View source for A Short History of the Confederate States of America

{{Short description|Essay by Jefferson Davis}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{italic title}}
{{Primary sources|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox book
| author            = [[Jefferson Davis]]
| pub_date          = 1890
| genre             = Memoir
| image             = File:A_Short_History_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America.png
| caption           = Title page for ''A Short History of the Confederate States of America'' (1890)
}}
'''''A Short History of the Confederate States of America''''' is a [[memoir]] written by [[Jefferson Davis]], completed shortly before his death in 1889.  Davis wrote most of this book while staying at [[Beauvoir (Biloxi, Mississippi)|Beauvoir]] along the [[Mississippi Gulf Coast]] near [[Biloxi, Mississippi]].

The book is much less a Davis memoir than an articulation of the [[secession]] argument.  In Davis' earlier work, ''[[The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government]]'', he had written what is probably the most thorough exegesis of the [[compact theory]] of the [[United States Constitution]] in existence, devoting the first fifteen chapters of the book to that topic.  Fearful that his readers might not understand, or might forget, he repeated the explanation every second or third chapter after that.<ref>Recent reprints of "Rise and Fall" contain a foreword written by [[James M. McPherson|James McPherson]], the author of ''[[Battle Cry of Freedom (book)|Battle Cry of Freedom]]'', who expresses this view.</ref>  Still concerned that people might not understand the compact theory of the Constitution, he wrote '''''A Short History of the Confederate States of America''''' shortly before his death.

The book was first published in 1890 by Belford Co. in New York.<ref>Title page: “Published 1890 by Belford Company Publishers 18-22 east 18th St. New York Publishers of Belford's Magazine”.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Confederate States of America]]
*''[[The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government]]'' by Jefferson Davis

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://archive.org/details/ashorthistoryco00davigoog ''A Short History of the Confederate States of America''] at the [[Internet Archive]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051030162200/http://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/biblio.cfm Jefferson Davis Bibliography]. Retrieved 2005-03-02.
* [http://paperbarn.www1.50megs.com/publishers/b.html#1875---BELFORD, Publishing Houses] at ''[http://paperbarn.www1.50megs.com/publishers/PublishersAlph.htm Major American Publishers (Information compiled by The Hyde Park Book Store)]''. Retrieved 2005-03-02.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Short History Of The Confederate States Of America}}
[[Category:1890 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:American Civil War memoirs]]
[[Category:History of the Confederate States of America]]
[[Category:Jefferson Davis]]
[[Category:Books published posthumously]]

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