Which Southern politicians would have done a better job as Confederate president than Jefferson Davis, and why? How likely would these replacements be to take his role?
I often wondered if John Breckenridge would have been a good president, he was a good vice-president...
The trouble is that he was from Kentucky, which never officially joined the Confederacy, so unless he moves to Tennessee or something...
Um, by that logic the South had lost as soon as McClellan got to the James. He was then ordered off by Lincoln and Halleck (IIRC) - the South basically hoped that would happen again, and indeed Halleck thought it would be a good idea to withdraw a second time.An ideal Confederate President would have grasped the fact that the south had lost as soon as Grant got to the James and began the investment of Richmond. Terms could have been had at that point that would have provided for compensated freedom for slaves and financial assistance in rebuilding from the destruction caused by the war.
Davis was arguably a much better wartime president than Lincoln, amazing as it may seem. The key point here is "wartime president" - he managed to keep his focus on what the primary Confederate point of military effort was (to whit, the actions of the Army of Northern Virginia) and to support the commander he had chosen (to whit, Lee) for pretty much the whole of their partnership. This is in stark contrast with Lincoln (who went through several generals at breakneck speed).
A specific example is probably worth considering. Within a few weeks of one another, both the AoNV and the AotP had an outbreak of foot-and-mouth, which crippled the transport of the army and rendered them unable to move.
When it hit the AotP, Lincoln's response to McClellan's calls for help was to make his famous bon mot about borrowing the army for a short time; when it hit the AoNV, Davis opened the pocketbook and paid for new horses.
While I'll admit to the mistake, that's also a ridiculously silly thing for Lincoln to say at that time - even worse than at the time I'd assumed he was saying it. Campaigning in winter is very difficult (in a normal year, let alone the unusually poor year weather-wise of early 1862), and it shows that Lincoln was already ill predisposed to McClellan before the man had done any of his supposed errors.Lincoln said "if McClellan did not wish to use the Army, he would like to borrow it" on January 10, 1862.
Davis proved a poor judge of military ability - he thought AS Johnston was a military genius, but Johnston was woefully unfit for the task.
Um, by that logic the South had lost as soon as McClellan got to the James. He was then ordered off by Lincoln and Halleck (IIRC) - the South basically hoped that would happen again, and indeed Halleck thought it would be a good idea to withdraw a second time.
I often wondered if John Breckenridge would have been a good president, he was a good vice-president...
The Confederates had a presidential election in November 1861; OTL it was uncontested, but could Breckinridge have run theoretically?He certainly would have been the best choice. But he did not join the Confederate cause until October of 1861, half a year after the Montgomery Convention had chosen Davis.
He was by far the best Confederate Secretary of War. Too bad for the South that he didn't take office until February of 1865, long past the time when victory for the South was achievable. One wonders what would have happened had he been appointed in early 1862.