Why Jefferson Davis?

Have you ever wondered why it was Jefferson Davis who was unanimously elected President of the Confederate States of America? According to Hudson Strode, Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Alabama, "Perhaps no one in his own time had greater influence on U.S. legislation than did Jefferson Davis".

Strode goes on to write" Though a most reluctant secessionist himself...Jefferson Davis was the unanimous choice...No one in the land held so gloriously that combined record of outstanding statesmanship and distinguished service on the battlefield. No historian yet has come up with any candidate who might have succeeded better in the difficult role than Jefferson Davis. Robert E. Lee, who was on most intimate and harmonious terms with the President, declared that he knew of 'no one who could have done so well'."

Professor Strode wrote three volumes on his life:  Jefferson Davis: American Patriot (I), Confederate President (II) and Tragic Hero (III) plus a volume on his letters.

Taken from our First White House booklet, I quote: "After Hudson Strode's understanding biography of Jefferson Davis appeared, Bruce Catton wrote: 'Davis finally becomes a possession of the whole country and not just a section.' The place of Jefferson Davis in American history as the first and only President of the Confederate States of America is unique"