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Jefferson Davis(Civil War Contributions)
The Impact Jefferson Davis had on the Civil War During the Civil War, Jefferson Davis was president of the Confederate States of America(The South), and Abraham Lincoln was the Union president of the United States of America(The North). Jefferson Davis was a successful planter. His devotion to Southern plantation life and his own attitude toward his slaves led him to deny all Northern claims that slavery was cruel. Jefferson Davis was a planter, politician and soldier born in Kentucky and raised in Mississippi. The congress in Mississippi sent Davis to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1845. His term was short, however. In 1853, President Franklin Pierce appointed Davis U.S. Secretary of War where he served with distinction and was recognized as one of the most capable administrators to hold the office. In 1857, Davis returned to the Senate as a vocal proponent of states rights. He formally withdrew from the U.S. Senate on January 21, 1861 after Mississippi seceded from the Union. One month later,the congress in Alabama selected Jefferson Davis to become the President of the Confederacy. He was inaugurated for a six-year term as President on February 22, 1862. Jefferson Davis’ appointment was mostly political; he was a compromise candidate chosen to appease Congress. Jefferson Davis did not want the job because he had hoped for a military command but he did not get military command. At first Jefferson Davis was a popular President with the Southern people. He had a dignified bearing, a great military record, experience in political affairs, and a huge devotion to the Confederate cause. Unfortunately for Davis, these characteristics were not enough to triumph over the harsh challenges posed by his new job. His early popularity was a result of war fervor and he did not have the personality necessary to sustain it. He was impatient with people who disagreed with him, and he had the unfortunate habit of awarding prominent posts to leaders who appeared unsuccessful. Davis’ loyalty to these people led to arguments throughout his term. Jefferson Davis’ popularity and effectiveness were not enhanced by the growing numbers of Confederate defeats in the later years of the Civil War. On April 2, 1865, the members of the Confederate government, including Jefferson davis, were forced to flee from Richmond because of the advancing Union Army. The Confederate President was captured by Northern soldiers near Irwinville, Georgia on May 10, 1865. Jefferson Davis was imprisoned at Fort Monroe, Virginia for two years. He was never tried for treason, but was  released on bond in May 1867. After the South's defeat in the Civil War, he was stripped of his citizenship.