-Caveat Lector- URL: http://www.canufly.net/~river/SCV/newsletter/9808.html
"Before you lies the future—a future of golden promise; a future expanding national glory, before which all the world will stand amazed. Let me beseech you to lay aside all rancor, all bitter sectional feelings, and take your places in the ranks of those who will bring about a consummation devoutly to be wished – a reunited country." SENATOR LOTT The following is the speech given by Senator Trent Lott at the dedication of the Presidential Library at Beauvoir. If there was any doubt where the Senate Majority leaders heart is in our cause, this speech should answer all doubts. Senator Lott is very proud to fill the same Senate slot that was filled by Jefferson Davis. He also reminded us that the Senior Senator from Mississippi, Senator Cochran, sits in the desk that was occupied by Davis while he was an U. S. senator. Senator Lott’s speech along with the other activities of the day left me with a day I will remember forever. "Governor Fordice, Members of the Legislature, Mayors, distinguished guests, and friends of Beauvoir. As you know, this week marks the 190th anniversary of the birth of the man who became the President of the Confederate States of America. Though born in Kentucky, he was truly a son of Mississippi: a planter, a soldier, and a statesman. It is fitting that we gather here at his beloved Beauvoir, in tribute to this exceptional man. This home was a treasure to him and his family. But now it will house a greater treasure: a wealth of historical documents, research materials, and memorabilia. Like the presidential libraries of more recent Presidents, this institution will have a broader focus than just one person will. It will cover the era in which Davis lived, the times, in which he worked and fought. With true Southern hospitality, it will welcome scholars and the public from around THE WORLD. It will be a place of pride and of learning, of memory and of new visions of the past. Sometimes I feel closer to Jefferson Davis than any other man in America. I represent Mississippi, as he did, in the United States Senate. Each morning, when I arrive at work, I see part of HIS Capital. For he supervised the construction of the two new wings where the Senate and House have gathered uninterrupted since 1860. It was in that Senate where he lifted the mantle of Southern leadership from the aging shoulders of John C. Calhoun. And there, in 1861, his fellow Senators openly wept as he bid them a "final adieu" and headed home to await the call of his state. For almost one century distinguished Americans, and not just Southerners, have come to Beauvoir to recall the highlights of his life. But these facts without the context of truth are meaningless. Or as Robert Penn Warren said, " History is not the truth, the truth is in the telling" In the case of Jefferson Davis, this Library and Museum will help to tell the world the truth about the complicated man who came to embody the cause of Southern Independence. He was the reflection of a proud people. He was a gentleman, who met each of Life’s challenges with unquestioned faith in his Creator and an unfailing devotion to duty. Here was the Commander in Chief who sadly said, "I worked night and day for twelve years to prevent this war, but I could not." When I was growing up, I was taught to respect the man whose face stared down at us from countless shrines across the South. I hope that tradition will continue for today’s youngsters need examples of honor, courage, and self-sacrifice. Jeff Davis’s story is the story of America. Born in a frontier log cabin, he rose from harsh circumstances to attend West Point, where his appointment papers were signed by none other than the man who was then the Secretary of War: John C. Calhoun. At the Academy, he stood alongside Robert E. Lee and Albert Sidney Johnson. As a soldier, he led the Mississippi Rifles to glory in Mexico and, from then on, was marked as a leader of men. When the Magnolia State sent him to the Senate, he became the Congress’ leading intellect and voice of Southern nationalism. He was unyielding in his defense of the Constitution. A document, after all, that had been written primarily by Southerners of an earlier generation. At the same time, he earnestly sought a solution to the upcoming crisis within the framework of the Union. But his people called him home, and he marched with them. On February 10, 1861, while tending his garden, he received word of his unanimous election as President of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America. Mrs. Davis later said, "He grew white and read the note as a man might speak of a sentence of death" He left Mississippi the next day. We cannot do justice here to Davis’ entire record as President, but we can help to reverse what Shelby Foote calls "the conspiracy that has underrated President Davis for 130 years." For starters, there is the matter of his personality. When you read about him in the history books, he seems a cold-blooded prig. He was, in fact, a warm, friendly, outgoing man. Perhaps studies at this Library will correct that impression. It was Lee himself who set the record straight about Davis’s administrative abilities. He reminded the critics, most of them whom were armchair generals, that "no one could have done a better job than Jefferson Davis, and as far as I know, no one could have done as well" It’s easy to forget that Davis inherited no functioning government, no army and no navy. He created everything from the Post Office to the Treasury almost overnight. Through sheer force of will, he marshaled every resource his country had against an adversary that had every advantage. All the while, he was riding herd on the most talented and eccentric group of general officers in military history. He forged the system that kept the Grey legions fighting along a thousand-mile front for four long years. Put yourself in his place, sitting in that Richmond office as the casualty count rolled in from the Shiloh buzzsaw. In that one battle, the South lost more men than the entire country had lost in the revolution, the War of 1812, and the Mexican War combined. One battle—and a heartache that would last a lifetime. By 1865, a devastated South looked to Davis for hope, for dignity, for self-respect. He did not disappoint his people. Even when abused by sadistic jailers, he remained a symbol and an example. And he emerged from confinement to remind his country that, in the end, all would be right. In the end, Jefferson Davis, more than any other person was the living, breathing embodiment of the Southern spirit. Just like the common soldiers who bore the name of Johnny Reb, he too stood in the breach, protecting his home, his family, and his people. Most of all, he was a defender of the Constitution. He rightly understood that that document was created to restrain government, not constrain the people. He feared that, if government ever broke away from the rule of law, that all power would flow away from the people to Washington. That was the same argument advanced, more than a century later, by another Southern Senator, Sam Ervin of North Carolina, in opposing more recent Executive Branch violations of the rule of law. In that light, we come back full circle in the life, times, and redemption of Jefferson Davis. Once more the halls of Congress ring with warnings against the coercion of power in official Washington. History is funny that way. As we relearn its lessons, we sometimes see the figures of the past in a different light. The rigid categories of heroes and villains fade away and we are left with imperfect human beings, from whose trials and struggles we can learn so much, not only about the past, but also about ourselves. That learning is the goal and purpose of this institution (the Presidential Library). Within its walls, and amid its treasures, we can follow the advice of a great Mississippian, Doctor Walker Percy. Percy urged the nation to look South to recover its lost sense of community, and stability, and the sense of place in God’s order. That is a tall proposition, but it is one, which Jefferson Davis would have approved. I will leave you with Jefferson Davis’ own words. Gravely ill, with only eight months to live, Davis pulled together his remaining strength and made the short six-mile journey from Beauvoir to Mississippi City to address a convention of Southern youth. In a remarkable few minutes, Jefferson Davis spoke for the ages: "Before you lies the future—a future of golden promise; a future expanding national glory, before which all the world will stand amazed. Let me beseech you to lay aside all rancor, all bitter sectional feelings, and take your places in the ranks of those who will bring about a consummation devoutly to be wished – a reunited country." Thanks to Senator Lott’s office for sending me a copy of his speech, which I attempted to type accurately. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A<>E<>R + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Forwarded as information only; everything sent has to stand on its own merits, not on my recommendation. Some are true, some are absurd. It's up to you to decide which is which. Yet, some truths become absurd; some adsurdities turn out to be true, unbelievably so. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. 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