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William C. Davis
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A Government of Our Own: The Making of the Confederacy Hardcover – September 1, 1994

by William C. Davis (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 23 ratings
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Chronicling four decisive months in 1861, the unique story of the birth of a nation within a nation examines the leaders of the Confederacy--from those who wanted war to those who wanted reconciliation--and their struggle to form a southern nation.
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  1. Print length
    550 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Free Press
  4. Publication date
    September 1, 1994
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.75 x 10 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0029077354
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0029077351
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

For four crucial months in 1861, delegates from all over the South met in Montgomery, Alabama, to establish a new nation. Davis (Jefferson Davis: The Man and the Hour, LJ 11/15/91) tells their story in this new work, another example of Davis's fine storytelling skill and an indispensable guide to understanding the formation of the Confederate government. Among the issues Davis examines are revising the Constitution to meet Southern needs, banning the importation of slaves, and determining whether the convention could be considered a congress. Also revealed are the many participating personalities, their ambitions and egos, politicking and lobbying for the presidency of the new nation, and the nature of the city of Montgomery itself. Not many books cover this period. A valuable and enjoyable addition to Confederate history and the background of the Civil War.
Robert A. Curtis, Taylor Memorial P.L., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

This excellent book is much like Catherine Drinker Bowen's classic Miracle at Philadelphia (1966), which in almost minute-by-minute fashion recounted the proceedings whereby representatives of the 13 newly independent states met to draw up the Constitution, under which our nation is still organized. Davis, a veteran writer on the Civil War period, whose previous book was the well-presented Jefferson Davis (1991), follows the discussions that, in a four-month period in 1861, created a constitution under which the seceded southern states formed a nation-state. The book's greatest asset--in addition to providing an engrossing chronicle of the nation building that went on in Montgomery, Alabama, over the course of those several weeks--is the clarification of the issues surrounding secession and why the endeavor in Montgomery, whose purpose was not to scrap the U.S. Constitution but simply to adapt it to the needs of the southern states, did not succeed in devising a sovereign nation that could last longer than a split second. Handled well here, too, is the way Davis brings back to life and breath the personalities involved, particularly Jefferson Davis, the provisionally appointed and then duly elected chief executive of the Confederacy. A special book for all U.S. history collections. Brad Hooper

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Free Press; First Edition (September 1, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 550 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0029077354
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0029077351
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.15 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.75 x 10 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 23 ratings

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William C. Davis

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
23 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Doc Holliday
5.0 out of 5 stars Obsquire book that was unknown till a friend tells me.
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2023
Verified Purchase
Great source history of all Americans history This Rebellion was World history.
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Norman Vaden
5.0 out of 5 stars the goverment that was formed
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2022
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good in fo on the government our families in south tried to serve houner and preserve
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Zeldock
5.0 out of 5 stars Every non-fiction e-book should be this well done!
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2009
Verified Purchase
This is the perfect non-fiction e-book. The text is almost typo-free, the table of contents is linked, the footnotes are linked, and (rarest of all) you can page through the footnotes to see, for example, what "id." or "Davis, p. 15" refers back to.

As for the book itself, I found it fascinating in the details it provided of how the former U.S. Senators and Representatives of the initially seceding states put together a new government and got its operations off the ground. To my taste, too much space was devoted to describing Montgomery and its residents. But that's a minor quibble.
One person found this helpful
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James Robinson
4.0 out of 5 stars Confederate government in Montgomery
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2004
William C."The writing Machine" Davis has a very readable style that is so fluid you read without realizing it! He is a very interesting writer in that he brings color to history. Davis performs wonderfully on describing the factions existing within the legislative congress that created the confederacy. He draws from the letters of a great deal of the political giants of the provisional Confederate government and also uses a chronological approach to portray events of the creation of the Confederate government in Montgomery, Alabama. He concentrates mostly on the legislative events in the first few months of 1861; although, he descriptively and almost in detail paints a verbal portrait of the view of Montgomery. This book is definitely a good buy for someone wishing to learn about the Southern Confederate Constitutional convention!
5 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the Best!
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2014
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Davis is a prolific writer, careful scholar, and one who has addressed the birth of the Confederacy better than others. This may well be his best work. The book is not only an easy read but contains facts that even most polished Civil War buffs will not have discovered. The collector who is building a personal collection needs to include this work in order to represent best of the best works on each phase of the Civil War.

----M.B. Maxian
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Austin
5.0 out of 5 stars The Early Days of the Confederate Experiment
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2018
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Good book by Davis that goes into a wealth of detail about the early days of the Confederate Government’s existence.
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Bruce W. Kletz
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2018
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On time, as described.
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James
3.0 out of 5 stars Dense, Detailed, Dry
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2014
Verified Purchase
Davis fumbles on the first page by delivering a remarkably anticlimactic explanation of the causes of Southern secession. After describing the myriad host of issues leading up to secession - agrarianism versus industrialism, unequal and unjust tariffs, struggle for political power in the Union, opposing views of government, etc. - Davis disappointingly concludes that the ultimate source of the entire conflict between the North and the South was, of course, slavery. Instead of merely being one of the many issues which divided the North and the South, Davis must do as all historians who wish to be taken seriously must do, and place slavery on a pedestal of its own. Somehow, slavery - against which the federal government never aggressed and which was safer than ever under Abraham Lincoln - was a greater outrage than federal tariffs, which had enriched the North at the South's expense for ages. On both sides, the clash over slavery was mainly a front for control of the Territories, for whichever side controlled the Territories would control the new states, and therefore the federal government. Davis actually explains this, but still comes to the conclusion that slavery somehow transcended and even caused every other issue. The Confederate Constitution - the South's ideal of how she should be governed - belies the belief in slavery as the one, true cause, for "the peculiar institution" was accorded no new protections beyond maintaining its status as a right of the states. Meanwhile, the powers of taxation and expenditure were greatly restricted and the sovereignty of the states was recognized. Never mind any of those inconvenient truths, though: slavery! Davis joins the ranks of historians blinded by Northern and Southern rhetoric and unable (or unwilling) to do historical analysis. He has swallowed slavery hook, line, and sinker.
Aside from this lame beginning, this is a very detailed book, perhaps too detailed. Davis devotes a lot of time to describing the city of Montgomery, going beyond setting the stage and delving into irrelevant minutiae. Davis also struggles to restrain his feelings for historical figures, writing with adoration of some and contempt of others. The sheer amount of information Davis has assembled makes this book a worthwhile read for those interested in the "Civil War" or the Confederacy, although you will have to come prepared to slog through a lot of pointless details and defend yourself against the author's agenda.
13 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Werner Schneider
5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable analysis of a very special couple of months
Reviewed in Germany on April 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
This book describes on a little over 400 pages a critical period in American history. A number of more or less able men came together in Montgomery, Alabama to create a new country out of scratch. It's remarkable in which extreme details the author brings these four months to life, including a detailed description of how the city looked like 160 years and what went on in the local hotels, which were comparably few and became more and more crowded and expensive the more "official" people arrived from anywhere in the south. What kept these men together was more or less only one topic: Slavery. And it's an interesting perception that many of the few free but dramatically suppressed African Americans and also many slaves were so brainwashed that they openly supported the secession and the "peculiar institution", even investing their savings in the upcoming civil war, speaking out against abolitionists. Richmond, Virginia only became the Confederacy's capital instead of Montgomery when the home-state of the early presidents seceded late from the US, but mainly for the reason that many congressmen didn't like the climate of Alabama, which infuriated a few people there. How Jefferson Davis became president and not one of the ultra-radicals like Yancey is described in vivid detail, but Davis' shortcomings are not left out, especially in choosing his secretaries. All but one didn't make it until Appomattox Court House. The book concludes with an epilogue, when Davis for the first returned to Montgomery in April 1886, 25 years after he was elected president, still at total odds with most surviving confederate generals. It includes the destiny of all major players during these late winter and spring-months in 1861, none having come out unharmed from the conflict. Very worthy book for those who are interested in the Civil War, but know little yet of the very beginning of the Confederacy before the First Battle of Bull Run.
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