Jefferson Davis had many different roles throughout his life. He was a colonel in the Mexican American War, Davis was elected into the senate, and was a U.S. Secretary of War. His most important job, was his presidency of the Confederate States during the Civil War. Jefferson Finis Davis was born on June 3, 1808. His parents were Samuel Davis and Jane Cook Davis. Davis’s father fought in the American Revolution, which led our country to freedom. Besides Jefferson his parents had nine other children. Not wanting anymore children after Jefferson they gave him the middle name Finis which means last in Latin. Davis was born in Kentucky but moved to Mississippi when he was a young child. He considered Mississippi his home state because he spent the majority of his life there. (“Jefferson Davis”) Davis went to many different schools throughout his childhood and teenage years. He started school when he was eight and went to a boarding school at Saint Thomas College. Two years later he went to another boarding school called Jefferson College. Davis’s role model was his oldest brother, Joseph, who wanted him to have a good education and future. So in 1823 he continued his schooling and went to Transylvania University in Kentucky. A year later two important things happened, one great and the other tragic. Davis got into West Point, a military academy, but around the same time his father passed away. So this is when Joseph became even more important in his life, he encouraged Davis
As Secretary of War, Davis was inventive. He created the Camel Corps, ended patronage in the War Department, and modernized weapons.11 Davis also surveyed land for a southern route for the Transcontinental Railroad. 12
Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. was born December 18, 1912 in Washington D.C. His father, Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. was one of the few African-American officers in the U.S. Army. Davis, Jr. was appointed to the U.S. Military Academy in 1932 by Rep. Oscar S. De Priest, the only black congressman at that time. At West Point he endured ostracism from both classmates and superiors who wanted to see him fail. He persevered and graduated 35th in a class of 276 in 1936. He was the fourth African-American graduate in the Academy’s history. Upon commissioning he and his father became the only two black officers in the army. His application to the Army Air Corps was refused because the Air Corps did not accept African-Americans.
First, he pushed for the Thirteenth Amendment, which actually ended slavery in the United States, and perhaps more importantly, he continued the war to its conclusion and demanded that the end of slavery and the return of the southern states to the Union be conditions for
Jefferson Davis also influenced the loss of the South in the civil war by ineptly handling the military, with one of his mistakes being giving important positions to his friends. For example, Albert Sidney Johnston was the second highest-ranking Confederate general, but before that he had been an adjutant general, never having led an army before. Lucky for Johnston, however, he was good friends with Jefferson Davis, having attended West Point with him, so Davis promoted him to full general, a position in which he outranked much more experienced men like Robert E. Lee, P.G.T. Beauregard, and Joseph E. Johnston (Rafuse). Albert Sidney Johnston was later killed in the Battle of Shiloh, most likely by one of his own men, a fact which proves that he is inept in commanding an army (Sword 444). Davis’s cabinet was also not free from so-called “friend nepotism.” Judah P. Benjamin became friends with Jefferson Davis after a planned duel between the two, in which they both acknowledged that they respected each other. Davis, following his election as President, appointed him to three different cabinet positions: Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State. As a lawyer who knew almost nothing about military strategy, he was more of a placeholder as Secretary of War, filling the position so Davis could control it behind the scenes (“Judah P. Benjamin Biography”). Jefferson kept taking up other people’s jobs (such as general-in-chief, see below), and it
Thomas J. Jackson played a very important roll in the civil war. As a general for the confederate side he served in many famous battles and was very well known. In November of 1859, Jackson was one of the Virginia Military Institute officers to accompany the contingent of cadets to Harpers Ferry, Virginia. At the execution of John Brown, who was an abolitionist, they stood guard. In 1861 Jackson was in charge of the cadets who were ordered to Richmond. There they were going to serve as drillmasters for new army recruits. 6 days later, Colonel Jackson was ordered to take command at Harpers Ferry, where he soon comprised the famous “stonewall Brigade.” That July, he was promoted to Brigadier General.
Abraham Lincoln came from a military background that helped him with his political background. He has started small but ended big. He was the president of the United States from 1861 through 1865. He has made many difficult decisions throughout his presidency and will go down in history as the really tall 16th president, but also as the one who put the Emancipation Proclamation into action.
Born on April 13, 1743, Thomas Jefferson grew up on his family’s plantation in north-central Virginia with his seven siblings. He was, “freckled and sandy-haired, [and] rather tall and awkward,”(Freidel)
After the revolutionary war, Jackson got a job as a lawyer and moved to Tennessee. He started a cotton plantation that he later named the Hermitage. In 1796 he also was Tennessee’s first member in the House of Representatives. In 1812, Jackson gained national fame that later on would help him become president
Thomas Jefferson was his full name he didn’t have a middle name like many people in his family, but he did earn the nickname father of Independence when he was older. Thomas Jefferson was born in Albemarle, Virginia on April 13, 1743. Thomas Jefferson had many people in his family, he had nine brothers and sisters. Thomas Jefferson’s parents were Peter Jefferson and Jane Randolph. Peter Jefferson was a surveyor and planter, Jane Randolph was a daughter of a ship’s captain. Jefferson’s hometown is a English Colony of
President Abraham Lincoln is famous for his involvement during the Civil War. Standing against slavery, he worked diligently towards the unity of all men. Lincoln involvement started as a lawyer, he provided legal services for those who could not be being able to pay for a lawyer. He also worked as a state legislator for the state of Illinois and served for a term at the House of Representatives. The most memorable speech during his time, the Gettysburg Address. This 270 words, two-minute speech that will go in history as one of the greatest speeches of all time.
The southern states although far less populated and without initial means to manufacture war supplies did have the strengths to be very competitive. Strong, experienced Confederate leadership in their practiced military, and the overall will power to protect their way of life would prove to be their greatest assets. Jefferson Davis became the president of the Confederacy and was a model leader. He developed a distinguished political career with many years served in the senate, he was a West Point graduate, the former Secretary of War, and a veteran of the Mexican American War. He was the ideal candidate for a president in war times. He had the advantage of having General Robert E. Lee commanding his army after Joseph Johnston was injured in The Battle of Bull run. Robert E. Lee due to strong respect, character and performance in the Mexican American war was Lincoln’s first choice as the Union general but Lee’s patriotism to his home state
Jefferson Davis ,most famously known as the president of the Confederate States during the Civil War, was an interesting subject of the 19th century. You would think it was because of his contributions to the war or lack thereof, but unfortunately he is associated more with his peculiar characteristics. Many of the characteristics are equivalent to those of basic people carrying out normal lives. The expectancy of loyalty and respect, indecisiveness, and not being capable of admitting faults, we all know someone with at least one of these traits, maybe even all of them. So why was it so unique in the case of Jefferson Davis? Although these were normal traits, the life that Davis lived was not. With such a public demanding job, every aspect of his life was showcased and under close observation. The struggle between Davis and his overpowering attributes not only had an effect on his relationships and friendships, but they also had an impact, not completely negative or positive, on the way he completed his job.
Miles Dewey Davis was born into a well-to-do family in the town of Alton, Illinois. The family owned a large portion of a farm where Miles learned to ride horses as a young boy. In 1927 the family moved to East St. Louis. Miles' mother, Cleota Henry, encouraged him to play the violin while his father bought him a trumpet when he turned thirteen and
The Civil war kicked off and many key people were responsible for important things that happened in the war. Ulysses S. Grant was one of them. He was born in 1822. He was a skilled warrior and rose to the rank of captain in the military. He resigned from the military in 1854. Grant tried farming for a little and was not successful., so he rejoined the military as a general in the Civil War. Then he served for president in 1869 for two terms and died in 1885.(National...)
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13th, 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia into a family of wealth. His mother, Jane Randolph was