Davis, Jefferson
Davis, Jefferson (1808–89) American statesman, president (1862–65) of the Confederate States of America during the US Civil War. Davis was elected to Congress in 1845, but resigned to fight in the Mexican War. He was a strong advocate of the extension of slavery and acted as senator for Mississippi (1849–51). In 1853 Franklin Pierce made him secretary of war. In 1857 he rejoined the Senate and acted as leader of the Southern bloc. He resigned when Mississippi seceded from the Union (1861) and was soon elected leader of the Confederacy. Davis assumed authoritarian political power and also participated in military decision-making. Following Lee's surrender, Davis was captured and imprisoned (1865–67). He wrote The Rise and Fall of Confederate Government (1881).
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Davis, Jefferson
