Excerpt from The Life of Alexander H. Stephens I have, since I came here, come to the conclusion that words are - if you please - moral instruments capa ble of effecting much, when properly applied and directed. And it is altogether useless, at any and all times to talk, without having in view some Object to effect. In legislating in Georgia, it is waste of breath for a man to talk about Greece and Rome, Scipio and Hannibal, Tyre and Carthage, or any of that learned sort Of lore. If one indulges much in it, he is soon looked upon as a fool, speaking In an unknown tongue, ' and very properly so too. Eloquence, true eloquence, is certainly in some degree an art; but in nothing more than in selecting and fitting the matter to the time, place, and circumstances. The whole generation of our young orators, instead of reading Blair for rules, Scott and Addison for figures, and Byron and Shake Speare for quotations, had better be studying their sub ject, and thinking to whom they are going to present it, and how they will most probably engage attention, and produce conviction in the minds of those to whom it is presented. Success in producing convictlon is the object of oratory. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Life of Alexander H. Stephens IN submitting to the public this biography of Alexander H. Stephens, we deem it proper to make some explanation regarding the facilities we have enjoyed for the performance of our task. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Alexander H. Stephens A life of Alexander E. Stephens suited to the needs of the modern reader is desirable not only because of the peculiar personality of one of the ablest of the Southern statesmen of the old regime, and because of his association with great events as vice-president of the Southern Confederacy, but because he was one of the most consistent figures in the long struggle between the champions of State sovereignty and the supporters of Federal supremacy. Though a fellow Georgian, I have found Stephens chie y interesting as a battling representative of State sovereignty in its con ict with nationalism, and as one of the ablest of those who de fied destiny in the age-long, evolutionary process - to which the terms right and wrong are too indi vidual and personal to apply - finally producing a na tion out of a mere confederation. The extent of the author's study of this general subj ect may be seen from the bibliography at the end of the volume, practically all available sources having been drawn on in order to illustrate the early weakness of the Federal govern ment, the division of sovereignty under our dual sys tem, the con ict between the partisans of State and nation, and the nullification and disunion sentiment so often and so violently manifested in all sections of the country during the first seventy years after the adoption of the Constitution. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."

WINNER OF THE JEFFERSON DAVIS AWARD Rising from humble origins in the middle Georgia cotton belt, Alexander H. Stephens (1812–1883) became one of the South’s leading politicians and lawyers. Thomas E. Schott has written the first scholarly biography that analyzes the interplay between the public and private Stephens and between state and national politics during his contradictory career. Stephens was a celebrated Whig, turned Democrat, who served as congressman from 1843 to 1859 and an antisecessionist who became vice-president of the Confederacy. Ignored by the Davis administration once in office, he eventually opposed most of its wartime policies. Schott argues that Stephens’ devotion to the southern cause was as genuine as his devotion to civil liberties and states’ rights. After the war, he became an elder statesman for Georgia, serving nine more years as a congress-man and the last five months of his life as governor.