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The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, Volume I (Rise & Fall of the Confederate Government)
written by Jefferson Davis
Studio : Da Capo Press
by Da Capo Press
Publisher : Da Capo Press
Released : 1990-08-21
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780306804182
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 15 reviews)
List Price : $25.95
Our Price : $14.75
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Product Description |
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A decade after his release from federal prison, the 67-year-old Jefferson Davis—ex-president of the Confederacy, the ”Southern Lincoln,” popularly regarded as a martyr to the Confederate cause—began work on his monumental Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. Motivated partially by his deep-rooted antagonism toward his enemies (both the Northern victors and his Southern detractors), partially by his continuing obsession with the “cause,” and partially by his desperate pecuniary and physical condition, Davis devoted three years and extensive research to the writing of what he termed ”an historical sketch of the events which preceded and attended the struggle of the Southern states to maintain their existence and their rights as sovereign communities.” The result was a perceptive two-volume chronicle, covering the birth, life, and death of the Confederacy, from the Missouri Compromise in 1820, through the tumultuous events of the Civil War, to the readmission of the Southern states to the U.S. Congress in the late 1860s. Supplemented with a new historical foreword by the Pulitzer Prize–winning James M. McPherson, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, Volume I belongs in the library of anyone interested in the root causes, the personalities, and the events of America’s greatest war. |
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a necessary source for the study of 19th cebtury america |
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Ignore for the time being the fact that this is only the first volume of this work. Search for Vol. II will probably bring one to light certainly at a much higher price. Vol I is the most interesting of the two and offers great insight into the post war mind of Davis. If we want to understand the mind of this period we need to read this book along with the Buchanan expose of his presidency, Butler's Book by B. F. Butler who nominated Davis as Democratic presidential nominee, the Diary of Edmund Ruffin vol I, and many more, npne of which are neutral or even accurate in many ways but if we don't look at the reflections of the participants we are condemned to seeing history only through the eyes of later writers. Forget that McPherson introduces this book and that it is only volume one. It is a necessary and even fairly interesting read. |
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Essential to Understanding the Causes of the Civil War |
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Whether we agree with Jefferson Davis or not, knowledge of his point of view is essential to understanding the causes of the Civil War. The forward by McPherson helps to give balance and explanation. |
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Excellent history & treatise |
This is a work that any one should read concerninig the details of the life and death of the Confederate nation.The principled beliefs those who founded the other American nation are presented.
Jefferson Davis' work is thorough and detailed concerning the his belief in the constitutional basis that secession was legal and that the desire to peacefully seperate was the absolute goal of the southern states. Bear in mind the 4 states of the upper South (AR, NC, TN and VA) did not leave the Union until Lincoln called for forced cohersion of the other southern states.
His work is also quite detailed in the military aspects of the War Between the States and his personal eyewitness of events are well written and easy to read and grasp. A great read! |
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Economical and easily available reprint of a classic |
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This is probably the most accessible reprint of Davis' book on the market today. It's well indexed and available at an economical price. My only complaint is that they got James McPherson, a confederacy-hating Marxist, to write the intro. |
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Constitutional Justification for Secession |
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In this extremely well-written book, not only does President Jefferson Davis give critical insights on the events leading up to and including the War for Southern Independence (rare and very important in and of itself, given that he was the president of the Confederacy), but he also shows that he was a Constitutional scholar unparalleled by today's crop of so-called "experts". President Davis was a reluctant secessionist. In fact, he had been working on trying to come to a compromise until his state seceded, and he returned home. This book does a great deal to show the character of the former president of the Confederacy, with his perceptions of events leading up to the war itself. For instance, he did not envision himself to be the president of the Confederacy, believing that position should instead go to Albert Johnston. Instead, he had thought he would receive a commission as general. While there is plenty of information for virtually anyone interested in that period (there is detailed information about battles, insights by the president on figures living at the time, etc.), what truly makes the book such a fascinating read is the constitutional analysis (particularly regarding the secession question, but also going into the grievances by the Confederate states as well) found therein. If there is a negative to this book, it is the poorly-written introduction by leftist and Lincoln apologist McPhearson. I don't know why he was chosen to write the forward, but it is best ignored. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a magnum opus in Southern literature. |
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