Customer Reviews

The Papers of Jefferson Davis: 1849-1852

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ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE AN INSIGHT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE C.S.A ARE ENCOURAGED TO READ THIS SERIES AS WELL AS HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY. THE BEST WAY TO LEARN WHO PEOPLE ARE AND WERE IS NOT TO JUST TAKE WORD OF MOUTH FROM BIASED AND LIBERAL NORTHERN TEACHINGS. DO YOUR OWN THINKING. READ FIRST HAND MATERIAL FROM THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES AND YOU WILL LEARN MUCH MORE. JEFFERSON DAVIS IS ONE OF THE MOST MISUNDERSTOOD LEGENDS OF HISTORY. HE WAS A LOVING HUSBAND, FATHER, CARING MASTER OF HIS WORKERS, A GREAT PUBLIC SERVANT TO HIS STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, AND A GREAT SOCIAL FIGURE. HE WAS A WAR HERO FOR AMERICA. HE SERVED GALLANTLY AND HE SERVED AS PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTH IN TIMES WHEN NO ONE ELSE HAD THE GUTS TO TAKE OVER A BRAND NEW COUNTRY HEADING INTO WAR WITH AN AMAZINGLY POWERFUL ENEMY SIMPLY THROUGH SHEER NUMBERS. IF YOU READ FIRST HAND INFORMATION FROM HIM, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND NOT JUST HIM, BUT THE MIND OF THE MAJORITY OF THE SOUTHERNERS DURING THE ANTIBELLUM DAYS AS WELL AS THE WAR FOR SOUTHERN INDEPENDANCE THROUGH HIS DEATH IN 1889.

The Papers of Jefferson Davis is a project out of Rice University in Houston, Texas. The entire series is well-edited, nicely produced and the format of the series is reader-friendly. The books reproduce all of the letters Davis wrote, as well as his speeches, telegrams and the responses to his letters. The responses appear in the footnotes and the appendix of the books.

For anyone with an interest in the American Civil War, Jefferson, or the politics of the Confederacy, these are welcome volumes. Most surprising to me is that Davis comes across privately as an intelligent, sometimes witty man. His letters to hiw wife, Varina, are especially intriguing. Highly recommended.