President Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis was a Confederacy president of United States. During the time of the Civil War, he made some major influences on the strategies and the war's course. He had a major hand in influencing the white Southerners to carry on supporting the war and the fighting. He was successful in motivating them due to which it prevented the negotiated end to the Civil War and as the result in the South; the postwar society was powerfully influenced (William, 2001, 687-784).

Jefferson Davis was born in Kentucky and raised up in Mississippi. He did his schooling, for two years, in a boarding school which was an all Roman Catholic school. He was an only Protestant in that school (Davis, 1991, 35-67). He then took admission in University of Transylvania. He graduated in 1828 from West Point. He got demerits in his records of over 327. The academic rules and regulations irritated him and he was often getting himself into disciplinary troubles. However, the experiences he gained in West Point became his central self image and later on he became passionate towards academics (Davis, 1991, 35-67).

Davis served in the Army for seven years after his graduation. In1835, he got married but only after three months of marriage he lost his wife due to the contraction of malaria. After the death of his wife, he resigned from his post and started living on a plantation which his brother gave to him (Davis, 1991, 35-67). He worked with the help of few slaves on the plantation for ten years. He re-married, in 1845, to Varina Howell.

In the same year, he was successful in gaining a seat in the congress but later gave in his resignation and accepted the post of colonel of Mississippi Rifles in the war of Mexico. In the battle of Buena Vista and Monterey, he wounded his foot but also won the recognition for his dedication and bravery (Clement, 2000, 286- 334).

After the battles, he returned to Mississippi and was successful in winning a seat for U.S. senate but was unsuccessful in winning the seat of the Mississippi governor. He returned to the office as the war secretary under the administration of President Franklin Pierce. Major advances were made under Davis administration in the department of war. The department adopted latest tactics and dispatched a team of officers to Crimea to scrutinize the continuing clash between Russia, France and Britain. Davis was successful in winning the Senate election after Pierce left. He served his post until 1861, when he resigned. In the same month when he resigned, he was elected as the President of the Confederate States of America which was newly formed (Davis, 1991, 35-67).

Davis, as the president, personally formed the Confederate Army. A small period of late 1861 turned out to be difficult for Davis as he was led into a blunder when he supported his friend in raiding the Kentucky state and as a result drove the Kentucky citizens in supporting the Union ...