This great strife has awakened in the people the highest emotions and qualities of the human soul. The remaining revenue, on the consumption of foreign articles, is paid chiefly by those who can afford to add foreign luxuries to domestic comforts. But now he shifted his focus from preserving the union to restoring it. Rice University--MS 215 10:498n). However, many Southerners still viewed the disagreement on slavery as the North's attempt to take away their liberties. 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 . flashcard sets. 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. Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862. with those too, not yet rallied to the same point, the disposition to do so is gaining strength. The first full text that survives is the finished address, Jefferson struggled with the two additional Genl. 1805]. 198-203. 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. But the picture has its lights as well as its shadows. 1862 (and Washington's birthday), Davis gave a second inaugural address, after winning an election under . Two of those pieces can be identified and are Documents. Nothing was then left to do but to prepare for 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. This speech was intended to promote brotherhood amongst the North and South, and he claimed that most individuals on both sides would have preferred a peaceful outcome. Phone: (713) 348-2586 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. Records Commission (NHPRC) is part of the National In his address, he did not embrace the North's demands for a reunion of states, which he described as 'neither practicable nor desirable.' In the 6 Mch. They therefore determined to sever its bonds and establish a new Confederacy for themselves. 21 st Century 2000 - Thomas Jefferson Second Inaugural Address Second Inaugural Address March 4, 1805 They resemble marks that Jefferson put on a draft of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. War of conquest they cannot wage, because the Constitution of their Confederacy admits of no coerced association. . 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. Second Inaugural Address Washington, DC. 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Instances of self-sacrifice and of generous devotion to the noble cause for which we are contending are rife throughout the land. The abolitionist orator/editor (and former slave) had met Lincoln only twice before, and for most of the war was a fierce critic of the president's policies. Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862. 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. 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. It was, perhaps, in the ordination of Providence that we were to be taught the value of our liberties by the price which we pay for them. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. To show ourselves worthy of the inheritance bequeathed to us by the patriots of the Revolution, we must emulate that heroic devotion which made reverse to them but the crucible in which their patriotism was refined. Jeffersons painstaking work in preparing the reading copy was worthwhile in allowing him to put the full text of the speech on the two faces of the single sheet. Nothing could be so bad as failure, and any sacrifice would be cheap as the price of success in such a contest. Jefferson had begun writing the address weeks earlier. Get unlimited access to over 84,000 lessons. 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. With confidence in the wisdom and virtue of those who will share with me the responsibility and aid me in the conduct of public affairs; securely relying on the patriotism and courage of the people, of which the present war has furnished so many examples, I deeply feel the weight of the responsibilities I now, with unaffected diffidence, am about to assume; and, fully realizing the inequality of human power to guide and to sustain, my hope is reverently fixed on Him whose favor is ever vouchsafed to the cause which is just. It is a satisfaction that we have maintained the war by our unaided exertions. . 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. with which should we be most likely to live in harmony and friendly intercourse? After a series of successes and victories, which covered our arms with glory, we have recently met with serious disasters. Learn more about Davis' views and how they differed from those expressed by Abraham Lincoln in his public address. It is cultivating feelings of patriotism, virtue, and courage. 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. 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. 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. Three weeks later, Abraham Lincoln did likewise, with different results. 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. Davis was inaugurated and hoped that his role would only be temporary until the permanent government was established. With confidence in the wisdom and virtue of those who will share with me the responsibility and aid me in the conduct of public affairs; securely relying on the patriotism and courage of the people, of which the present war has furnished so many examples, I deeply feel the weight of the responsibilities I now, with unaffected diffidence, am about to assume; and, fully realizing the inequality of human power to guide and to sustain, my hope is reverently fixed on Him whose favor is ever vouchsafed to the cause which is just. Jefferson Davis' First Inaugural Address Alabama Capitol, Montgomery, February 18, 1861 Gentlemen of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, Friends and Fellow-Citizens: President Lincoln believed that the union must be preserved, or kept whole. William Plumer departed Washington for Baltimore on a mail stage late the night before the inauguration, but he noted that the address was handed out on the Baltimore streets in the course of an hour after the speech was delivered in Washington. Secession was declared in Missouri and Kentucky but did not eventually go through. While the war had started favorably for the Confederate States, the first several weeks of 1862 found the North was winning all the battles. President Lincoln also referred back to his first inauguration and reflected on the instability of the government at that time. 'Four score and seven years ago. Davis believed that because the North was restricting the rights of the Southern states, secession was 'a necessity, not a choice.' 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. Leonard Levys 1963 critical interpretation of the president, Seemingly in line with that new ethos of free speech, in. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States during the war, stated that the state is the most important entity and that states have the authority to ignore laws that are unconstitutional. He told the crowd, 'I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists.' Sheridan had turned from acting to a career of public lectures and writing in 1756, becoming a key driver of an elocutionary movement that centered performance at the heart of all public speaking. Nor would the constancy of these supplies be likely to be disturbed by war. While some printers were content to reproduce the address with minimal commentary, a number of local editorialsRepublican and Federalistwrapped the text in either praise or condemnation, usually in line with the papers party affiliation. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Nor was it uninteresting to the world, that an experiment should be fairly and fully made, Whether freedom of discussion, unaided by power, is not sufficient for the propagation and protection of truth? In each of the segments illustrated above, a single long stroke appears in a high position midway along the line. After a series of successes and victories, which covered our arms with glory, we have recently met with serious disasters. To show ourselves worthy of the inheritance bequeathed to us by the patriots of the Revolution, we must emulate that heroic devotion which made reverse to them but the crucible in which their patriotism was refined. But we knew the value of the object for which we struggled, and understood the nature of the war in which we were engaged. Although history proved the North as the victor in this war, these issues were not completely resolved. Many were incorporated into Smiths copy, and others were added to both copies via editorial marks. It is cultivating feelings of patriotism, virtue, and courage. Neither of Jefferson's predecessors as president had given a second inaugural address. Summarized in The Papers of Jefferson Davis, Volume 8, p. 55. his refusal to sign the Wade-Davis Bill. Abraham Lincoln had many neutral political views, which contrasted against Jefferson Davis' bias beliefs. 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. they too have their Anti-Philosophists, who find an interest in keeping things in their present state; who dread reformation, and exert all their faculties to maintain the ascendancy of habit over the duty of improving our reason, & obeying its mandates. 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. Soon to come: Gettysburg . 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. the want of it will certainly not lessen with increasing years. Success crowned their efforts, and they provided for the posterity a peaceful remedy against future aggression. Lincoln wanted equality for all people, including slaves, while Davis wanted the Southern states to enjoy the freedom of owning slaves if they choose. 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. Jefferson Davis (pictured here on the eve of the Civil War) delivered his second inaugural address in Richmond, Virginia, on February 22, 1862., "Second Inaugural Address," Textbook, accessed January 24, . 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. The day, the memory, and the purpose seem fitly associated. In 1862, he added emancipation, finding it a military necessity. Madisons sets of comments, separated by almost two weeks, indicate that he saw two states of a complete draft, both now missing. 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.' He spoke, according to John Quincy Adams, in so low a voice that not half of it was heard by any part of the crowded auditory. Augustus Foster also noted that the speech was too low spoken to be heard well. The inflections carefully marked according to Sheridans principles came to nothing. Second Inaugural 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. 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. Yet the interest involved is not wholly our own. 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? At home, fellow-citizens, you best know whether we have done well or ill. the suppression of unnecessary offices, of useless establishments and expences, enabled us to discontinue our internal taxes. they gathered around their public functionaries. that is due in the first place to the reflecting character of our citizens at large, who, by the weight of public opinion, influence and strengthen the public measures. 198-203. Delaware and Maryland, both slave states, did not vote to secede. [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). In their various addresses to the nation, they articulated their views on the role of the union, government, and liberties of the people. Women in the Civil War: Facts & Roles | How Did the Civil War Affect Women? Cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, provisions, timber, and naval stores will furnish attractive exchanges. 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. Students also viewed. We too have had our trials and difficulties. NHPRC The National Historical Publications and Records Commission(NHPRC) is part of the National that our wish, as well as theirs, is, that the public efforts may be directed honestly to the public good: that peace be cultivated, civil & religious liberty unassailed, law & order preserved, equality of rights maintained, & that state of property, equal or unequal, which results to every man from his own industry, or that of his fathers. No inference is here intended that the laws provided by the states against false & defamatory publications, should not be enforced. In matters of Religion, I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the constitution independant of the powers of the general government. Abraham Lincoln was reelected to a second term as President of the United States in 1865. Tuesday, January 20, 1953. . these persons inculcate a sanctimonious reverence for the customs of their ancestors; that whatsoever they did must be done through all time; that reason is a false guide, and to advance under its counsel in their physical, moral or political condition is perilous innovation: that their duty is to remain as their creator made them, ignorance being safety, and knolege full of danger. 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. Therefore we are in arms to renew such sacrifices as our fathers made to the holy cause of constitutional liberty. Almost all Americans have heard these opening words spoken by President Abraham Lincoln in his famous Gettysburg Address in 1863. 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