The Papers of Jefferson Davis

FAIN: RQ-50316-08

Rice University (Houston, TX 77005-1827)
Lynda L. Crist (Project Director: November 2007 to November 2017)

Preparation for publication of volumes 12, 13, and 14 of The Papers of Jefferson Davis. (36 months)

Jefferson Davis (1808-89) was a U.S. congressman, Mexican War hero, secretary of war, and senator; he was president of the Confederate States of America, author of wartime memoirs, and an enduring icon of the Lost Cause. Endowment support will ensure publication of Volumes 12 and 13 and preparation of Volume 14, the last in the chronological series, of The Papers of Jefferson Davis, the definitive edition of documents by and to Davis. The published volumes comprise an essential research and reference tool for U.S. history during most of the nineteenth century and help illuminate ongoing repercussions from the era of sectionalism and the Civil War and, in Volumes 12-14, the effects of Reconstruction. The edition is useful to students of all ages, lay readers, and seasoned scholars of the period. The project also functions as the equivalent of a modern presidential library and sponsors a large website for instant access to basic, accurate information about Davis and his times.