Davis, Jefferson (1808-1889) An Address to the People of the Free States by the President of the Southern Confederacy.
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05018 Author/Creator: Davis, Jefferson (1808-1889) Place Written: Richmond, Virginia Type: Broadside Date: 5 January 1863 Pagination: 1 p. ; 30.3 x 22.5 cm. Order a Copy
Contemporary fake on emancipation. Imprint, "Richmond Enquirer Print." A fictitious response of Jefferson Davis to the Emancipation Proclamation, threatening retaliation by enslaving all blacks. It says in part "All negroes who shall be taken in any of the states in which slavery does not now exist, in the progress of our arms, shall be adjudged, immediately after such capture, to occupy the slave status, and in all states which shall be vanquished by our arms, all free negroes shall, ipso facto, be reduced to the condition of helotism...."
First published in 1863 by the Richmond Enquirer. Preliminary research regarding the veracity of the address is inconclusive. Library of Congress notes, "Considered to be a forgery. Cf. McElroy, Robert. Jefferson Davis. New York, Harper & Bros., 1937. Vol I, p. 364 ff." Parrish & Willingham, 1st ed. 916, does not identify as a fake.
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