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. Jefferson Davis believed the union of the United States was formed by loose bonds that could be broken if necessary. Davis helped set up a new government in the Confederacy, with the goal of making it similar to the United States. First Inaugural Address Washington, DC. After a series of successes and victories, which covered our arms with glory, we have recently met with serious disasters. The world at large is concerned in opening our markets to its commerce. with those too, not yet rallied to the same point, the disposition to do so is gaining strength. I am sensible of no passion which could seduce me knowingly from the path of justice. 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. We too have had our trials and difficulties. . 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. 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. Personal reactions similarly adhered to party divisions. In this lesson, we will briefly examine how Jefferson Davis expressed his views on liberty, equality, union, and government in his first inaugural address. But the Government at Washington, denying our right to self-government, refused even to listen to any proposals for a peaceful separation. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. At the end of a line, as seen in the first two details shown above, he put a double stroke or a third mark in the form of a long cross or dagger. the United States, and research and development projects to bring historical records to the While the war had started favorably for the Confederate States, the first several weeks of 1862 found the North was winning all the battles. In other words, Davis justified the South's decision to secede by arguing that the Constitution allows oppressed citizens to rise up against the government. This great strife has awakened in the people the highest emotions and qualities of the human soul. We have neither asked nor received assistance from any quarter. Jefferson Davis Second Inaugural Address of Jefferson Davis as President of the Permanent Government of the Confederate States of America on February 22, 1862 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 Who Labor for My Happiness: Slavery at Thomas Jeffersons Monticello, Jefferson, Natural Language, & the Culture of Performance, The Dublin Orator: Thomas Sheridans Influence on Eighteenth-Century Rhetoric and Belles Letters, A Course of Lectures on Elocution Together with Two Dissertations on Language and Some Other Tracts Relative to Those Subjects, Rhetorical Grammar of the English Language, A Rhetorical Grammar of the English Language, History of the Principal Events of the Reign of Frederic William II, Jefferson and Civil Liberties: The Darker Side, American, and Commercial Daily Advertiser, The Inaugural Addresses of President Thomas Jefferson, 1801 and 1805, Gazette Nationale ou le Moniteur Universel, The Inaugural Addresses of President Thomas Jefferson, Philip Mazzei: Selected Writings and Correspondence, History of the United States of America during the Second Administration of Thomas Jefferson, Topics for Inaugural Address, [before 8 Feb. 1805], James Madisons Remarks on a Draft, [8 Feb. 1805], Albert Gallatins Remarks on a Draft, [12 Feb. 1805], James Madisons Remarks on a Draft, [21 Feb. 1805], Notes on the Second Inaugural Address, [February 1805? they saw the latent source from which these outrages proceeded. He likely meant the undated Notes, written sometime after he had finished writing the address, to be part of his personal record of the politics of his era. The period is near at hand when our foes must sink under the immense load of debt which they have incurred, a debt which in their effort to subjugate us has already attained such fearful dimensions as will subject them to burdens which must continue to oppress them for generations to come. It is a satisfaction that we have maintained the war by our unaided exertions. if, among these taxes, some minor ones fall, which had not been inconvenient, it was because their amount would not have paid the officers who collected them: and because if they had any merit, the state-authorities might adopt them instead of others less approved. The remaining revenue, on the consumption of foreign articles, is paid chiefly by those who can afford to add foreign luxuries to domestic comforts. we have done them justice on all occasions; favor, where favor was lawful, & cherished mutual interests & intercourse on fair & equal terms. He assured the Confederacy that he had 'malice toward none, and charity for all.' But the Government at Washington, denying our right to self-government, refused even to listen to any proposals for a peaceful separation. For proof of the sincerity of our purpose to maintain our ancient institutions, we may point to the Constitution of the Confederacy and the laws enacted under it, as well as to the fact that through all the necessities of an unequal struggle there has been no act on our part to impair personal liberty or the freedom of speech, of thought, or of the press. Proceeding, fellow citizens, to that qualification which the constitution requires before my entrance on the charge again conferred on me, it is my duty to express the deep sense I entertain of this new proof of confidence from my fellow citizens at large, and the zeal with which it inspires me so to conduct myself as may best satisfy their just expectations. 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. Jefferson Davis (pictured here on the eve of the Civil War) delivered his second inaugural address in Richmond, Virginia, on February 22, 1862. . Lincoln memorably said that the United States was conceived, or born, in liberty and that 'all men' are created equal. Jefferson had apparently owned a copy of Sheridans 1762, While Sheridan outlined the necessity of pauses in the earlier work, he detailed the mark-up system in his 1775. mrw120203. these contributions enable us to support the current expences of the government, to fulfill contracts with foreign nations, to extinguish the native right of soil within our limits, to extend those limits, & to apply such a surplus to our public debts, as places at a short day their final redemption. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources, relating to the history of Lincoln recognized how crucial this first inaugural address would be to the Southern states considering secession. Handy vocabulary definitions are included. Jeffersons use of it signals that in, Jefferson also struggled and held firm to another of the topics first marked for discussion, the licentiousness of the press. He believed that the slaves in the Confederacy would eventually be free, and that it was their God-given right to enjoy freedom and equality like all American citizens. Augustus John Foster, the 24-year-old secretary of the British legation in Washington, left a record of the details he observed on that day. It is with mingled feelings of humility and pride that I appear to take, in the presence of the people and before high Heaven, the oath prescribed as a qualification for the exalted station to which the unanimous voice of the people has called me. Archives. With humble gratitude and adoration, acknowledging the Providence which has so visibly protected the Confederacy during its brief but eventful career, to thee, O God, I trustingly commit myself, and prayerfully invoke thy blessing on my country and its cause. Second Inaugural Address. 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Lincoln hoped that he could prevent the conflict from escalating by taking a peaceful approach on the divisive issue of slavery. The tyranny of an unbridled majority, the most odious and least responsible form of despotism, has denied us both the right and the remedy. The National Historical Publications and Printers, Jefferson argued, needed to be held accountable for disseminating dishonest or licentious information. but that extension may possibly pay for itself, before we are called on, & in the mean time may keep down the accruing interest: in all events it will replace the advances we shall have made. His reelection proved that the majority of American citizens supported the administrations actions and remained immune to licentious printers influence. The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut | Writer & Significance, SAT Subject Test World History: Practice and Study Guide, DSST The Civil War & Reconstruction: Study Guide & Test Prep, Important People in World History Study Guide, Major Events in World History Study Guide, TCI History Alive World Connections: Online Textbook Help, Glencoe The American Journey: Online Textbook Help, TCI History Alive America's Past: Online Textbook Help, TCI History Alive The United States Through Industrialism: Online Textbook Help, Create an account to start this course today. 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 ). The blockade, if effectual and permanent, could only serve to divert our industry from the production of articles for export and employ it in supplying the commodities for domestic use. 'Physically speaking we cannot separate. Records Commission. On the topics of liberty and equality his message was clear: he did not want to abolish slavery in the South. Three weeks later, Abraham Lincoln did likewise, with different results. The people of the States now confederated became convinced that the Government of the United States had fallen into the hands of a sectinal majority, who would pervert that most sacred of all trusts to the destruction of the rights which it was pledged to protect. In February of 1861, just two months before the official start of the Civil War, Jefferson Davis delivered his inaugural address to the Confederacy as its new leader. Yet the interest involved is not wholly our own. The Government had ceased to answer the ends for which it was ordained and established. In February of 1861, just two months before the official start of the Civil War, Jefferson Davis delivered his inaugural address to the Confederacy as its new leader. COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Published by Princeton University Press and copyrighted, 2021, by Princeton University Press. and in any view, is it not better that the opposite bank of the Missisipi should be settled by our own brethren & children than by strangers of another family? He . 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. In the 6 Mch. [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). War of conquest they cannot wage, because the Constitution of their Confederacy admits of no coerced association. The constitutions of each government were similar as well, with a key difference that the Constitution of the Confederacy guaranteed the right to own slaves. . and history bears witness to the fact, that a just nation is trusted on its word, when recourse is had to armaments and wars to bridle others. Students also viewed. when satisfied of these views, it is not in human nature that they should not approve & support them. Through this instrumentality, under the favor of Divine Providence, we hope to perpetuate the principles of our revolutionary fathers. Neither of Jefferson's predecessors as president had given a second inaugural address. Deeply sensible of all that is implied by this manifestation of the peoples confidence, I am yet more profoundly impressed by the vast responsibility of the office, and humbly feel my own unworthiness. 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. At the darkest hour of our struggle the Provisional gives place to the Permanent Government. When he started is not known, as he did not put dates on any of the surviving draft fragments. they might perhaps have been corrected by the wholsome punishments reserved to, and provided by, the laws of the several states against falsehood & defamation. Whatever of hope some may have entertained that a returning sense of justice would remove the danger with which our rights were threatened, and render it possible to preserve the Union of the Constitution, must have been dispelled by the malignity and barbarity of the Northern States in the prosecution of the existing war. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher, except for reading and browsing via the World Wide Web. In the drafting process, he struggled with how to best express this, referring first to a Censor on the public functionaries that, writing with freedom, could warn against deviations from the line of duty (. The first year in our history has been the most eventful in the annals of this continent. Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862 [1]. In 1862, he added emancipation, finding it a military necessity. He apparently had a complete draft by 8 Feb., for on that day he received James Madisons response, followed on the 12th by remarks from Albert Gallatin and from Henry Dearborn the following day. [2] 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. Cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, provisions, timber, and naval stores will furnish attractive exchanges. On finishing the address, Jefferson kissed the Bible, swore the oath of office administered by Chief Justice John Marshall, and bowed. War will then be but a suspension of useful works; & a return to a state of peace a return to the progress of improvement. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 84,000 He directed his words at convincing them that he was not their enemy, but a friend. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. 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. . Delaware and Maryland, both slave states, did not vote to secede. The address has drawn more attention from scholars of Jeffersons public presentation and expression of executive authority, but it remains secondary to his first address. 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. the address took final form. It helped me pass my exam and the test questions are very similar to the practice quizzes on Study.com. If so, the document has kinship to his January 1804 notes of conversations with Aaron Burr and Benjamin Hichborn (Vol. Summarized in The Papers of Jefferson Davis, Volume 8, p. 55. But in the heart of a people resolved to be free these disasters tend but to stimulate to increased resistance. copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862. Davis argued that the North oppressed the South through its disapproval of slavery, a practice vital to its economy and culture. 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. At the darkest hour of our struggle the Provisional gives place to the Permanent Government. Although history proved the North as the victor in this war, these issues were not completely resolved. it is due to the sound discretion with which they select from among themselves those to whom they confide the legislative duties. 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. P.O. Chapter 14 - #1. An error occurred trying to load this video. they gathered around their public functionaries. 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. How did his views on the topics we just learned about evolve over those four years? Nothing could be so bad as failure, and any sacrifice would be cheap as the price of success in such a contest. 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. but public duties more urgent press on the time of public servants and the offenders have therefore been left to find their punishment in the public indignation. However, many Southerners still viewed the disagreement on slavery as the North's attempt to take away their liberties. Nothing could be so bad as failure, and any sacrifice would be cheap as the price of success in such a contest. Success crowned their efforts, and they provided for the posterity a peaceful remedy against future aggression. I shall now enter on the duties to which my fellow-citizens have again called me, & shall proceed in the spirit of those principles which they have approved. Jefferson Davis History & Facts | Who was President of the Confederacy? Also available is Lincoln's first and second inaugural. He made the decision during the drafting process, as shown by Madisons and Gallatins remarks, for in the draft they saw, resistance to change was associated with Native American society (Documents, The expression steady habits is associated with the state of Connecticut. Lincoln in his first inaugural address opens quickly by listing off many ways in which he will hold his bias and use a neutral . 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