Chapter V

Meeting of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate
States.--Adoption of a Provisional Constitution.--Election of
President and Vice-President.--Notification to the Author of his
Election.--His Views with Regard to it.--Journey to
Montgomery.--Interview with Judge Sharkey.--False Reports of
Speeches on the Way.--Inaugural Address.--Editor's Note.

The congress of delegates from the seceding States convened at Montgomery, Alabama, according to appointment, on the 4th of February, 1861. Their first work was to prepare a provisional Constitution for the new Confederacy, to be formed of the States which had withdrawn from the Union, for which the style "Confederate States of America" was adopted. The powers conferred upon them were adequate for the performance of this duty, the immediate necessity for which was obvious and urgent. This Constitution was adopted on the 8th of February, to continue in force for one year, unless superseded at an earlier date by a permanent organization. It is printed in an appendix, and for convenience of reference the permanent Constitution, adopted several weeks afterward, is exhibited in connection with it, and side by side with the Constitution of the United States, after which it was modeled.[123] The attention of the reader is invited to these documents and to a comparison of them, although a more particular notice of the permanent Constitution will be more appropriate hereafter.

On the next day (9th of February) an election was held for the chief executive offices, resulting, as I afterward learned, in my election to the Presidency, with the Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, as Vice-President. Mr. Stephens was a delegate from Georgia to the congress.

While these events were occurring, having completed the most urgent of my duties at the capital of Mississippi, I had gone to my home, Brierfield, in Warren County, and had begun, in the homely but expressive language of Mr. Clay, "to repair my fences." While thus engaged, notice was received of my election to the Presidency of the Confederate States, with an urgent request to proceed immediately to Montgomery for inauguration.

As this had been suggested as a probable event, and what appeared to me adequate precautions had been taken to prevent it, I was surprised, and, still more, disappointed. For reasons which it is not now necessary to state, I had not believed my self as well suited to the office as some others. I thought myself better adapted to command in the field; and Mississippi had given me the position which I preferred to any other--the highest rank in her army. It was, therefore, that I afterward said, in an address delivered in the Capitol, before the Legislature of the State, with reference to my election to the Presidency of the Confederacy, that the duty to which I was thus called was temporary, and that I expected soon to be with the Army of Mississippi again.

While on my way to Montgomery, and waiting in Jackson, Mississippi, for the railroad train, I met the Hon. William L. Sharkey, who had filled with great distinction the office of Chief-Justice of the State. He said he was looking for me to make an inquiry. He desired to know if it was true, as he had just learned, that I believed there _would_ be war. My opinion was freely given, that there would be war, long and bloody, and that it behooved every one to put his house in order. He expressed much surprise, and said that he had not believed the report attributing this opinion to me. He asked how I supposed war could result from the peaceable withdrawal of a sovereign State. The answer was, that it was not my opinion that war _should_ be occasioned by the exercise of that right, but that it _would_ be.

Judge Sharkey and I had not belonged to the same political party, he being a Whig, but we fully agreed with regard to the question of the sovereignty of the States. He had been an advocate of nullification--a doctrine to which I had never assented, and which had at one time been the main issue in Mississippi politics. He had presided over the well-remembered Nashville Convention in 1849, and had possessed much influence in the State, not only as an eminent jurist, but as a citizen who had grown up with it, and held many offices of honor and trust.

On my way to Montgomery, brief addresses were made at various places, at which there were temporary stoppages of the trains, in response to calls from the crowds assembled at such points. Some of these addresses were grossly misrepresented in sensational reports made by irresponsible persons, which were published in Northern newspapers, and were not considered worthy of correction under the pressure of the momentous duties then devolving upon me. These false reports, which represented me as invoking war and threatening devastation of the North, have since been adopted by partisan writers as authentic history. It is a sufficient answer to these accusations to refer to my farewell address to the Senate, already given, as reported for the press at the time, and, in connection therewith, to my inaugural address at Montgomery, on assuming the office of President of the Confederate States, on the 18th of February. These two addresses, delivered at an interval of a month, during which no material change of circumstances had occurred, being one before and the other after the date of the sensational reports referred to, are sufficient to stamp them as utterly untrue. The inaugural was deliberately prepared, and uttered as written, and, in connection with the farewell speech to the Senate, presents a clear and authentic statement of the principles and purposes which actuated me on assuming the duties of the high office to which I had been called.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

"_Gentlemen of the Congress of the Confederate States of
America, Friends, and Fellow-Citizens:_

"Called to the difficult and responsible station of Chief
Magistrate of the Provisional Government which you have
instituted, I approach the discharge of the duties assigned to
me with humble distrust of my abilities, but with a sustaining
confidence in the wisdom of those who are to guide and aid me in
the administration of public affairs, and an abiding faith in
the virtue and patriotism of the people. Looking forward to the
speedy establishment of a permanent government to take the place
of this, which by its greater moral and physical power will be
better able to combat with many difficulties that arise from the
conflicting interests of separate nations, I enter upon the
duties of the office to which I have been chosen with the hope
that the beginning of our career, as a Confederacy, may not be
obstructed by hostile opposition to our enjoyment of the
separate existence and independence we have asserted, and which,
with the blessing of Providence, we intend to maintain.

"Our present political position has been achieved in a manner
unprecedented in the history of nations. It illustrates the
American idea that governments rest on the consent of the
governed, and that it is the right of the people to alter or
abolish them at will whenever they become destructive of the
ends for which they were established. The declared purpose of
the compact of the Union from which we have withdrawn was to
'establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for
the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity'; and when,
in the judgment of the sovereign States composing this
Confederacy, it has been perverted from the purposes for which
it was ordained, and ceased to answer the ends for which it was
established, a peaceful appeal to the ballot-box declared that,
so far as they are concerned, the Government created by that
compact should cease to exist. In this they merely asserted the
right which the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776,
defined to be 'inalienable.' Of the time and occasion of its
exercise they as sovereigns were the final judges, each for
itself. The impartial and enlightened verdict of mankind will
vindicate the rectitude of our conduct; and He who knows the
hearts of men will judge of the sincerity with which we have
labored to preserve the Government of our fathers in its spirit.

"The right solemnly proclaimed at the birth of the United
States, and which has been solemnly affirmed and reaffirmed in
the Bills of Rights of the States subsequently admitted into the
Union of 1789, undeniably recognizes in the people the power to
resume the authority delegated for the purposes of government.
Thus the sovereign States here represented have proceeded to
form this Confederacy; and it is by abuse of language that their
act has been denominated a revolution. They formed a new
alliance, but within each State its government has remained; so
that the rights of person and property have not been disturbed.
The agent through which they communicated with foreign nations
is changed, but this does not necessarily interrupt their
international relations. Sustained by the consciousness that the
transition from the former Union to the present Confederacy has
not proceeded from a disregard on our part of just obligations,
or any failure to perform every constitutional duty, moved by no
interest or passion to invade the rights of others, anxious to
cultivate peace and commerce with all nations, if we may not
hope to avoid war, we may at least expect that posterity will
acquit us of having needlessly engaged in it. Doubly justified
by the absence of wrong on our part, and by wanton aggression on
the part of others, there can be no cause to doubt that the
courage and patriotism of the people of the Confederate States
will be found equal to any measure of defense which their honor
and security may require.

"An agricultural people, whose chief interest is the export of
commodities required in every manufacturing country, our true
policy is peace, and the freest trade which our necessities will
permit. It is alike our interest and that of all those to whom
we would sell, and from whom we would buy, that there should be
the fewest practicable restrictions upon the interchange of
these commodities. There can, however, be but little rivalry
between ours and any manufacturing or navigating community, such
as the Northeastern States of the American Union. It must
follow, therefore, that mutual interest will invite to good-will
and kind offices on both parts. If, however, passion or lust of
dominion should cloud the judgment or inflame the ambition of
those States, we must prepare to meet the emergency and
maintain, by the final arbitrament of the sword, the position
which we have assumed among the nations of the earth.

"We have entered upon the career of independence, and it must be
inflexibly pursued. Through many years of controversy with our
late associates of the Northern States, we have vainly
endeavored to secure tranquillity and obtain respect for the
rights to which we were entitled. As a necessity, not a choice,
we have resorted to the remedy of separation, and henceforth our
energies must be directed to the conduct of our own affairs, and
the perpetuity of the Confederacy which we have formed. If a
just perception of mutual interest shall permit us peaceably to
pursue our separate political career, my most earnest desire
will have been fulfilled. But if this be denied to us, and the
integrity of our territory and jurisdiction be assailed, it will
but remain for us with firm resolve to appeal to arms and invoke
the blessing of Providence on a just cause.

"As a consequence of our new condition and relations, and with a
view to meet anticipated wants, it will be necessary to provide
for the speedy and efficient organization of branches of the
Executive department having special charge of foreign
intercourse, finance, military affairs, and the postal service.
For purposes of defense, the Confederate States may, under
ordinary circumstances, rely mainly upon the militia; but it is
deemed advisable, in the present condition of affairs, that
there should be a well-instructed and disciplined army, more
numerous than would usually be required on a peace
establishment. I also suggest that, for the protection of our
harbors and commerce on the high seas, a navy adapted to those
objects will be required. But this, as well as other subjects
appropriate to our necessities, have doubtless engaged the
attention of Congress.

"With a Constitution differing only from that of our fathers in
so far as it is explanatory of their well-known intent, freed
from sectional conflicts, which have interfered with the pursuit
of the general welfare, it is not unreasonable to expect that
States from which we have recently parted may seek to unite
their fortunes to ours under the Government which we have
instituted. For this your Constitution makes adequate provision;
but beyond this, if I mistake not the judgment and will of the
people, a reunion with the States from which we have separated
is neither practicable nor desirable. To increase the power,
develop the resources, and promote the happiness of the
Confederacy, it is requisite that there should be so much of
homogeneity that the welfare of every portion shall be the aim
of the whole. When this does not exist, antagonisms are
engendered which must and should result in separation.

"Actuated solely by the desire to preserve our own rights, and
promote our own welfare, the separation by the Confederate
States has been marked by no aggression upon others, and
followed by no domestic convulsion. Our industrial pursuits have
received no check, the cultivation of our fields has progressed
as heretofore, and, even should we be involved in war, there
would be no considerable diminution in the production of the
staples which have constituted our exports, and in which the
commercial world has an interest scarcely less than our own.
This common interest of the producer and consumer can only be
interrupted by exterior force which would obstruct the
transmission of our staples to foreign markets--a course of
conduct which would be as unjust, as it would be detrimental, to
manufacturing and commercial interests abroad.

"Should reason guide the action of the Government from which we
have separated, a policy so detrimental to the civilized world,
the Northern States included, could not be dictated by even the
strongest desire to inflict injury upon us; but, if the contrary
should prove true, a terrible responsibility will rest upon it,
and the suffering of millions will bear testimony to the folly
and wickedness of our aggressors. In the mean time there will
remain to us, besides the ordinary means before suggested, the
well known resources for retaliation upon the commerce of an
enemy.

"Experience in public stations, of subordinate grade to this
which your kindness has conferred, has taught me that toil and
care and disappointment are the price of official elevation. You
will see many errors to forgive, many deficiencies to tolerate;
but you shall not find in me either want of zeal or fidelity to
the cause that is to me the highest in hope, and of most
enduring affection. Your generosity has bestowed upon me an
undeserved distinction, one which I neither sought nor desired.
Upon the continuance of that sentiment, and upon your wisdom and
patriotism, I rely to direct and support me in the performance
of the duties required at my hands.

"We have changed the constituent parts, but not the system of
government. The Constitution framed by our fathers is that of
these Confederate States. In their exposition of it, and in the
judicial construction it has received, we have a light which
reveals its true meaning.

"Thus instructed as to the true meaning and just interpretation
of that instrument, and ever remembering that all offices are
but trusts held for the people, and that powers delegated are to
be strictly construed, I will hope by due diligence in the
performance of my duties, though I may disappoint your
expectations, yet to retain, when retiring, something of the
good-will and confidence which welcome my entrance into office.

"It is joyous in the midst of perilous times to look around upon
a people united in heart, where one purpose of high resolve
animates and actuates the whole; where the sacrifices to be made
are not weighed in the balance against honor and right and
liberty and equality. Obstacles may retard, but they can not
long prevent, the progress of a movement sanctified by its
justice and sustained by a virtuous people. Reverently let us
invoke the God of our Fathers to guide and protect us in our
efforts to perpetuate the principles which by his blessing they
were able to vindicate, establish, and transmit to their
posterity. With the continuance of his favor ever gratefully
acknowledged, we may hopefully look forward to success, to
peace, and to prosperity."

Note, _relative to the Election of President of the Confederate States under the Provisional Constitution, and some Other Subjects referred to in the Foregoing Chapters._

Statements having been made, seeming to imply that I was a candidate "for the Presidency of the Confederate States; that my election was the result of a misunderstanding, or of accidental complications"; and also that I held "extreme views," and entertained at that period an inadequate conception of the magnitude of the war probably to be waged, information on the subject has been contributed by several distinguished members of the Provisional Congress, who still survive. From a number of their letters which have been published, the annexed extracts are given, parts being omitted which refer to matters not of historical interest.

From a communication of the Hon. Alexander M. Clayton, of Mississippi, to the Memphis "Appeal" of June 21, 1870:

"... I was at the time a member of the Provisional Congress from
Mississippi. Believing that Mr. Davis was the choice of the
South for the position of President, before repairing to
Montgomery I addressed him a letter to ascertain if he would
accept it. He replied that it was not the place he desired;
that, if he could have his choice, he would greatly prefer to be
in active service as commander-in-chief of the army, but that he
would give himself to the cause in any capacity whatever. That
was the only letter of which I have any knowledge that he wrote
on the subject, and that was shown to only a very few persons,
and only when I was asked if Mr. Davis would accept the
presidency....

"There was no electioneering, no management, on the part of any
one. Each voter was left to determine for himself in whose hands
the destinies of the infant Confederacy should be placed. By a
law as fixed as gravitation itself, and as little disturbed by
outside influences, the minds of members centered upon Mr.
Davis.

"After a few days of anxious, intense labor, the Provisional
Constitution was framed, and it became necessary to give it
vitality by putting some one at the head of the new
Government....

"Without any effort on the part of the friends of either
[Messrs. Davis or Stephens], the election was made without the
slightest dissent. Of the accidental complications referred to,
I have not the least knowledge, and always thought that the
election of Mr. Davis arose from the spontaneous conviction of
his peculiar fitness. I have consulted no one on the subject,
and have appended my name only to avoid resting an important
fact upon anonymous authority. Very respectfully yours,"

(Signed) "Alexander M. Clayton."

From the Hon. J. A. P. Campbell, of Mississippi, now a Justice of the Supreme Court of that State:

"... If there was a delegate from Mississippi, or any other
State, who was opposed to the election of Jefferson Davis as
President of the Confederate States, I never heard of the fact.
I had the idea that Mr. Davis did not desire to be President,
and preferred to be in the military service, but no other man
was spoken of for President within my hearing....

"It is within my personal knowledge that the statement of the
interview, that Mr. Davis did not have a just appreciation of
the serious character of the contest between the seceding States
and the Union, is wholly untrue. Mr. Davis, more than any man I
ever heard talk on the subject, had a correct apprehension of
the consequences of secession and of the magnitude of the war to
be waged to coerce the seceding States. While at Montgomery, he
expressed the belief that heavy fighting must occur, and that
Virginia was to be the chief battle-ground. Years prior to
secession, in his address before the Legislature and people of
Mississippi, Mr. Davis had earnestly advised extensive
preparation for the possible contingency of secession.

"After the formation of the Confederate States, he was far in
advance of the Constitutional Convention and the Provisional
Congress, and, as I believe, of any man in it, in his views of
the gravity of the situation and the probable extent and
duration of the war, and of the provision which should be made
for the defense of the seceding States. Before secession, Mr.
Davis thought war would result from it; and, after secession, he
expressed the view that the war commenced would be an extensive
one. What he may have thought at a later day than the early part
of 1862, I do not know; but it is inconceivable that the
'interview' can be correct as to that.

"The idea that Mr. Davis was so 'extreme' in his views is a new
one. He was extremely conservative on the subject of secession.

"The suggestion that Mississippi would have preferred General
Toombs or Mr. Cobb for President has no foundation in fact. My
opinion is, that no man could have obtained a single vote in the
Mississippi delegation against Mr. Davis, who was then, as he is
now, the most eminent and popular of all the citizens of
Mississippi.... Very respectfully,"

(Signed) "J. A. P. Campbell."

From the Hon. Duncan F. Kenner, of Louisiana:

"....My recollections of what transpired at the time are very
vivid and positive....

"Who should be President, was the absorbing question of the day.
It engaged the attention of all present, and elicited many
letters from our respective constituencies. The general
inclination was strongly in favor of Mr. Davis. In fact, no
other name was so prominently or so generally mentioned. The
name of Mr. Rhett, of South Carolina, was probably more
frequently mentioned than that of any other person, next to Mr.
Davis.

"The rule adopted at our election was that each State should
have one vote, to be delivered in open session, _viva voce_, by
one of the delegates as spokesman for his colleagues. The
delegates of the different States met in secret session to
select their candidate and spokesman.

"Of what occurred in these various meetings I can not speak
authoritatively as to other States, as their proceedings were
considered secret. I can speak positively, however, of what took
place at a meeting of the delegates from Louisiana. We, the
Louisiana delegates, without hesitation, and unanimously, after
a very short session, decided in favor of Mr. Davis. No other
name was mentioned; the claims of no one else were considered,
or even alluded to. There was not the slightest opposition to
Mr. Davis on the part of any of our delegation; certainly none
was expressed; all appeared enthusiastic in his favor, and, I
have no reason to doubt, felt so. Nor was the feeling induced by
any solicitation on the part of Mr. Davis or his friends. Mr.
Davis was not in or near Montgomery at the time. He was never
heard from on this subject, so far as I knew. He was never
announced as a candidate. We were seeking the best man to fill
the position, and the conviction at the time, in the minds of a
large majority of the delegates, that Mr. Davis was the best
qualified, from both his civil and military knowledge and
experience, induced many to look upon Mr. Davis as the best
selection that could be made.

"This conviction, coupled with his well-recognized conservative
views--for in no sense did we consider Mr. Davis extreme, either
in his views or purposes--was the deciding consideration which
controlled the votes of the Louisiana delegation. Of this I have
not the least doubt. I remain, respectfully, very truly yours,
etc."

(Signed) "Duncan F. Kenner."

From the Hon. James Chesnut, of South Carolina:

".... Before leaving home I had made up my mind as to who was
the fittest man to be President, and who to be Vice-President;
Mr. Davis for the first, and Mr. Stephens for the second. And
this was known to all my friends as well as to my colleagues.

"Mr. Davis, then conspicuous for ability, had long experience in
civil service, was reputed a most successful organizer and
administrator of the military department of the United States
when he was Secretary of War, and came out of the Mexican war
with much _éclat_ as a soldier. Possessing a combination of
these high and needful qualities, he was regarded by nearly the
whole South as the fittest man for the position. I certainly so
regarded him, and did not change my mind on the way to
Montgomery....

"Georgia was a great State--great in numbers, comparatively
great in wealth, and great in the intellectual gifts and
experiences of many of her sons. Conspicuous among them were
Stephens, Toombs, and Cobb. In view of these facts, it was
thought by all of us expedient--nay, more, positively right and
just--that Georgia should have a corresponding weight in the
counsels and conduct of the new Government.

"Mr. Stephens was also a man of conceded ability, of high
character, conservative, devoted to the rights of the States,
and known to be a power in his own State; hence all eyes turned
to him to fill the second place.

"Howell Cobb became President of the Convention, and General
Toombs Secretary of State. These two gifted Georgians were
called to these respective positions because of their
experience, ability, and ardent patriotism....

"Mr. Rhett was a very bold and frank man. So was Colonel Keitt;
and they, as always, avowed their opinions and acted upon them
with energy. Nevertheless, the vote of the delegation was cast
for Mr. Davis...."

(Signed) "James Chesnut."

From the Hon. W. Porcher Miles, of Virginia, formerly of South Carolina, and a member of the Provisional Congress of 1861:

"Oak Ridge, _January 27, 1880_.

"....To the best of my recollection there was entire unanimity
in the South Carolina delegation at Montgomery on the subject of
the choice of a President. I think it very likely that Keitt,
from his warm personal friendship for Mr. Toombs, may at first
have preferred him. I have no recollections of Chesnut's
predilections. I think there was no question that Mr. Davis was
the choice of our delegation and of the whole people of South
Carolina.... I do not think Mr. Rhett ever attempted to
influence the course of his colleagues, either in this or in
matters generally before the Congress. Nor do I think his
personal influence in the delegation was as great as that of
some other members of it. If I were to select any one as having
a special influence with us, I would consider Mr. Robert
Barnwell as the one. His singularly pure and elevated character,
entire freedom from all personal ambition or desire for place or
position (he declined Mr. Davis's offer of a seat in the
Cabinet), as well as his long experience in public life and
admirably calm and well-balanced mind, all combined to make his
influence with his colleagues very great. But neither could he
be said 'to lead' the delegation. He had no desire, and never
made any attempt to do so. I think there was no delegation in
the Congress, the individual members of which were more
independent in coming to their own conclusions of what was right
and expedient to be done. There was always the frankest and
freest interchange of opinions among them, but every one
determined his own course for himself."

[Footnote 123: See Appendix K.]