Davis Quits Senate: Civil War Begins
Jefferson Davis resigned his U.S. Senate seat to join the Confederate cause, instantly transforming a Kentucky-born senator into the future president of a nation built on secession. This decisive break severed any remaining political bridge between the North and South, ensuring that the coming conflict would be a total war rather than a negotiated dispute.
January 21, 1861
165 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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