This short episode will look at the inaugural address as delivered by Confederate President Jefferson Davis in 1861. This speech is important for two primary reasons. It reveals much about Confederate goals with regards to several major groups, but also what Davis chooses not to say in what would have been a defining moment.
Some parts of the speech are recouted in this episode. As with all of this series, please do not confuse analysis with either symapthy or endorsement. It is historically important to understand what major figures such Jefferson Davis were thinking, saying, and doing. The episode picks apart the speech to look at the key ideas it contains, but also to question much of its content. We will continue to analyze speeches in the near future, including the words of Alexander Stephens and Abraham Lincoln in turn.
The full text of Jefferson Davis’s speech may be found here as of the date of uploading this episode: https://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/archives/documents/jefferson-davis-first-inaugural-address.
