University Press of Kansas Logo

Jefferson Davis, Confederate President

Herman Hattaway and Richard E. Beringer

New in paperback: September 2003
xxiv, 542 pages, 39 photographs, 6-1/8 x 9-1/4
Paper ISBN 978-0-7006-1293-2, $19.95 (t)

Also available in cloth:
ISBN 978-0-7006-1170-6, $39.95 (t)

Book Cover ImageHe was one of the most embattled heads of state in American history. Charged with building a new nation while waging a war for its very independence, he accepted his responsibilities reluctantly but carried them out with a fierce dedication to his ideals. Those efforts ultimately foundered on the shoals of Confederate defeat, leaving Davis stranded in public memory as both valiant leader and desolate loser.

Now two renowned Civil War historians take a new and closer look at Davis's presidency. In the process, they provide a clearer image of his leadership and ability to handle domestic, diplomatic, and military matters under the most trying circumstances--without the considerable industrial and population resources of the North and without the formal recognition of other nations.

Hattaway and Beringer show us a man so respected that northern colleagues regretted his departure from the U.S. Senate, but so bent on Southern independence he was willing to impose unthinkable burdens on his citizens--an apologist for slavery who was committed to state rights, even while growing nationalism in his new country called for a stronger central government.

In assessing Davis's actual administration of the Confederate state, the authors analyze the Confederate government's constitution, institutions, infrastructure, and cabinet-level administrators. They also integrate events of Davis's presidency with the ongoing war as it encroached upon the South, offering a panoramic view of military strategy as seen from the president's office. They tell how Davis reacted to the outcomes of key battles and campaigns in order to assess his leadership abilities, his relations with civilian and military authorities, and--his own personal competency notwithstanding--his poor judgment in selecting generals.

Rich in detail and exhilaratingly told with generous selections from Davis's own letters and speeches, Hattaway and Beringer provide the most insightful account available of the Confederate presidency--suggesting that perhaps it was the Confederate government, rather than Davis himself, that failed. More than that, it shows us Davis as an American leader and offers a new appreciation of his place in our country's history.

“The best single volume treatment of the confederate experiment.”--Civil War News

"At once thorough and thought provoking. The authors paint the first true administrative portrait of Davis, making bold and even controversial judgments."--William C. Davis, author of Jefferson Davis: The Man and
His Hour

"A sprawling and detailed chronicle of the Confederate presidency that touches upon almost every aspect of Confederate history, ranging from battle accounts, to logistical matters, to fiscal policy, to the course of slavery."--William J. Cooper, Jr., author of Jefferson Davis, American: A Biography

"The authors have created nothing less than a panorama of the rise and fall of the Confederate States."--Daniel E. Sutherland, author of Seasons of War: The Ordeal of the Confederate Community, 1861–1865

HERMAN HATTAWAY is professor of history and religious studies at the University of Missouri–Kansas City and an ordained Anglican priest. He is author of six other books, including How the North Won and Shades of Blue and Gray.

RICHARD E. BERINGER is Chester Fritz Professor Emeritus of History at the University of North Dakota. He is coauthor of Why the South Lost the Civil War and The Anatomy of the Confederate Congress.