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Article: Jefferson Davis, American.
- Article from:
- The Journal of Southern History
- Article date:
- August 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Southern Historical Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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By William J. Cooper Jr. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Pp. [xvi], 757. Paper, $18.00, ISBN 0-375-72542-3; cloth, $35.00, ISBN 0-394-56916-4.)
Concluding that Jefferson Davis has generally not been kindly treated by historians, William 1. Cooper Jr. has joined the lengthy list of Davis biographers to give his version of what the Confederate president was and was not. Unlike several previous biographers, Cooper claims that his research did not begin with the intent to explain Davis's role in Confederate defeat. Cooper seeks to unravel the complexities of an enigmatic leader, to explore "[h]ow a patriotic American came to lead the great struggle to destroy the ...