Jefferson Davis Quotes


You have shown yourselves in no respect to be the degenerate sons of our fathers. You fight against the offscourings of the earth… worse than hyenas.


Context

Like many war leaders, Davis tried to dehumanize the Northerners, against whom the Confederates were fighting. His “”theory” was that The Southerners were the good and upright sons of the Founding Fathers but the Northerners were the “degenerate” sons.


Citations

Jefferson Davis Speech, January 1863

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

Linked Quotes

One of the puzzles of American Civil War history has been how the poor whites of the South (who provided most of the military manpower that fought and died in the Civil War) were persuaded to fight against a much stronger, more highly industrialized, and more affluent few, that had many more soldiers. One of the main reasons, though difficult for us to understand today, was that the Southern leadership actually persuaded the Southerners that men from the North were cowards and lacked the character, virtue or will to fight. The general “party line” of the South was that one Southern solder was worth more than 5 Northern Soldiers,


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Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
  • Born: June 3, 1808
  • Died: December 6, 1889
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Leader

Jefferson Finis Davis was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. As a member of the Democratic Party, he represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives before the American Civil War. He previously served as the United States Secretary of War from 1853 to 1857 under President Franklin Pierce.