Why Wasn't Jeff Davis Tried for Treason?

"The Treason Trial of Jefferson Davis": A Panel Discussion
12th Annual Elizabeth Roller Bottimore Lecture
Thursday, September 25, 2008
7:30-9:00 p.m.
Keller Hall Reception Room,
University of Richmond
Free to the public, registration
recommended

In May 1865, the U.S.government indicted Jefferson Davis on the charge of treason. Imprisoned at Fort Monroe, but represented by prominent northern lawyers, the former Confederate president prepared his case; he eagerly anticipated the opportunity to vindicate himself and the nation he led. Instead, the federal government delayed the trial and, early in 1869, quashed the indictment and declined to try Davis. What was the case against Jefferson Davis? What was Davis’ defense strategy? Why did the federal government not pursue the case? [Good question] What was the significance of that decision for Confederate and American history?

The 12^th annual Elizabeth Roller Bottimore Lecture, cosponsored by The Museum of the Confederacy and the University of Richmond Department of History, will explore these and related questions. The participants in a panel discussion will be Kent Masterson Brown, a Constitutional lawyer and historian whose many published works include an article on the constitutionality of secession; Clint Johnson, a historian and author of the forthcoming book, Pursuit - The Chase, Capture, Persecution, and Surprising Release of Confederate President Jefferson Davis(June 2008); and Cynthia Nicoletti, a graduate of Harvard Law School and University of Virginia history doctoral student who is completing her dissertation on the Davis case.

(Above announcement is from the Museum of the Confederacy's website.)