Who was Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States?

"Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) was a planter, soldier, and politician from Mississippi, who served as the first and only president of the Confederate States during the American Civil War (1861-1865). A veteran of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848), Davis was elected Confederate president in 1861 because of his fervent defense of the American South and the institution of slavery during his years in Congress."

"Jefferson Finis Davis was born on 3 June 1808 in Davisburg, Kentucky (modern Fairview), less than 100 miles (160 km) away from where his great rival, Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), would be born just eight months later. He was the last of ten children born to Samuel Emory Davis, a veteran of the Continental Army, and his wife Jane Cook; his parents had met in South Carolina in 1783 during the waning months of the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and had moved west a decade later."

"A few years later, Sam Davis moved his family out to Mississippi, where he purchased a small cotton plantation and twelve slaves. Young Davis was sent back to Kentucky for his education and, in 1823, was enrolled in Transylvania University near Lexington. He was still there the following year when he learned that his father had died - most of Sam Davis's land and slaves had been bequeathed to his eldest son, Joseph."

Jefferson Finis Davis (1808–1889) was a Mississippi planter, soldier, and politician who served as the sole president of the Confederate States during the American Civil War. A veteran of the Mexican-American War, he secured the Confederate presidency in 1861 through vigorous defense of Southern interests and the institution of slavery. Early popularity declined as he faced widespread criticism for wartime leadership and was ultimately held responsible for the Confederacy’s defeat. After the war he spent two years imprisoned at Fort Monroe, Virginia, then lived in retirement. He was born in Davisburg, Kentucky, the youngest of ten children and educated at Transylvania University.

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