Person

Jefferson Davis

1808–1889 · 19th century

Jefferson Davis was the only president of the Confederate States of America, from 1861 to 1865. A planter from Mississippi, he had served as an army officer, senator and US secretary of war. As Confederate president he struggled with states' rights governors and a failing economy, and he was captured in May 1865 and imprisoned for two years.

Jefferson Davis
Image: Mathew Benjamin Brady · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Confederate States of America

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Jefferson Davis. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jefferson-davis
MLA
“Jefferson Davis.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jefferson-davis. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Jefferson Davis.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jefferson-davis.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Jefferson Davis’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/jefferson-davis (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻