A Think Quest 99' Project
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Jefferson Davis' Inaugurual Address as Provisional
President of the Confederacy
[Montgomery, February 18, 1861 ]
Gentlemen of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, friends and
fellow-citizens:
Called to the difficult and responsible station of Chief Executive of the Provisional
Government which you have instituted, I approach the discharge of the duties assigned to
me with an humble distrust of my abilities, but with a sustaining confidence in the wisdom
of those who are to guide and to 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, and which by its greater moral and physical power will be better able to combat with
the many difficulties which 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 which we have asserted, and, with
the blessing of Providence, intend to maintain. Our present condition, achieved in a
manner unprecedented in the history of nations, illustrates the American idea that
governments rest upon the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of the people
to alter or abolish governments whenever they become destructive of the ends for which
they were established .
The declared purpose of the compact of Union from which we have withdrawn was "to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 now composing this
Confederacy, it had been perverted from the purposes for which it was ordained, and had
ceased to answer the ends for which it was established, a peaceful appeal to the
ballot-box declared that so far as they were concerned, the government created by that
compact should cease to exist. In this they merely asserted a right which the Declaration
of Independence of 1776 had defined to be inalienable; of the time and occasion for 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 labored to preserve the
Government of our fathers in its spirit. The right solemnly proclaimed at the birth of the
States, and which has been affirmed and reaffirmed in the bills of rights of States
subsequently admitted into the Union of 1789, undeniably recognize in the people the power
to resume the authority delegated for the purposes of government. Thus the sovereign
States here represented 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, the rights of person and property have not been
disturbed. The agent through whom 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 b! 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 measures
of defense which honor and security may require.
An agricultural people, whose chief interest is the export of a commodity 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 commodities. There can 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 a mutual interest would invite good will and kind
offices. If, however, passion or the of dominion should cloud the judgment or inflame
the ambition of those States, we must prepare to meet the emergency and to 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, the Northern States,
we have vainly endeavored to secure tranquillity, and to 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 he 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 blessings of Providence on a just cause.
As a consequence of our new condition 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 their 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. These 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 the 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 with 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 a 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. Where 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 of 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
an exterior force which should obstruct its transmission to foreign markets-a course of
conduct which would be as unjust toward us 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 otherwise 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 meantime 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 care and toil 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 a want of zeal or fidelity to the cause that is to me 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 duty required at my hands.
We have changed the constituent parts, but not the system of our Government. The
Constitution formed 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 just interpretation of the instrument, and ever remembering that
all offices are but trusts held for the people, and that delegated powers 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, they cannot 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, and with a continuance of His favor, ever gratefully acknowledged, we may
hopefully look forward to success, to peace, and to prosperity.
Source: CSA, Congressional Journal, 1:64-66, as reprinted in Lynda L. Crist and Mary S.
Dix, eds., The Papers of Jefferson Davis (Baton Rouge, Louisana: LSU Press, 1992),
7:46-50. Back |
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