Taylor|Sarah]], became romantically involved. Davis asked Taylor if he could marry Sarah, but Taylor refused.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=51–52}} In spring, Taylor had him assigned to the [[1st Cavalry Regiment (United States)#Formation|United States Regiment of Dragoons]] under Colonel [[Henry Dodge]]. He was promoted to first lieutenant and deployed at [[Fort Gibson]] in [[Arkansas Territory]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=55–56}} In February 1835, Davis was court-martialed for insubordination.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=68–69}} He was acquitted. He requested a furlough,  and immediately after it ended, he tendered his resignation, which was effective on June 30.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=19}}

==Planting career and first marriage==
[[File:Jefferson Davis Miniature2.png|thumb|upright|Miniature of Davis around age 32 ({{circa}} 1840)|alt=man looking left, tree in lower background behind him]]
Davis decided to become a cotton [[Planter class|planter]].{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=68|Davis|1991|2p=71|Eaton|1977|3p=20}} He returned to Mississippi where his brother Joseph had developed Davis Bend into [[Hurricane Plantation]], which eventually had {{convert|1700|acre}} of cultivated fields with over 300 slaves.{{sfn|Hermann|1990|pp=49–54}} Joseph loaned him funds to buy ten slaves and provided him with {{convert|800|acre}}, though Joseph retained the title to the property. Davis named his section [[Brierfield Plantation]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=71–73}}

Davis continued his correspondence with Sarah,{{sfn|Eaton|1977|pp=21–22}} and they agreed to marry with Taylor giving his reluctant assent.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=69}} They married at [[Beechland (Jeffersontown, Kentucky)|Beechland]] on June 17, 1835.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=72}} In August, he and Sarah traveled to [[Locust Grove State Historic Site|Locust Grove Plantation]], his sister Anna Smith's home in [[West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana]]. Within days, both became severely ill with [[malaria]]. Sarah died at the age of 21 on September 15, 1835, after only three months of marriage.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=70–72}}

[[File:Former slave quarters at Jefferson Davis' old plantation Brierfield.jpg|thumb|left|[[Slave quarters in the United States|Slave cabins]] at Brierfield, etching by [[Alfred Waud|Alfred R. Waud]] for ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'' (1866)|alt=Black and white woodcut showing a man on horseback, freedmen, rustic cabins]]

For several years after Sarah's death, Davis spent much of his time developing Brierfield. In 1836, he possessed 23 slaves;{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=77}} by 1840, he possessed 40;{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=89}} and by 1860, 113.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=229}} He made his first slave, James Pemberton, Brierfield's effective overseer,{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=80}} a position Pemberton held until his death around 1850.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=229}} Davis continued his intellectual development by reading about politics, law and economics at the large library Joseph and his wife, [[Eliza Van Benthuysen Davis|Eliza]], maintained at Hurricane Plantation.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=83–85}} Around this time, Davis became increasingly engaged in politics, benefiting from his brother's mentorship{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1pp=84–86|Davis|1991|2pp=90–92|Hermann|1990|3p=91}} and political influence.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=86|Woodworth|1990|2p=4}}

==Early political career and second marriage==
[[File:The photographic history of the Civil War - thousands of scenes photographed 1861-65, with text by many special authorities (1911) (14759727081) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Daguerrotype]] wedding photograph of Jefferson Davis and Varina Howell (1845)|alt=man on left with right hand on his hip; woman on right with both hands in her lap]]
Davis became publicly involved in politics in 1840 when he attended a [[History of the Democratic Party (United States)#Jacksonian ascendancy: 1829–1841|Democratic Party]] meeting in Vicksburg and served as a delegate to the party's state convention in [[Jackson, Mississippi|Jackson]]; he served again in 1842.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=86}} One week before the state election in November 1843, he was chosen to be the Democratic candidate for the [[Mississippi House of Representatives]] for [[Warren County, Mississippi|Warren County]] when the original candidate withdrew his nomination, though Davis lost the election.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=93–94}}

In early 1844, Davis was chosen to serve as a delegate to the state convention again. On his way to Jackson, he met [[Varina Davis|Varina Banks Howell]], the 18-year-old daughter of William Burr Howell and [[Margaret Kempe Howell]], when he delivered an invitation from Joseph for her to visit the Hurricane Plantation for the Christmas season.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=95–96}} At the convention, Davis was selected as one of Mississippi's six [[presidential electors]] for the [[1844 United States presidential election|1844 presidential election]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=88–89}}

Within a month of their meeting, 35-year-old Davis and Varina became engaged despite her parents' initial concerns about his age and politics.{{sfn|Bleser|1999|pp=6–7}} During the remainder of the year, Davis campaigned for the Democratic Party, advocating for the nomination of [[John C. Calhoun]]. He preferred Calhoun because he championed Southern interests including the [[Texas annexation|annexation of Texas]], reduction of tariffs, and building naval defenses in southern ports.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=99|Eaton|1977|2p=48}} When the party chose [[James K. Polk]] for their presidential candidate, Davis campaigned for him.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=101–106}}

Davis and Varina married on February 26, 1845.{{sfn|Bleser|1999|p=7}} They had six children: Samuel Emory, born in 1852, who died of an undiagnosed disease two years later;{{sfn|Bleser|1999|pp=13–14}} Margaret Howell, born in 1855, who married, raised a family and lived to be 54;{{sfn|Rice University|2013}} Jefferson Davis Jr., born in 1857, who died of [[yellow fever]] at age 21;{{sfn|Cashin|2006|pp=76–78, 225}} Joseph Evan, born 1859, who died from an accidental fall at age five;{{sfn|Rice University|2011a}} William Howell, born 1861, who died of [[diphtheria]] at age 10;{{sfn|Rice University|2020}} and [[Varina Anne Davis|Varina Anne]], born 1864, who remained single and lived to be 34.{{sfn|Rice University|2011b}}

In July 1845, Davis became a candidate for the [[United States House of Representatives]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=106}} He ran on a platform emphasizing a [[strict constructionist]] view of the constitution, [[states' rights]], tariff reductions, and opposition to a [[Second Bank of the United States|national bank]]. He won the election and entered the [[29th United States Congress|29th Congress]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=109–110, 115}} Davis opposed using federal monies for internal improvements, which he believed would undermine the autonomy of the states.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=54}} He supported the American annexation of [[Oregon Country|Oregon]], but through peaceful compromise with [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=123–124}} On May 11, 1846, he [[United States declaration of war on Mexico|voted]] for [[Mexican–American War|war with Mexico]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=124}}

==Mexican–American War==
[[File:Defeat of the Mexican Lancers by the Mississippi Rifles.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Watercolor of ''The Defeat of the Mexican Lancers by the [[Mississippi Rifles (Mexican–American War)|Mississippi Rifles]]'' by [[Samuel Chamberlain]] ({{circa}} 1860)|alt=Row of men on right with guns firing at men on horseback approaching on left]]
At the beginning of the [[Mexican–American War]], Mississippi raised a [[United States Volunteers|volunteer]] unit, the [[First Mississippi Regiment]], for the U.S. Army.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=124}} Davis expressed his interest in joining the regiment if he was elected its colonel, and in the second round of elections in June 1846 he was chosen.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=58}} He did not give up his position as a U.S. Representative, but left a letter of resignation with his brother Joseph to submit when he thought it was appropriate.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=130}}

Davis was able to get his regiment armed with new [[Percussion cap#Military firearms|percussion rifles]] instead of the [[smoothbore]] muskets used by other units. [[President Polk]] approved their purchase as a political favor in return for Davis marshalling enough votes to pass the [[Walker Tariff]].{{sfn|Dugard|2009|pp=153–157}} Because of its association with the regiment, the weapon became known as the "[[M1841 Mississippi Rifle|Mississippi rifle]]",{{sfn|Winders|2016|p=[{{Google Books|id=3hZDDQAAQBAJ|pg=PA13|plainurl=yes}} 13]}} and the regiment became known as the "[[155th Infantry Regiment (United States)|Mississippi Rifles]]".{{sfn|Dugard|2009|p=170}}

Davis's regiment was assigned to the army of his former father-in-law, Zachary Taylor, in northeastern Mexico. Davis distinguished himself at the [[Battle of Monterrey]] in September by leading a charge that took the fort of La Teneria.{{sfn|Dugard|2009|pp=205–208}} He then went on a two-month leave and returned to Mississippi, where he learned that Joseph had submitted Davis's resignation from the House of Representatives in October.{{sfn|Dugard|2009|pp=243–244}} Davis returned to Mexico and fought in the [[Battle of Buena Vista]] on February 22, 1847. He was wounded in the heel during the fighting,{{sfn|Dugard|2009|pp=282–284}} but his actions stopped an attack by the Mexican forces that threatened to collapse the American line.{{sfn|Lavender|1966|pp=199–203}} In May, Polk offered him a federal commission as a [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]]. Davis declined the appointment, arguing he could not directly command militia units because the [[U.S. Constitution]] gives the power of [[Militia (United States)#Constitution and Bill of Rights (1787–1789)|appointing militia officers]] to the states, not the federal government.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=158–159}} Instead, he accepted an appointment by Mississippi governor [[Albert G. Brown]] to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=164}} left when [[Jesse Speight]] died.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=160}}

==Senator and Secretary of War==
===Senator===
[[File:Jefferson Davis 1847-2.jpg|thumb|right|[[Daguerrotype]] of [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] Davis of the [[29th U.S. Congress]] ({{circa}} 1846)|alt=man looking forward]]
Davis took his seat in December 1847 and was made a regent of the [[Smithsonian Institution]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=172–173}} The [[Mississippi Legislature]] confirmed his appointment as senator in January 1848.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=183}} He quickly established himself as an advocate of [[Slavery in the United States#Southern Attempts to Expand Slavery|expanding slavery]] into the [[Historical regions of the United States#Former organized territories|Western territories]]. He argued that because the territories were the common property of all the United States and lacked state sovereignty to ban slavery, slave owners had the equal right to settle them as any other citizens.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=170–171}} Davis tried to amend the [[Oregon Bill of 1848|Oregon Bill]] to allow settlers to bring their slaves into [[Oregon Territory]].{{sfnm|Davis|1991|1p=178|Eaton|1977|2p=68|Waite|2016|3pp=536–539}} He opposed ratifying the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]], which ended the Mexican–American War, claiming that [[Nicholas Trist]], who negotiated the treaty, had done so as a private citizen and not a government representative.{{sfn|Eisenhower|1990|pp=365–366}} Instead, he advocated negotiating a new treaty ceding additional land to the United States,{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=65}} and opposed the application of the [[Wilmot Proviso]] to the treaty,{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=165–166}} which would have banned slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=186}}

During the 1848 presidential election, Davis chose not to campaign against Zachary Taylor, who was the [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig candidate]]. After the Senate session following Taylor's inauguration ended in March 1849, Davis returned to [[Brierfield Plantation]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=184–185}} He was reelected by the state legislature for another six-year term in the Senate. Around this time, he was approached by the Venezuelan adventurer [[Narciso López]] to lead a [[filibuster (military)|filibuster]] expedition to liberate Cuba from Spain. He turned down the offer, saying it was inconsistent with his duty as a senator.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=197}}

When Calhoun died in the spring of 1850, Davis became the senatorial spokesperson for the South.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=205–206}} The Congress debated [[Henry Clay]]'s resolutions, which sought to address the sectional and territorial problems of the nation{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=188–189}} and became the basis for the [[Compromise of 1850]].{{sfn|Eaton|1977|pp=75–76}} Davis was against the resolutions because he felt they would put the South at a political disadvantage.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=189}} He opposed the [[California Statehood Act|admission of California]] as a free state without its first becoming a territory, asserting that a territorial government would give slaveowners the opportunity to colonize the region. He also tried to extend the [[Missouri Compromise Line]] to allow slavery to expand to the Pacific Ocean.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=191–192}} He stated that not allowing slavery into the new territories denied the political equality of Southerners,{{sfn|Cooper|2008|pp=92–93}} and threatened to undermine the balance of power between Northern and Southern states in the Senate.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=71}}

In the autumn of 1851, Davis was nominated to run for governor of Mississippi against [[Henry Stuart Foote]], who had favored the Compromise of 1850. He accepted the nomination and resigned from the Senate, but Foote [[1851 Mississippi gubernatorial election|won the election]] by a slim margin. Davis turned down a reappointment to his Senate seat by outgoing Governor [[James Whitfield (Mississippi politician)|James Whitfield]],{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=214–217}} settling in Brierfield for the next fifteen months.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|pp=79–80}} He remained politically active, attending the Democratic convention in January 1852 and campaigning for Democratic candidates [[Franklin Pierce]] and [[William R. King]] during the [[1852 United States presidential election|presidential election of 1852]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=241–242}}

===Secretary of War===
[[File:Map of the territory of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean; ordered by Jeff'n Davis, Secretary of War to accompany the reports of the explorations for a railroad route. LOC 76695826.jpg|thumb|''Map of the territory of the United States from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean; ordered by Jeff'n Davis, Secretary of War to accompany the reports of the explorations for a railroad route'' (1858)|alt=See caption]]

In March 1853, President Franklin Pierce named Davis his [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]].{{sfn|Wallner|2007|pp=5–6}} He championed a [[transcontinental railroad]] to the Pacific Ocean, arguing it was needed for national defense,{{sfn|Wallner|2007|p=52}} and was entrusted with overseeing the [[Pacific Railroad Surveys]] to determine which of four possible routes was the best.{{sfn|Wallner|2007|pp=40–41}} He promoted the [[Gadsden Purchase]] of today's southern [[Arizona]] from Mexico, partly because he preferred a southern route for the new railroad. The [[Presidency of Franklin Pierce|Pierce administration]] agreed and the land was purchased in December 1853.{{sfn|Waite|2016|pp=541–542}} He presented the surveys' findings in 1855, but they failed to clarify the best route and sectional problems prevented any choice being made.{{sfn|Wallner|2007|p=181}} Davis also argued for the acquisition of [[Captaincy General of Cuba|Cuba]] from [[Spanish Empire|Spain]], seeing it as an opportunity to add the island, a strategic military location and potential slave state.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=265|Eaton|1977|2p=101}} He suggested that the size of the regular army was too small and that its salaries were too meagre. Congress agreed and authorized four new regiments and increased its pay scale.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=251}} He ended the manufacture of smoothbore muskets and shifted production to rifles, working to develop the tactics that accompany them.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=254–255}} He oversaw the building of public works in Washington D.C., including the initial construction of the [[Washington Aqueduct]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=236–237}}

Davis assisted in the passage of the [[Kansas–Nebraska Act]] in 1854 by allowing President Pierce to endorse it before it came up for a vote.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1pp=266–268|Davis|1991|2pp=248–249|Wallner|2007|3pp=95–97}} This bill, which created [[Kansas Territory|Kansas]] and [[Nebraska Territory|Nebraska]] territories, repealed the [[Missouri Compromise]]'s limits on slavery and left the decision about a territory's slaveholding status to [[Popular sovereignty#1850s|popular sovereignty]], which allowed the territory's residents to decide.{{sfn|Potter|1976|pp=158–161}} The passage of this bill led to the demise of the Whig party, which had tried to limit expansion of slavery in the territories. It also contributed to the rise of the [[Republican Party (United States)#19th century|Republican Party]] and the increase of [[Bloody Kansas|civil violence in Kansas]].{{sfn|Eaton|1977|pp=88–89}}

The Democratic nomination for the 1856 presidential election went to [[James Buchanan]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=250–251}} Knowing his term was over when the Pierce administration ended in 1857, Davis ran for the Senate once more and re-entered it on March 4, 1857.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=274–276}} In the same month, the [[United States Supreme Court]] decided the [[Dred Scott v. Sanford|Dred Scott case]], which ruled that slavery could not be barred from any territory.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=284}}

===Return to Senate===
[[File:Jefferson Davis by Vannerson, 1859.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph of [[United States Senate|Senator]] Davis of the [[35th United States Congress]] by [[Julian Vannerson]] (1859)|alt=Man with slight beard only on chin in profile looking right]]
The Senate recessed in March and did not reconvene until November 1857.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=256, 259}} The session opened with a debate on the [[Lecompton Constitution]] submitted by a convention in Kansas Territory. If approved, it would have allowed Kansas to be admitted as a slave state. Davis supported it, but it was not accepted, in part because the leading Democrat in the North, [[Stephen Douglas]], argued it did not represent the true will of the settlers in the territory.{{sfnm|Davis|1991|1pp=258–259|Eaton|1977|2pp=109–111}} The controversy undermined the alliance between Northern and Southern Democrats.{{sfn|Potter|1976|pp=325–326}}

Davis's participation in the Senate was interrupted in early 1858 by a recurring case of [[uveitis|iritis]], which threatened the loss of his left eye.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=289}} It left him bedridden for seven weeks.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=260–261}} He spent the summer of 1858 in [[Portland, Maine]] recovering, and gave speeches in [[Maine]], [[Boston]], and New York, emphasizing the common heritage of all Americans and the importance of the constitution for defining the nation.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=290–291}} His speeches angered some states' rights supporters in the South, requiring him to clarify his comments when he returned to Mississippi. Davis said that he appreciated the benefits of Union, but acknowledged that it could be dissolved if states' rights were violated or one section of the country imposed its will on another.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=267}} Speaking to the Mississippi Legislature on November 16, 1858, Davis stated "if an [[Abolitionism in the United States|Abolitionist]] be chosen President of the United States{{nbsp}}... I should deem it your duty to provide for your safety outside of a Union with those who have already shown the will{{nbsp}}...to deprive you of your birthright and to reduce you to worse than the colonial dependence of your fathers."{{sfn|Davis|1858|p=[{{Google books|id=spUsAAAAMAAJ|pg=PA356|plainurl=yes}} 356]}}

In February 1860, Davis presented a series of resolutions defining the relationship between the states under the constitution, including the assertion that Americans had a constitutional right to bring slaves into territories.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=306|}} These resolutions were seen as setting the agenda for the Democratic Party nomination,{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=278}} ensuring that Douglas's idea of popular sovereignty, known as the [[Freeport Doctrine]], would be excluded from the party platform.{{sfnm|Davis|1991|1pp=278–279|Eaton|1977|2pp=112–113}} The Democratic party split—Douglas was nominated by the North and Vice President [[John C. Breckinridge]] was nominated by the South{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=313}}—and the Republican Party nominee [[Abraham Lincoln]] won the [[1860 United States presidential election|1860 presidential election]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=285}} Davis counselled moderation after the election,{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1pp=31–32|Davis|1991|2p=286|Eaton|1977|3pp=119–120}} but South Carolina adopted an ordinance of secession on December 20, 1860. Mississippi seceded on January 9, 1861, though Davis stayed in Washington until he received official notification on January 21.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|pp=121–122}} Calling it "the saddest day of my life",{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=3}} he delivered a farewell address,{{sfn|Davis|1861a}} [[resignation from the United States Senate|resigned from the Senate]], and returned to Mississippi.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|pp=120–124}}

==President of the Confederate States==
=== Inauguration ===
[[File:1861 Davis Inaugural.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph of inauguration of Davis as provisional President of the Confederate States of America in front of the [[Alabama State Capitol]] in [[Montgomery, Alabama|Montgomery]] by A.C. Whitmore (February 18, 1861)|alt=building with dome, clock and columns in background, crowd in midground, street and carriage in foreground]]

Before his resignation, Davis had sent a telegram to Mississippi Governor [[John J. Pettus]] informing him that he was available to serve the state. On January 27, 1861, Pettus appointed him a major general of Mississippi's army.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=322}} On February 9,{{sfn|LOC|2024}} Davis was unanimously elected to the provisional presidency of the Confederacy by a constitutional convention in [[Montgomery, Alabama]]{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=15–16}} including delegates from the six states that had seceded: South Carolina, Mississippi, [[Florida]], [[Georgia (U.S. State)|Georgia]], [[Louisiana]], and [[Alabama]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=301–304}} He was chosen because of his political prominence,{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|p=20}} his military reputation,{{sfnm|Eaton|1977|1p=126|McPherson|2014|2p=16}} and his moderate approach to secession,{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|p=20}} which Confederate leaders thought might persuade undecided Southerners to support their cause.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=303}} He learned about his election the next day.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=15–16}} Davis had been hoping for a military command,{{sfnm|Davis|1991|1p=301|Eaton|1977|2p=127|McPherson|2014|3p=20}} but he committed himself fully to his new role.{{sfn|Cooper|2008|pp=42–43}} Davis was inaugurated on February 18.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=307}}

Davis formed his [[Cabinet of the Confederate States of America|cabinet]] by choosing a member from each of the states of the Confederacy, including Texas which had recently seceded:{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=311–312}} [[Robert Toombs]] of Georgia for Secretary of State, [[Christopher Memminger]] of South Carolina for Secretary of the Treasury, [[LeRoy Pope Walker|LeRoy Walker]] of Alabama for Secretary of War, [[John Henninger Reagan|John Reagan]] of Texas for Postmaster General, [[Judah P. Benjamin]] of Louisiana for Attorney General, and [[Stephen Mallory]] of Florida for Secretary of the Navy. Davis stood in for Mississippi. During his presidency, Davis's cabinet often changed; there were fourteen different appointees for the positions, including six secretaries of war.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=128}} On [[1861 Confederate States presidential election|November 6, 1861]], Davis was elected president for a six-year term. He took office on February 22, 1862.

===Civil War===
{{further|American Civil War}}
[[File:Bombardment of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor.jpg|thumb|Colored [[lithograph]] of the [[Battle of Fort Sumter|Bombardment of Fort Sumter]], Charleston Harbor by [[Currier and Ives]] ({{circa}} 1861)|alt= rectangular fortress in middle of water burning with smoke coming out of it]]
As the Southern states seceded, state authorities took over most federal facilities without bloodshed. But four forts, including [[Fort Sumter]] in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], had not surrendered. Davis preferred to avoid a crisis because the Confederacy needed time to organize its resources.{{sfn|Johnson|1960|pp=442–443}} To ensure that no attack on Fort Sumter was launched without his command, Davis had appointed Brigadier General [[P. G. T. Beauregard]] to command all [[Confederate States Army|Confederate troops]] in the vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=337}} Davis sent a commission to Washington to negotiate the evacuation of the forts, but President of the United States Lincoln refused to meet with it.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1pp=336–337|Davis|1991|2p=320–321|McPherson|2014|3p=22}}

When Lincoln informed Davis that he intended to reprovision Fort Sumter, Davis convened with the [[Confederate States Congress|Confederate Congress]] on April 8 and gave orders to demand the immediate surrender of the fort or to reduce it. The commander of the fort, Major [[Robert Anderson (Union officer)|Robert Anderson]], refused to surrender, and Beauregard began the [[Battle of Fort Sumter|attack on Fort Sumter]] early on April 12.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=324}} After over thirty hours of bombardment, the fort surrendered.{{sfn|Potter|1976|pp=582–583}} When Lincoln [[Proclamation 80|called for 75,000 militiamen to suppress the rebellion]], four more states—[[Virginia]], [[North Carolina]], [[Tennessee]], and [[Arkansas]]—joined the Confederacy. The [[American Civil War|Civil War]] had begun.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=341|Davis|1991|2p=325|McPherson|2014|3p=25}}

====1861====
[[File:Jefferson and his generals (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Colored [[lithograph]] of Davis and his generals by [[Goupil & Cie|Goupil]] (1861){{efn|From left to right: [[Leonidas Polk]], [[John B. Magruder]], General Simmons, [[George N. Hollins]], [[Benjamin McCulloch]], Davis, [[Robert E. Lee]], [[P. G. T. Beauregard]], [[Sterling Price]], [[Joseph E. Johnston]] and [[William J. Hardee]]{{sfn|Neely|Holzer|Boritt|1987|loc=Plate 2, between pp. 2–3}}}}|alt=Eight men standing, Davis with cloak is in the middle, three on the extreme right sitting, one on the left sitting. ]]
In addition to being the constitutional [[commander-in-chief]] of the Confederacy, Davis was operational military leader as the [[Confederate States Army#Military Departments|military departments]] reported directly to him.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=398}} He left the directing of the fighting to [[General officers in the Confederate States Army|his generals]], some of whom, including [[Joseph E. Johnston]] and Leonidas Polk, had thought he would do it himself.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=348|McPherson|2014|2p=40}}

Major fighting in [[Eastern theater of the American Civil War|the East]] began when a Union army advanced into northern Virginia in July 1861.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=39–42}} It was defeated at [[First Battle of Bull Run|Manassas]] by two Confederate forces commanded by Beauregard and Joseph Johnston.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=89–92}} After the battle, Davis had to manage disputes with the two generals, both of whom felt they did not get the recognition they deserved.{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1pp=42–47|Stoker|2010|2p=42}}

In [[Western theater of the American Civil War|the West]], Davis had to address a problem caused by another general. [[Kentucky in the American Civil War|Kentucky]], which was leaning toward the Confederacy, had declared its neutrality. In September 1861, Polk violated the state's neutrality by occupying [[Columbus, Kentucky]].{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=54}} Secretary of War Walker ordered him to withdraw. Davis initially agreed with Walker, but changed his mind and allowed Polk to remain.{{sfnm|1a1=Hattaway|1a2=Beringer|1y=2002|1pp=108–109|2a1=Woodworth|2y=1990|2pp=40–41}} The violation led Kentucky to request aid from the Union, effectively losing the state for the Confederacy.{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=35–39}} Walker resigned as secretary of war and was replaced by Judah P. Benjamin.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=32, 109}} Davis appointed General Albert Sidney Johnston, as commander of the Western Military Department, which included much of [[Tennessee in the American Civil War|Tennessee]], Kentucky, western [[Mississippi in the American Civil War|Mississippi]], and [[Arkansas in the American Civil War|Arkansas]].{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=50–51}}

====1862====
In February 1862, the Confederate defenses in the West collapsed when Union forces captured Forts [[Battle of Fort Henry|Henry]] and [[Battle of Fort Donelson|Donelson]], and nearly half the troops in A. S. Johnston's department. Within weeks, Kentucky, [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] and [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]] were lost,{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=82–85}} as well as control of the [[Tennessee River|Tennessee]] and [[Cumberland River|Cumberland]] Rivers.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=116}} The commanders responsible for the defeat were Brigadier Generals [[Gideon Johnson Pillow|Gideon Pillow]] and [[John B. Floyd]], [[political general]]s that Davis had been required to appoint.{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1p=61|Woodworth|1990|2p=84}} Davis gathered troops defending the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]] and concentrated them with A. S. Johnston's remaining forces.{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1p=58|Woodworth|1990|2p=90}} Davis favored using this concentration in an offensive.{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1pp=66–67|Stoker|2010|2pp=120–121}} Johnston [[Battle of Shiloh|attacked the Union forces]] at [[Shiloh, Hardin County, Tennessee#The Battle of Shiloh|Shiloh]] in southwestern Tennessee on April 6. The attack failed, and Johnston was killed.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=378–379}} General Beauregard took command, falling back to [[Corinth, Mississippi]], and then to [[Tupelo, Mississippi]].{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=68–69}} When Beauregard then put himself on leave, Davis replaced him with General [[Braxton Bragg]].{{sfnm|1a1=Hattaway|1a2=Beringer|1y=2002|1pp=160–161|2a1=Woodworth|2y=1990|2pp=102–108}}

[[File:Jefferson Davis 1862.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph of [[President of the Confederate States of America]] Davis (1862)|alt=Portrait of man without beard or mustache looking right]]
On February 22, Davis was inaugurated as president. In his inaugural address,{{sfn|Davis|1862}} he admitted that the South had suffered disasters, but called on the people of the Confederacy to renew their commitment.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=64–66}} He replaced Secretary of War Benjamin, who had been scapegoated for the defeats, with [[George W. Randolph]]. Davis kept Benjamin in the cabinet, making him [[Confederate States Secretary of State|secretary of state]] to replace Hunter, who had stepped down.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=382–383}} In March, Davis vetoed a bill to create a commander in chief for the army, but he selected General [[Robert E. Lee]] to be his military advisor.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=123}} They formed a close relationship,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=380–381}} and Davis relied on Lee for counsel until the end of the war.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=392}}

In March, Union troops in the East began an amphibious attack on the [[Virginia Peninsula]], 75 miles from the Confederate capital of [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=375}} Davis and Lee wanted Joseph Johnston, who commanded the Confederate army near Richmond, to make a stand at [[Yorktown, Virginia|Yorktown]].{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1pp=78–79|Stoker|2010|2pp=78–79}} Instead, Johnston withdrew from the peninsula without informing Davis.{{sfnm|1a1=Hattaway|1a2=Beringer|1y=2002|1pp=152–153|2a1=McPherson|2y=2014|2pp=82–83|3a1=Stoker|3y=2010|3pp=152–151}} Davis reminded Johnston that it was his duty to not let Richmond fall.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|p=154}} On May 31, 1862, Johnston engaged the Union army less than ten miles from Richmond at the [[Battle of Seven Pines]], where he was wounded.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=381–382}} Davis put Lee in command. Lee began the [[Seven Days Battles]] less than a month later, pushing the Union forces back down the peninsula{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1pp=91–95|Stoker|2010|2pp=155–156}} and eventually forcing them to withdraw from Virginia.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=162–163}} Lee beat back another army moving into Virginia at the [[Battle of Second Manassas]] in August 1862. Knowing Davis desired an offensive into the North, Lee invaded [[Maryland in the American Civil War|Maryland]],{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1pp=396–397|Stoker|2010|2pp=185–187}} but retreated back to Virginia after a bloody [[Battle of Antietam|stalemate at Antietam]] in September.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=189–190}} In December, Lee stopped another invasion of Virginia at the [[Battle of Fredericksburg]].{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|p=183}}

In the West, Bragg shifted most of his available forces from Tupelo to Chattanooga in July 1862 for an offensive toward Kentucky.{{sfnm|Stoker|2010|1p=183|Woodworth|1990|2pp=130–135}} Davis approved, suggesting that an attack could win Kentucky for the Confederacy and regain Tennessee,{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=177–178}} but he did not create a unified command.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=102}} He formed a new department independent of Bragg under Major General [[Edmund Kirby Smith]] at [[Knoxville, Tennessee]].{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=135–136}} In August, both Bragg and Smith invaded Kentucky. [[Frankfort, Kentucky|Frankfort]] was briefly captured and a Confederate governor was inaugurated, but the attack collapsed, in part due to lack of coordination between the two generals. After a stalemate at the [[Battle of Perryville]],{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=401–403}} Bragg and Smith retreated to Tennessee. In December, Bragg was defeated at the [[Battle of Stones River]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=422}}

In response to the defeat and the lack of coordination, Davis reorganized the command in the West in November, combining the armies in Tennessee and Vicksburg into a department under the overall command of Joseph Johnston.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1pp=412|McPherson|2014|2p=117}} Davis expected Johnston to relieve Bragg of his command, but Johnston refused.{{sfn|Cooper|2000||pp=422–423}} During this time, Secretary of War Randolph resigned because he felt Davis refused to give him the autonomy to do his job; Davis replaced him with [[James Seddon]].{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=112–114}}

In the winter of 1862, Davis decided to join the [[Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America|Episcopal Church]]. In May 1863, he was [[Confirmation#Anglican Communion|confirmed]] at [[St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Richmond, Virginia)|St. Paul's Episcopal Church]] in Richmond.{{sfnm|1a1=Cooper|1y=2000|1pp=387–388|2a1=Hattaway|2a2=Beringer|2y=2002|2pp=151–152}}

====1863====
[[File:The Jefferson Davis mansion, Richmond, Virginia-LCCN2008679544.jpg|thumb|Colorized photograph of the [[White House of the Confederacy]] (Jefferson Davis's Executive Mansion) in Richmond (1901)|alt= white rectangular building]]
On January 1, Lincoln issued the [[Emancipation Proclamation]]. Davis saw this as attempt to destroy the South by inciting its enslaved people to revolt,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=408–409}} declaring the proclamation "the most execrable measure recorded in the history of guilty man".{{sfn|Davis|1863a}} He requested a law that Union officers captured in Confederate states be delivered to state authorities and put on trial for inciting slave rebellion.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=121}} In response, the Congress passed a law that Union officers of [[United States Colored Troops]] could be tried and executed, though none were during the war. The law also stated that captured black soldiers would be turned over to the states they were captured in to be dealt with as the state saw fit.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=191–192}}

In May, Lee broke up another invasion of Virginia at the [[Battle of Chancellorsville]],{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=258}} and countered with an invasion into [[Pennsylvania in the American Civil War|Pennsylvania]]. Davis approved, thinking that a victory in Union territory could gain recognition of Confederate independence,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=435–437}} but Lee's army was defeated at the [[Battle of Gettysburg]] in July.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=143}} After retreating to Virginia, Lee blocked any major Union offensives into the state.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=311–317}}

[[File:The soldier in our Civil War - a pictorial history of the conflict, 1861-1865, illustrating the valor of the soldier as displayed on the battle-field, from sketches drawn by Forbes, Waud, Taylor, (14576231299).jpg|thumb|''Arrival at Chickasaw Bayou of the Slaves of President Davis from [[Brierfield Plantation|His Mississippi Plantation]].'' A woodcut adaptation of a sketch by [[Francis H. Schell]] (1863)|alt= a group of African Americans, one riding a donkey walking to the left, being met by two Union Soldiers on the right who are facing them. There is a tree on the right with two other Union around it.]]
In April, Union forces resumed their attack on Vicksburg.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=222–223}} Davis concentrated troops from across the south to counter the move,{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=129–131}} but Joseph Johnston did not stop the Union forces.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=439|McPherson|2014|2pp=131–132|Woodworth|1990|3pp=207–208}} Lieutenant General [[John C. Pemberton]] withdrew his army into Vicksburg, and after [[Siege of Vicksburg|a siege]], surrendered on July 4. The loss of Vicksburg and [[Port Hudson, Louisiana]], led to Union control of the Mississippi. Davis relieved Johnston of his department command.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=134}}  During this time, Brierfield was occupied; Davis's slaves gained their freedom, and almost all of his property was confiscated or destroyed.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|pp=449–450}}

In the summer, Bragg's army was maneuvered out of [[Chattanooga]] and fell back to [[Georgia in the American Civil War|Georgia]].{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=453}} In September, Bragg defeated the Union army at the [[Battle of Chickamauga]], driving it back to Chattanooga, which he put under siege.{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=237–238}} Davis visited Bragg to address leadership problems in his army. Davis acknowledged that Bragg did not have the confidence of his subordinates but kept him in command.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=455–457}} In mid-November, the Union army counterattacked and Bragg's forces retreated to northern Georgia.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=329}} Bragg resigned his command; Davis replaced him with Joseph Johnston{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=238–239}} but retained Bragg as an informal chief of staff.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=180}}
Davis had to address faltering civilian morale. In early spring, there were [[southern bread riots|riots]] in Confederate cities as people began to suffer food shortages and price inflation.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=448}} During one riot in Richmond, the mayor of Richmond called the militia when a mob protesting food shortages broke into shops. Davis went to the scene and addressed the protesters, reminding them of their patriotic duty and promising them that he would get food. He then ordered them to disperse or he would command the soldiers to open fire; they dispersed.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=168–169}} In October, Davis went on a month-long journey to rally the Confederacy, giving public speeches across the south and meeting with civic and military leaders.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=461}}

====1864–1865====
[[File:The Fall of Richmond, Virginia on the Night of April 2nd, 1865 MET DT9288.jpg|thumb|left|Colored [[lithograph]] of the fall of Richmond by [[Currier and Ives]] ({{circa}} 1865)|alt=bridge in foreground going across river to city landscape that has flames reaching upwards]]
In his address to the Second Confederate Congress on May 2, 1864,{{sfn|Davis|1864}} Davis outlined his strategy of achieving Confederate independence by exhausting the Union will to fight:{{sfn|Escott|1978|p=197}} If the South could show it could not be subjugated, the North would elect a president who would make peace.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=496–497}}

In early 1864, Davis encouraged Joseph E. Johnston to take action in Tennessee, but Johnston refused.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=333}} In May, the Union armies advanced toward Johnston's army, which repeatedly retreated toward [[Atlanta, Georgia]]. In July, Davis replaced Johnston with General [[John B. Hood]],{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=192–199}} who immediately engaged the Union forces in a series of [[Atlanta Campaign#Sherman vs. Hood|battles around Atlanta]]. The battles did not stop the Union army and Hood abandoned the city on September 2. The victory raised Northern morale and assured Lincoln's reelection.{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|pp=286–290}} The Union forces then [[Sherman's March to the Sea|marched to Savannah, Georgia]], capturing it. In December, they advanced into [[South Carolina in the American Civil War|South Carolina]], forcing the Confederates to evacuate Charleston.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp= 503, 507}} In the meantime, Hood advanced north and was repulsed in a drive toward [[Franklin–Nashville campaign|Nashville]] in December 1864.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=216–219}}

Union forces began a new advance into northern Virginia. Lee put up a [[overland campaign|strong defense]] and they were unable to directly advance on Richmond, but managed to cross the [[James River]]. In June 1864, Lee fought the Union armies to a standstill; both sides settled into [[Siege of Petersburg|trench warfare around Petersburg]], which would continue for nine months.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=187–191}}

Davis signed a Congressional resolution in February making Lee [[General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate States|general-in-chief]].{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=219–220}} Seddon resigned as Secretary of War and was replaced by John C. Breckinridge. Davis sent envoys to [[Hampton Roads Conference|Hampton Roads]] for peace talks, but Lincoln refused to consider any offer that included an independent Confederacy.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=397}} Davis also sent [[Duncan F. Kenner]], the chief Confederate diplomat, on a mission to Great Britain and [[Second French Empire|France]], offering to gradually emancipate the enslaved people of the South for [[diplomatic recognition]].{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=235–236}}

Major General [[Patrick Cleburne]] sent a proposal in early 1864 to Davis to enlist African Americans in the army. Davis initially suppressed it, but by the end of the year, he reconsidered and endorsed the idea.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=229–239}} Congress passed an act supporting him. It left the principle of slavery intact by leaving it to the states and individual owners to decide which slaves could be used for military service,{{sfnm|DeRosa|1991|1pp=66–67|1ps=|Foster|1987|2p=23|2ps=: see {{harvnb|Durden|1972|pp=202–203}} for text of the act}} but Davis's administration accepted only African Americans who had been freed by their masters as a condition of their being enlisted.{{sfn|Levine|2006|pp=119–120|ps=: see {{harvnb|Durden|1972|pp=268–269}} for text of the orders by the Davis administration.}} The act came too late to have an effect on the war.{{sfnm|Escott|2009|1pp=195–196|McPherson|2014|2pp=234–235}}

====End of the Confederacy and capture====
[[File:Capture of Jefferson Davis, by Michigan Cavalrymen.jpg|thumb|Illustration of the capture of Davis by [[John Warner Barber|John Barber]] and [[Henry Howe]] (1865)|alt=man with shawl on head wearing an overcoat that looks almost like a dress being stopped by two soldiers.]]
The Union army broke through the Confederate trench lines at the end of March 1865, forcing Lee to withdraw and abandon Richmond, Virginia.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=400–401}} Davis evacuated his family, which included [[Jim Limber]], a free black orphan they briefly adopted, on March 29.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|p=386}} On April 2, Davis and his cabinet escaped by rail to [[Danville, Virginia]]. He issued a proclamation on April 4,{{sfn|Davis|1865}} encouraging the people of the Confederacy to continue resistance,{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=241}} but Lee surrendered at [[Battle of Appomattox Courthouse#Surrender|Appomattox Courthouse]] on April 9.{{sfn|Stoker|2010|pp=400–401}} The president and his cabinet headed to [[Greensboro, North Carolina]]{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=241}} where they met with Joseph Johnston, Beauregard, and [[North Carolina in the American Civil War|North Carolina]] Governor [[Zebulon Baird Vance|Zebulon Vance]]. Davis wanted to cross the Mississippi River and continue the war, but his generals stated that they did not have the forces. He gave Johnston authorization to negotiate the surrender of his army,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=524–526}} but Davis headed south to carry on the fight.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=241–244}}

When [[Assassination of Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln was assassinated]] on April 14, the Union government implicated Davis, and a bounty of $100,000 ({{Inflation|US|100000|1865|fmt=eq|r=-5|cursign=$}}) was put on his head.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=260}} On May 2, Davis met with Secretary of War Breckinridge and Bragg in [[Abbeville, Georgia]], to see if they could pull together an army. They said they could not. On May 5, he met with the remainder of his cabinet in Washington, Georgia, and officially dissolved the Confederate government.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=628–630}} He moved on, hoping to join Kirby Smith's army across the Mississippi.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|p=241}} On May 9, Union soldiers found Davis's encampment near [[Irwinville, Georgia]]. He tried to evade them, but was captured wearing a loose-sleeved cloak and covering his head with a black shawl,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=534}} which gave rise to depictions of him in political cartoons fleeing in women's clothes.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=261}}

===Civil War policies===
====National policy====
[[File:Jefferson Davis and his cabinet2, published by Thomas Kelly, New York.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Colorized print of Jefferson Davis and his first cabinet with General [[Robert E. Lee]], published by Thomas Kelly (1897){{efn|From left to right: [[Stephen Mallory]], [[Judah P. Benjamin]], [[LeRoy Pope Walker]], Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, [[John H. Reagan]], [[Christopher Memminger]], [[Alexander H. Stephens]], and [[Robert Toombs]]{{sfn|Neely|Holzer|Boritt|1987|pp=185, 247}}}}|alt=Six men sitting around a table looking forward, one man, Robert E. Lee, is standing up pointing toward a map]]
Davis's central concern during the war was to achieve Confederate independence.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1p=82|McPherson|2014|2p=10}} After [[Virginia in the American Civil War|Virginia seceded]], the [[provisional government]] of the Confederacy moved the capital to Richmond.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=336}} The Confederate federal government had almost no institutional structures in place,{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=703}} lacking an army, navy, treasury, diplomatic missions, and bureaucracy.{{sfn|Cooper|Terrill|1991|p=358}} Davis had to work with the Confederate Congress quickly to create them.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=42–45}}

Though Davis supported states' rights, he believed the [[Constitution of the Confederate States|Confederate constitution]] empowered him with the right to centralize authority to prosecute the war. He worked with the Congress to bring military facilities in the South, which had been controlled by the states, under Confederate authority.{{sfn|Escott|1978|pp=54–55}} Confederate governors wanted their states' militia available for local defense. Davis knew he needed to deploy military forces to defend the Confederacy as a whole and [[Confederate States Army|created a centralized army]] that could enlist volunteers directly.{{sfn|Escott|1978|pp=55–57}} When soldiers in the volunteer army seemed unwilling to re-enlist in 1862, Davis instituted the first [[Confederate Conscription Acts 1862–1864|conscription]] in American history.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1p=38|Roland|1991|2p=106}} He received authorization from Congress to suspend the [[habeas corpus|writ of habeas corpus]] when needed.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=73–74}} In 1864, he challenged property rights by recommending a direct 5% tax on land and slaves,{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=272–273}} and implemented the impressment of supplies and slave labor for the military effort.{{sfnm|1a1=Escott|1y=2009|1pp=159–156|2a1=Hattaway|2a2=Beringer|2y=2002|2p=47}} In 1865, Davis's commitment to independence led him to even compromise slavery when he advocated for allowing African Americans to earn their freedom by serving in the military.{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=228–231}} These policies made him unpopular with states' rights advocates and state governors, who saw him as creating the same kind of government they had seceded from.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=536}}

====Foreign policy====
{{see also|King Cotton|Cotton diplomacy}}
[[File:Cotton is king.jpg|thumb|An 1861 American [[political cartoon]] depicting [[John Bull]] kneeling on a Black slave before [[King Cotton]], accompanied by a poem mocking Britain's dependence on Southern cotton|alt=man in tophat with script coming out of pocket that says Manchester kneeling on an African American bowing before a bale of cotton depicted with a face and scepter and a crown on top of it.]]

The main objective of Davis's foreign policy was to achieve foreign recognition,{{sfn|Beckert|2004|p=1417}} allowing the Confederacy to secure international loans, receive foreign aid to open trade,{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=169}} and provide the possibility of a military alliance. Davis was confident that most European nations' economic [[King Cotton|dependence on cotton]] from the South would quickly convince them to sign treaties with the Confederacy.{{sfnm|1a1=Hattaway|1a2=Beringer|1y=2002|1pp=50–51|2a1=Hubbard|2y=1998|2p=23}} Cotton had made up 61% of the value of all U.S. exports and the South filled most of the European cloth industry's need for cheap imported raw cotton.{{sfn|Beckert|2015|p=243}}

There was no consensus on how to use cotton to gain European support. Davis did not want an [[embargo]] on cotton,{{sfn|Owsley|1959|p=30}} he wanted to make cotton available to European nations, but require them to acquire it by violating the [[Union blockade|blockade]] declared by the Union. The majority of Congress wanted an embargo to coerce Europe to help the South.{{sfn|Hubbard|1998|pp=25–26}} Though there was no official policy, cotton was effectively embargoed.{{sfn|Owsley|1959|pp=32–39}} By 1862, the price of cotton in Europe had quadrupled and European imports of cotton from the United States were down 96%,{{sfn|Beckert|2015|p=247}} but instead of joining with the Confederacy, European textile manufacturers found new sources, such as India, Egypt and Brazil.{{sfn|Beckert|2004|pp=1410–1414}} By the end of the war, not a single foreign nation had recognized the Confederate States of America.{{sfn|U.S. Department of State|2013}}

====Financial policy====
{{see also|Confederate war finance}}
[[File:CSA-T16-$50-1862.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Davis $50 [[Confederate States dollar|Confederate States treasury note]] issued between April and December 1862|alt=$50 confederate bill with man's profile, man looking right]]

Davis did not take executive action to create the needed financial structure for the Confederacy. He knew very little about public finance, largely deferring to Secretary of the Treasury Memminger.{{sfn|Ball|1991|pp=9–11}} Memminger's knowledge of economics was limited, and he was ineffective at getting Congress to listen to his suggestions.{{sfnm|Ball|1991|1p=9|Todd|1954|p=1}} Until 1863, Davis's reports on the financial state of the Confederacy to Congress tended to be unduly optimistic.{{sfn|Ball|1991|p=8}}

Davis's failure to argue for needed financial reform allowed Congress to avoid unpopular economic measures,{{sfn|Ball|1991|p=8}} such as taxing planters' property{{sfnm|1a1=Ball|1y=1991|1p=234|2a1=Hattaway|2a2=Beringer|2y=2002|2p=200}}—both land and slaves—that made up two-thirds of the South's wealth.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=199}} At first the government thought it could raise money with a low export tax on cotton,{{sfn|Ball|1991|p=208}} but the blockade prevented this. In his opening address to the fourth session of Congress in December 1863,{{sfn|Davis|1863b|pp=363–367}} Davis demanded the Congress pass a direct tax on property despite the constitution.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=272–274}} Congress complied, but the tax had too many loopholes and exceptions,{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=275–276}} and failed to produce the needed revenue.{{sfn|Todd|1954|pp=144–145}} Throughout the existence of the Confederacy, taxes accounted for only one-fourteenth of the government's income;{{sfn|Todd|1958|p=409}} consequently, the government printed money to fund the war, destroying the value of the [[Confederate States dollar|Confederate currency]].{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=200}} By 1865, the government was relying on impressments to fill the gaps caused by lack of finances.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=46–47}}

==Imprisonment==
[[File:Davis in casemate by A. Waud (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|left|[[Sketch (drawing)|Sketch]] of Davis in [[Fort Monroe]] casemate by [[Alfred Waud]] (1865)]]
On May 22, 1865, Davis was imprisoned in [[Fort Monroe]], Virginia, under the watch of Major General [[Nelson A. Miles]]. Initially, he was confined to a [[casemate]], forced to wear [[Legcuffs|fetters]] on his ankles, required to have guards constantly in his room, forbidden contact with his family, and given only a Bible and his prayerbook to read.{{sfn|Eckert|1987|pp=xxii–xxiv}} Over time, his treatment improved: due to public outcry, the fetters were removed after five days; within two months, the guard was removed from his room, he could walk outside for exercise, and he was allowed to read newspapers and other books.{{sfn|Eckert|1987|pp=xxv–xxvii}} In October, he was moved to better quarters.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=537}} In April 1866, [[Varina Davis|Varina]] was permitted to regularly visit him. In September, Miles was replaced by Brevet Brigadier General [[Henry S. Burton]], who permitted Davis to live with Varina in a four-room apartment.{{sfn|Eckert|1987|pp=xxxviii–xxxix}} In December, [[Pope Pius IX]] sent a photograph of himself to Davis.{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=430, 506 fn 130}}{{efn|The pope's photograph was inscribed {{lang|la|Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis, et ego reficiam vos, dicit Dominus}} [''Come unto me all that are heavy laden and I will refresh you, says the Lord''].}}

President [[Andrew Johnson]]'s cabinet was unsure what to do with Davis. He had been arrested for complicity in the [[assassination of Abraham Lincoln]].{{sfnm|Icenhauer-Ramirez|2019|1p=[{{Google books|id=uQyWDwAAQBAJ|pg=PT228|plainurl=yes}} PT228]}} The cabinet considered trying him by [[Military tribunals in the United States|military court]] for [[war crimes]]—his alleged involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln or the mistreatment of Union [[prisoners of war]] at [[Andersonville Prison]]—but could not find any reliable evidence directly linking Davis to either. In late summer 1865, Attorney General [[James Speed]] determined that it was best to try Davis for treason in a civil criminal trial.{{sfn|Nicoletti|2017|pp=[{{Google books|id=xS42DwAAQBAJ|pg=PA33|plainurl=yes}} 33], [{{Google books|id=xS42DwAAQBAJ|pg=PA36|plainurl=yes}} 36]}} In June 1866, the House of Representatives passed a resolution by a vote of 105 to 19 to put Davis on trial for treason.{{sfnm|Icenhauer-Ramirez|2019|1p=[{{Google books|id=uQyWDwAAQBAJ|pg=PT228|plainurl=yes}} PT228]|McPherson|1868}} Davis also desired a trial to vindicate his actions.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=562–563}} His defense lawyer, [[Charles O'Conor (American politician)|Charles O'Conor]] wanted to argue that Davis did not commit treason because he was no longer a citizen of the United States when Mississippi left the United States.{{sfn|Nicoletti|2017|p=[{{Google books|id=xS42DwAAQBAJ|pg=PA27|plainurl=yes}} 27]}}{{efn|Historian Ethan Rafuse states Davis "had obviously committed treason",{{sfn|Rafuse|2013}} and anthropologist [[Paul A. Shackel]] states that Confederates "committed treason by seceding from the United States".{{sfn|Shackel|2022|p=47}}}} Because the trial was to be held in Richmond, Union prosecutors worried a jury might sympathize with Davis and acquit him in an act of [[Jury nullification in the United States|jury nullification]] that would be interpreted as validating the [[constitutionality]] of secession.{{sfn|Nicoletti|2017|pp=[{{Google books|id=xS42DwAAQBAJ|pg=PA6|plainurl=yes}} 6]–[{{Google books|id=xS42DwAAQBAJ|pg=PA7|plainurl=yes}} 7]}}

[[File:Jeff davis leaving the Richmond court house (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Illustration of Jefferson Davis leaving the Richmond court house by ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'' (1867)|alt=man facing forward surrounded by people on left, right and behind cheering and waving hats or handkerchiefs]]
After two years of imprisonment, Davis was released at Richmond on May 13, 1867, on bail of $100,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=100000|start_year=1867}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}), which was posted by prominent citizens including [[Horace Greeley]], [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]] and [[Gerrit Smith]].{{sfn|Rubin|2005|pp=204–205}} Davis and Varina went to [[Montreal, Quebec]], to join their children who had been sent there while he was in prison, and they moved to [[Lennoxville, Quebec]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=656–658}} Davis remained under indictment until after [[Pardons for ex-Confederates#Andrew Johnson|Johnson's proclamation on Christmas 1868]] granting amnesty and pardon to all participants in the rebellion.{{sfn|Johnson|1868}} Davis's case never went to trial. In February 1869, Attorney General [[William Evarts]] informed the court that the federal government declared it was no longer prosecuting the charges against him.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=582}}

==Later years==
===Seeking a livelihood===
Despite his financial situation after his release, Davis refused work that he perceived as diminishing his status as a former senator and president.{{sfn|Collins|2005|p=29}} He turned down a position as head of [[Randolph–Macon College]] in Virginia because he did not want to damage the school's reputation while he was under indictment.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=586}} In the summer of 1869, he traveled to Britain and France, but found no business opportunities there.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|p=263}} When the federal government dropped its case against him,{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=663}} Davis left his family in England and returned to the U.S. in October 1869 to become president of the Carolina Life Insurance Company in Tennessee. On his arrival to Tennessee, the [[University of the South]] offered him their top position, but he declined because the salary was insufficient.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=584–589}} Davis was not able to retrieve his family from England until August 1870.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=664–665}}

[[File:Jefferson Davis in Glasgow.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Photograph of Jefferson Davis in Glasgow ({{circa}} 1869)|alt=man sitting on bench in profile looking right holding top hat]]
Davis received numerous invitations to speak during this time,{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=665}} declining most.{{sfn|Collins|2005|p=21}} In 1870, he delivered a eulogy to Robert E. Lee at the Lee Monument Association in Richmond in which he avoided politics and emphasized Lee's character.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=216}} Davis's 1873 speech to the [[Virginia Historical Society]] was more political; he stated that the South would not have surrendered had it known what to expect from [[Reconstruction era|Reconstruction]],{{sfn|Collins|2005|p=21}} particularly the [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|enfranchisement of African Americans]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=667}} He became a life-time member of the [[Southern Historical Society]],{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1pp=621–622|Starnes|1996|2p=188}} which was devoted to presenting the [[Lost Cause]] explanation of the Civil War.{{sfn|Starnes|1996|pp=177–181}} Initially, the society had scapegoated political leaders like Davis for losing the war,{{sfn|Starnes|1996|p=178}} but eventually shifted the blame for defeat to the former Confederate general [[James Longstreet]].{{sfn|Starnes|1996|pp=186–188}} Davis avoided public disputes regarding blame, but consistently maintained he had done nothing wrong and had always upheld the Constitution.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=680–681}}

The [[Panic of 1873]] adversely affected the Carolina Life Company, and Davis resigned in August 1873 when the directors merged the company over his objections.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=594–596}} He went to Europe again in 1874 to seek opportunities to earn money, but was still not able to find any.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=598–600}} After returning to the United States in 1874, Davis continued to explore ways to make a living, including investments in railroads, mining,{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=666 }} and manufacturing an ice-making machine.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=604}} In 1876, he was offered the [[President of Texas A&M University|presidency]] of the [[History of Texas A&M University#Early years|Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas]]. He declined because Varina also did not want to live in Texas,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=604–605}} recommending [[Thomas S. Gathright]] instead.{{sfn|Lane|1903|p=271}} He worked for an English company, the Mississippi Valley Society, to promote trade and European immigration. When he and Varina went to Europe again in 1876, he determined the company was failing. He returned to the United States while Varina stayed in England.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=608–609}}

Davis sought to reclaim Brierfield as well.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=666}} After the war, Davis Bend had been taken over by the [[Freedmen's Bureau]], which employed former enslaved African Americans as laborers. After Davis's elder brother, Joseph, successfully applied for a pardon, he regained ownership of Davis Bend.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=572–573}} Unable to maintain it, Joseph gave his former slave [[Ben Montgomery]] and his sons, [[Isaiah Montgomery|Isaiah]] and William, a [[mortgage loan]] to buy the property.{{sfn|Hermann|1981|p=109}} When Joseph died in 1870, he had made Davis one of his [[executor]]s but did not deed any land to him in the will. Davis litigated to obtain Brierfield.{{sfn|Hermann|1990|p=166}} A judge dismissed his suit in 1876. He appealed, and the [[Supreme Court of Mississippi]] found in his favor in 1878. He foreclosed on the Montgomerys, who were in default on their mortgage. By December 1881, Brierfield was legally his,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=628–629}} although he did not live there, and it did not produce a reliable income.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1pp=638–641|Davis|1991|2pp=666, 682}}

===Author===
[[File:Jefferson Davis, seated, facing front, during portrait session at Davis' home Beauvoir, near Biloxi, Mississippi LCCN2009633710.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Photograph of Jefferson Davis at his home in [[Beauvoir (Biloxi, Mississippi)|Beauvoir]] by [[Edward Livingston Wilson|Edward Wilson]] ({{circa|1885}})|alt=bearded man looking forward with shuttered window in background]]
In January 1877, the author [[Sarah Dorsey]] invited Davis to live on her estate at [[Beauvoir (Biloxi, Mississippi)|Beauvoir]], Mississippi, and to begin writing his memoirs. He agreed, but insisted on paying board.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=669}} At the time, Davis and Varina lived separately. When Varina came back to the United States, she initially refused to come to Beauvoir because she did not like Davis's close relationship with Dorsey, who was serving as his [[amanuensis]]. In the summer of 1878, Varina relented, moving to Beauvoir and taking over the role of Davis's assistant.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=612–613}} Dorsey died in July 1879, and left Beauvoir to Davis in her will, and he lived there for most of his remaining years.{{sfn|Muldowny|1969|p=23}}

Davis's first book, ''[[The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government]]'', was published in 1881.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=673–676}} The book was intended as a vindication of Davis's actions during the war{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=619–621}} and an argument for the righteousness of secession,{{sfn|Foster|1987|pp=72–73}} though it downplayed slavery's role as a cause of the war.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1pp=98–100|Nolan|2000|2p=15}} [[James Redpath]], editor of the ''[[North American Review]]'', encouraged him to write a series of articles for the magazine{{sfnm|Collins|2005|1p=49|Cooper|2000|2p=644}} and to complete his final book ''[[A Short History of the Confederate States of America]]''.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=682}} He also began dictating his memoirs, although they were never finished.{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=645|Davis|1991|2p=683}}

In 1886, [[Henry W. Grady]], an advocate for the [[New South]], convinced Davis to lay the cornerstone for a monument to the Confederate dead in Montgomery, Alabama, and to attend the unveilings of statues memorializing Davis's friend [[Benjamin H. Hill]] in Savannah and the Revolutionary War hero [[Nathanael Greene]] in Atlanta.{{sfn|Collins|2005|pp=26–27}} The tour was a triumph for Davis and got extensive newspaper coverage, which emphasized national unity and the South's role as a permanent part of the United States. At each stop along the way, large crowds came out to cheer Davis, solidifying his image as an icon of the South and the Confederacy.{{sfn|Muldowny|1969|p=31}} In October 1887, Davis held his last tour, traveling to the Georgia State Fair in [[Macon, Georgia]], for a grand reunion with Confederate veterans.{{sfn|Collins|2005|p=40}}

==Death==
{{Main|Death and funeral of Jefferson Davis}}

[[File:Jefferson Davis funeral in New Orleans, La. LCCN2005680086.jpg|thumb|Funeral procession of Jefferson Davis in [[New Orleans]] (1889)|alt=city street view from above, street seen diagonally from lower left to upper right, crowds of people line the street, horses, carriages and people march along it]]

In November 1889, Davis embarked on a steamboat in [[New Orleans]] in a cold rain, intending to visit Brierfield plantation. He fell ill during the trip, but refused to send for a doctor. An employee sent a telegram to Varina, who came to get him. Davis was diagnosed with acute bronchitis complicated by malaria.{{sfn|Collins|2005|pp=50–51}} When he returned to New Orleans, Davis's doctor Stanford E. Chaille pronounced him too ill to travel further. He was taken to the home of [[Charles Erasmus Fenner]], the son-in-law of his friend J. M. Payne, where he died at 12:45{{spaces}}a.m. on December 6, 1889, at the age of 81, holding Varina's hand and surrounded by several friends.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=652–654}} 

===Funeral and reburial===
Davis's body lay in state at the [[Gallier Hall|New Orleans City Hall]] from December 7 to 11. Davis's funeral was one of the largest held in the South; over 200,000 mourners were estimated to have attended.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=705}} The coffin was transported on a two-mile journey to the cemetery in a modified, four-wheeled [[limbers and caissons|caisson]] to emphasize his role as a military hero. Davis was buried according to the Episcopal rites and a brief eulogy was pronounced by Bishop [[John Nicholas Galleher]].{{sfn|Collins|2005|p=73–77}}

After Davis's funeral, various Southern states requested to be the final resting site for Davis's remains.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=705}} Varina decided that Davis should be buried in Richmond, which she saw as the appropriate resting place for dead Confederate heroes.{{sfn|Collins|2005|p=93}} She chose [[Hollywood Cemetery (Richmond, Virginia)|Hollywood Cemetery]]. In May 1893, Davis's remains traveled from New Orleans to Richmond. Along the way, the train stopped at various cities, receiving military honors and visits from governors, and the coffin was allowed to lie in state in three state capitols: Montgomery, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; and [[Raleigh, North Carolina]].{{sfn|Collins|2005|pp=95–98}} When Davis was reburied, his children were reinterred on the site as Varina requested,{{sfn|Collins|2005|p=122}} and, when Varina died in 1906, she was buried beside him.{{sfn|Bleser|1999|p=39}}

==Political views on slavery==
[[File:Brierfield Plantation House, owned by Jefferson Davis, 1866.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Sketch of Davis's [[Brierfield Plantation]] by [[Alfred Waud]] (1866)|alt=house with columns in the front, two trees- one right, one left- in foreground, figures walking on porch of building and in foreground.]]
During his years as a senator, Davis was an advocate for the Southern states' right to slavery.
In an 1848 speech on the Oregon Bill,{{sfn|Davis|1848}} he argued for a [[Strict constructionism|strict constructionist]] understanding of the Constitution. He insisted that the states are sovereign, all powers of the federal government are granted by those states,{{sfn|Cooper|2008|pp=34–35}} the Constitution recognized the right of states to allow citizens to have slaves as property, and the federal government was obligated to defend encroachments upon this right.{{sfn|Huston|1999|pp=280–281}} In his February 13–14, 1850 speech,{{sfn|Davis|1850}} Davis declared that slaveholders must be allowed to bring their slaves into federal territories.{{sfnm|Bordewich|2012|1p=148|Davis|1991|2p=194}} He stated that slavery does not need to be justified: it was sanctioned by religion and history.{{sfn|Huston|1999|p=281}} He argued that African Americans were destined for bondage,{{sfn|Bordewich|2012|pp=146–147}} and their enslavement was a civilizing blessing to them{{sfn|Woods|2020|p=[{{Google books|id=fPXGDwAAQBAJ|pg=PA101|plainurl=yes}} 101]}} that brought economic and social good to everyone.{{sfn|Bordewich|2012|pp=148–149}}

Davis's speeches after secession acknowledged the relationship between the Confederacy and slavery. In his resignation speech to the Senate, delivered 12 days after his state seceded, he said Mississippi "has heard proclaimed the theory that all men are created free and equal, and this made the basis of an attack upon her social institutions and the sacred Declaration of Independence has been invoked to maintain the position of the equality of the races."{{sfn|Davis|1861a}} In his February 1861 inaugural speech as provisional president of the Confederacy,{{sfn|Davis|1861b}} Davis asserted that the Confederate Constitution, which explicitly prevented Congress from passing any law affecting African-American slavery and mandated its protection in all Confederate territories, was a return to the intent of the [[Founding Fathers of the United States|original founders]].{{sfn|Currie|2004|pp=1266–1267|ps=: see {{Harvnb|Confederate Congress|1861|loc= art. I, §9 cl. 4; art. IV, §3 cl. 3}}}} When he spoke to Congress in April on the ratification of the Constitution,{{sfn|Davis|1861c}} he stated that the war was caused by Northerners whose desire to end slavery would destroy Southern property worth millions of dollars."{{sfn|Stampp|1980|pp=192–193}} In his 1863 address to the Confederate Congress,{{sfn|Davis|1863a}} Davis denounced the Emancipation Proclamation as evidence of the North's long-standing intention to abolish slavery and doom African Americans, whom he called an inferior [[race (human categorization)|race]], to extermination.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=495}}

==Performance as commander-in-chief==
[[File:President Jefferson Davis. Arriving in the field of battle at Bulls's Run, (between 1861 and 1865) LCCN2004669293.tif|thumb|left|Drawing of Davis arriving at the field of [[Battle of First Manassas]] ({{circa|1861|1865}})|alt=man in uniform with epaulettes on horseback, both in profile, horse headed right, man looking left]]
Davis came to the role of commander-in-chief confident in his military abilities.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1p=86|Stoker|2010|2p=409|Woodworth|1990|3p=14}} He had graduated from the United States Military Academy, served in the regular army, and commanded troops in combat.{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|p=305}} He actively oversaw the military policy of the Confederacy and worked long hours attending to paperwork related to the organization, finance, and logistics needed to maintain the Confederate armies.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1p=86|McPherson|2014|2p=41|Vandiver|1977|3p=8}}

Some historians argue that Davis's personality contributed to the defeat of the Confederacy. His constant attention to minor military details has been used to illustrate an inability to delegate,{{sfnm|Cooper|2000|1p=425|McPherson|2014|2pp=110–113}} which led him to lose focus on larger issues.{{sfnm|1a1=Hattaway|1a2=Jones|1y=1991|1p=699|2a1=Stoker|2y=2010|2p=27}} He has been accused of being a poor judge of generals:{{sfn|Stoker|2010|p=406}} appointing people—such as Bragg, Pemberton, and Hood—–who failed to meet expectations,{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=249–250}} overly trusting long-time friends,{{sfnm|McPherson|2014|1pp=250–251|Stoker|2010|2p=305|Woodworth|1990|3pp=305, 314–315}} and retaining generals—like Joseph Johnston—long after they should have been removed.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1pp=87–88|Woodworth|1990|2pp=315–316}} His need to be seen as always in the right has also been described as a problem.{{sfn|Escott|1978|pp=262–264}} Historians have argued that the time spent vindicating himself took time away from pressing problems and accomplished little.{{sfn|Woodworth|1990|p=315}} His reactions to criticism made unnecessary enemies{{sfn|Hattaway|Beringer|2002|pp=99–103}} and created hostile relationships with the politicians and generals he depended on.{{sfnm|Escott|1978|1p =268|Gallagher|1997|2pp=117–118|McPherson|2014|3pp=6, 252|Stoker|2010|4pp=408–409}} It has been argued that his focus on military victory at all costs undermined the values the South was fighting for, such as states' rights{{sfn|Escott|1978|pp=177–179}} and slavery,{{sfn|Thomas|1970|pp=130–132}} but provided no alternatives to replace them.{{sfnm|Atchison|2017|1pp=[{{Google books|id=70OZDgAAQBAJ|pg=PA1|plainurl=yes}} 1–5]|Escott|1978|2p=195}}

Other historians have pointed out his strengths. Davis quickly mobilized the Confederacy despite the South's focus on states' rights, and he stayed focused on gaining independence.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1pp=81–83|McPherson|2014|2p=10|Vandiver|1977|3p=18}} He was a skilled orator who attempted to share the vision of national unity.{{sfnm|Atchison|2017|1pp=[{{Google books|id=70OZDgAAQBAJ|pg=PA2|plainurl=yes}} 2], [{{Google books|id=70OZDgAAQBAJ|pg=PA5|plainurl=yes}} 5]|Vandiver|1977|2pp=8–9}} He shared his message through newspapers, public speeches, and trips where he would meet with the public.{{sfn|Cooper|2008|p=85}} His policies sustained the Confederate armies through numerous campaigns, buoying Southern hopes for victory and undermining the North's will to continue the war.{{sfn|Gallagher|1997|pp=116–117}} A few historians have argued that Davis may have been one of the best people available to serve as commander in chief. Though he was unable to win the war,{{sfn|McPherson|2014|pp=247–251}} he rose to the challenge of the presidency,{{sfn|Vandiver|1977|p=18}} pursuing a strategy that not only enabled the Confederacy to hold out as long as it did, but almost achieved its independence.{{sfn|Gallagher|1997|pp=152–153}}

==Legacy==
{{See also|List of memorials to Jefferson Davis}}
[[File:Jefferson Davis, Slave Owner.jpg|thumb|The [[Jefferson Davis Monument (New Orleans, Louisiana)|Jefferson Davis monument]] in [[New Orleans]] with "SLAVE OWNER" graffiti, May 2004. It was dismantled in 2017.]]

Although Davis served the United States as a soldier and a war hero, a politician who sat in both houses of Congress, and a cabinet officer,{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=xiv}} his legacy is mainly defined by his role as president of the Confederacy.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|pp=274}} After the Civil War, journalist [[Edward A. Pollard]], who first popularized the [[Lost Cause]] mythology,{{sfn|Connelly|Bellows|1982|pp=2–3}} placed much of the blame for losing the war on Davis.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1p=2|Starnes|1996|2p=6|Vandiver|1977|3p=3}} Into the 20th century, many biographers and historians have also emphasized Davis's responsibility for the Confederacy's failure to achieve independence.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1pp=3–5|Vandiver|1977|2pp=3–6}} Since the second half of the 20th century, this assumption has been questioned. Some scholars argued that he was a capable leader, while acknowledging his skills were insufficient to overcome the challenges the Confederacy faced{{sfnm|Thomas|1998|1pp=40–43, 57|Vandiver|1977|2pp=16–18}} and exploring how his limitations may have contributed to the war's outcome.{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1p=89|McPherson|2014|2pp=247–252}}

Davis's standing among white Southerners was at a low point at the end of the Civil War,{{sfn|Collins|2005|p=15}} but it rebounded after his release from prison.{{sfn|Connelly|1977|p=76}} After Reconstruction, he became a venerated figure of the white South,{{sfnm|Goldfield|2002|1pp=28–29|Hunter|2000|2pp=186–187, 204–205|Simpson|1975|3pp=352–354}} and he was often depicted as a [[martyr]] who suffered for his nation.{{sfnm|Foster|1987|1pp=96, 122|Hunter|2000|2pp=197–198|Rubin|2005|3pp=200–201}} His birthday was made a legal holiday in six Southern states.{{sfn|Foster|1987|p=249 fn 21}} His popularity among white Southerners remained strong in the early 20th century. Around 200,000 people attended the unveiling of the [[Jefferson Davis Memorial (Richmond, Virginia)|Jefferson Davis Memorial]] at Richmond, Virginia, in 1907.{{sfnm|Collins|2005|1pp=146–147|1ps=|Foster|1987|2pp=158–159|2ps=: Collins states 200,000 people attended; Foster estimates between 80,000 and 200,000.}} Mississippi officials honored him with [[Statue of Jefferson Davis (U.S. Capitol)|a life-size likeness]] in the [[National Statuary Hall]] at the [[United States Capitol|U.S. Capitol]] in 1931.{{sfn|Architect of the Capitol|2016}} In 1961, a centennial celebration reenacted Davis's inauguration in Montgomery, Alabama, with fireworks and a cast of thousands in period costumes.{{sfnm|Connelly|1977|1p=113|Cook|2007|2pp=79–82}} In the early 21st century, there were at least 144 Confederate memorials commemorating him throughout the United States.{{sfn|Southern Poverty Law Center|2022|pp=10, 36}}

On October 17, 1978, Davis's U.S. citizenship was posthumously restored after the Senate passed [[Joint resolution|Joint Resolution]] 16. President [[Jimmy Carter]] described it as an act of reconciliation reuniting the people of the United States and expressing the need to establish the nation's founding principles for all.{{Sfn|MacDonnell|1994|p=119–133}}{{sfn|Carter|1978}} However, Davis's legacy continued to spark controversy. In the 21st century, most historians agree that Davis's participation in the Confederacy constituted treason.{{sfn|Larson|2020|pp=117–121, 129–131}} His memorials, such as the [[Jefferson Davis Highway]], have been argued to legitimize the [[white supremacist]], slaveholding ideology of the Confederacy,{{sfn|Hague|Sebesta|2011|pp=291–295}} and a number have been removed, including his statues at the [[University of Texas at Austin]],{{sfn|Associated Press|2015}} New Orleans,{{sfn|Associated Press|2017}} Memphis, Tennessee,{{sfn|Matisse|2017}} and the [[Kentucky State Capitol]] in Frankfort.{{sfn|Blackburn|2020}} After the [[murder of George Floyd]] in May 2020, protesters toppled Davis's statue on his Richmond monument along with [[List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests|the statues of other figures]] considered [[racist]]s.{{sfn|Atuire|2020|p=457}} As part of its initiative to [[Removal of Confederate monuments and memorials|dismantle Confederate monuments]], the Richmond City Council funded the removal of the statue's pedestal,{{sfn|Associated Press|2022a}} which was completed in February 2022, and ownership of its artifacts was given to the [[Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia]].{{sfn|Associated Press|2022b}}

==Writings==
[[File:Jefferson Davis by Washburn (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Photograph of Davis by W. W. Washburn ({{circa|1888}})|alt=bearded man looking forward; book in right hand, left hand extended with palm up]]

===Books===
* {{cite book |title=The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government |year=1881 |publisher=D. Appleton |oclc=1084571088 |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000409571 |ref=none }} [2 Volumes]
* {{cite book |title=Andersonville and Other War-Prisons |url=https://archive.org/details/andersonvillean00davigoog |year=1890 |publisher=Belford |oclc=
902841567 |ref=none}} {{bracket|reprint from ''Belford's Magazine'' vol. 4 pp. [{{Google books|id=6kvOAAAAMAAJ|pg=PA161|plainurl=yes}} 161]–178 and [{{Google books|id=6kvOAAAAMAAJ|pg=PA338|plainurl=yes}} 338]–353}}
* {{cite book |title=A Short History of the Confederate States of America|url=https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofco00davi |year=1890 |publisher=Belford |ref=none |oclc=1084918966}}

===Articles===
* {{cite journal|title=The Indian policy of the United States|year=1886|journal=The North American Review|volume=143|issue=360|pages=436–446|ref=none|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_north-american-review_1886-11_143_360/page/436}}
* {{cite journal|title=Life and character of the Hon. John Caldwell Calhoun|year=1887|journal=The North American Review|volume=145|issue=370|pages=246–260|ref=none|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_north-american-review_1887-09_145_370/page/246}}
* {{cite journal|title=Lord Wolseley's mistakes|year=1889|journal=The North American Review|volume=149|issue=395|pages=472–482|ref=none|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_north-american-review_1889-10_149_395/page/472}}
* {{cite journal|title=Robert E. Lee|year=1889|journal=The North American Review|volume=150|issue=398|pages=55–56|ref=none|url=https://archive.org/details/jstor-25101921/page/n1|jstor=25101921|first=<!--stop bot adding author-->|last=<!-- same-->}}
* {{cite journal |url={{Google books|id=6kvOAAAAMAAJ|pg=PA255|plainurl=yes}} |title=Autobiography of Jefferson Davis |journal=Belford's Magazine |date=February 1890 |volume=4 |number=21 |pages=255–266 }} [reprinted in {{harvnb|Dunbar|1923|loc=[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015043495996&seq=26 vol. 1 pp. xx–xxxi]}}]
* {{cite journal|title=The doctrine of state rights|year=1890|journal=The North American Review|volume=150|issue=399|pages=204–219|ref=none|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_north-american-review_1890-02_150_2/page/204}}

===Collections of letters, speeches, and papers===
* {{cite book |editor-first=Dunbar |editor-last=Rowland |title=Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers, and Speeches |publisher=Mississippi Department of Archives and History |year=1923 |ref={{harvid|Dunbar|1923}} |oclc=566306304 |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000603322}} (10 Volumes).
* {{cite book |editor-last=Crist|year=1971–2015|editor-first=Lynda L.|title=The Papers of Jefferson Davis|publisher=Rice University|ref=none}} (14 Volumes). A selection of these documents can be found at: {{cite web|title=List of Documents Available Online|url=https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents|website=Rice University: The Papers of Jefferson Davis}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
}}

==Bibliography==
{{further|Bibliography of Jefferson Davis}}
=== Books ===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last=Atchison|first=R. Jarrod|year=2017|title=A War of Words: The Rhetorical Leadership of Jefferson Davis|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=978-0-8173-1940-3 |oclc=986538432}}
* {{cite book |last=Ball |first=Douglas B. |year=1991|title=Financial Failure and Confederate Defeat|publisher=University of Illinois Press|url=https://archive.org/details/financialfailure0000ball|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-252-01755-1|oclc=1148617048}}
* {{cite book|last=Beckert|first=Sven|authorlink=Sven Beckert|year=2015|title=Empire of Cotton: A Global History|url=https://archive.org/details/empireofcottongl0000beck_y4i0|url-access=registration|publisher=Vintage Books|isbn=978-0-375-71396-5|oclc=1301977762}}
* {{cite book|last=Black Hawk|authorlink=Black Hawk (Sauk leader)|year=1882|title=Autobiography of Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak or Black Hawk |translator-last=LeClair|translator-first=Antoine|translator-link=Antoine Le Claire|editor-last=Patterson|editor-first=J. B.|publisher=J. B. Patterson |url=https://archive.org/details/autobiomaka00blacrich|oclc=1039980047}}
* {{cite book|last=Bordewich|first=Fergus M.|authorlink=Fergus Bordewich|year=2012|title=America's Great Debate: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise that Preserved the Union|url=https://archive.org/details/americasgreatdeb0000bord|url-access=registration|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-4391-2460-4 |oclc=1285466261}}
* {{cite book|last=Cashin|first=Joan E.|year=2006|title=First Lady of the Confederacy: Varina Davis's Civil War|publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-02294-2 |oclc=0674022947 |url=https://archive.org/details/firstladyofconfe00cash |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Collins |first=Donald E. |year=2005 |title=The Death and Resurrection of Jefferson Davis |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |url=https://archive.org/details/deathresurrectio0000coll |url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-7425-4304-1 |oclc=56614193}}
* {{cite book|last=Connelly|first=Thomas L.|authorlink=Thomas L. Connelly|year=1977|title=The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Society|url=https://archive.org/details/marbleman00thom|url-access=registration|publisher=Knopf|isbn=0-394-47179-2 |oclc=469500741}}
* {{cite book|last1=Connelly|first1=Thomas L.|last2=Bellows|first2=Barbara L.|year=1982|title=God and General Longstreet: The Lost Cause and the Southern Mind|url=https://archive.org/details/godgenerallongst00thom|url-access=registration|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=0-8071-1020-5 |oclc=45731896}}
* {{cite book|last=Cook|first=Robert J.|year=2007|title=Troubled Commemoration: The American Civil War Centennial, 1961–1965|url=https://archive.org/details/troubledcommemor0000cook|url-access=registration|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=978-0-8071-3227-2 |oclc=740449986}}
* {{cite book|last1=Cooper|first1=William J. Jr.|author1-link=William J. Cooper Jr.|last2=Terrill|first2=Tom E.|year=1991|title=The American South: A History|publisher=Knopf|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780394589480|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-394-58948-0|oclc=1150030909}}
* {{cite book |last=Cooper |first=William J. Jr. |year=2000|title=Jefferson Davis, American |publisher=Knopf|url=https://archive.org/details/jeffersondavisam00coop/page/8|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-307-77264-0 |oclc=1035904007}}
* {{cite book |last=Cooper |first=William J. Jr. |year=2008|title=Jefferson Davis and the Civil War Era |publisher=Louisiana State University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/jeffersondavisci0000coop|url-access=registration|isbn= 978-0-8071-3371-2 |oclc=1302084578}}
* {{cite book |last=Crackel |first=Theodore J. |year=2002|title=West Point: A Bicentennial History |publisher=University Press of Kansas|url=https://archive.org/details/westpoint00theo|url-access=registration|isbn=0-7006-1160-6 |oclc=1036965649}}
* {{cite book|last=Davis|first=Harry A.|year=1927|title=The Davis Family (Davies and David) in Wales and America; Genealogy of Morgan David of Pennsylvania|publisher= Washington, D. C., H. A. Davis, 1927.|url=https://archive.org/details/davisfamilydavie00davi |url-access=registration|oclc=20801352}}
* {{cite book|last=Davis|first=William C.|authorlink=William C. Davis (historian)|year=1991|title=Jefferson Davis: The Man and his Hour |publisher=Harpercollins|url=https://archive.org/details/jeffersondavisma00davi|url-access=registration |isbn=0-06-016706-8 |oclc=1150103061}} - Wikipedia article on the book: ''[[Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour]]''
* {{cite book|last=DeRosa|first=Marshall L.|year=1991|title=The Confederate Constitution of 1861 : An Inquiry into American Constitutionalism|url=https://archive.org/details/confederateconst00dero|url-access=registration|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=0-8262-0812-6 |oclc=1148595299}}
* {{cite book|last=Dugard|first=Martin|authorlink=Martin Dugard (author)|year=2009|title=The Training Ground: Grant, Lee, Sherman, and Davis in the Mexican War, 1846–1848|url=https://archive.org/details/traininggroundgr0000duga_w9a9|url-access=registration|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=978-0-8032-2812-2|oclc=1302546114}}
* {{cite book|last=Durden|first=Robert F.|authorlink=Robert Franklin Durden|year=1972|title=The Gray and the Black: The Confederate Debate on Emancipation|url=https://archive.org/details/grayblack00robe|url-access=registration|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=0-8071-0244-X |oclc=1035312500}}
* {{cite book|last=Eaton|first=Clement|authorlink=Clement Eaton|year=1977|title=Jefferson Davis|publisher=Free Press|url=https://archive.org/details/jeffersondavis00clem|url-access=registration|isbn=0-02-908700-7 |oclc=1035928281}}
* {{cite book|last=Eckert|first=Edward K.|year=1987|title="Fiction Distorting Fact": Prison Life, Annotated by Jefferson Davis|url=https://archive.org/details/fictiondistortin0000crav|url-access=registration|publisher=Mercer University Press|isbn=0-86554-201-5|oclc=1200471494}}
* {{cite book|last=Eisenhower|first=John S. D.|authorlink=John Eisenhower|year=1990|title=So Far from God: The U.S. War with Mexico 1846–1848|url=https://archive.org/details/sofarfromgoduswa00eise|url-access=registration|publisher=Anchor Books|isbn=0-385-41214-2|oclc=1036955120}}
* {{cite book |last=Escott |first=Paul D.|authorlink=Paul D. Escott|year=1978 |title=After Secession: Jefferson Davis and the Failure of Confederate Nationalism|url=https://archive.org/details/aftersecessionje0000esco_b1d6|url-access=registration |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |isbn=978-0-8071-1807-8|oclc=3844261}}
* {{cite book|last=Escott|first=Paul D.|year=2009|title="What Shall We Do With the Negro?": Lincoln, White Racism, and the Civil War|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/aftersecessionje0000esco_b1d6|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-8071-0369-2|oclc=1145788949}}
* {{cite book|last=Foster|first=Gaines M.|year=1987|title=Ghosts of the Confederacy: Defeat, The Lost Cause, and the Emergence of the New South, 1865 to 1913|url=https://archive.org/details/ghostsofconfeder0000fost|url-access=registration|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-19-504213-9 |oclc=13794080}}
* {{cite book|last=Gallagher|first=Gary W.|authorlink=Gary W. Gallagher|year=1997|title=The Confederate War|url=https://archive.org/details/confederatewar0000gall|url-access=registration|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0-674-16055-X |oclc=1259497424}}
* {{cite book|last=Goldfield|first=David R.|authorlink=David Goldfield|year=2002|title=Still Fighting the Civil War: The American South and Southern History|url=https://archive.org/details/stillfightingciv0000gold_u0e9|url-access=registration|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=0-674-16055-X |oclc=1245805998}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hattaway |first1=Herman |last2=Beringer |first2=Richard E. |year=2002 |title=Jefferson Davis, Confederate President |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=978-0-7006-1170-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/jeffersondavisco0000hatt |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hattaway |first1=Herman |last2=Jones |first2=Archer |year=1991 |title=How the North Won: A Military History of the Civil War|publisher=University of Illinois Press|url=https://archive.org/details/hownorthwonmilit0000hatt_t7a0|url-access=registration|isbn=0-252-00918-5|oclc=1285549950}}
* {{cite book |last=Hermann |first=Janet Sharp|year=1981|title=The Pursuit of a Dream |publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/pursuitofdream0000herm|url-access=registration|isbn= 0-19-502887-2 |oclc=1151068422}}
* {{cite book|last=Hermann|first=Janet Sharp|year=1990|title=Joseph E. Davis: Pioneer Patriarch |publisher=University Press of Mississippi|url=https://archive.org/details/josephedavispion0000herm|url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-87805-488-6 |oclc=1200479903}}
* {{cite book|last=Hubbard|first=Charles M.|year=1998|title=The Burden of Confederate Diplomacy|url=https://archive.org/details/burdenofconfeder0000hubb|url-access=registration|publisher=University of Tennessee Press|isbn=1-57233-002-3|oclc=1301784875}}
* {{cite book|last=Hunter|first=Lloyd A.|year=2000|chapter=The Immortal Confederacy: Another Look at Lost Cause Religion|title=The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History|editor1-last=Gallagher|editor1-first=Gary W.|editor2-last=Nolan|editor2-first=Alan T.|editor2-link=Alan T. Nolan|publisher=Indiana University Press|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mythoflostcausec0000unse/page/185|pages=185–218|chapter-url-access=registration|isbn=0-253-33822-0|oclc=1148084732}}
* {{cite book|last=Icenhauer-Ramirez|first=Robert|year=2019|title=Treason on Trial: The United States v. Jefferson Davis|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|isbn=978-0-8071-7080-9|oclc=1056201876}}
* {{cite book|last=Lane|first=John Jay|url=https://texaslegalguide.com/images/History_of_Education_in_Texas.pdf|title=History of Education in Texas|publication-place=Washington, DC|publisher=Government Printing Office|date=1903|via=Texas Legal Guide}}
* {{cite book|last=Larson|first=Carlton C. W.|year=2020|title=On Treason: A Citizen's Guide to the Law|chapter=The Case of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America|publisher=Ecco|isbn=9780062996169|oclc=1182021191}}
* {{cite book|last=Lavender|first=David S.|authorlink=David Lavender|year=1966|title=Climax at Buena Vista: The American Campaigns in Northeastern Mexico|url=https://archive.org/details/climaxatbuenavis00lave|url-access=registration|publisher=Lippincott|oclc=1029283882}}
* {{cite book|last=Levine|first=Bruce R.|year=2006|title=Confederate Emancipation: Southern Plans to Free and Arm Slaves during the Civil War|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_2900195315867|url-access=registration|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-0-8071-2758-2 |oclc=1285645774}}
* {{cite book |last=McPherson |first=James M. |authorlink=James M. McPherson|year=2014|title=Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief|publisher=Penguin Press|url=https://archive.org/details/embattledrebelje0000mcph|url-access=registration|isbn= 978-1-59420-497-5 |oclc=1204326178}}
* {{cite book |last1=Neely |first1=Mark E. |author-link=Mark E. Neely Jr. |last2=Holzer |first2=Harold |author-link2=Harold Holzer |last3=Boritt |first3=Gabor S. |author-link3=Gabor Boritt |year=1987 |title=The Confederate Image: Prints of the Lost Cause |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=978-0-8078-4905-7 |oclc=248959614 |url=https://archive.org/details/confederateimage0000neel|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Nicoletti|first=Cynthia|author-link=Cynthia Nicoletti|year=2017|title= Secession on Trial: The Treason Prosecution of Jefferson Davis|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781108415521}} [https://www.fedbar.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Book-Reviews-pdf-1.pdf Review]
* {{cite book|last=Nolan|first=Alan T.|authorlink=Alan T. Nolan|year=2000|chapter=The Anatomy of the Myth|title=The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History|editor1-last=Gallagher|editor1-first=Gary W.|editor2-last=Nolan|editor2-first=Alan T.|publisher=Indiana University Press|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/mythoflostcausec0000unse/page/11|pages=11–34|chapter-url-access=registration|isbn=0-253-33822-0|oclc=1148084732}}
* {{cite book|last=Owsley|first=Frank L.|authorlink=Frank Lawrence Owsley|year=1959|title=King Cotton Diplomacy: Foreign Relations of the Confederate States of America|url=https://archive.org/details/kingcottondiplom0000owsl|url-access=registration|publisher=University of Chicago Press|oclc=1150138640}}
* {{cite book |last=Potter |first=David M.|author-link=David M. Potter|year=1976|editor-last=Fehrenbacher|editor-first=Don E.|editor-link=Don E. Fehrenbacher|title=The Impending Crisis, 1848–1861|publisher=Harper & Row|url=https://archive.org/details/impendingcrisis00pott|url-access=registration|isbn=0-06-013403-8 |oclc=1149517693}}
* {{cite book|last=Rafuse|first=Ethan|year=2013|chapter=Davis, Jefferson Finis|title=American Civil War: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection|editor1-last=Tucker|editor1-first=Spencer C.|editor-link=Spencer C. Tucker|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|volume=2}}
* {{cite book|last=Rennick|first=Robert M.|year=1984|title=Kentucky Place Names|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|url=https://archive.org/details/kentuckyplacenam0000renn|url-access=registration |isbn=0-8131-1503-5 |oclc=1302092929}}
* {{cite book|last=Roland|first=Charles P.|authorlink=Charles P. Roland|year=1991|chapter=Confederate Government and Administration|title=An American Iliad:The Story of the Civil War|publisher=Louisiana State University Press|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/americaniliadsto0000rola/page/102|chapter-url-access=registration|isbn=0-8071-0369-1|oclc=1145788949}}
* {{cite book|last=Rubin|first=Anne Sarah|year=2005|title=A Shattered Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy, 1861–1868|url=https://archive.org/details/shatterednationr0000rubi|url-access=registration|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|isbn=0-8078-2928-5|oclc=1256491263}}
* {{cite book|last=Shackel|first=Paul A. |author-link=Paul A. Shackel|year=2022|title=Cultural Encounters and Tolerance Through Analyses of Social and Artistic Evidences: From History to the Present|publisher=IGI Global|isbn= 9781799894407|chapter=Negotiating the Memory of the American Civil War|pages=36–50|editor-last=Altinõz |editor-first=Meltem Özkan}}
* {{cite book|last=Stampp|first=Kenneth M.|author-link=Kenneth M. Stampp|year=1980|title=The Imperiled Union: Essays on the Background of the Civil War|url=https://archive.org/details/imperileduniones00stam_0|url-access=registration|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=0-19-502681-0 |oclc=1035615086}}
* {{cite book|last=Stoker|first=Donald J.|authorlink=Donald Stoker (historian)|year=2010|title=The Grand Design: Strategy and the U.S. Civil War|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=https://archive.org/details/granddesignstrat0000stok|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-19-537305-9|oclc=1149215547}}
* {{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Emory M.|authorlink=Emory M. Thomas|year=1970|title=The Confederacy as Revolutionary Experience|url=https://archive.org/details/bio00emor/page/132|url-access=registration|publisher=Prentice-Hall|isbn= |oclc=1147732382}}
* {{cite book|last=Thomas|first=Emory M.|year=1998|chapter=Rebellion and Conventional Warfare: Confederate Strategy and Military Policy|editor1-last=McPherson|editor1-first=James M.|editor2-last=Cooper|editor2-first=William J. Jr.|title=Writing the Civil War: The Quest to Understand|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/writingcivilwarq0000unse/page/36|chapter-url-access=registration|pages=36–59|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|isbn=1-57003-389-7 |oclc=1302554523}}
* {{cite book |last=Todd |first=Richard C. |year=1954|title=Confederate Finance|publisher=University of Georgia Press|url=https://archive.org/details/confederatefinan0000rich_j2x1|url-access=registration| oclc=1244725167}} {{isbn|0-252-01755-2|}}.
* {{cite book |last=Wallner |first=Peter A. |year=2007|title=Franklin Pierce: Martyr for the Union|volume=II|publisher=Plaidswede|url=https://archive.org/details/franklinpierce0000wall|url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-9790784-2-2 |oclc=436298116}}
* {{cite book|last=Winders|first=Richard B.|year=2016|title=Panting For Glory: The Mississippi Rifles in the Mexican War|publisher=Texas A & M University|isbn=978-1-62349-416-2|oclc=933438558}}
* {{cite book|last=Woods|first=Michael E.|year=2020|title=Arguing Until Doomsday: Stephen Douglas, Jefferson Davis, and the Struggle for American Democracy|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|isbn=978-1-4696-5639-7 |oclc=1119478016}}
* {{cite book |last=Woodworth|first=Steven E. |authorlink=Steven E. Woodworth|year=1990 |title=Jefferson Davis and His Generals: The Failure of Confederate Command in the West |publisher=University Press of Kansas|url=https://archive.org/details/jeffersondavishi00wood |url-access=registration|isbn=978-0-7006-0461-6| oclc=1035892379}}
{{refend}}
=== Journal articles ===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite journal |last=Atuire |first=Caesar Alimsinya |year=2020 |title=Black Lives Matter and the removal of racist statues: Perspective of an African |journal=Inquiries into Art, History, and the Visual |volume=2 |pages=449–467 |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:32d0d19e-cd2b-4ae4-8ee2-8af0c3b0d029/download_file?file_format=application%2Fpdf&safe_filename=Caesar_Atuire_2022_Black_Lives_Matter.pdf&type_of_work=Journal+article |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205025202/https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:32d0d19e-cd2b-4ae4-8ee2-8af0c3b0d029/download_file?file_format=application%2Fpdf&safe_filename=Caesar_Atuire_2022_Black_Lives_Matter.pdf&type_of_work=Journal+article |archive-date=December 5, 2022}}
* {{cite journal |last=Beckert |first=Sven |authorlink=Sven Beckert |year=2004 |title=Emancipation and empire: Reconstructing the worldwide web of cotton production in the age of the American Civil War |journal=American Historical Review |volume=109 |number=5 |pages=1405–1438 |url=https://dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/3207344 |jstor=10.1086/530931 |doi=10.1086/530931 |s2cid=161634950 |issn=0002-8762 |url-access=subscription}}
* {{cite journal |last=Bleser |first=Carol K. |year=1999 |title=The Marriage of Varina Howell and Jefferson Davis: 'I gave the best and all my life to a girdled tree.' |journal=Journal of Southern History |volume=65 |number=1 |pages=3–40 |doi=10.2307/2587730 |jstor=2587730}}
* {{cite journal |last=Currie |first=David P. |authorlink=David P. Currie |year=2004 |title=Through the looking-glass: the Confederate Constitution in Congress, 1861–1865 |journal=Virginia Law Review |volume=90 |number=5 |pages=1257–1399 |doi=10.2307/3202380 |jstor=3202380}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Fleming |first=Walter L. |author-link=Walter L. Fleming |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015035890360&seq=265 |title=The Early Life of Jefferson Davis |date=April 1917 |journal= Proceedings of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association for 1915–1916|volume=IX, Part 1 |type=Extra number, [[Solon J. Buck|Buck, S. J.]] (ed.) |pages=151–176 |issn=0161-391X |archive-url=https://archive.org/details/earlylifeofjeffe00flem/mode/1up|archive-date=10 Dec 2025}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Hague |first1=Euan |last2=Sebesta |first2=Edward H. |year=2011 |title=The Jefferson Davis Highway: Contesting the Confederacy in the Pacific Northwest |journal=The Journal of American Studies |volume=45 |number=2 |pages=281–301 |doi=10.1017/S0021875811000089 |jstor=23016275 |s2cid=145607515}}
* {{cite journal |last=Hattaway |first=Herman |date=December 1992 |title=[Review:] ''Jefferson Davis: The Man and his Hour'' by William C. Davis |journal=The Journal of American History |volume=79 |number=3 |pages=1178–1179 |doi=10.2307/2080868 |jstor=2080868}}
* {{cite journal |last=Huston |first=James L. |year=1999 |title=Property rights in slavery and the coming of the Civil War |journal=The Journal of Southern History |volume=65 |number=2 |pages=249–286 |doi=10.2307/2587364 |jstor=2587364}}
* {{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Ludwell H. |authorlink=Ludwell H. Johnson |year=1960 |title=Fort Sumter and Confederate diplomacy |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-southern-history_1960-11_26_4/page/n3 |journal=Journal of Southern History |volume=26 |number=4 |pages=441–447 |doi=10.2307/2204623 |jstor=2204623}}
* {{Cite journal |last=MacDonnell |first=Francis |date=June 1994 |title=Reconstruction in the Wake of Vietnam: The Pardoning of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis |journal=[[Civil War History]] |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=119–133 |doi=10.1353/cwh.1994.0011}}
* {{cite journal |last=Muldowny |first=John |year=1969 |title=Jefferson Davis: The postwar years |journal=The Mississippi Quarterly |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=17–35 |jstor=26473833}}
* {{cite journal |last=Scanlan |first=P. L. |year=1940 |title=The military record of Jefferson Davis in Wisconsin |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_wisconsin-magazine-of-history_1940-12_24_2/page/174 |journal=The Wisconsin Magazine of History |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=174–182 |jstor=4631371}}
* {{cite journal |last=Simpson |first=John A. |year=1975 |title=Cult of the "lost cause" |journal=Tennessee Historical Quarterly |volume=34 |number=4 |pages=350–361 |jstor=42623867}}
* {{cite journal |last=Starnes |first=Richard D. |year=1996 |title=Forever faithful: The Southern Historical Society and Confederate historical memory |journal=Southern Cultures |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=177–194 |doi=10.1353/scu.1996.0006 |jstor=26235410 |s2cid=143650397}}
* {{cite journal |last=Todd |first=Richard C. |year=1958 |title=C. G. Memminger and the Confederate Treasury Department |journal=The Georgia Review |volume=12 |number=4 |pages=396–410 |jstor=41395577}}
* {{cite journal |last=Waite |first=Kevin |year=2016 |title=Jefferson Davis and proslavery visions of empire in the Far West |journal=Journal of the Civil War Era |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=536–565 |doi=10.1353/cwe.2016.0072 |jstor=26070455 |s2cid=164302059 |url=http://dro.dur.ac.uk/23030/1/23030.pdf}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=Kenneth H. |last2=Cooper |first2=William J. Jr. |last3=Roland |first3=Charles P. |year=2003 |editor-last=Williams |editor-first=Kenneth H. |title=Slavery, the Civil War, and Jefferson Davis: An interview with William J. Cooper Jr. and Charles P. Roland |journal=The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society |volume=101 |number=4 |pages=400–456 |jstor=23387081}}
* {{cite journal |last=Vandiver |first=Frank E. |authorlink=Frank E. Vandiver |year=1977 |title=Jefferson Davis—Leader without legend |journal=The Journal of Southern History |volume=43 |number=1 |pages=3–18 |doi=10.2307/2207552 |jstor=2207552}}
{{refend}}
=== Online ===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web |url=https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/about-jefferson-davis |title=About Jefferson Davis |publisher=The Papers of Jefferson Davis |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205132942/https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/about-jefferson-davis |ref={{SfnRef|Rice University|2018}}}}
* {{cite news |last=Blackburn |first=Piper H. |date=July 14, 2020 |title=GOP lawmakers complain about Davis statue removal process |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/a1b3169fcc17ad640316ea07ef979e91 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206070338/https://apnews.com/article/ff5565896278c982018c9d3d86cfa09d |archive-date=December 6, 2022}}
* {{cite web |title=Jefferson Davis Statue |url=https://www.aoc.gov/art/national-statuary-hall-collection/jefferson-davis |publisher=[[Architect of the Capitol]] |archive-date=June 11, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611051038/https://www.aoc.gov/art/national-statuary-hall-collection/jefferson-davis |url-status=live |ref={{SfnRef|Architect of the Capitol|2016}}}}
* {{cite web |url=http://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/JosephEvanDavis.aspx |title=Joseph Evan Davis |publisher=The Papers of Jefferson Davis |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702005030/http://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/MargaretDavisHayes.aspx |ref={{SfnRef|Rice University|2011a}}}}
* {{cite web |url=http://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/MargaretDavisHayes.aspx |title=Margaret Howell Davis Hayes |publisher=The Papers of Jefferson Davis |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702005030/http://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/MargaretDavisHayes.aspx |ref={{SfnRef|Rice University|2013}}}}
* {{cite news |last=Matisse |first=Jonathan |date=December 21, 2017 |title=Confederate statues removed after Memphis sells public parks |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/994d0c83cd0f4336a657b5d6e2423598 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129134432/https://apnews.com/article/994d0c83cd0f4336a657b5d6e2423598 |archive-date=January 29, 2021}}
* {{cite web |title=Preventing Diplomatic Recognition of the Confederacy, 1861–1865 |publisher=United States Department of State: Office of the Historian |url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1861-1865/Confederacy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828005906/http://history.state.gov/milestones/1861-1865/Confederacy |archive-date=August 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |ref={{SfnRef|U.S. Department of State|2013}}}}
* {{cite news |date=May 11, 2017 |title=Raw: Confederate statue removed amid controversy |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/779cc69d22ab4d8499e911cba3fc419b |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206070750/https://apnews.com/article/779cc69d22ab4d8499e911cba3fc419b |archive-date=December 6, 2022 |ref={{SfnRef|Associated Press|2017}}}}
* {{cite news |date=February 2, 2020 |title=Richmond starts removal of Confederate monument pedestals |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/richmond-race-and-ethnicity-virginia-levar-stoney-948c3e176fc07d0d7b81c63a8fae38e4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510213756/https://apnews.com/article/richmond-race-and-ethnicity-virginia-levar-stoney-948c3e176fc07d0d7b81c63a8fae38e4 |archive-date=May 10, 2022 |ref={{SfnRef|Associated Press|2022a}}}}
* {{cite report |last=Southern Poverty Law Center |year=2022 |title=Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy |edition=3rd |publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center |url=https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/whose-heritage-report-third-edition.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201143454/https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/whose-heritage-report-third-edition.pdf |archive-date=February 1, 2022}}
* {{cite web |title=Today in History–November 6 |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/november-06/ |website=The Library of Congress |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224191336/https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/november-06/ |archive-date=February 24, 2024 |language=en |ref={{SfnRef|LOC|2024}}}}
* {{cite news |date=August 30, 2015 |title=University of Texas removes Jefferson Davis statue |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/779cc69d22ab4d8499e911cba3fc419b |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206071707/https://apnews.com/article/59c24ad06b0e422c934aa5432b2592ae |archive-date=December 6, 2022 |ref={{SfnRef|Associated Press|2015}}}}
* {{cite web |url=http://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/VarinaAnneDavis.aspx |title=Varina Anne Davis |publisher=The Papers of Jefferson Davis |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702005030/http://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/VarinaAnneDavis.aspx |ref={{SfnRef|Rice University|2011b}}}}
* {{cite web |url=https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/peoplelist/william-howell-davis |title=William Howell Davis |publisher=The Papers of Jefferson Davis |archive-date=August 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814231028/https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/peoplelist/william-howell-davis |ref={{SfnRef|Rice University|2020}}}}
* {{cite news |date=February 16, 2020 |title=Workers removing Davis monument pedestal find box in stone |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/business-travel-museums-virginia-levar-stoney-32a6f26907372652e76496486f663a83 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217034624/https://apnews.com/article/business-travel-museums-virginia-levar-stoney-32a6f26907372652e76496486f663a83 |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |ref={{SfnRef|Associated Press|2022b}}}}
{{refend}}
'''Primary sources'''
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite web |last=Carter |first=Jimmy |year=1978 |title=Restoration of Citizenship Rights to Jefferson F. Davis Statement on Signing S. J. Res. 16 into Law |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29993/ |publisher=American Presidency Project |editor1-last=Peters |editor1-first=Gerhard |editor2-last=Woolley |editor2-first=John T. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526224740/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29993%2F |archive-date=May 26, 2013 |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book |last=Confederate Congress |year=1861 |title=Permanent Constitution of the Confederate States of America |url=https://archive.org/details/permanentconstit00conf/ |publisher=James H. Goody |oclc=1050739878}}
* {{cite book |last=Davis |first=Jefferson |year=1848 |title=Speech of Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, on the Oregon bill. Delivered in the Senate of the United States, July 12, 1848 |url=https://archive.org/details/speechofjefferso00davi_0 |publisher=Towers |oclc=1155588355}}
* {{cite book |last=Davis |first=Jefferson |year=1850 |title=Speech of Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, on the Subject of Slavery in the Territories. Delivered in the Senate of the United States, February 13 & 14, 1850 |url=https://archive.org/details/speechofmrdaviso00lcdavi |publisher=Towers |oclc=974454463}}
* {{cite book |last=Davis |first=Jefferson |year=1923 |orig-year=1858 |chapter=Speech of Jefferson Davis before the Mississippi Legislature, November 16, 1858 |chapter-url={{google book|id=spUsAAAAMAAJ|pg=PA339|plainurl=yes}} |pages=339–360 |title=Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers, and Speeches |volume=III |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spUsAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Mississippi department of Archives and History |editor-last=Rowland |editor-first=Dunbar |ref={{SfnRef|Davis|1858}} |oclc=49736253}} {{isbn|978-0-404-02000-2  }}.
* {{cite web |last=Davis |first=Jefferson |year=1861a |url=https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/jefferson-davis-farewell-address |website=Rice University: The Papers of Jefferson Davis |title=Jefferson Davis's Farewell Address: Senate Chamber, U.S. Capitol, January 21, 1861 |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627043214/https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/jefferson-davis-farewell-address |url-status=live}}
* {{cite web |last=Davis |first=Jefferson |year=1861b |url=https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/jefferson-davis-first-inaugural-address |website=Rice University: The Papers of Jefferson Davis |title=Jefferson Davis' First Inaugural Address: Alabama Capitol, Montgomery, February 18, 1861 |archive-date=December 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215135255/https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/jefferson-davis-first-inaugural-address |url-status=live}}
* {{cite web |last=Davis |first=Jefferson |year=1861c |title=Message to Congress April 29, 1861 (Ratification of the [Confederate] Constitution) |url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_m042961.asp |publisher=The Avalon Project—Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy; Yale Law School: Lillian Goldman Law Library |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212102323/https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_m042961.asp |archive-date=December 12, 2008}}
* {{cite web |last=Davis |first=Jefferson |year=1862 |url=https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/jefferson-davis-second-inaugural-address |title=Jefferson Davis' Second Inaugural Address, Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862 |publisher=The Papers of Jefferson Davis |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920111708/https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/jefferson-davis-second-inaugural-address}}
* {{cite book |last=Davis |first=Jefferson |year=1906 |orig-year=1863a |chapter=Jefferson Davis' Message to the Third Session of the First Confederate Congress, Delivered in Richmond, January 12, 1863 |chapter-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Jefferson_Davis%27_Message_to_the_Third_Session_of_the_First_Confederate_Congress |pages=279–297 |title=A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Confederacy, Including the Diplomatic Correspondence, 1861–1865 |publisher=United States Publishing |editor-last=Richardson |editor-first=James D. |ref={{SfnRef|Davis|1863a}} |via={{icon|wikisource}} wikisource}}
* {{cite book |last=Davis |first=Jefferson |year=1906 |orig-year=1863b |chapter=Jefferson Davis' Message to the Fourth Session of the First Confederate Congress, Delivered in Richmond, December 7, 1863 |chapter-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Jefferson_Davis%27_Message_to_the_Fourth_Session_of_the_First_Confederate_Congress |pages=345–382 |title=A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Confederacy, Including the Diplomatic Correspondence, 1861–1865 |publisher=United States Publishing |editor-last=Richardson |editor-first=James D. |ref={{SfnRef|Davis|1863b}} |via={{icon|wikisource}} wikisource}}
* {{cite book |last=Davis |first=Jefferson |year=1906 |orig-year=1864 |chapter=Jefferson Davis' Message to the First Session of the Second Confederate Congress, Delivered in Richmond, May 2, 1864 |chapter-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Compilation_of_the_Messages_and_Papers_of_the_Confederacy,_Including_the_Diplomatic_Correspondence,_1861-1865/Volume_1/Second_Congress,_First_Session |pages=443–448 |title=A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Confederacy, Including the Diplomatic Correspondence, 1861–1865 |publisher=United States Publishing |editor-last=Richardson |editor-first=James D. |ref={{SfnRef|Davis|1864}} |via={{icon|wikisource}} wikisource}}
* {{cite web |last=Davis |first=Jefferson |year=1865 |url=https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/people-confederate-states-america |title=To the People of the Confederate States of America. Danville, Va., April 4, 1865. |publisher=The Papers of Jefferson Davis |archive-date=September 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917002010/https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/people-confederate-states-america}}
*{{Cite news |date=April 28, 1886 |title=Reminiscences of Maj. Gen. Thomas Hinds|last=Jones|first= J. G.| url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-clarion-reminiscences-of-maj-gen-t/161013517/ |access-date=December 6, 2025|url-access=limited |work=The Clarion |pages=1}}
* {{cite web |last=Johnson |first=Andrew |year=1868 |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.23602600/ |title=December 25, 1868.- Granting Full Pardon and Amnesty to All Persons Engaged in the Late Rebellion. |publisher=Library of Congress |archive-date=February 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222080756/https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.23602600/}}
* {{cite book |last=McPherson |first=Edward |year=1868 |chapter=Trial of Jefferson Davis |title=A Handbook of Politics for 1868 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofpoliti00mcph_0/page/112 |publisher=Philp & Solomons |page=113}} {{isbn|9788123743141}}.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Library resources box |by=yes |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Jefferson Davis}}
<!--PLEASE see [[Wikipedia:External links]] and [[Wikipedia:Spam]]
* [http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/8z6gr Jefferson Davis Collection] at Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library-->
* [http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_markers/county/irwin/jefferson-davis5 Jefferson Davis] at the [[Digital Library of Georgia]]
* [http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Davis_Jefferson_1808-1889 Jefferson Davis] at ''Encyclopedia Virginia'' (encyclopediavirginia.org)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151109122201/http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/jeffdavis/ The Jefferson Davis Estate Papers] at the [[Mississippi Department of Archives and History]]
* [http://www.visitbeauvoir.org/ Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum]
* {{Librivox author|id=6019}}
* [http://digital.lib.miamioh.edu/cdm/search/collection/richey/searchterm/jefferson%20davis/mode/all/order/datea Works by Jefferson Davis] at [[Miami University]]
* {{OL author}}
* {{Gutenberg author|id=1741|name=Jefferson Davis}}
* {{Internet Archive author|sname=Jefferson Davis|sopt=t}}
* {{CongBio|D000113}}

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