How to Reach Us The Papers of Jefferson Davis Rice University--MS 215 P.O. it is due to the sound discretion with which they select from among themselves those to whom they confide the legislative duties. Phone: (713) 348-2586 Although each president claimed to prefer peace to war, Lincoln maintained a clear message of brotherhood and unity in his speeches. that is due in the first place to the reflecting character of our citizens at large, who, by the weight of public opinion, influence and strengthen the public measures. If the acquiescence of foreign nations in a pretended blockade has deprived us of our commerce with them, it is fast making us a self-supporting and an independent people. 1805], Reading Copy of Second Inaugural Address, [before 4 Mch. The first year in our history has been the most eventful in the annals of this continent. Fellow-Citizens: On this the birthday of the man most identified with the establishment of American independence, and beneath the monument erected to commemorate his heroic virtues and those of his compatriots, we have assembled to usher into existence the Permanent Government of the Confederate States. Jefferson Davis believed the union of the United States was formed by loose bonds that could be broken if necessary. Jeffersons use of it signals that in, Jefferson also struggled and held firm to another of the topics first marked for discussion, the licentiousness of the press. | 22 In spite of his laborious attempt to discountenance the opposition to philosophy and to make a statement about the opposition press, Jefferson recognized, as he wrote in his Notes on a Draught for a second inaugural Address, that the nature of the occasion requires that detail should be avoided. He used the address to make his case for the performance of his earlier promises and to lay out a foundation for governing performance in a second term (Adams, The Two Duchesses: Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire, Elizabeth Duchess of Devonshire. but the weaknesses of human nature, & the limits of my own understanding will produce errors of judgment sometimes injurious to your interests. copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. It was, perhaps, in the ordination of Providence that we were to be taught the value of our liberties by the price which we pay for them. 1862 (and Washington's birthday), Davis gave a second inaugural address, after winning an election under . The remaining revenue, on the consumption of foreign articles, is paid chiefly by those who can afford to add foreign luxuries to domestic comforts. "Jefferson Davis' Second Inaugural Address," The Papers of Jefferson Davis, accessed March 13, 2015, https: . In February of 1861, just two months before the official start of the Civil War, Jefferson Davis delivered his inaugural address to the Confederacy as its new leader. The address has drawn more attention from scholars of Jeffersons public presentation and expression of executive authority, but it remains secondary to his first address. our fellow citizens looked on cool, & collected. James Buchanan Democratic Party Abraham Lincoln Republican Party Jefferson Davis*** Democratic Party Andrew Johnson Republican Party Ulysses S. Grant Republican Party. In this lesson, we will briefly examine how Jefferson Davis expressed his views on liberty, equality, union, and government in his first inaugural address. Davis argued that the North oppressed the South through its disapproval of slavery, a practice vital to its economy and culture. facts are piercing through the veil drawn over them: & our doubting brethren will at length see that the mass of their fellow citizens, with whom they cannot yet resolve to act, as to principles & measures, think as they think, & desire what they desire. . Abraham Lincoln had many neutral political views, which contrasted against Jefferson Davis' bias beliefs. In contrast, Davis wanted to direct his energies to the new Confederacy with no interest in returning to the North. Upon the first call the men flew to arms, and wifes and mothers send their husbands and sons to battle without a murmur of regret. Whether a government, conducting itself in the true spirit of its constitution with zeal and purity, and doing no act which it would be unwilling the whole world should witness, can be written down by falsehood & defamation? To save ourselves from a revolution which, in its silent but rapid progress, was about to place us under the despotism of numbers, and to preserve in spirit, as well as in form, a system of government we believed to be peculiarly fitted to our condition, and full of promise for mankind, we determined to make a new association, composed of States homogeneous in interest, in policy, and in feeling. To save ourselves from a revolution which, in its silent but rapid progress, was about to place us under the despotism of numbers, and to preserve in spirit, as well as in form, a system of government we believed to be peculiarly fitted to our condition, and full of promise for mankind, we determined to make a new association, composed of States homogeneous in interest, in policy, and in feeling. Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 - December 6, 1889) was an American military officer, statesman, and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as the President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-1302, National Historical Publications and Bastiles filled with prisoners, arrested without civil process or indictment duly found; the writ of habeas corpus suspended by Executive mandate; a State Legislature controlled by the imprisonment of members whose avowed principles suggested to the Federal Executive that there might be another added to the list of seceded States; elections held under threats of a military power; civil officers, peaceful citizens, and gentle-women incarcerated for opinion's sake--proclaimed the incapacity of our late associates to administer a Government as free, liberal, and humane as that established for our common use. War of conquest they cannot wage, because the Constitution of their Confederacy admits of no coerced association. Among the observers in the gallery was the outgoing vice president, Aaron Burr, who had been dropped from the ticket for Jeffersons second term. [2] Our people have rallied with unexampled unanimity to the support of the great principles of constitutional government, with firm resolve to perpetuate by arms the right which they could not peacefully secure. An error occurred trying to load this video. these persons inculcate a sanctimonious reverence for the customs of their ancestors; that whatsoever they did must be done through all time; that reason is a false guide, and to advance under its counsel in their physical, moral or political condition is perilous innovation: that their duty is to remain as their creator made them, ignorance being safety, and knolege full of danger. The first year in our history has been the most eventful in the annals of this continent. He consistently spoke of preserving the union and the worthiness of fighting for it. Fellow-Citizens:On this the birthday of the man most identified with the establishment of American independence, and beneath the monument erected to commemorate his heroic virtues and those of his compatriots, we have assembled to usher into existence the Permanent Government of the Confederate States. It is with mingled feelings of humility and pride that I appear to take, in the presence of the people and before high Heaven, the oath prescribed as a qualification for the exalted station to which the unanimous voice of the people has called me. While the war had started favorably for the Confederate States, the first several weeks of 1862 found the North was winning all the battles. If so, the document has kinship to his January 1804 notes of conversations with Aaron Burr and Benjamin Hichborn (Vol. Jeffersons painstaking work in preparing the reading copy was worthwhile in allowing him to put the full text of the speech on the two faces of the single sheet. Julian Boyd linked the markings on that early version of the Declaration to the marks present in this reading script. Second Inaugural Address by Jefferson Davis (Confederate States of America) Summary In this second Inaugural Address, Davis, now President of the Confederate States, speaks from what is now the Capitol of the Confederate States of America, Richmond Virginia. A million of men, it is estimated, are now standing in hostile array, and waging war along a frontier of thousands of miles. But we knew the value of the object for which we struggled, and understood the nature of the war in which we were engaged. Never has a people evinced a more determined spirit than that now animating men, women, and children in every part of our country. According to this view, he believed the Southern states could not legally leave the union. Success crowned their efforts, and they provided for the posterity a peaceful remedy against future aggression. If the acquiescence of foreign nations in a pretended blockade has deprived us of our commerce with them, it is fast making us a self-supporting and an independent people. Sherman's March to the Sea | History, Significance & Date, The First Battle of Bull Run | Significance, Outcome & Facts, Abraham Lincoln During the Civil War | Quotes, Facts & Timeline, Development of the U.S. Free Enterprise System, John Brown's Raid at Harpers Ferry | Facts, Purpose & Outcome, Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address | Themes & Purpose. and when the constitution called them to the decision by suffrage, they pronounced their verdict, honorable to those who had served them, and consolatory to the friend of man, who believes that he may be trusted with the controul of his own affairs. Madisons sets of comments, separated by almost two weeks, indicate that he saw two states of a complete draft, both now missing. Although perhaps not as famous as Lincoln, Jefferson Davis' words still play an important role in American history. War Democrats, border states, and Republicans. being collected on our sea-board and frontiers only, & incorporated with the transactions of our mercantile citizens, it may be the pleasure and the pride of an American to ask What farmer, what mechanic, what labourer ever sees a tax-gatherer of the US.? The great principles upon which we have been willing to hazard everything that is dear to man have made conquests for us which could never have been achieved by the sword. Before noon on Monday, the 4th of March, Jefferson mounted his horseprobably Wildair, his prized bay saddle horseand rode the mile and a half up Pennsylvania Avenue from the Presidents House to the Capitol. they too have their Anti-Philosophists, who find an interest in keeping things in their present state; who dread reformation, and exert all their faculties to maintain the ascendancy of habit over the duty of improving our reason, & obeying its mandates. Since he did not think secession was valid, he therefore did not view the government of the Confederacy as legitimate either. It is a satisfaction that we have maintained the war by our unaided exertions. Abraham Lincoln was reelected to a second term as President of the United States in 1865. you have witnessed the scene. Contemplating the union of sentiment now manifested so generally, as auguring harmony & happiness to our future course, I offer to our country sincere congratulations. Many were incorporated into Smiths copy, and others were added to both copies via editorial marks. Bastiles filled with prisoners, arrested without civil process or indictment duly found; the writ ofhabeas corpussuspended by Executive mandate; a State Legislature controlled by the imprisonment of members whose avowed principles suggested to the Federal Executive that there might be another added to the list of seceded States; elections held under threats of a military power; civil officers, peaceful citizens, and gentle-women incarcerated for opinions sakeproclaimed the incapacity of our late associates to administer a Government as free, liberal, and humane as that established for our common use. Jack Shorter, an enslaved stable hand at the Presidents House, may have been the groom. Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862. Note: this link will eventually disappear! With confidence in the wisdom and virtue of those who will share with me the responsibility and aid me in the conduct of public affairs; securely relying on the patriotism and courage of the people, of which the present war has furnished so many examples, I deeply feel the weight of the responsibilities I now, with unaffected diffidence, am about to assume; and, fully realizing the inequality of human power to guide and to sustain, my hope is reverently fixed on Him whose favor is ever vouchsafed to the cause which is just. To show ourselves worthy of the inheritance bequeathed to us by the patriots of the Revolution, we must emulate that heroic devotion which made reverse to them but the crucible in which their patriotism was refined. The Government had ceased to answer the ends for which it was ordained and established. 1805], To Samuel Harrison Smith, [ca. He apparently had a complete draft by 8 Feb., for on that day he received James Madisons response, followed on the 12th by remarks from Albert Gallatin and from Henry Dearborn the following day. Tuesday, January 20, 1953. . But the endeavors to enlighten them on the fate which awaits their present course of life, to induce them to exercise their reason, follow its dictates, & change their pursuits with the change of circumstances, have powerful obstacles to encounter. Jefferson Davis (pictured here on the eve of the Civil War) delivered his second inaugural address in Richmond, Virginia, on February 22, 1862. . Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 84,000 Jefferson Davis' First Inaugural Address. Davis argued that the North oppressed . The tyranny of an unbridled majority, the most odious and least responsible form of despotism, has denied us both the right and the remedy. Thomas Jefferson's inaugural address, delivered on March 4, 1801, was a statement of purpose for his presidency. Sheridan had turned from acting to a career of public lectures and writing in 1756, becoming a key driver of an elocutionary movement that centered performance at the heart of all public speaking. Jefferson asked for comments from Robert Smith on 14 Feb., and received a second set of notes from Madison on the 21st. The rule of voluntary association, which cannot fail to be conservative, by securing just and impartial government at home, does not diminish the security of the obligations by which the Confederate States may be bound to foreign nations. .' Nor have the material sacrifices of the past year been made without some corresponding benefits. these abuses of an institution, so important to freedom and science, are deeply to be regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness and to sap its safety. We cannot remove our respective sections from each other.' The president, who affects great plainness of dress and manners, was dressed all in black, including silk stockings, and was attended by his secretary and groom. The secretary was Isaac A. Coles, the young Virginian from Albemarle County who, since December, had been filling in for William A. Burwell as Jeffersons private secretary. Create your account, 26 chapters | Battles have been fought, sieges have been conducted, and, although the contest is not ended, and the tide for the moment is against us, the final result in our favor is not doubtful. Instances of self-sacrifice and of generous devotion to the noble cause for which we are contending are rife throughout the land. American History. In the transaction of your foreign affairs, we have endeavored to cultivate the friendship of all nations, & especially of those with which we have the most important relations. Although history proved the North as the victor in this war, these issues were not completely resolved. ], Second Inaugural Address, [before 4 Mch. [1] Transcribed from Dunbar Rowland, ed.,Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist, Volume 5, pp. The Papers of Jefferson Davis In giving these outlines, I do not mean, fellow citizens, to arrogate to myself the merit of the measures. The Government had ceased to answer the ends for which it was ordained and established. Records Commission. Through its grants program, the NHPRC supports a wide range of activities to 198-203. and history bears witness to the fact, that a just nation is trusted on its word, when recourse is had to armaments and wars to bridle others. When the independence of the Confederate States is recognized by the nations of the earth, and we are free to follow our interests and inclinations by cultivating foreign trade, the Southern States will offer to manufacturing nations the most favorable markets which ever invited their commerce. But the Government at Washington, denying our right to self-government, refused even to listen to any proposals for a peaceful separation. Therefore we are in arms to renew such sacrifices as our fathers made to the holy cause of constitutional liberty. Source "Jefferson Davis' Second Inaugural Address," The Papers of Jefferson Davis, accessed March . Title. Leonard Levys 1963 critical interpretation of the president, Seemingly in line with that new ethos of free speech, in. A million of men, it is estimated, are now standing in hostile array, and waging war along a frontier of thousands of miles. All rights reserved. They are diacritical marks to assist Jefferson in the oral delivery of the address. Printers, Jefferson argued, needed to be held accountable for disseminating dishonest or licentious information. but the experiment is noted to prove that, since truth & reason have maintained their ground against false opinions, in league with false facts, the Press, confined to truth, needs no other legal restraint. Some of you may have even recited them in grade school. On this day in 1861, former U.S. his refusal to sign the Wade-Davis Bill. Also available is Lincoln's first and second inaugural. 4 Mch. The day, the memory, and the purpose seem fitly associated. Thomas Jefferson's inaugural address, given on March 4, 1801, was a speech that outlined his vision for the country and his priorities as President. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. Recognizing that his treatment of the topic of Philosophy in the address was unorthodox, he apparently wrote the Notes on a Draught for a second inaugural Address to memorialize the decision for his ongoing record of his own times. but public duties more urgent press on the time of public servants and the offenders have therefore been left to find their punishment in the public indignation. Jefferson Davis stated that a "disparaging discrimination" and a fight for "liberty" against "the tyranny of an unbridled majority" gave the . See this thread for more information. Davis's inaugural address sought to prove that the formation of the Confederate States of America--and his Presidency over them--was, under the terms of the founding documents of the United States, lawful and even prescribed. The National Historical Publications and Chapter 14 - #1. This great strife has awakened in the people the highest emotions and qualities of the human soul. In a later reading of the marks, Jay Fliegelman instead asserted that, based on the placement and appearance of the markings, they represented not accented syllables but rhythmical pauses of emphatical stress used to divide the piece into units comparable to musical bars or poetic lines (Julian P. Boyd, The Declaration of Independence: The Mystery of the Lost Original,, The marks are nearly identical to those recommended by Irish actor, speaker, and rhetorician Thomas Sheridan, whom Jefferson occasionally recommended to young scholars seeking reading lists. But how many of you can quote an excerpt from a speech given by Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy? Seven Southern states. True to our traditions of peace and our love of justice, we sent commissioners to the United States to propose a fair and amicable settlement of all questions of public debt or property which might be in dispute. Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862 [1]. I have therefore undertaken, on no occasion, to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it: but have left them, as the constitution found them, under the direction & discipline of the state or church authorities acknoleged by the several religious societies. They believed that to remain longer in the Union would subject them to a continuance of a disparaging discrimination, submission to which would be inconsistent with their welfare, and intolerable to a proud people. In February of 1861, just two months before the official start of the Civil War, Jefferson Davis delivered his inaugural address to the Confederacy as its new leader. How did his views on the topics we just learned about evolve over those four years? Lincoln's second inaugural address: described the Civil War as divine punishment. At the darkest hour of our struggle the Provisional gives place to the Permanent Government. 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