On this day in 1861, the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America elected Jefferson Davis president and Alexander H. Stephens vice president.

Why the Split? There were many misunderstandings between North and South in the years leading up to the Civil War. The most tragic, perhaps, was that neither side realized, until it was too late, that the other side was not bluffing. Though the South had threatened secession for years, most Northerners saw it as more talk in a game of politics. It was not until shots were exchanged that the North came to understand that men like Jefferson Davis, who talked about seceding from the Union, were sincere.

Who Was Jefferson Davis? Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) was not only the first President of the Confederacy; he was the only President of the Confederacy.

• Born in Kentucky, graduated West Point in 1828.
  
• Successfully ran for the US House of Representatives
  
• Resigned in 1846 to join his former father-in-law in Texas prepare for the Mexican-American War.
  
• Led a regiment from Mississippi
  
• Returned home to become a cotton nabob ~ the Southern slang term for the newly rich
  
• Served as Secretary of War under Franklin Pierce
  
• Returned to Washington DC as a senator twice, but didn't finish either term
  

Beginnings of the Confederacy. Davis became a spokesman for the South, which he said was "...a country within a country." When the Confederacy seceded, Davis was eventually approved as "provisional President."

Not Everyone's Favorite Leader...

• Davis failed to raise adequate funds to fight the American Civil War.
• He was not able to earn recognition or help for the Confederacy from foreign governments.
• On the home front, he was in constant conflict with leaders who championed states' rights.
• His efforts to personally appoint high military officers were opposed by the governors of the states.
• The judges of state courts constantly interfered in military matters through judicial decisions.
  

On the Plus Side...

• Davis was responsible for the raising of the formidable Confederate armies.
• He appointed General Robert E. Lee as commander of the Army of Virginia
• He encouraged industrial enterprise in the South.
• His energy and faith in the cause of the South were responsible for the perseverance with which the Confederacy fought the Civil War.

Even at the end, Davis still hoped the South would be able to achieve its independence.

The End of the Confederacy. Finally, with the South in ruins and Grant's Army approaching, Davis fled Richmond. He was captured in Georgia. Davis spent two years in jail for treason but was released before trial. After his release, Davis worked as a businessman and author. He died in 1889 at the age of 81.