jefferson davis second inaugural addressjefferson davis second inaugural address

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. But in the heart of a people resolved to be free these disasters tend but to stimulate to increased resistance. How to Reach Us The Papers of Jefferson Davis Rice University--MS 215 P.O. 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. He told the crowd, 'I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists.' 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. When the independence of the Confederate States is recognized by the nations of the earth, and we are free to follow our interests and inclinations by cultivating foreign trade, the Southern States will offer to manufacturing nations the most favorable markets which ever invited their commerce. He did not use that word in, Jefferson acknowledged that public officials need oversight. 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. Success crowned their efforts, and they provided for the posterity a peaceful remedy against future aggression. If so, the document has kinship to his January 1804 notes of conversations with Aaron Burr and Benjamin Hichborn (Vol. With these techniques, Jefferson rendered the sentence The Aboriginal inhabitants of these countries I have regarded with the commiseration their history inspires as: The sentence I have therefore undertaken, on no occasion, to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it appears as: And they too have their Anti-Philosophists, who find an interest he copied as: Visible in those examples are additional markings that do not represent letters of the alphabet. Nor would the constancy of these supplies be likely to be disturbed by war. Nor have the material sacrifices of the past year been made without some corresponding benefits. with which should we be most likely to live in harmony and friendly intercourse? If the acquiescence of foreign nations in a pretended blockade has deprived us of our commerce with them, it is fast making us a self-supporting and an independent people. Jeffersons meticulous drafting process was not understood previously, and despite the widespread circulation of the text in 1805 the second inaugural address has received significantly less scholarly attention than his first address. There was a small crowd in. It was to be expected when we entered upon this war that it would expose our people to sacrifices and cost them much, both of money and blood. By the character of their productions they are too deeply interested in foreign commerce wantonly to disturb it. See this thread for more information. In his Second Inaugural Address, President Abraham Lincoln addressed the topic of the Civil War and argued that the nation needed to change. [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). 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. Our people have rallied with unexampled unanimity to the support of the great principles of constitutional government, with firm resolve to perpetuate by arms the right which they could not peacefully secure. Jefferson Davis stated that a "disparaging discrimination" and a fight for "liberty" against "the tyranny of an unbridled majority" gave the . Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862. Another piece from his drafting of the second inaugural address is on the same sheet as fragments of text from Jefferson's early drafting of his first and third annual messages to Congress in 1801 and 1803 ( Document II ). In his second inaugural address, Lincoln said that slavery "was, somehow, the . Second Inaugural Address Washington, DC. 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. When the independence of the Confederate States is recognized by the nations of the earth, and we are free to follow our interests and inclinations by cultivating foreign trade, the Southern States will offer to manufacturing nations the most favorable markets which ever invited their commerce. The tyranny of an unbridled majority, the most odious and least responsible form of despotism, has denied us both the right and the remedy. American History. Archives. A million of men, it is estimated, are now standing in hostile array, and waging war along a frontier of thousands of miles. In their various addresses to the nation, they articulated their views on the role of the union, government, and liberties of the people. topics (general topics): the advantages of a peaceful system that made possible a favorable state of public finances in which the country had the ability to pay off its debts and eliminate internal taxes; removals from office; a third topic that he named only as Philosophy; and finally licentiousness of press (see, Using a process that he had come to employ in composing his annual messages to Congress, he proceeded to draft each of the topical sections independently. 1805], Reading Copy of Second Inaugural Address, [before 4 Mch. Phone: (713) 348-2586 Even with the corrections, Jefferson continued adjusting the address until the eleventh hour, submitting a few changes to Smith after he sent along the full draft (see, The address rapidly circulated through the states after Smiths printing, with many newspapers publishing the speech in full. The Papers of Jefferson Davis I have said, fellow-citizens, that the income reserved had enabled us to extend our limits. 'The union of these states is perpetual,' or permanent, he declared. Lincoln agreed that this difference of opinion on slavery was the reason the Civil War was dragging on. Recognizing that his treatment of the topic of Philosophy in the address was unorthodox, he apparently wrote the Notes on a Draught for a second inaugural Address to memorialize the decision for his ongoing record of his own times. But the Government at Washington, denying our right to self-government, refused even to listen to any proposals for a peaceful separation. . 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. 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. Instances of self-sacrifice and of generous devotion to the noble cause for which we are contending are rife throughout the land. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis both believed in securing rights and freedoms for their people. But we knew the value of the object for which we struggled, and understood the nature of the war in which we were engaged. Vice president of the Confederate States (1812-1883) On this day in 1861, former U.S. The remaining revenue, on the consumption of foreign articles, is paid chiefly by those who can afford to add foreign luxuries to domestic comforts. Jefferson Davis History & Facts | Who was President of the Confederacy? By 17 Apr., shortly after the address had reached the frontier of the United States in Louisiana, the London. they gathered around their public functionaries. Jefferson had begun writing the address weeks earlier. Students also viewed. 1805]. Bastiles filled with prisoners, arrested without civil process or indictment duly found; the writ ofhabeas corpussuspended by Executive mandate; a State Legislature controlled by the imprisonment of members whose avowed principles suggested to the Federal Executive that there might be another added to the list of seceded States; elections held under threats of a military power; civil officers, peaceful citizens, and gentle-women incarcerated for opinions sakeproclaimed the incapacity of our late associates to administer a Government as free, liberal, and humane as that established for our common use. Lincoln wanted equality for all people, including slaves, while Davis wanted the Southern states to enjoy the freedom of owning slaves if they choose. Second Inaugural Address by Jefferson Davis (Confederate States of America) Summary 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. Learn more about Davis' views and how they differed from those expressed by Abraham Lincoln in his public address. In the 6 Mch. Jefferson Davis was again selected to remain as the President of the newly formed government and commenced to give his second inaugural address on the 22 nd of February, 1862 in front of a monument to George Washington at . James Buchanan Democratic Party Abraham Lincoln Republican Party Jefferson Davis*** Democratic Party Andrew Johnson Republican Party Ulysses S. Grant Republican Party. Through its grants program, the NHPRC supports a wide range of activities to Records Commission (NHPRC) is part of the National In a later reading of the marks, Jay Fliegelman instead asserted that, based on the placement and appearance of the markings, they represented not accented syllables but rhythmical pauses of emphatical stress used to divide the piece into units comparable to musical bars or poetic lines (Julian P. Boyd, The Declaration of Independence: The Mystery of the Lost Original,, The marks are nearly identical to those recommended by Irish actor, speaker, and rhetorician Thomas Sheridan, whom Jefferson occasionally recommended to young scholars seeking reading lists. 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. Remember how Davis argued that it was a necessity for the South to leave the union? ], Second Inaugural Address, [before 4 Mch. Before noon on Monday, the 4th of March, Jefferson mounted his horseprobably Wildair, his prized bay saddle horseand rode the mile and a half up Pennsylvania Avenue from the President's House to the Capitol. 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. Before noon on Monday, the 4th of March, Jefferson mounted his horseprobably Wildair, his prized bay saddle horseand rode the mile and a half up Pennsylvania Avenue from the Presidents House to the Capitol. He even compared the Confederacy's fight to defend its way of life as a revolutionary act, similar to how the colonies rebelled against the control of Great Britain back in the Revolutionary War. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you The world at large is concerned in opening our markets to its commerce. Create your account, 26 chapters | in time of war, if injustice by ourselves or others must sometimes produce war, increased as the same revenue will be by increased population & consumption, & aided by other resources reserved for that crisis, it may meet within the year all the expences of the year, without encroaching on the rights of future generations by burthening them with the debts of the past. they are combated by the habits of their bodies, prejudices of their minds, ignorance, pride, & the influence of interested & crafty individuals among them, who feel themselves something in the present order of things, and fear to become nothing in any other. He was well known for his highly disciplined acting preparation, which informed his later works on elocution, speaking, education, and the English language. 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. If the acquiescence of foreign nations in a pretended blockade has deprived us of our commerce with them, it is fast making us a self-supporting and an independent people. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892 |, 713-348-0000 | Privacy Policy | Web Accessibility | Campus Carry, Volume 10 (October 1863-August 1864) Index, Volume 11 (September 1864-May 1865) Index. In each of the segments illustrated above, a single long stroke appears in a high position midway along the line. . 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 contrast, Davis wanted to direct his energies to the new Confederacy with no interest in returning to the North. Senator Jefferson Davis took to a podium for his presidential inaugural and gave an impassioned speech about the Constitution. The experiment instituted by our revolutionary fathers, of a voluntary Union of sovereign States for purposes specified in a solemn compact, had been perverted by those who, feeling power and forgetting right, were determined to respect no law but their own will. Copyright 2023 Political Rhetoric Archive & Dr. Beth Huber | Powered by Critical Hit Development. Jefferson Davis' First Inaugural Address Alabama Capitol, Montgomery, February 18, 1861 Gentlemen of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, Friends and Fellow-Citizens: my conscience tells me I have, on every occasion acted up to that declaration, according to its obvious import, and to the understanding of every candid mind. Success crowned their efforts, and they provided for the posterity a peaceful remedy against future aggression. 10:498n). 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. He then returned to the Presidents House, where according to Foster he was in high spirits as everyone by common accord went to pay him a visit of congratulation. The 8 Mch. Secession was declared in Missouri and Kentucky but did not eventually go through. He made it clear that he did not approve of its practice and denounced slavery as one of the 'offenses' of God, who 'wills to remove' it from America. 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. To show ourselves worthy of the inheritance bequeathed to us by the patriots of the Revolution, we must emulate that heroic devotion which made reverse to them but the crucible in which their patriotism was refined. He continued to use the idea of a national union of sentiment to depict hardened opposition as an anomaly and the worst Federalist printers as a numerically small holdout of false and backwards thought. By the character of their productions they are too deeply interested in foreign commerce wantonly to disturb it. with those too, not yet rallied to the same point, the disposition to do so is gaining strength. When a long course of class legislation, directed not to the general welfare, but to the aggrandizement of the Northern section of the Union, culminated in a warfare on the domestic institutions of the Southern Stateswhen the dogmas of a sectional party, substituted for the provisions of the constitutional compact, threatened to destroy the sovereign rights of the States, six of those States, withdrawing from the Union, confederated together to exercise the right and perform the duty of instituting a Government which would better secure the liberties for the preservation of which that Union was established. . Deeply sensible of all that is implied by this manifestation of the people's confidence, I am yet more profoundly impressed by the vast responsibility of the office, and humbly feel my own unworthiness. When a long course of class legislation, directed not to the general welfare, but to the aggrandizement of the Northern section of the Union, culminated in a warfare on the domestic institutions of the Southern States--when the dogmas of a sectional party, substituted for the provisions of the constitutional compact, threatened to destroy the sovereign rights of the States, six of those States, withdrawing from the Union, confederated together to exercise the right and perform the duty of instituting a Government which would better secure the liberties for the preservation of which that Union was established. President Lincoln also referred back to his first inauguration and reflected on the instability of the government at that time. 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. Absent from the scene were some members of Congress who had left for home after the close of the session the previous day (Augustus Foster to Frederick Foster, 1 July 1805, in Vere Foster, ed., To deliver his inaugural address, Jefferson had prepared a special reading copy that is unlike any other document in his papers (see. Summarized in The Papers of Jefferson Davis, Volume 8, p. 55. I am sensible of no passion which could seduce me knowingly from the path of justice. Therefore we are in arms to renew such sacrifices as our fathers made to the holy cause of constitutional liberty. But in the heart of a people resolved to be free these disasters tend but to stimulate to increased resistance. We have neither asked nor received assistance from any quarter. Records Commission. 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