Jefferson Davis, American
The title might seem odd, given that Jefferson Davis (1808-89) served as  president of the Confederacy during the Civil War, and never once, in the 34  years between the end of the war and his death, expressed any remorse for his  part in the conflict that tore America apart. Yet, as historian William J.  Cooper Jr. reminds us in his sober, comprehensive biography, Davis "saw himself  as a faithful American ... a true son of the American Revolution and the  Founding Fathers." Indeed, Davis's own father had fought in the Revolution, and  Davis himself was a West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran. He declared  January 21, 1861, "the saddest day of my life," as he resigned his U.S. Senate  seat to follow his native state of Mississippi out of the Union; yet he also  unflinchingly defended secession as a constitutionally guaranteed right.  Cooper's measured portrait neither glosses over Davis's lifelong belief that  blacks were inferior nor vilifies him for it: "My goal," he writes, "is to  understand Jefferson Davis as a man of his time, not condemn him for not being a  man of my time." The chapters on the Civil War show Davis intimately involved in  military decisions, as well as in diplomatic attempts to gain foreign support  for the Confederacy. Cooper acknowledges the irony of his subject--who  interpreted the Constitution as strictly limiting federal authority--being  forced by the war's exigencies to create a powerful, centralized Confederate  government. Yet, this depiction of a forceful, self-confident Davis makes it  clear that he never could have been anything but "a vigorous and potent chief  executive." The author also paints an attractive picture of a warm family man  who was devoted to his strong-minded wife and their children. Neither  hagiography nor hatchet job, this evenhanded work sees Jefferson Davis whole.--Wendy Smith--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.