Compare And Contrast Lincoln And Jefferson Davis

Brother fighting against brother, states’ rights against the right of equality, the Confederacy against the Union, South against North, President Jefferson Davis against President Abraham Lincoln—these are the two sides of the Civil War. Both sides were fighting for what they believed to be right and were led by leaders who passionately pursued victory based on the ideals of their respected countries. The lives of these two leaders might be more similar than one would expect; they were two leaders fighting to uphold their beliefs. Memorialized in monuments and historical books, US President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate President Jefferson Davis will forever be joined together in our memories as the leaders of a divided Nation. Born in a

In his first inaugural address, March 4, 1861, Lincoln expressed his view that, “one section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended, while the other believes that it is wrong and ought not to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute,” it must be noted that, Lincoln originally resisted calls for abolition, because “he did not want to alienate border-state Unionists and northern Democrats,” but “with war threatening, Lincoln [made a calculated move] by sending armed ships to resupply Fort Sumter. [In response] Davis ordering the bombing of the fort on April 12, 1861. This attack marked the beginning of the Civil War,” (Two Viewpoints; Goldfarb, 59; America’s Stories). This type of war was completely new and thus “required a new kind of political leader, one with skills not only to direct armies but also to guide the energies of the citizenry toward victory. Civilian morale became almost as important as that of the soldiers,” and the key to winning this war, Lincoln soon realized while strategizing with his best general, Grant, “was not occupying the enemy's territory--there would never be enough soldiers for that--but to engage and defeat

His family moved to Mississippi, where Davis became a cotton plantation owner. His schooling was extensive having returned to Kentucky to attend boarding school in Bardstown and subsequently studied at Jefferson College in Mississippi and Transylvania University in Kentucky before entering the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (Rafuse). He was the ideal of a Southern gentleman. In 1835 Davis married Sarah Taylor, but she passed away three months later due to yellow fever. Ten year later Davis married Varina Howell of Natchez, Mississippi (“Jefferson and Lincoln”). Due to illness Davis was unable to participate in the Black Hawk war as Lincoln had, but he was able to return in time to escort the Native American chief into captivity (Rafuse). His military experience greatly surpassed Lincoln’s: he fought in the Mexican War, served in the U.S. Army, and was appointed secretary of war in 1853. He was also a congressman from 1845-1846 and a senator from 1847–1851 and 1857–1861. On January 9, 1861 as the senator of Mississippi, Jefferson Davis delivered a speech explaining why his state was succeeding from the Union. He explained that they did not believe the government had overstep its boundaries and he was simply protecting the state’s rights and that he hopes this will be a peaceful situation (Timeline of Secession). “He asserted that secession was