Lincoln Davis and Lincoln: A Comparison

[nicholasraphael]

As someone who is reasonably familiar was the life and career of Abraham Lincoln, but to whom the life and career of Jefferson Davis remains largely an enigma, I was wondering how these two great contemporaries compared with one another with regards to their personal characteristic and political ideologies, and how similar or different their historical portrayals are to these men themselves?

 

[matthew mckeon]

One way to look at it is that Davis got smaller and Lincoln got bigger.

Davis was lauded as the perfect choice to lead the Confederate government. He had executive and legislative experience at the federal level. In addition he had both combat experience in the Mexican War and was considered an able Secretary of War in the 1850s.

Lincoln was a relative unknown, having served in Congress in the 1840s. He had never held an executive position.

in 1861 it seemed Davis couldn't put a foot wrong, getting the upper southern states to secede, organizing a plausible army in short order. The man and the hour had met, was how it was put.

Lincoln suffered initial defeat at Bull Run. His entry into the capitol at night to avoid an assassination attempt was seen as undignified.

Yet as the war continued, Davis was worn down in personal spats with his fractious generals, insubordinate governors. He lacked the personal/political skill to completely rally his nation. He was too conservative to make the truly radical efforts winning the war would require. He lost popularity as the economy imploded and the war went badly.

Lincoln proved to have effective personal and political skills, controlling his cabinet and winning reelection. He made the outstanding change of the war, emancipating the slaves and the 13th Amendment. He grew in popularity as the war went well. His rhetoric in the Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural were unrivaled.

In 1865, Lincoln was assassinated, a national tragedy, that elevated him in the national mythology to be our greatest president. Davis was captured trying to escape Union cavalry dressed in his wife's clothes(this is unfair to Davis, I know).
Its the perfect bookend to Lincoln's arrival in Washington in 1861, supposedly disguised in a hat that wasn't the iconic stovepipe.

 

[Andersonh1]

On paper, Davis is the stronger of the two men when it comes to his biography and experience a candidate for chief executive. Davis grew up in a farming family, was sent away to school and then to West Point, and spent some time in the army. He got married and moved into plantation life, but then his first wife died. He spent a number of years out of the public eye before serving in the House, the Senate, as a Colonel in the Mexican War where he was wounded, and then Secretary of War under Franklin Pierce before returning to the Senate. I think his main weakness was his temperament. He was just not someone suited to the interpersonal demands of the Presidency, something he and his wife Varina apparently recognized. But he was a man who believed that when his state or his country asked him to serve, he should do so, so he took on the job of CSA President as asked, and did the best he could.

On paper, Lincoln was a lawyer with a poor upbringing who had limited political experience. But he proved to be someone who was determined and who would stick with what he believed, and who was willing to push enormous social changes to win the war and preserve the Union. Lincoln is not a man I think very highly of for a number of reasons, and I think his assassination made him a saint, whereas if he had lived we might well evaluate him differently, but there's no denying that he made several bold leadership moves of a sort that Davis never did. Lincoln was willing to transform society to achieve his goals, while Davis's goal was to try and preserve it as it existed. That may well be the main distinction when it comes to leadership style between the two men.

 

[unionblue]

Davis was an optimist.

Lincoln was a realist.

 

[nicholasraphael]

...I think his main weakness was his temperament. He was just not someone suited to the interpersonal demands of the Presidency, something he and his wife Varina apparently recognized. But he was a man who believed that when his state or his country asked him to serve...Lincoln is not a man I think very highly of for a number of reasons, and I think his assassination made him a saint, whereas if he had lived we might well evaluate him differently, but there's no denying that he made several bold leadership moves of a sort that Davis never did. Lincoln was willing to transform society to achieve his goals, while Davis's goal was to try and preserve it as it existed. That may well be the main distinction when it comes to leadership style between the two men.

Thankyou very much for that summary. Was Lincoln better at the interpersonal relations than Davis was? Would you be willing to elaborate further on your reasons for not thinking highly of Lincoln? Even though I'm a huge fan of his, I would agree that assassinations make granite statues out of mortal beings, and have no doubt that Lincoln had weaknesses like the rest of us. I'd like to hear your thoughts!