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Jefferson Davis was born in Christian County, Kentucky on June 3, 1808. He was the youngest on ten children.
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Davis began attending the prestigious United States Military Academy, referred to as West Point, in late 1824. President James Monroe requested that Davis become a cadet there.
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Jefferson Davis married Sarah Knox Taylor in June 1835. She was the daughter of the future president, Zachary Taylor. Sadly, she died three months after they were married.
Social -
Davis was elected as a Mississippi state representative in December 1845. He gained popularity quickly.
Political -
Jefferson Davis married Varina Howell, a young woman from a rich Mississippi plantation family.
Social -
Jefferson Davis was appointed to fill the spot of a deceased Senator in 1847. After his partial term, he was elected again. Political
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This act required all free slaves to be returned to their owners. Social
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Jefferson Davis campaigned and ran for Mississippi Governor is 1851, but lost the election.
Political -
In 1853, Davis was appointed Secretary of War by President Franklin Pierce.
Political -
Jefferson Davis returned to the Senate in 1857 and contunued to advocate for slavery and state's rights.
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Jefferson Davis was elected to be the first (and only) President of the Confederate States of America. It was supposed to be a six year term.
Political -
Abraham Lincoln becomes the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln believed in compromise and did not want to increase tensions with the South.
Political -
After Fort Sumter is attacked by the Confederate Army, the North gathers troops to prepare for the battle, which they know will be soon. The Civil War has officially begun.
Military -
On its own, the South had no central bank and was forced to print money, decreasing its value. Loss of cotton exports also hurt the Southern economy terribly.
Economic -
The Northern sconomy was much more stable because of their prexisting banks and trade overseas. This definitely gave the Union a more solid foundation to start a war with. Economy
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Shortages of food and general harvest caused bread riots in the South during 1863. Economic
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Respected writer and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, meets with the President to push for equality of African American men fighting for the Union.
Social -
Jefferson Davis was captured in Irwinville, Georgia by Union forces and charged with treason.
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During mid May in 1865, the remaining Confederate troops surrender.
Military -
Davis was held at Fort Monroe in Virginia beginning on May 22, 1865.
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The 13th Amendment is ratified by Congress and slavery is officially abolished.
Social -
Davis was released from the Virginia prison on bail paid by abolitionist Horace Greeley.
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Jefferson Davis's most popular book, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government was published in 1881. It gave people an insight on the Confederate government and how it operated. Cultural (the culture that was the Confederate government)
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Davis's second book, A Short History of the Confederate States of America, was finished and printed right before his death. Cultural
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Jefferson Davis died on December 6, 1889 in New Orleans, Louisiana after suffering from bronchitis.