Jefferson Davis, American Read online

  The newlyweds appeared to be making a good beginning. Varina spoke of busy and happy days with Jefferson, reading, writing, riding, including “many races when the road was smooth.” They also visited neighbors, and Hurricane, where they saw Joseph and Eliza every day. Varina spent time tending to her flowers and vines. In addition, she took up the duties of a plantation mistress, running a household and caring for sick slaves.37

  Shortly after their arrival at Brierfield, the new husband reported satisfaction with his young wife. To his mother-in-law, whom he called “my dear mamma,” he described the happiness of their humble lifestyle: “We should not probably be more happy if the walls of a castle sheltered us, than we are beneath the protection of our rugged hut.” He thought that Varina grew “calmer discreeter happier & lovelier with each passing day.” He was quite pleased with the attention his relatives had given his bride and delighted that “they harmonize together better than I had hoped.”38

  While Jefferson and Varina were adjusting to each other and to relatives, particularly Joseph and Eliza, Jefferson was actively engaged in running Brierfield. The planting and cultivation of cotton and grain demanded special attention, but Davis continued to clear away the trees, cane, and brambles that had once pervaded the plantation. “For several days past I have been enveloped in smoke” from preparing more land for cotton, he wrote his factor. Increasing the production of cotton troubled him, for he believed the staple had been overproduced. Still, he did not know what else to do. Worried about the low price of cotton, which had plunged to less than 5 cents per pound in the prolonged depression following the Panic of 1837, Davis opined that the United States “must drive all the other countries out of the cultivation of cotton and if the price does not improve then all of our own people except those most favorably situated must give way also.” Still, he wanted “through this long vista of depression [to] look forward to brighter things.”39

  Neither domesticity nor agriculture occupied all of Davis’s attention, however. The political name he had made for himself during the campaign of 1844 opened up other possibilities. His Democratic friends in Warren County considered him not only “a free-hearted, open, manly, bold Mississippian, and a Democrat to the core,” but also a man “destined to be the pride and ornament of our state.” When Warren Democrats convened in late June 1845, with Davis present, they once again chose him as a delegate to the state convention, but they also unanimously resolved to present his name to that body as a nominee for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.40

  In Jackson on July 8, Mississippi Democrats did select Davis as one of their four congressional candidates, but his triumph did not occur without opposition. Even though they were chosen to represent different sections of the state—Davis, for example, the southwestern—each candidate had to make a statewide race, not simply one in his bailiwick. With their preponderant majority in the entire state, the Democrats maintained the at-large election system to preclude any Whig’s getting elected in an area of special Whig strength, such as Davis’s own region. Three other Democrats avidly desired the southwestern slot, chief among them Dr. William Gwin, also of Warren County. The record does not provide details for the brief, albeit vigorous skirmish that ended with Davis’s victory. After leading handsomely on the first ballot, Davis easily vanquished Gwin by 51 to 34 on the second, and won the nomination. Now, in 1845 as in 1844, he would have to canvass the state, this time asking Mississippi voters to elect him.41

  The nomination struggle in Jackson did not surprise Davis. In fact, even before the state convention he had been attacked in the Vicksburg press. Once more the old banking issue appeared, though in a different form. In 1845 the question was framed around the Briscoe Bill, a measure that the legislature had enacted back in 1843. When first put forward in 1842 by Democratic legislator Parmenas Briscoe, it proposed to expunge all debts owed to the defunct Union Bank, which would have aided a number of Briscoe’s friends and relatives who were indebted to the bank. That bill failed, but Briscoe brought it back the next year, and it passed the state House of Representatives. The Senate, however, amended the bill so that the bank’s debtors would be legally liable for what they owed in order to permit the bank’s creditors to gain something for their investment. Thus amended, the legislation got through both houses and upon the governor’s signature became law in July 1843. And in January 1845 its constitutionality had been affirmed by the Mississippi High Court of Errors and Appeals. Still, many Democratic stalwarts decided that their party’s antibank identity necessitated adherence to the original Briscoe Bill, which, of course, had never become law.42

  Although most Mississippi Democrats adopted that position, Davis did not. He believed that the bill that had been enacted was fair and had been judicially sanctioned, and he said so publicly. At the same time he made sure that no one could mistake him for a bank partisan. “To show that my opinion on the subject of bank forfeiture, is free from the bias of any personal interest, I will state that I have never owned a share of bank stock, nor borrowed a dollar from a bank,” he declared in a public letter that he had printed and placed before the state convention. Despite his unequivocal declaration, accompanied by a denunciation of paper currency, Davis worried that his opposition to the initial version of the Briscoe Bill would lead to his defeat. Even though he differed on this issue with the majority of his party, he prevailed in Jackson.43

  His victory despite the Briscoe Bill fracas delighted his home newspaper, the Vicksburg Sentinel, and brought forth its praise: “Doubly triumphant is the securing of such a man in public life. It is a triumph of straight forward frankness and honesty over intriguing, non committalism, and duplicity which we grieve to say has too much heretofore characterized our public men.” This enthusiastic editor wanted Davis “to be known in other parts of the state as he is at home; and we know that he will become everywhere else as much beloved and esteemed as he is here.”44

  Even before he had secured the congressional nomination, Davis’s neighbors demonstrated their admiration for him by inviting him to give the eulogy during the ceremonies held in Vicksburg to commemorate Andrew Jackson, who had died on June 8. After the usual self-deprecation, Davis agreed to memorialize a man whom he idolized and idealized. “From my childhood I was attached to General Jackson,” he informed a friend. Later, he continued, “my confidence and respect for him increased,” and “my affection and admiration followed him to the grave, and cling to his memory.”45

  On June 28 two military companies, Masonic Lodges, Mechanics’ Mutual Benefits Societies, several fire companies, and “a numerous train of citizens with their beautiful badges and insignia” marched through Vicksburg. When this “imposing and beautiful spectacle” reached the Presbyterian church, the ceremonies commenced. After music and a prayer, Jefferson Davis rose. Comparing Jackson’s character and patriotism favorably to George Washington’s, Davis portrayed the fallen hero as a man who “never hesitated between the prompting of self interest and the demands of honor and duty.” Jackson’s “moral firmness, his high sense of duty,” guaranteed that he would act solely to benefit his country, never just himself. In Davis’s scenario, Jackson as president viewed with “agony” the possibility of civil strife among Americans. The speaker concurred with Jackson’s watchword: “The Union it must be preserved.” “Long live that maxim, and may our Union ever be preserved by justice conciliation and brotherhood, without a spot, without a stain of blood that flowed in civil war.” Accordingly, citizens must protect “the pure fire of liberty,” which they can do if they “catch the Flame before it sinks.” Davis’s remarks touched the proper chord, for approbation and praise came his way.46

  Mississippi, c. 1845.

  From Papers of Jefferson Davis, II, with permission of the LSU Press

  Davis’s new prominence manifested itself in yet another way. During this period on at least two occasions, friends and associates called on him to mediate grave differences between notable Mississippi Democrats. With
John A. Quitman he settled a serious dispute between two Jackson editors in which both agreed to retract personally offensive remarks. In another instance, and again in concert with Quitman, he adjusted a matter between Congressman Jacob Thompson and Dr. William Gwin that could easily have led to a duel. Such controversies were supremely important in the honor-conscious South, and for mediation disputants would rely only on men they considered of reputation and distinction.47

  With eulogies and conventions behind him, Jefferson Davis once more set out on the campaign trail, even though he started out ill. With eyes “inflamed” and “the white of one … entirely red,” his wife reported that he looked “very badly,” and she also detected other undisclosed “symptoms of sickness.” Worried about when she would see her husband again, Varina began to understand his commitment to politics, which made her “jealous” because politics absorbed too much of him. But despite his poor health and his wife’s concern, Davis, between August and November 1845, canvassed Mississippi from counties bordering Louisiana in the south to those adjacent to Tennessee in the north, covering an untold number of miles. He was surely not outdone by a Whig opponent who traveled 800 miles on horseback and another 400 by steamboat while visiting twenty-eight counties and making thirty-eight speeches.48

  The campaign itself mainly replayed 1844 without Texas, annexed in March. According to Davis, annexation was good for all Americans, and it had removed Texas from the political stage. At the outset, Davis had to confront a mini-rebellion in Democratic ranks when yet again enemies in Warren County tried to yoke him with the Briscoe Bill. Promptly, candidate Davis reiterated his firm anti-bank views that gave “general satisfaction” to Democrats. These professions along with the support of leading party newspapers quickly squelched the unhappy dissidents.49

  Davis based his campaign for Congress on the traditional Democratic platform, with one notable addition. Emphasizing that Democratic and Whig ideals remained starkly different, Davis urged Mississippi voters to stand with him and his party on their principles of strict construction and states’ rights. He condemned the Whigs for supporting a new national bank and high tariffs, which in his rhetoric hurt an agricultural people. A lower tariff and no national bank were his cries, and once in Congress, he told his audiences, he would help ensure the success of President Polk’s program, which included reducing the tariff. Although he concentrated on these core issues, Davis also introduced a topic to appeal to Mississippians, a proposed navy yard for Ship and Cat Islands on the Gulf Coast. He pronounced such an installation essential for a proper defensive posture; besides, in his judgment, Mississippi had long been shortchanged on federal expenditures.50

  Davis’s speechmaking through the weeks of summer and autumn received high marks. A Democratic observer applauded him as “one of the first orators, and most effective speakers in the State.” Others made equally positive assessments: “eloquent and convincing,” “as effective … as we ever witnessed,” “a master hand,” “a masterly defense of the democratic party.” The Vicksburg Sentinel was effusive, praising “his trumpet tones, his eagle look, and bold, free ‘form and gesture.’ ” Even his Whig opponents spoke of him as “a handsome speaker,” though they decried his attempts to mislead the voters.51

  Davis’s partisans gave his campaign performance unqualified commendation. A Democratic newspaper identified him as “one of the brightest stars in the state.” Every Democratic sheet echoed the Marion East Mississippian in its celebration of “this eloquent champion of democracy,” who presented “a clear, bold and eloquent exposition of his opinions.” Lauding Davis, the Vicksburg Sentinel acclaimed him as “the impersonation of the true spirit of the South,” informing its readers that it would watch “this brilliant and noble son” of the state “not with a cold approval, but with enthusiasm,” for “we predict that he becomes the Calhoun of Mississippi.”52

  On November 3 and 4, Mississippi voters registered their absolute satisfaction with Davis and his fellow Democrats, all of whom won handily, with around 60 percent of the vote. Of the four Democrats, Davis gained the second highest vote total, 27,645, some 300 fewer than Jacob Thompson, an incumbent. Winning by such a margin would indicate that Davis ran well in all parts of the state, and he did, though he and his colleagues faltered in Whig strongholds like Adams and Warren Counties. In only one month Jefferson Davis would make another journey to Washington, D.C., this time as a United States congressman.53

  Before heading north, Representative-elect Davis received another accolade from his community. Citizens attending a public meeting in Vicksburg on November 5 selected Davis to present the welcoming address at the anticipated visit of John C. Calhoun. En route by steamboat from New Orleans to Memphis for a conference on the federal government and western waterways, Calhoun was scheduled for a stopover in Vicksburg. But mechanical problems delayed the boat, and although it docked briefly, Calhoun did not disembark. He promised Davis that on his return trip he would pay a call on the city. Once again a public gathering was called to formulate plans for an appropriate reception for the venerable statesman, and for the second time in eight days Jefferson Davis was named to give the formal greeting.

  The choice of Davis came from the respect Vicksburgers felt for him, not from any closeness between him and Calhoun. He had undoubtedly met Calhoun, then a United States senator, during his stay in Washington in the winter of 1837–38, but nothing suggests that they had seen each other since then. Although Varina Davis later claimed that an intimate friendship existed between her husband and Calhoun even in 1845, no surviving documents record a particularly close relationship between the two men, either then or later.54

  Preparations had been made when on November 18 at about 4 p.m. word came by steamer that Calhoun would reach Vicksburg in an hour or so, but that news turned out to be more than a little optimistic. When the vessel carrying Calhoun finally arrived at ten o’clock, many of those assembled to greet him had gone home. A substantial crowd remained, however, including “the attentive cannoneers,” who “gave the great Carolinian a salute that shook the hills and waked a thousand echoes from the opposite side of the river.” Calhoun was escorted from the landing through the streets to a hotel where he was introduced to a crowd of between 300 and 400.55

  After the introduction, Davis rose for his official greeting. He had worried over his speech and prepared it carefully, with Varina writing it out in her “best hand.” She disclosed that before speaking, Davis’s anxiety verged on dread. Although he was a veteran and effective stump speaker, he had never spoken before such an august personage. He admired Calhoun enormously and obviously wanted the great man to think well of him. In addition, this would be the first time his wife would hear him speak in public, and according to her he requested that she not look at him while he spoke. As she reported the event, all his worries had been for naught. Although he began tentatively, “his voice grew round and clearer until it filled the large hall to the echo.”

  Only Varina in her Memoir provides any details about Davis’s remarks. In her summary he welcomed Calhoun and the assembly, then “passed in rapid review” through current issues like the tariff and Texas. Following “a strong appeal” for strict construction and a paean to the country, he recounted Calhoun’s distinguished public career. Not surprisingly, the Vicksburg newspaper accounts, albeit terse, had a partisan tone. The Democratic sheet satisfied itself with commending Davis’s “accustomed eloquence,” while its Whig counterpart thought the thirty-minute speech somewhat too prejudicial for the occasion.56

  After Calhoun tendered brief comments of gratitude, ladies were presented to him and then dancing began. Although Calhoun did not really know Jefferson Davis and had never met Varina Davis, she certainly captivated him that November evening. Her older brother, who attended the reception, wrote to their mother that Calhoun “did not leave [Varina] an instant during his stay in the room, which was about three hours.” Before leaving, the sixty-three-year-old Calhoun informed young Joseph H
owell that despite his sister’s youth, “he had never met with a lady with whose manners he was more pleased, or of whose talents he had a higher opinion.” The twenty-one-year-old Howell thought that “the old man indeed seemed quite struck with her,” so much so that “he walked with no one else talked with no one else, and seemed to have no use for his eyes except to look at her and Mr. Davis.” In Joseph Howell’s reading of the situation, that singular attention miffed several other ladies, one especially whom he described as wearing a dress that “expos[ed] more of her person than … any lady would care about.” Sometime after midnight Calhoun finally left Varina’s side and “amid loud plaudits” departed for his steamboat.57

  In less than six months Jefferson Davis had participated significantly in celebrating two of the dominant political leaders of Jacksonian America, Andrew Jackson himself and John C. Calhoun. To Davis, Jackson stood as the unblemished hero and the formative leader of his party, who embodied patriotism and the majesty of the nation. He identified Calhoun as the great contemporary expositor of the sacred states’ rights creed and the paramount guardian of southern rights in the Union. Although Davis revered both, they had become bitter personal and political enemies during Jackson’s presidency when Calhoun served as Jackson’s first vice president and then as a U.S. senator from South Carolina. Their personal conflict resulted from two enormously able, ambitious, and proud men vying for power. Ambition and pride also marked their political strife, a discord massively amplified by the Nullification Crisis, in which Jackson boldly proclaimed national supremacy in the face of Calhoun’s insistence on the absolute rights of individual states. Glossing over these sharp and deep differences, Davis saw them both as patriotic Americans and good southerners and as believers in states’ rights and the Union. Balancing these potentially contradictory ideals formed Davis’s political vision.