Delene Sofi

11 / 14 / 17

US History / Legg

What Mom Never Told you About Jefferson Davis

a) Jefferson was a benign slave owner according to Legg and the film. He was pro-slavery

and was against the idea of abolishment of slavery along with Abolitionists, like

Abraham Lincoln. Even though he advocated slavery, he still cared for slaves and treated

them almost fairly. Davis entirely put all of his faith into slavery and stood for it until his

death around 1889. In a religious view, Davis thought that it was his duty to take care of

the slaves because they were almost like savages (1).

b) Downtown El Cajon decides to build a massive statue of Jefferson Davis. All of El Cajon

starts to think: who in their right mind would do such a thing. But as it turns out, Davis

can be seen in an almost positive way. When leading the war against mexico, he was

taken as a very brave and patriotic leader. Shortly after, he was granted a seat in congress

and became secretary of war. When going back to his home, he was seen as a national

hero to all. Although he laid back on politics, he was engaging in recreational activities,

he received a telegram on November 6, 1861 that read the election of him as the president

of the Confederate States of America (2). So Davis was not only a heroic leader, but he

was also the president at some point in his life. Davis had six children and one of them, 5

year old Joseph Davis tragically died in an incident where he fell off the balcony of a

Presidential Mansion in 1864 (3). Davis was seen as a strong leader because taking his

sons death into account for him was the hardest thing ever, he was devastated. But he

went back to work shortly after. Even his sons death didnt stop him from protecting the

US.
c) The people of El Cajon dig deeper into their research about Jefferson Davis and they end

up finding many things that were wrong with him. Davis was Pro-slavery for his whole

life and until his death. Slavery is very bad and for a president to advocate such a thing

until his death, that is very bad. He late lead a war against Washington (WTF). Davis also

ignored those that were his opponents, he wouldnt greet them and if theyd greet him he

would straight on ignore them. A President shouldnt be acting like that and should act

more mature. Davis can be similar to Donald Trump in some ways : they both act like 5

year olds with their opponents, but the slight difference is that Davis doesnt attack his

opponents with constant tweets. In Georgia, Davis was hiding at camp but a Yankee

soldier caught Davis (foreshadowing because a yankee also caught his daughters heart)

hiding under a rag while walking away. He was thrown in jail and charged with treason.

Later on, there were Political Cartoons mocking Daviss actions and depicting him with

womens clothes on because that was exactly what he did. So his reputation was pretty

shattered.

d) Jefferson Davis had various roles throughout US History. First, he was known as a

national hero for the war against Mexico. He was a Representative from 1845-1846, a

United States Secretary of War from 1853 -1857, a Senator for Mississippi from 1847-

1851 and 1857-1861, and He was The President of the Confederate States of America

from 1861-1865 (4). Being totally truthful, Davis didnt ,make much of a change to the

world. As the video said, he was becoming a martyr. History has and hos not been fair

with Davis. Has: Davis strongly advocated slavery and when he was captured by the

Yankees, a man named Cornelius Vanderbilt offered to pay Daviss bail and he did so,

but when Davis went back to his plantation, he found out that it had become a home for
 freed slaves (if only he knew what karma was). History has also offered him so many

positions in the government. Has nots: Davis lost his 5 year old son when he accidentally

fell off of a balcony. Davis was in such a hard spot and he had his job waiting for him so

he had to go back and take charge as President once again. And in a way, it wasnt fair

that he didnt get to see the world how he wanted after how much he sacrificed.

Bibliography

1. Film

2. Civil War (1860-1865)

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/civil/jb_civil_davis_1.html

3. The Tragic Death of . . .

 http://www.firstwhitehouse.org/the-tragic-death-of-joseph-davis-five-year-old-son-of-

president/

4. Jefferson Davis

http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/jefferson-davis