. Virginia Capitol, Richmond, February 22, 1862 [1]. American History questions and answers. The day, the memory, and the purpose seem fitly associated. Fellow-citizens, after the struggle of ages had consecrated the right of the Englishman to constitutional representative government, our colonial ancestors were forced to vindicate that birthright by an appeal to arms. Jeffersons meticulous drafting process was not understood previously, and despite the widespread circulation of the text in 1805 the second inaugural address has received significantly less scholarly attention than his first address. He then returned to the Presidents House, where according to Foster he was in high spirits as everyone by common accord went to pay him a visit of congratulation. The 8 Mch. but the experiment is noted to prove that, since truth & reason have maintained their ground against false opinions, in league with false facts, the Press, confined to truth, needs no other legal restraint. All rights reserved. Jack Shorter, an enslaved stable hand at the Presidents House, may have been the groom. George Washington had chosen to speak only briefly, and John Adams had not had the opportunity to give one. But how many of you can quote an excerpt from a speech given by Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy? without power to divert, or habits to contend against it, they have been overwhelmed by the current, or driven before it. Therefore we are in arms to renew such sacrifices as our fathers made to the holy cause of constitutional liberty. I know that the acquisition of Louisiana has been disapproved by some, from a candid apprehension that the enlargement of our territory would endanger its union. These marks were Jeffersons cues for pauses as he read the address. Nothing was then left to do but to prepare for war. If the acquiescence of foreign nations in a pretended blockade has deprived us of our commerce with them, it is fast making us a self-supporting and an independent people. Jefferson Davis' First Inaugural Address Alabama Capitol, Montgomery, February 18, 1861 Gentlemen of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, Friends and Fellow-Citizens: Lincoln still passionately believed that the union was worth fighting for and assured Americans that the soldiers who died at the Battle of Gettysburg 'shall not have died in vain.' Second Inaugural Address. In February of 1861, just two months before the official start of the Civil War, Jefferson Davis delivered his inaugural address to the Confederacy as its new leader. With humble gratitude and adoration, acknowledging the Providence which has so visibly protected the Confederacy during its brief but eventful career, to thee, O God, I trustingly commit myself, and prayerfully invoke thy blessing on my country and its cause. Which of the following is true of Jefferson Davis and his governing? Remember how Davis argued that it was a necessity for the South to leave the union? these abuses of an institution, so important to freedom and science, are deeply to be regretted, inasmuch as they tend to lessen its usefulness and to sap its safety. A new Government has been established, and its machinery put in operation over an area exceeding seven hundred thousand square miles. succeed. Julian Boyd linked the markings on that early version of the Declaration to the marks present in this reading script. They believed that to remain longer in the Union would subject them to a continuance of a disparaging discrimination, submission to which would be inconsistent with their welfare, and intolerable to a proud people. Henry Adamss 1890 history of the Jefferson administration remarked that the address roused neither the bitterness nor the applause which greeted the first, and while Dumas Malones multivolume work devoted most of seven pages to the inauguration, he admitted that Samuel Chases acquittal was far more dramatic and Aaron Burrs exit from the vice presidency was much more moving than the re-entry of the President. Jon Meacham tackled Jeffersons second inauguration in less than a page. Fellow-Citizens: On this the birthday of the man most identified with the establishment of American independence, and beneath the monument erected to commemorate his heroic virtues and those of his compatriots, we have assembled to usher into existence the Permanent Government of the Confederate States. The courts have been open, the judicial functions fully executed, and every right of the peaceful citizen maintained as securely as if a war of invasion had not disturbed the land. Senator Jefferson Davis took to a podium for his presidential inaugural and gave an impassioned speech about the Constitution. When the independence of the Confederate States is recognized by the nations of the earth, and we are free to follow our interests and inclinations by cultivating foreign trade, the Southern States will offer to manufacturing nations the most favorable markets which ever invited their commerce. War of conquest they cannot wage, because the Constitution of their Confederacy admits of no coerced association. Seven Southern states. American History. In spite of his laborious attempt to discountenance the opposition to philosophy and to make a statement about the opposition press, Jefferson recognized, as he wrote in his Notes on a Draught for a second inaugural Address, that the nature of the occasion requires that detail should be avoided. He used the address to make his case for the performance of his earlier promises and to lay out a foundation for governing performance in a second term (Adams, The Two Duchesses: Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire, Elizabeth Duchess of Devonshire. It helped me pass my exam and the test questions are very similar to the practice quizzes on Study.com. Bastiles filled with prisoners, arrested without civil process or indictment duly found; the writ of habeas corpus suspended by Executive mandate; a State Legislature controlled by the imprisonment of members whose avowed principles suggested to the Federal Executive that there might be another added to the list of seceded States; elections held under threats of a military power; civil officers, peaceful citizens, and gentle-women incarcerated for opinion's sake--proclaimed the incapacity of our late associates to administer a Government as free, liberal, and humane as that established for our common use. Our Confederacy has grown from six to thirteen States; and Maryland, already united to us by hallowed memories and material interests, will, I believe, when able to speak with unstifled voice, connect her destiny with the South. Never has a people evinced a more determined spirit than that now animating men, women, and children in every part of our country. 4 Mch. Nor would the constancy of these supplies be likely to be disturbed by war. At the end of a line, as seen in the first two details shown above, he put a double stroke or a third mark in the form of a long cross or dagger. It was to be expected when we entered upon this war that it would expose our people to sacrifices and cost them much, both of money and blood. public. Even with the corrections, Jefferson continued adjusting the address until the eleventh hour, submitting a few changes to Smith after he sent along the full draft (see, The address rapidly circulated through the states after Smiths printing, with many newspapers publishing the speech in full. It is not an authoritative final version. It was, perhaps, in the ordination of Providence that we were to be taught the value of our liberties by the price which we pay for them. On this day in 1861, former U.S. Davis argued that the North oppressed the South through its disapproval of slavery, a practice vital to its economy and culture. They therefore determined to sever its bonds and establish a new Confederacy for themselves. and history bears witness to the fact, that a just nation is trusted on its word, when recourse is had to armaments and wars to bridle others. Personal reactions similarly adhered to party divisions. The people of the States now confederated became convinced that the Government of the United States had fallen into the hands of a sectinal majority, who would pervert that most sacred of all trusts to the destruction of the rights which it was pledged to protect. The tyranny of an unbridled majority, the most odious and least responsible form of despotism, has denied us both the right and the remedy. Note: this link will eventually disappear! As you know, Lincoln's first inaugural address did not stop the Civil War from breaking out and dividing the rest of the country between the North and South. Lincoln-Douglas Debates History & Significance | What Was the Lincoln-Douglas Debate? Virginia, on February 22, 1862. But the endeavors to enlighten them on the fate which awaits their present course of life, to induce them to exercise their reason, follow its dictates, & change their pursuits with the change of circumstances, have powerful obstacles to encounter. Thomas Jefferson's inaugural address, delivered on March 4, 1801, was a statement of purpose for his presidency. Fellow-Citizens:On this the birthday of the man most identified with the establishment of American independence, and beneath the monument erected to commemorate his heroic virtues and those of his compatriots, we have assembled to usher into existence the Permanent Government of the Confederate States. In a later reading of the marks, Jay Fliegelman instead asserted that, based on the placement and appearance of the markings, they represented not accented syllables but rhythmical pauses of emphatical stress used to divide the piece into units comparable to musical bars or poetic lines (Julian P. Boyd, The Declaration of Independence: The Mystery of the Lost Original,, The marks are nearly identical to those recommended by Irish actor, speaker, and rhetorician Thomas Sheridan, whom Jefferson occasionally recommended to young scholars seeking reading lists. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. Due to a planned power outage on Friday, 1/14, between 8am-1pm PST, some services may be impacted. . However, many Southerners still viewed the disagreement on slavery as the North's attempt to take away their liberties. with which should we be most likely to live in harmony and friendly intercourse? 1805], Reading Copy of Second Inaugural Address, [before 4 Mch. Many were incorporated into Smiths copy, and others were added to both copies via editorial marks. Records Commission (NHPRC) is part of the National He apparently had a complete draft by 8 Feb., for on that day he received James Madisons response, followed on the 12th by remarks from Albert Gallatin and from Henry Dearborn the following day. The Aboriginal inhabitants of these countries I have regarded with the commiseration their history inspires. our fellow citizens looked on cool, & collected. Jeffersons use of it signals that in, Jefferson also struggled and held firm to another of the topics first marked for discussion, the licentiousness of the press. Second Inaugural Address Washington, DC. I have therefore undertaken, on no occasion, to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it: but have left them, as the constitution found them, under the direction & discipline of the state or church authorities acknoleged by the several religious societies. P.O. Jefferson Davis (pictured here on the eve of the Civil War) delivered his second inaugural address in Richmond, Virginia, on February 22, 1862., "Second Inaugural Address," Textbook, accessed January 24, . The confidence of the most hopeful among us must have been destroyed by the disregard they have recently exhibited for all the time-honored bulwarks of civil and religious liberty. He also humbly held that he was restricted to only the most prominent heads and the strongest justifications. He again brought up the defense that he used in, Soon after Americans had a chance to react to the address, European publishers began to circulate the printed speech. Although perhaps not as famous as Lincoln, Jefferson Davis' words still play an important role in American history. Through this instrumentality, under the favor of Divine Providence, we hope to perpetuate the principles of our revolutionary fathers. Fellow-Citizens: On this the birthday of the man most identified with the establishment of American independence, and beneath the monument erected to commemorate his heroic virtues and those of his compatriots, we have assembled to usher into existence the Permanent Government of the Confederate States. Jefferson asked for comments from Robert Smith on 14 Feb., and received a second set of notes from Madison on the 21st. In proof of this, it is to be remembered that, at the first moment of asserting their right to secession, these States proposed a settlement on the basis of the common liability for the obligations of the General Government. We have neither asked nor received assistance from any quarter. But now he shifted his focus from preserving the union to restoring it. Three weeks later, Abraham Lincoln did likewise, with different results. The rule of voluntary association, which cannot fail to be conservative, by securing just and impartial government at home, does not diminish the security of the obligations by which the Confederate States may be bound to foreign nations. A million of men, it is estimated, are now standing in hostile array, and waging war along a frontier of thousands of miles. endowed with the faculties & the rights of men, breathing an ardent love of liberty and independance, & occupying a country which left them no desire but to be undisturbed, the stream of overflowing population from other regions directed itself on these shores. Lincoln hoped that he could prevent the conflict from escalating by taking a peaceful approach on the divisive issue of slavery. Upon the first call the men flew to arms, and wifes and mothers send their husbands and sons to battle without a murmur of regret. But in the heart of a people resolved to be free these disasters tend but to stimulate to increased resistance. Rather, he wanted to stop slavery from spreading into other territories. With confidence in the wisdom and virtue of those who will share with me the responsibility and aid me in the conduct of public affairs; securely relying on the patriotism and courage of the people, of which the present war has furnished so many examples, I deeply feel the weight of the responsibilities I now, with unaffected diffidence, am about to assume; and, fully realizing the inequality of human power to guide and to sustain, my hope is reverently fixed on Him whose favor is ever vouchsafed to the cause which is just. but public duties more urgent press on the time of public servants and the offenders have therefore been left to find their punishment in the public indignation. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Absent from the scene were some members of Congress who had left for home after the close of the session the previous day (Augustus Foster to Frederick Foster, 1 July 1805, in Vere Foster, ed., To deliver his inaugural address, Jefferson had prepared a special reading copy that is unlike any other document in his papers (see. In that address he explicitly condemned political intolerancedeclared all were federalists, all were republicansYet in a few days after that, he removed many deserving men from office, because they were federalists. He also criticized Jefferson as imprudent for explicitly censuring & condemning former Administrations & lavishing encomiums on himself for effecting a discontinuance of the Internal Revenues, and for his expansive complaints about abuse by the press: One would have thought that Mr. Jefferson after having hired such infamous wretches as Freneau, Bache, Duane, Callender, Payne & others, to defame villify & calumniate, Washington, Adams, & their associateshe would not have complained of news paper publications! But even Plumer admitted that Jefferson has his talents& those of the popular kind, since it was an important practice for him to never pursue a measure if it becomes unpopular (Brown, John Tyler expressed the opposite view in a letter to Jefferson, writing that without flattery, the address adds a Lustre to the whole of your Life if any thing coud be necessary to highten your public Character. He anticipated that any who continued to oppose Jeffersons administration must see the soundness of the reasoning, and the temper and philanthropy with which it is expressd, and it would have the happyest effect on every person not so vicious as to persist in Spite of Light and truth in a perverse Opinion. Jefferson replied with appreciation, reiterating to Tyler that performance was the proper office of the second inaugural, in contrast to profession and promise in the first. 1805]. and, that redemption once effected, the revenue thereby liberated may, by a just repartition of it among the states, & a corresponding amendment of the constitution, be applied, in time of peace, to rivers, canals, roads, arts, manufactures, education, & other great objects within each state. William Plumer accused Jefferson of hypocrisy: his Conscience tells him he has on every occasion acted up to the declaration contained in his former inaugural speech. Women in the Civil War: Facts & Roles | How Did the Civil War Affect Women? War Democrats, border states, and Republicans. in the mean time, let us cherish them with patient affection: let us do them justice and more than justice in all competitions of interest; & we need not doubt that truth, reason, & their own interests will at length prevail, will gather them into the fold of their country, & will compleat that entire union of opinion which gives to a nation the blessing of harmony & the benefit of all its strength. For proof of the sincerity of our purpose to maintain our ancient institutions, we may point to the Constitution of the Confederacy and the laws enacted under it, as well as to the fact that through all the necessities of an unequal struggle there has been no act on our part to impair personal liberty or the freedom of speech, of thought, or of the press. Markings on that early version of the Declaration to the holy cause constitutional. 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