Alexander Stephens
Early Life
Alexander Stephens was born in the State of Georgia to Andrew Baskins Stephens and Margaret Grier on February 11th, 1812. Both of his parents passed away by 1824 and him and his brother went to live in Warren County with an uncle. The rest of the siblings went elsewhere. He was also a very tiny and sickly man. He was often sick and never weighed more than 95 pounds throughout his life. In his years of office, he often used a wheelchair because he was always so sick. Stephens was a very brilliant young man; he graduated in 1832 from Franklin College (later called the University of Georgia) with high honors. After this, he went on to teach school for 18 months until beginning to study law in 1834. While practicing law in the next few years, he gained an interest in politics. He then went on to become the man he is known as today.
Career
Alexander Stephens was mostly known for being the vice president of the Confederacy. He worked with the president, Jefferson Davis to help fight in the Civil War. In his earlier life, he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate, and later elected into the U. S. House of Representatives. Stephens went on to become a Whig and also serve as a Democrat and Constitutional Unionist. Although he worked with the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, Stephens believed that he had become too powerful. One large action that he took was that he gave the "Cornerstone Speech," which said that blacks were inferior to whites. In this speech, Stephens explains how blacks still have all the right everyone else has, but that slave owners treated them the way they did because blacks were in lower ranks compared to the whites. Stephens was similar to president Abraham Lincoln in the sense that they both had the greater intention to keep the Union together. But, they were different because Lincoln wanted ultimately to free the slaves while Stephens wanted to keep them. In July 1863, he was sent to Washington, D. C. to discuss prisoner exchanges with the Union. Like this case, Stephens continued to attempt to make peace agreements with the U. S. government. He also helped to pass the Kansas-Nebraska Act. His greatest intention was to end the war. In 1865, Davis appointed him to go to a meeting with president Lincoln and the Secretary of State in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Later, he was arrested on May 11th, 1865 for five months. He was pardoned by president Andrew Johnson in October, 1865.
The most significant contribution that Alexander Stephens made to the war would be helping lead the Confederate army as vice president of the Confederacy. His reputation as a moderate and a supporter of slaves were values that he possessed got him elected as vice president of the South, and what he used to try to persuade the border states to join the south. Also, Stephens helped draft the constitution that the south would have used if it were to become its own country. Before the war began, Stephens moved to Richmond, Virginia, the South's capital, to prepare administratively for the war to help his troops in any way he could. During the war, the South came across many instances where they almost won the war, with Stephens as their vice president. Alexander Stephens met with Abraham Lincoln to try to end the war and re-unite the United States so his troops could go home and be safe. Although he didn't make progress, he didn't let his troops down. Alexander Stephens was a strong leader who worked to protect the Confederacy army and preserve the union during the Civil War.
Link to the "Cornerstone Speech": http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/cornerstone-speech/
Alexander Stephens was born in the State of Georgia to Andrew Baskins Stephens and Margaret Grier on February 11th, 1812. Both of his parents passed away by 1824 and him and his brother went to live in Warren County with an uncle. The rest of the siblings went elsewhere. He was also a very tiny and sickly man. He was often sick and never weighed more than 95 pounds throughout his life. In his years of office, he often used a wheelchair because he was always so sick. Stephens was a very brilliant young man; he graduated in 1832 from Franklin College (later called the University of Georgia) with high honors. After this, he went on to teach school for 18 months until beginning to study law in 1834. While practicing law in the next few years, he gained an interest in politics. He then went on to become the man he is known as today.
Career
Alexander Stephens was mostly known for being the vice president of the Confederacy. He worked with the president, Jefferson Davis to help fight in the Civil War. In his earlier life, he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives and the Georgia Senate, and later elected into the U. S. House of Representatives. Stephens went on to become a Whig and also serve as a Democrat and Constitutional Unionist. Although he worked with the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, Stephens believed that he had become too powerful. One large action that he took was that he gave the "Cornerstone Speech," which said that blacks were inferior to whites. In this speech, Stephens explains how blacks still have all the right everyone else has, but that slave owners treated them the way they did because blacks were in lower ranks compared to the whites. Stephens was similar to president Abraham Lincoln in the sense that they both had the greater intention to keep the Union together. But, they were different because Lincoln wanted ultimately to free the slaves while Stephens wanted to keep them. In July 1863, he was sent to Washington, D. C. to discuss prisoner exchanges with the Union. Like this case, Stephens continued to attempt to make peace agreements with the U. S. government. He also helped to pass the Kansas-Nebraska Act. His greatest intention was to end the war. In 1865, Davis appointed him to go to a meeting with president Lincoln and the Secretary of State in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Later, he was arrested on May 11th, 1865 for five months. He was pardoned by president Andrew Johnson in October, 1865.
The most significant contribution that Alexander Stephens made to the war would be helping lead the Confederate army as vice president of the Confederacy. His reputation as a moderate and a supporter of slaves were values that he possessed got him elected as vice president of the South, and what he used to try to persuade the border states to join the south. Also, Stephens helped draft the constitution that the south would have used if it were to become its own country. Before the war began, Stephens moved to Richmond, Virginia, the South's capital, to prepare administratively for the war to help his troops in any way he could. During the war, the South came across many instances where they almost won the war, with Stephens as their vice president. Alexander Stephens met with Abraham Lincoln to try to end the war and re-unite the United States so his troops could go home and be safe. Although he didn't make progress, he didn't let his troops down. Alexander Stephens was a strong leader who worked to protect the Confederacy army and preserve the union during the Civil War.
Link to the "Cornerstone Speech": http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/cornerstone-speech/