Irish Thought for May 18...

Irish-American Facts

Jefferson Davis, who was the first and only president of the Confederate States of America, and Sam Houston, who was the president of Texas from 1836 to 1838 and again from 1841 to 1844, were both Irish-Americans.

It might seem strange to some that we should be proud of Jeffereson Davis as being an Irish-American because for many, except some southerners who still celebrate the fact that their families were Confederates, we equal the Confederates as people who were fighting for slavery.  Slavery is an evil that most people stand against.  However, the truth is that there are a multitude of reasons that the Civil War happened.  I am proud that abolitionists (those who sought to make slavery end) persuaded the North to make slavery an important issue; thus, the importance forced President Lincoln to act on the issue.  However, for Jefferson Davis and many others of the South, slavery was not the biggest issue.  One can get a sense of that fact from Gone With the Wind, but that book and movie are also fit with many inaccuracies of the time.  Like the Civil War or any person or even throughout time, there are attributes to celebrate and attributes to dislike.  He may have stood up for the side that many of us see as wrong, but there was more to him than the Confederacy.  The best answer I can give you for whether or not this man should be celebrated is to learn what you can about him and make your own decision.  I personally would recommend reading some of the letters that were written by the people of the time.  Knowing someone's words and thoughts can help us see that there is always more to a person that one side.