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 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Jefferson Davis |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | American Civil War |
| Genre | History |
| Published | 1881 |
| Publisher | D. Appleton & Company |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 1,500 |
| ISBN | 0-306-80418-2 |
| OCLC | 424292 |
| 973.713 | |
| LC Class | E487.D263 |
| Followed by | A Short History of the Confederate States of America |
The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government (1881) is a book written by Jefferson Davis, who served as President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Davis wrote the book as a straightforward history of the Confederate States of America and as an apologia for the causes that he believed led to and justified the American Civil War.
He wrote most of the book at Beauvoir, the Biloxi, Mississippi, plantation where he was living as a guest of the novelist and wealthy widow Sarah Ellis Dorsey. Ill with cancer, in 1878 she made over her will and left the plantation to him before her death in 1879. She had already assisted him in his writing, notably with organization, editing, and encouragement.
Davis was also assisted by his wife, Varina, and his secretary Major W. T. Walthall. He corresponded voluminously with surviving Confederate statesmen and generals, including Judah Benjamin and Jubal Early, for fact-checking and details on key issues.