Jefferson Davis' Farewell 1-21-1861

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Location
The Deep South, Alabama
January 21, 1861
Jefferson Davis' Farewell
Jefferson Davis (D-MS)
By any standard, this scene has to rank as one of the
most dramatic events ever enacted in the chamber of
the United States Senate. Would-be spectators arrived
at the Capitol before sunrise on a frigid January
morning. Those who came after 9:00 a.m., finding all
gallery seats taken, frantically attempted to enter
the already crowded cloakrooms and lobby adjacent to
the chamber. Just days earlier, the states of
Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama had joined South
Carolina in deciding to secede from the Union. Rumors
flew that Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas would soon
follow.
On January 21, 1861, a fearful capital city awaited
the farewell addresses of five senators. One observer
sensed "blood in the air" as the chaplain delivered
his prayer at high noon. With every senator at his
place, Vice President John Breckinridge postponed a
vote on admitting Kansas as a free state to recognize
senators from Florida and Alabama.
When the four senators completed their farewell
addresses, all eyes turned to Mississippi's Jefferson
Davis-the acknowledged leader of the South in
Congress. Tall, slender, and gaunt at the age of
fifty-two, Davis had been confined to his bed for more
than a week. Suffering the nearly incapacitating pain
of facial neuralgia, he began his valedictory in a low
voice. As he proceeded, his voice gained volume and
force.
"I rise, Mr. President, for the purpose of announcing
to the Senate that . . . the state of Mississippi . .
. has declared her separation from the United States."
He explained that his state acted because "we are
about to be deprived in the Union of the rights which
our fathers bequeathed to us." Davis implored his
Senate colleagues to work for a continuation of
peaceful relations between the United States and the
departing states. Otherwise, he predicted,
interference with his state's decision would "bring
disaster on every portion of the country."
Absolute silence met the conclusion of his six-minute
address. Then a burst of applause and the sounds of
open weeping swept the chamber. The vice president
immediately rose to his feet, followed by the
fifty-eight senators and the mass of spectators as
Davis and his four colleagues solemnly walked up the
center aisle and out the swinging doors.
Later, describing the "unutterable grief" of that
occasion, Davis said that his words had been "not my
utterances but rather leaves torn from the book of
fate."

Reference Items:
Davis, William C. Jefferson Davis: The Man and His
Hour, A Biography. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.


http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Jefferson_Davis_Farewell.htm
 
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