The Modern Library Classics: Jefferson Davis: The Essential Writings

Jefferson Davis

ISBN 10: 0812972082 / ISBN 13: 9780812972085

Editore: Random House Publishing Group, 2004

Riguardo questo articolo

Leichte Rillen / Abschurfungen / Risse / Knicke. Jefferson Davis is a complex and controversial figure in American political history, having served as the president of the Confederacy and facing accusations related to Abraham Lincoln's assassination. This volume presents a selected collection of his writings, primarily drawn from the authoritative Papers of Jefferson Davis, along with thirteen previously unpublished documents. It encompasses a range of pieces, from letters to his sister during his college years to significant speeches on the Constitution, slavery, and sectional issues, including his farewell address in the U.S. Senate and his inaugural address as Confederate president, as well as correspondence from prison to his wife. These selections reveal the multifaceted nature of Davis. As William J. Cooper, Jr. notes in his Introduction, Davis's significance extends beyond his Civil War role. Born in early nineteenth-century Kentucky, he witnessed the transformation of the U.S. from a fledgling nation to a continental power. His early life included moving to Mississippi and serving as an army officer tasked with protecting westward settlers. He also fought in the Mexican War as colonel of the First Mississippi Regiment, contributing to the U.S. expansion through the Mexican Cession. In the 1850s, as secretary of war and U.S. senator, he promoted a transcontinental railroad to unite the nation.

Codice articolo 7db25a41-de22-4bf0-ad7b-5a9f65fcb98f

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: The Modern Library Classics: Jefferson Davis: The Essential Writings
• Editore: Random House Publishing Group
• Data di pubblicazione: 2004
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0812972082
• ISBN 13: 9780812972085
• Rilegatura: Softcover
• Condizione: Fine
• Cataloghi dei venditori:
  • Military

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

Jefferson Davis is one of the most complex and controversial figures in American political history (and the man whom Oscar Wilde wanted to meet more than anyone when he made his tour of the United States). Elected president of the Confederacy and later accused of participating in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, he is a source of ongoing dissension between northerners and southerners. This volume, the first of its kind, is a selected collection of his writings culled in large part from the authoritative Papers of Jefferson Davis, a multivolume edition of his letters and speeches published by the Louisiana State University Press, and includes thirteen documents from manuscript collections and one privately held document that have never before appeared in a modern scholarly edition. From letters as a college student to his sister, to major speeches on the Constitution, slavery, and sectional issues, to his farewell to the U.S. Senate, to his inaugural address as Confederate president, to letters from prison to his wife, these selected pieces present the many faces of the enigmatic Jefferson Davis.

As William J. Cooper, Jr., writes in his Introduction, “Davis’s notability does not come solely from his crucial role in the Civil War. Born on the Kentucky frontier in the first decade of the nineteenth century, he witnessed and participated in the epochal transformation of the United States from a fledgling country to a strong nation spanning the continent. In his earliest years his father moved farther south and west to Mississippi. As a young army officer just out of West Point, he served on the northwestern and southwestern frontiers in an army whose chief mission was to protect settlers surging westward. Then, in 1846 and 1847, as colonel of the First Mississippi Regiment, he fought in the Mexican War, which resulted in 1848 in the Mexican Cession, a massive addition to the United States of some 500,000 square miles, including California and the modern Southwest. As secretary of war and U.S. senator in the 1850s, he advocated government support for the building of a transcontinental railroad that he believed essential to bind the nation from ocean to ocean.”

Informazioni sull?autore

Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) was the president of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, served in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and was secretary of war under Franklin Pierce.

William J. Cooper, Jr., is Boyd Professor of History at Louisiana State University. His most recent book is Jefferson Davis, American, winner of the 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Biography and the Jefferson Davis Award. He lives in Baton Rouge.