The blockade, if effectual and permanent, could only serve to divert our industry from the production of articles for export and employ it in supplying the commodities for domestic use. He also humbly held that he was restricted to only the most prominent heads and the strongest justifications. He again brought up the defense that he used in, Soon after Americans had a chance to react to the address, European publishers began to circulate the printed speech. The constitutions of each government were similar as well, with a key difference that the Constitution of the Confederacy guaranteed the right to own slaves. But we knew the value of the object for which we struggled, and understood the nature of the war in which we were engaged. the larger our association, the less will it be shaken by local passions. Davis was inaugurated and hoped that his role would only be temporary until the permanent government was established. In matters of Religion, I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the constitution independant of the powers of the general government. Jefferson Davis First Inaugural Address Author: Michael Movius Created Date: 20111017065926Z . Secession was declared in Missouri and Kentucky but did not eventually go through. Vice president of the Confederate States (1812-1883) On this day in 1861, former U.S. ], Second Inaugural Address, [before 4 Mch. At the darkest hour of our struggle the Provisional gives place to the Permanent Government. I shall need too the favour of that being in whose hands we are: who led our fathers, as Israel of old, from their native land; and planted them in a country flowing with all the necessaries & comforts of life; who has covered our infancy with his providence, & our riper years with his wisdom & power: & to whose goodness I ask you to join in supplications with me, that he will so enlighten the minds of your servants, guide their councils, & prosper their measures, that whatsoever they do shall result in your good, & shall secure to you the peace, friendship, & approbation of all nations. Summary In his first Inaugural Address as "Chief Executive" of the Confederate States, Davis justifies secession by asserting the rights of sovereign states to govern themselves, particularly with regards to economics and defense, and argues that the United States Constitution no longer functions as a document for all people as it was intended. Yet for all the effort and thought he invested in making the copy a script for oral delivery, as an oration the address failed. 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. Cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, provisions, timber, and naval stores will furnish attractive exchanges. In giving these outlines, I do not mean, fellow citizens, to arrogate to myself the merit of the measures. 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. (See Documents, Neither of Jeffersons predecessors as president had given a second inaugural address. when satisfied of these views, it is not in human nature that they should not approve & support them. The Government had ceased to answer the ends for which it was ordained and established. 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. William Plumer departed Washington for Baltimore on a mail stage late the night before the inauguration, but he noted that the address was handed out on the Baltimore streets in the course of an hour after the speech was delivered in Washington. In a document that he wrote after he completed the drafting of the address and headed Notes on a Draught for a second inaugural Address (Document, At the outset of his drafting process, he identified those most prominent heads for the address in a spare outline that listed four Genl. But the Government at Washington, denying our right to self-government, refused even to listen to any proposals for a peaceful separation. Citizens of the Confederate States of America. It helped me pass my exam and the test questions are very similar to the practice quizzes on Study.com. his refusal to sign the Wade-Davis Bill. Never has a people evinced a more determined spirit than that now animating men, women, and children in every part of our country. Second Inaugural Address Washington, DC. Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862 [1]. Our confederate strength will be too great to tempt aggression; and never was there a people whose interests and principles committed them so fully to a peaceful policy as those of the Confederate States. In this lesson, we will briefly examine how Jefferson Davis expressed his views on liberty, equality, union, and government in his first inaugural address. The National Historical Publications and Nor was it uninteresting to the world, that an experiment should be fairly and fully made, Whether freedom of discussion, unaided by power, is not sufficient for the propagation and protection of truth? 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. 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. mrw120203. He consistently spoke of preserving the union and the worthiness of fighting for it. Permission Information, 2023The Trustees of Princeton University, The Papers of Thomas JeffersonPrinceton University LibraryPrinceton, NJ 08544609-258-3162, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 45: 11 November 1804 to 8 March 1805, (Princeton University Press, 2021), 625-63. Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862. Abraham Lincoln was reelected to a second term as President of the United States in 1865. The recollections of this great contest, with all its common traditions of glory, of sacrifice and blood, will be the bond of harmony and enduring affection amongst the people, producing unity in policy, fraternity in sentiment, and just effort in war. I am sensible of no passion which could seduce me knowingly from the path of justice. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. We too have had our trials and difficulties. A million of men, it is estimated, are now standing in hostile array, and waging war along a frontier of thousands of miles. Davis_Inauguration-536. and, that redemption once effected, the revenue thereby liberated may, by a just repartition of it among the states, & a corresponding amendment of the constitution, be applied, in time of peace, to rivers, canals, roads, arts, manufactures, education, & other great objects within each state. 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. Nor would the constancy of these supplies be likely to be disturbed by war. 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. In what was probably Lincoln's most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address of 1863, he delivered a solemn message after a battle in which approximately 50,000 soldiers died. Never has a people evinced a more determined spirit than that now animating men, women, and children in every part of our country. these contributions enable us to support the current expences of the government, to fulfill contracts with foreign nations, to extinguish the native right of soil within our limits, to extend those limits, & to apply such a surplus to our public debts, as places at a short day their final redemption. Leonard Levys 1963 critical interpretation of the president, Seemingly in line with that new ethos of free speech, in. He directed his words at convincing them that he was not their enemy, but a friend. but the weaknesses of human nature, & the limits of my own understanding will produce errors of judgment sometimes injurious to your interests. they might perhaps have been corrected by the wholsome punishments reserved to, and provided by, the laws of the several states against falsehood & defamation. It is cultivating feelings of patriotism, virtue, and courage. While the war had started favorably for the Confederate States, the first several weeks of 1862 found the North was winning all the battles. we have therefore liberally furnished them with the implements of husbandry & houshold use; we have placed among them instructors in the arts of first necessity; and they are covered with the Aegis of the law against aggressors from among ourselves. Jack Shorter, an enslaved stable hand at the Presidents House, may have been the groom. 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. | 22 Since he did not think secession was valid, he therefore did not view the government of the Confederacy as legitimate either. In return for their kindness I can offer assurances of the gratitude with which it is received; and can but pledge a zealous devotion of every faculty to the service of those who have chosen me as their Chief Magistrate. Senator Jefferson Davis took to a podium for his presidential inaugural and gave an impassioned speech about the Constitution. Sometime between that date and 4 Mch. Lincoln suggested that 'insurgent agents' were working to destroy the government with or without a war, and 'seeking to dissolve the Union.' Nothing was then left to do but to prepare for war. 10:498n). This great strife has awakened in the people the highest emotions and qualities of the human soul. 1805]. It is a satisfaction that we have maintained the war by our unaided exertions. Second Inaugural Address of Jefferson Davis February 22, 1862 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. Lincoln recognized how crucial this first inaugural address would be to the Southern states considering secession. . they saw the latent source from which these outrages proceeded. In other words, Davis justified the South's decision to secede by arguing that the Constitution allows oppressed citizens to rise up against the government. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Published by Princeton University Press and copyrighted, 2021, by Princeton University Press. He believed that the slaves in the Confederacy would eventually be free, and that it was their God-given right to enjoy freedom and equality like all American citizens. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. The abolitionist orator/editor (and former slave) had met Lincoln only twice before, and for most of the war was a fierce critic of the president's policies. Houston, Texas 77251-1892, Phone and Fax Numbers Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. 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. He made the decision during the drafting process, as shown by Madisons and Gallatins remarks, for in the draft they saw, resistance to change was associated with Native American society (Documents, The expression steady habits is associated with the state of Connecticut. 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. [2] The eleven states of the CSA in order of secession were: South Carolina (December 20, 1860), Mississippi; Daviss state (January 9, 1861), Florida (January 10, 1861), Alabama (January 11, 1861), Georgia (January 19, 1861), Louisiana (January 26, 1861), Texas (February 1, 1861), Virginia April 17, 1861), Arkansas (May 6, 1861), North Carolina (May 20, 1861), and Tennessee (June 8, 1861). Jefferson Davis History & Facts | Who was President of the Confederacy? Jefferson Davis' Second Inaugural Address. 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. 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. The recollections of this great contest, with all its common traditions of glory, of sacrifice and blood, will be the bond of harmony and enduring affection amongst the people, producing unity in policy, fraternity in sentiment, and just effort in war. Although each president claimed to prefer peace to war, Lincoln maintained a clear message of brotherhood and unity in his speeches. Three weeks later, Abraham Lincoln did likewise, with different results. In his Second Inaugural Address, President Abraham Lincoln addressed the topic of the Civil War and argued that the nation needed to change. with those too, not yet rallied to the same point, the disposition to do so is gaining strength. On the other side of the political aisle, the. Civil war there cannot be between States held together by their volition only. Members of the foreign diplomatic corps were also present. The optimism which some had had at the beginning of the war had faded away. Virginia, on February 22, 1862. In their various addresses to the nation, they articulated their views on the role of the union, government, and liberties of the people. Election of 1860 Candidates, Summary & Significance | Who Won the Election of 1860? Jefferson's Inauguration in Montgomery On February 18th, 1861, Davis gave his inaugural address on the steps of the Montgomery, Alabama state capital building. How did his views on the topics we just learned about evolve over those four years? EDITORIAL NOTE. and it is due to the able and faithful auxiliaries, whose patriotism has associated them with me in the executive functions. that our wish, as well as theirs, is, that the public efforts may be directed honestly to the public good: that peace be cultivated, civil & religious liberty unassailed, law & order preserved, equality of rights maintained, & that state of property, equal or unequal, which results to every man from his own industry, or that of his fathers. Seven Southern states. I have no doubt, he wrote, that it was printed long before I left Washington & was brot to Baltimore in the same stage that brought me. The. In each of the segments illustrated above, a single long stroke appears in a high position midway along the line. At home, fellow-citizens, you best know whether we have done well or ill. the suppression of unnecessary offices, of useless establishments and expences, enabled us to discontinue our internal taxes. On this day in 1861, former U.S. On finishing the address, Jefferson kissed the Bible, swore the oath of office administered by Chief Justice John Marshall, and bowed. Gallatin took issue with the presentation of the press in the draft he reviewed (see, When he had the address in the form he wanted, Jefferson used his polygraph to help him make multiple copies and submitted the final text to Samuel Harrison Smith for printing. 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. Jefferson had begun writing the address weeks earlier. Our Confederacy has grown from six to thirteen States; and Maryland, already united to us by hallowed memories and material interests, will, I believe, when able to speak with unstifled voice, connect her destiny with the South. The people of the States now confederated became convinced that the Government of the United States had fallen into the hands of a sectinal majority, who would pervert that most sacred of all trusts to the destruction of the rights which it was pledged to protect. The period is near at hand when our foes must sink under the immense load of debt which they have incurred, a debt which in their effort to subjugate us has already attained such fearful dimensions as will subject them to burdens which must continue to oppress them for generations to come. Printers, Jefferson argued, needed to be held accountable for disseminating dishonest or licentious information. Thomas Jefferson's inaugural address, delivered on March 4, 1801, was a statement of purpose for his presidency. The first full text that survives is the finished address, Jefferson struggled with the two additional Genl. But how many of you can quote an excerpt from a speech given by Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy? 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. 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. They resemble marks that Jefferson put on a draft of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Lincoln-Douglas Debates History & Significance | What Was the Lincoln-Douglas Debate? we are firmly convinced and we act on that conviction, that with nations, as with individuals, our interests, soundly calculated, will ever be found inseparable from our moral duties. 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. So spoke Frederick Douglass soon after he heard Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address on March 4, 1865. I fear not that any motives of interest may lead me astray. Note: this link will eventually disappear! How to Reach Us The Papers of Jefferson Davis Rice University--MS 215 P.O. 'Physically speaking we cannot separate. The confidence of the most hopeful among us must have been destroyed by the disregard they have recently exhibited for all the time-honored bulwarks of civil and religious liberty. For example, the Confederacy had an executive branch modeled on the U.S.'s, which was in charge of a postal service, making foreign trades, and overseeing the military. 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. . Fellow-citizens, after the struggle of ages had consecrated the right of the Englishman to constitutional representative government, our colonial ancestors were forced to vindicate that birthright by an appeal to arms. public. An error occurred trying to load this video. Fax: (713) 348-6172, Mailing Address: P.O. Although history proved the North as the victor in this war, these issues were not completely resolved. 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. Jefferson had apparently owned a copy of Sheridans 1762, While Sheridan outlined the necessity of pauses in the earlier work, he detailed the mark-up system in his 1775. 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. Nor would the constancy of these supplies be likely to be disturbed by war. Proceeding, fellow citizens, to that qualification which the constitution requires before my entrance on the charge again conferred on me, it is my duty to express the deep sense I entertain of this new proof of confidence from my fellow citizens at large, and the zeal with which it inspires me so to conduct myself as may best satisfy their just expectations. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis both believed in securing rights and freedoms for their people. Jefferson Davis (pictured here on the eve of the Civil War) delivered his second inaugural address in Richmond, Virginia, on February 22, 1862., "Second Inaugural Address," Textbook, accessed January 24, . 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