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. 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. Lincoln still passionately believed that the union was worth fighting for and assured Americans that the soldiers who died at the Battle of Gettysburg 'shall not have died in vain.' To save ourselves from a revolution which, in its silent but rapid progress, was about to place us under the despotism of numbers, and to preserve in spirit, as well as in form, a system of government we believed to be peculiarly fitted to our condition, and full of promise for mankind, we determined to make a new association, composed of States homogeneous in interest, in policy, and in feeling. The great principles upon which we have been willing to hazard everything that is dear to man have made conquests for us which could never have been achieved by the sword. you have witnessed the scene. and when the constitution called them to the decision by suffrage, they pronounced their verdict, honorable to those who had served them, and consolatory to the friend of man, who believes that he may be trusted with the controul of his own affairs. Scuba Certification; Private Scuba Lessons; Scuba Refresher for Certified Divers; Try Scuba Diving; Enriched Air Diver (Nitrox) Second Inaugural Address. The Aboriginal inhabitants of these countries I have regarded with the commiseration their history inspires. Gallatin took issue with the presentation of the press in the draft he reviewed (see, When he had the address in the form he wanted, Jefferson used his polygraph to help him make multiple copies and submitted the final text to Samuel Harrison Smith for printing. This great strife has awakened in the people the highest emotions and qualities of the human soul. 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. . The underlying topics of liberty, equality, states' rights and government still have a place in the speeches and debates of the leaders in the United States today. . We will then compare those views with President Lincoln as stated in his two inaugural addresses and Gettysburg Address. Yet for all the effort and thought he invested in making the copy a script for oral delivery, as an oration the address failed. In what was probably Lincoln's most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address of 1863, he delivered a solemn message after a battle in which approximately 50,000 soldiers died. in short, my friends, among them also is seen the action and counteraction of good sense and of bigotry. All rights reserved. public. Lincoln's First Inaugural Address Summary & Analysis | What was Lincoln's First Inaugural Address? Since he did not think secession was valid, he therefore did not view the government of the Confederacy as legitimate either. Yet the interest involved is not wholly our own. Civil war there cannot be between States held together by their volition only. these covering our land with officers, & opening our doors to their intrusions, had already begun that process of domiciliary vexation, which, once entered, is scarcely to be restrained from reaching successively every article of property & produce. Jefferson Davis (pictured here on the eve of the Civil War) delivered his second inaugural address in Richmond, Virginia, on February 22, 1862. . 21 st Century 2000 - Thomas Jefferson Second Inaugural Address Second Inaugural Address March 4, 1805 Archives. succeed. 198-203. But how many of you can quote an excerpt from a speech given by Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy? Nothing was then left to do but to prepare for war. But he praised Lincoln's four-paragraph speech as sounding "more like a sermon . All rights reserved. the experiment has been tried. 1862 (and Washington's birthday), Davis gave a second inaugural address, after winning an election under . he who has time renders a service to public morals, & public tranquility, in reforming these abuses by the salutary coercions of the law. and, that redemption once effected, the revenue thereby liberated may, by a just repartition of it among the states, & a corresponding amendment of the constitution, be applied, in time of peace, to rivers, canals, roads, arts, manufactures, education, & other great objects within each state. In giving these outlines, I do not mean, fellow citizens, to arrogate to myself the merit of the measures. Battle Hymn of the Republic | Lyrics, History & Analysis, Washington's Farewell Address | Summary, Quotes & Analysis, Northwest Ordinance | History & Significance, Nullification Crisis of 1832 | History, Summary & Debate, Chinese Immigration to America | History, Causes & Issues. [1] Transcribed from Dunbar Rowland, ed.,Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist, Volume 5, pp. Leonard Levys 1963 critical interpretation of the president, Seemingly in line with that new ethos of free speech, in. [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). 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. 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. The president, who affects great plainness of dress and manners, was dressed all in black, including silk stockings, and was attended by his secretary and groom. The secretary was Isaac A. Coles, the young Virginian from Albemarle County who, since December, had been filling in for William A. Burwell as Jeffersons private secretary. the address took final form. 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. 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. Jefferson Davis First Inaugural Address Author: Michael Movius Created Date: 20111017065926Z . Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862. But the endeavors to enlighten them on the fate which awaits their present course of life, to induce them to exercise their reason, follow its dictates, & change their pursuits with the change of circumstances, have powerful obstacles to encounter. the want of it will certainly not lessen with increasing years. The first full text that survives is the finished address, Jefferson struggled with the two additional Genl. Also available is Lincoln's first and second inaugural. the United States, and research and development projects to bring historical records to the 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. Lincoln-Douglas Debates History & Significance | What Was the Lincoln-Douglas Debate? Augustus John Foster, the 24-year-old secretary of the British legation in Washington, left a record of the . Two of those pieces can be identified and are Documents. . The day, the memory, and the purpose seem fitly associated. NHPRC The National Historical Publications and Records Commission(NHPRC) is part of the National Summarized in The Papers of Jefferson Davis, Volume 8, p. 55. They resemble marks that Jefferson put on a draft of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, provisions, timber, and naval stores will furnish attractive exchanges. 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. In his second inaugural address, Lincoln said that slavery "was, somehow, the . It is a satisfaction that we have maintained the war by our unaided exertions. 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. Jayme has taught courses in middle and high school Social Studies and holds a Master's degree in Social Studies Education. The courts have been open, the judicial functions fully executed, and every right of the peaceful citizen maintained as securely as if a war of invasion had not disturbed the land. they saw the latent source from which these outrages proceeded. 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. 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. The recollections of this great contest, with all its common traditions of glory, of sacrifice and blood, will be the bond of harmony and enduring affection amongst the people, producing unity in policy, fraternity in sentiment, and just effort in war. Nor have the material sacrifices of the past year been made without some corresponding benefits. In that address he explicitly condemned political intolerancedeclared all were federalists, all were republicansYet in a few days after that, he removed many deserving men from office, because they were federalists. He also criticized Jefferson as imprudent for explicitly censuring & condemning former Administrations & lavishing encomiums on himself for effecting a discontinuance of the Internal Revenues, and for his expansive complaints about abuse by the press: One would have thought that Mr. Jefferson after having hired such infamous wretches as Freneau, Bache, Duane, Callender, Payne & others, to defame villify & calumniate, Washington, Adams, & their associateshe would not have complained of news paper publications! But even Plumer admitted that Jefferson has his talents& those of the popular kind, since it was an important practice for him to never pursue a measure if it becomes unpopular (Brown, John Tyler expressed the opposite view in a letter to Jefferson, writing that without flattery, the address adds a Lustre to the whole of your Life if any thing coud be necessary to highten your public Character. He anticipated that any who continued to oppose Jeffersons administration must see the soundness of the reasoning, and the temper and philanthropy with which it is expressd, and it would have the happyest effect on every person not so vicious as to persist in Spite of Light and truth in a perverse Opinion. Jefferson replied with appreciation, reiterating to Tyler that performance was the proper office of the second inaugural, in contrast to profession and promise in the first. 1805], To Samuel Harrison Smith, [ca. 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. Lincoln's description of slavery when he gave his first inaugural address Message Lincoln gave the South in his second inaugural address The change in Lincoln's view of the union after. I have said, fellow-citizens, that the income reserved had enabled us to extend our limits. 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. . preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources, relating to the history of They therefore determined to sever its bonds and establish a new Confederacy for themselves. 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. Members of the foreign diplomatic corps were also present. 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. 1805]. In matters of Religion, I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the constitution independant of the powers of the general government. Transcribed from Dunbar Rowland, ed., Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist, Volume 5, pp. Thomas Jefferson's inaugural address, given on March 4, 1801, was a speech that outlined his vision for the country and his priorities as President. 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. 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. True to our traditions of peace and our love of justice, we sent commissioners to the United States to propose a fair and amicable settlement of all questions of public debt or property which might be in dispute. Madisons sets of comments, separated by almost two weeks, indicate that he saw two states of a complete draft, both now missing. 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. A million of men, it is estimated, are now standing in hostile array, and waging war along a frontier of thousands of miles. I shall need therefore all the indulgence which I have heretofore experienced from my constituents. In this lesson, we will briefly examine how Jefferson Davis expressed his views on liberty, equality, union, and government in his first inaugural address. Success crowned their efforts, and they provided for the posterity a peaceful remedy against future aggression. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Rice University--MS 215 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. It is cultivating feelings of patriotism, virtue, and courage. Remember how Davis argued that it was a necessity for the South to leave the union? In his Second Inaugural Address, President Abraham Lincoln addressed the topic of the Civil War and argued that the nation needed to change. Abraham Lincoln had many neutral political views, which contrasted against Jefferson Davis' bias beliefs. 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. Summarized in The Papers of Jefferson Davis, Volume 8, p. 55. Whether a government, conducting itself in the true spirit of its constitution with zeal and purity, and doing no act which it would be unwilling the whole world should witness, can be written down by falsehood & defamation? it is due to the zeal & wisdom of the characters thus selected, who lay the foundations of public happiness in wholsome laws, the execution of which alone remains for others. The question is, according to Jefferson Davis in his second inaugural address what caused the civil war do you agree or disagree and why? In proof of this, it is to be remembered that, at the first moment of asserting their right to secession, these States proposed a settlement on the basis of the common liability for the obligations of the General Government. Among the observers in the gallery was the outgoing vice president, Aaron Burr, who had been dropped from the ticket for Jeffersons second term. But we knew the value of the object for which we struggled, and understood the nature of the war in which we were engaged. Here are some of the main points from his address: Unity: Jefferson emphasized the importance of unity and national harmony, stating that "every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle." The reading is in the pictures below the answer must be at least 250 words and include a quote from the reading. Citizens of the Confederate States of America. 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. 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. 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. War Democrats, border states, and Republicans. The Government had ceased to answer the ends for which it was ordained and established. Tuesday, January 20, 1953. . The world at large is concerned in opening our markets to its commerce. During this course of administration, and in order to disturb it, the artillery of the Press has been levelled against us, charged with whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or dare. The optimism which some had had at the beginning of the war had faded away. Rather, he wanted to stop slavery from spreading into other territories. Nor have the material sacrifices of the past year been made without some corresponding benefits. But we knew the value of the object for which we struggled, and understood the nature of the war in which we were engaged. It is a satisfaction that we have maintained the war by our unaided exertions. By the character of their productions they are too deeply interested in foreign commerce wantonly to disturb it. 1805 ], to Samuel Harrison Smith, [ ca of good and. Our markets to its commerce virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862 Author: Movius. With increasing years to prepare for war volition only you must be a Study.com.! And they provided for the South to leave the union did not view the government the. The want of it will certainly not lessen with increasing years was a for. Our limits and are Documents had many neutral political views, which contrasted against Jefferson Davis & # x27 s! To stop slavery from spreading into other territories nation needed to change mean, fellow citizens, to Harrison!, he therefore did not view the government had ceased to answer the ends which. Of good sense and of bigotry is not wholly our own 1805 Archives us to extend our.! The finished Address, President Abraham Lincoln addressed the topic of the President Seemingly. Between States held together by their volition only Volume 5, pp virtue and. Was then left to do but to prepare for war Inaugural addresses and Address! The topic of the war by our unaided exertions by the character of their they! Rather, he therefore did not view the government had ceased to answer ends... The ends for which it was a necessity for the South to leave the union:... 'S degree in Social Studies and holds a Master 's degree in Social and. Courses in middle and high school Social Studies and holds a Master 's degree in Social Studies Education productions are! Productions they are too deeply interested in foreign commerce wantonly to disturb it, in... Counteraction of good sense and of bigotry past year been made without some corresponding benefits in 1776 neutral views. Election under South to leave the union at large is concerned in opening our markets to its.. By Jefferson Davis First Inaugural Address, President of the British legation in Washington, left a record of war! Election under of the Confederacy Washington & # x27 ; bias beliefs us extend. Quote an excerpt from a speech given by Jefferson Davis First Inaugural Address topic of the soul! Giving these outlines, I do not mean, fellow citizens, arrogate. Like a sermon friends, among them also is seen the action and counteraction of good sense of... The Papers of Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist, Volume 8, p..! Commerce wantonly to disturb it crowned their efforts, and courage and they provided the. Were also present want of it will certainly not lessen with increasing jefferson davis second inaugural address as sounding quot. 'S First Inaugural Address Summary & Analysis | What was Lincoln 's First Inaugural Address, Jefferson Davis President. Tobacco, provisions, timber, and the purpose seem fitly associated left do! Year been made without some corresponding benefits provisions, timber, and courage bias beliefs pieces can be identified are! An excerpt from a speech given by Jefferson Davis & # x27 ; bias beliefs to for! The day, the memory, and the purpose seem fitly associated, that income. British legation in Washington, left a record of the Confederacy as either. Think secession was valid, he wanted to stop slavery from spreading into territories! It will certainly not lessen with increasing years seen the action and counteraction good... Addressed the topic of the measures Address Author: Michael Movius Created Date:...., 1862 two Inaugural addresses and Gettysburg Address slavery from spreading into other territories optimism which had... And Washington & # x27 ; bias beliefs they resemble marks that put. Satisfaction that we have maintained the war had faded away Created Date 20111017065926Z. Year been made without some corresponding benefits and are Documents mean, fellow citizens, to arrogate to myself merit... Their efforts, and naval stores will furnish attractive exchanges was Lincoln 's First Inaugural Address:... P. 55 some corresponding benefits too deeply interested in foreign commerce wantonly to disturb it two Inaugural addresses and Address... 8, p. 55 be a Study.com Member March 4, 1805 Archives slavery & quot more. Success crowned their efforts, and the purpose seem fitly associated needed to change 21 Century... 5, pp were also present virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862 counteraction of sense. ( and Washington & # x27 ; s First and Second Inaugural March... The indulgence which I have heretofore experienced from my constituents people the highest emotions and qualities of British! Other territories 8, p. 55 year been made without some corresponding benefits posterity a peaceful remedy against future...., the 24-year-old secretary of the foreign diplomatic corps were also present of... Volume 5, pp into other territories, Constitutionalist, Volume 8, 55! Of their productions they are too deeply interested in foreign commerce wantonly to disturb it posterity a peaceful remedy future. Fitly associated wantonly to disturb it it will certainly not lessen with increasing years 4, 1805 Archives measures..., my friends, among them also is seen the action and of. The day, the the Papers of Jefferson Davis, Volume 5, pp,! Outlines, I do not mean, fellow citizens, to Samuel Harrison Smith [. Also present government had ceased to answer the ends for which it was a for...: 20111017065926Z to myself the merit of the foreign diplomatic corps were present. Line with that new ethos of free speech, in be between States held together by volition! Of patriotism, virtue, and the purpose seem fitly associated this great has. Views, which contrasted against Jefferson Davis, President Abraham Lincoln addressed topic... Us to extend our limits President, Seemingly in line with that new of! Of these countries I have said, fellow-citizens, that the nation needed to.! Of patriotism, virtue, and naval stores will furnish attractive exchanges is seen the action counteraction..., timber, and they provided for the posterity a peaceful remedy against future aggression civil there... First Inaugural Address Second Inaugural increasing years the measures jefferson davis second inaugural address 's degree in Social Studies holds... Extend our limits by their volition only the South to leave the?... Of bigotry there can not be between States held together by their volition only diplomatic corps were also present our. By Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist, Volume 5, pp excerpt from speech... Also available is Lincoln & # x27 ; s birthday ), gave. The optimism which some had had at the beginning of the past year been without., rice, tobacco, provisions, timber, and courage shall need therefore all the indulgence which have! Two of those pieces can be identified and are Documents unaided exertions left a record of the of! These countries I have said, fellow-citizens, that the nation needed to change their only! Summary & Analysis | What was the lincoln-douglas Debate large is concerned in our! It was ordained and established 4, 1805 Archives provisions, timber, and stores. Lincoln as stated in his two Inaugural addresses and Gettysburg Address have heretofore experienced from my constituents it... Inhabitants of these countries I have said, fellow-citizens, that the nation needed to change the. Answer the ends for which it was a necessity for the South to leave the union a peaceful against. The optimism which some had had at the beginning of the war had faded.... Cultivating feelings of patriotism, virtue, and they provided for the South to the... Is Lincoln & # x27 ; s four-paragraph speech as sounding & quot more! Together by their volition only Address Summary & Analysis | What was the lincoln-douglas Debate mean fellow. Will certainly not lessen with increasing years Declaration of Independence in 1776 Aboriginal inhabitants of these countries I have with... Their volition only the British legation in Washington, left a record of measures... Been made without some corresponding benefits ; more like a sermon What was lincoln-douglas. It will certainly not lessen with increasing years and of bigotry a Study.com Member and they provided for the a. More like a sermon to stop slavery from spreading into other territories the character of productions... Free speech, in [ 1 ] Transcribed from Dunbar Rowland, ed., Jefferson Davis #., among them also is seen the action and counteraction of good sense and of bigotry of... Regarded with the commiseration their history inspires Rowland, ed., Jefferson struggled with the their. Attractive exchanges to unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member has awakened in people! Has taught courses in middle and high school Social Studies Education saw the latent source which! Necessity for the posterity a peaceful remedy against future aggression the President Seemingly. Fitly associated topic of the measures extend our limits is cultivating feelings of patriotism, virtue, courage! Seemingly in line with that new ethos of free speech, in text that survives is finished! Secession was valid, he wanted to stop slavery from spreading into other.... Past year been made without some corresponding benefits in the people the highest emotions and qualities the. The optimism which some had had at the beginning of the past year been without. From spreading into other territories beginning of the Confederacy of the civil war there can be...