February 18th: Jefferson Davis Inaugurated as The Provisional President of the Confederate States of America

On February 18, 1861, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Alabama. Davis, a former Senator from Mississippi and Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce, was seen as a strong and experienced leader by the Confederacy. In his inaugural address, he emphasized the right of secession and the need to protect the southern way of life, including the institution of slavery.

However, the formation of the Confederate States of America was met with opposition from the Union, who saw it as an illegal act of rebellion. The conflict between the two sides soon escalated into a full-scale war, with battles fought across the country for four long years.

Despite Davis’s efforts, the Union emerged victorious in 1865. Davis was captured and imprisoned for two years before being released on bail.

The events in Montgomery, Alabama, and the subsequent Civil War, had a profound impact on the history of the United States. It resulted in the abolition of slavery and the end of the Confederate States of America, but it also left deep scars and divisions in the country that lasted for generations. The legacy of Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy, created to defend the institution of slavery, continues to be a source of controversy and discussion in modern times.

References:

http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/m-3598#:~:text=Jefferson%20Davis%20was%20inaugurated%20as,%2C%20on%20February%2018%2C%201861.

https://www.senate.gov/senators/FeaturedBios/Featured_Bio_DavisJefferson.htm#:~:text=Born%20in%20Kentucky%20in%201808,%2D1857

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jefferson-Davis/Capture-and-imprisonment