The Confederacy: Who Was Jefferson Davis?
American History Hit
History Hit
4.5 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 3 March 2025
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Only one person has ever held the title of President of the Confederate States of America. In this episode, we're going to find out more about him and the power structure of the Civil War rebel states.
How did the confederate constitution differ from that of the United States of America? How was Davis selected? And what happened to him after the war ended?
Don is joined by Aaron Sheehan-Dean, Professor at Louisiana State University and editor of a number of books on this subject.
Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Aidan Lonergan. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
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All music from Epidemic Sounds.
American History Hit is a History Hit podcast.
Transcript
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| 1:01.7 | Virginia's state capital building is bursting at its seams. |
| 1:05.5 | It's December 1861, and lawmakers and visitors press and jostle through crowded doorways, navigating the |
| 1:13.1 | Equally Stone halls in search of a quiet corner to prepare for meetings. |
| 1:18.2 | Despite the chill outside, the central rotunda is sweltering, the air thick with the fetid |
| 1:24.2 | odor of hundreds of bodies, not to mention the greasy aromas of cooked poultry, peanuts, and hard-boiled eggs available from food stands. |
| 1:33.6 | Chicken bones crackle underfoot in a slick residue of tobacco spit. |
| 1:38.4 | All of it creating a dicey walking hazard. |
| 1:41.8 | Back in 1785, Thomas Jefferson designed this grand building for Richmond's |
| 1:47.3 | Capitol Square, modeling it after classical Roman temples. But at this time, there are yet no front |
| 1:53.9 | steps or legislative wings. Practically speaking, the space is too small even for its designed |
| 1:59.8 | purpose. Never mind now, the Virginia General Assembly small even for its designed purpose. |
| 2:05.8 | Never mind now, the Virginia General Assembly will be sharing the structure with the first Confederate States Congress, which will use the Senate Chamber to debate the ongoing dreadful issues |
| 2:11.7 | of slavery, secession, and war. |
... |
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