How Jefferson Davis Came to be President



How Jefferson Davis Came to be President

Introduction

The American civil War began in 1861, between the Northern and Southern states of America. Before the beginning of civil war, many American states joined together and formed a lobby of Confederate states. These states fought the civil war against the remaining American states, mainly on the controversy of slavery expansion. Jefferson Davis was elected as a President of the Confederate States of America on 6th November 1861 due to his experience in politics and military. He served at the same position of Presidency for the entire history of the confederate states, i.e. from 1861 to 1865. He is one of the most famous historic figures, as he played a vital role in creating a separate and independent southern nation. This paper discusses the major causes of the civil war, the formation of Confederate states and how Jefferson Davis was elected as the president of Confederate states.

The Secession Crisis

Secession crisis lasted from the period of 1860 to 1861, when many states declared independence from the United States, on the controversy of slavery expansion. The states had been considering secession since many years, but the decision was put to an immediate action when Lincoln was elected as the president of Northern states in winter of 1860/61. The Secession is considered in history as one of the most important events which finally led to the civil war. Various attempts and compromises had been made by the states in order to prevent the most tragic war of the American history, for example the Nullification Crisis and Missouri Compromise. These two attempts for conflict resolution are discussed in the following:

Nullification Crisis

The nullification crisis was created in 1832 by the senator of South Carolina, John C. Calhoun. The crisis was based on the controversy of state and federal power, and declared that state has sovereignty and right to declare separation from the union if certain conflicts will not resolve. Using the power of state, the ordinance declared that the federal tariffs were not applicable to the state of South Carolina, which was passed in 1828 and 1832 respectively. Under this tariff, a high duty was placed on the goods; these goods were highly likely to be produced in good quantity at United States itself, but the main aim of federal power behind imposing high duties is to increase the revenues.

A bill was passed which classified the dutiable items, but no one was satisfied with this tariff. South Carolina suggested to either nullify or to lower down the duties. This state played an important role in the secession crisis as well as in various conflicts between the state and federal power, because it was among the states who suffered economic downturn at large scale; the state authorities considered the federal policies as mainly responsible for the losses of nation.

Missouri Compromise

In 1819, Missouri territory was to be made a part of United States; all the issues were settled but the conflict raised when ...