History UsefulNotes / JeffersonDavis

Jefferson [[MysteriousMiddleInitial F]]. Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was the only president of [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar the Confederate States of America]].

* [[Characters/UltimateSpiderManMilesMorales Miles Morales's]] father happens to be named "Jefferson Davis". He starts going by and eventually legally adopts [[TookTheWifesName his wife's last name]] "Morales" out of sheer embarrassment and wonders [[WhoNamesTheirKidDude what his parents were thinking by naming a black child that]].

Jefferson [[MysteriousMiddleInitial F]]. Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was the first and only president of [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar the Confederate States of America]].

* He appears as a contestant in the 31st episode of ''Fanfic/TheSilverscaleArena'', where his constant attempts of [[NWordPrivliges saying the N-word]] make him the KarmicButtMonkey of that episode.

* He appears as a contestant in the 31st episode of ''Fanfic/TheSilverscaleArena'', where his constant attempts of [[NWordPriviliges saying the N-word]] make him the KarmicButtMonkey of that episode.

Prior to this, Davis lived a more interesting life than many assume of him. He attended West Point and fought in the Black Hawk War between Midwest settlers and the Native American tribes there (ironically, UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln also fought in this war). Davis served under future President UsefulNotes/ZacharyTaylor, and, against Taylor’s wishes, married his daughter Sarah in 1835. They soon got malaria, from which she died three months later, and Davis was never really the same after that, even after he married again in 1845.

* He appears as a contestant in the 31st episode of ''Fanfic/TheSilverscaleArena''.

Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was the first and only president of [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar the Confederate States of America]].

* [[Characters/UltimateSpiderManMilesMorales Miles Morales's]] father happens to be named "Jefferson Davis". He starts going by and eventually legally changes his last name to his wife's, "Morales" out of sheer embarrassment and wonders [[WhoNamesTheirKidDude what his parents were thinking by naming a black child that]].

* [[Characters/UltimateSpiderManMilesMorales Miles Morales's]] father happens to be named "Jefferson Davis". He starts going by and eventually legally changes his last name to his wife's, "Morales" out of sheer embarrassment and wonders what his parents were thinking by naming a black child that.

Davis' decision to fight a largely defensive war, owing to the Union's previously noted overwhelming material superiority to the Confederacy, was a sensible one. He appointed Robert E. Lee to defend Virginia, which saved the Confederate capital of Richmond for a few years. In early 1865, Lee warned that he could no longer defend Richmond, and Davis was forced to flee, along with his cabinet. After a final meeting in Danville, he went south with the intention of sailing to Europe with his wife, but he was captured before they reached the coast of Georgia. UrbanLegend states that he dressed as a woman to avoid capture, but he only put on his wife’s overcoat because it was cold that morning. Davis was captured, charged with treason, and imprisoned for two years. A trial was never held, even though Davis wanted one, because the members of President UsefulNotes/AndrewJohnson's cabinet could not agree whether they could prove charges of treason. After two years of imprisonment, Davis was released on bail of $100,000, which was posted by prominent citizens including Horace Greeley, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Gerrit Smith. Davis remained under indictment until he was released from all liability by the presidential amnesty issued by Johnson on December 25, 1868.

* He is mentioned in passing in the biopic ''Film/{{Lincoln}}'' as TheGhost by the Confederate vice president, Creator/AlexanderStephens (Creator/JackieEarleHaley).

Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was the first and only president of [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar the Confederate States of America]].

Davis was elected to the House of Representatives in 1845 (representing Mississippi at large), but resigned less than a year later to fight in the UsefulNotes/MexicanAmericanWar. He fought very bravely in the war, reached the rank of Colonel, and met with President UsefulNotes/JamesKPolk a few times. He then completed the term of a Mississippi senator who died while in office. After a failed attempt at becoming governor of Mississippi, Davis served as Secretary of War under President UsefulNotes/FranklinPierce. He was then elected to the Senate again, and spent most of his term [[{{Irony}} making speeches against secession]]. Although he did believe that each state had to right to secede, his service as Secretary of War led him to believe, correctly, that the North was stronger than the South. When Mississippi seceded in 1861, he resigned from the Senate, which he would later call the saddest day of his life.

Less than a month later, Davis was chosen as the President of the Confederacy for his political and military experience. He actually wanted to serve as the leader of the Confederate forces, though. Davis initially sought a peaceful way to maintain the independence of the Confederacy, but he gave up when UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln refused his proposals and the Union-controlled Fort Sumter in South Carolina was attacked. Thus, UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar began. Davis was well aware that the South was outmatched by the North both in terms of resources and manpower, and from the beginning he determined to fight a mainly defensive war, while lobbying for support from Britain and France to help win international recognition as a new nation.

Davis' decision to fight a largely defensive war, owing to the Union's previously noted overwhelming material superiority to the Confederacy, was a sensible one. He appointed Robert E. Lee to defend Virginia, which saved the Confederate capital of Richmond for a few years. In early 1865, Lee warned that he could no longer defend Richmond, and Davis was forced to flee, along with his cabinet. After a final meeting in Danville, he went south with the intention of sailing to Europe with his wife, but he was captured before they reached the coast of Georgia. UrbanLegend states that he dressed as a woman to avoid capture, but in reality he only put on his wife’s overcoat because it was cold that morning. Davis was captured, charged with treason, and imprisoned for two years. A trial was never held, despite the fact that Davis wanted one, because the members of President UsefulNotes/AndrewJohnson's cabinet argued about whether or not charges of treason could be proven. After two years of imprisonment, Davis was released on bail of $100,000, which was posted by prominent citizens including Horace Greeley, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Gerrit Smith. Davis remained under indictment until he was released from all liability by the presidential amnesty issued by Johnson on December 25, 1868.

Needless to say, you'll get different opinions on Davis depending on whom (and where) you ask. In the Southern states that seceded, he is largely remembered, roughly, as a hero who tried his best to defend the Confederacy from the Union forces. There are monuments, streets, and schools honoring him in these states. In the North, he’s basically remembered as the guy who lost to Lincoln and praise to him is typically laughed off. Due to his support of slavery and his beliefs that Whites were racially superior to Blacks, the African American community [[ForegoneConclusion isn’t very fond of him]]. Most historians don’t think very highly of his leadership abilities, although there is a growing opinion that he himself was a potentially competent leader stuck in a position that called for far more than mere competence. This topic tends to get controversial.

Fun fact: UsefulNotes/BarackObama, through his White mother, [[{{Irony}} is related to Jefferson Davis]]. The first Black member of Congress, Hiram Rhodes Revels, was elected to the Senate from Davis' state of Mississippi, but to the other Senate seat.

* He is mentioned in passing in the biopic ''Film/{{Lincoln}}'' as TheGhost by the Confederate Vice President, Alexander Stephens (Creator/JackieEarleHaley).
* In the AlternateHistory series ''Literature/DecadesOfDarkness'', where New England secedes in the early 1800s, Davis eventually becomes President of the US -- ironically, at the same time that Lincoln is President of New England. For even more irony, it's Davis who ends up assassinated, with Lincoln attending his funeral.

Needless to say, you'll get different opinions on Davis depending on whom (and where) you ask. In the Southern states that seceded, he is largely remembered, roughly, as a hero who tried his best to defend the Confederacy from the Union forces. There are monuments, streets, and schools honoring him in these states. In the North, he’s basically remembered as the guy who lost to Lincoln and praise to him is typically laughed off. Due to his support of slavery and his beliefs that Whites were racially superior to Blacks, the African American community [[ForegoneConclusion isn’t very fond of him]]. Most historians don’t think very highly of his leadership abilities, although there is a growing opinion that he himself was a potentially competent leader stuck in a position that called for far more than mere competence. Remember the Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment.

'''Jefferson Finis Davis''' (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was the first and only president of [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar the Confederate States of America]].