Here is some information about some of the people represented on the Confederate bills. See selected bills with these people below. Jefferson Davis Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) was the president of the Confederate States of America throughout its existence (1861-65). He graduated from West Point in 1828. In 1845 he was elected to the US House of Representatives, but resigned in 1846 to fight in the Mexican-American war. Upon return from the war he entered the Senate, and was made Secretary of War by President Franklin Pierce in 1853. He returned to the Senate in 1857 and was against secession, even though he believed that the Constitution gave states the rights to do so. After Mississippi seceded, Davis was commissioned to become a major general, but two weeks later the Confederate Convention chose him as provisional president. His presidency was not an easy one, because the South had considerably less resources and many internal problems. After Robert Lee surrendered to the North, Davis was caught and imprisoned for two years. He wrote a book titled The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government in 1880, still believing he had done nothing wrong in fighting for state's rights, although this was not successful and he did not regain his citizenship. He died in 1889 in New Orleans. His citizenship was returned to him posthumously in 1978. Alexander H. Stephens Alexander H. Stephens (1812-1883) served as the vice president of the Confederate States of America from 1861-65. He was nicknamed "Little Ellick" because he only weighed around 100 pounds. He was admitted to the bar in 1834, and served in the Georgia House of Representatives, the State Senate, and The U.S. House of Representatives. He was against succession but was pro-slavery, following his home state of Georgia when they seceded. Stephens and Davis disagreed on how to run the Confederacy, with Stephens disagreeing with Davis exercising extra-constitutional war powers in order to try and win the war. After the end of the war he was confined for 5 months, but eventually went on to serve again in the U.S. House of Representatives and become the governor of Georgia. The book he wrote titled A Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States is "perhaps best statement of the Southern position on state sovereignty and secession" (Encyclopedia Britannica). C.G. Memminger Christopher G. Memminger (1803-1888) was the secretary of treasury for the Confederate States of America. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, he is "generally held responsible for the collapse of his government's credit during the Civil War". He was an attorney and known for his financing abilities. After Abraham Lincoln was elected, he was for succession and was involved in South Carolina's secession convention. He was elected treasurer by Jefferson Davis. The currency quickly lost its value as more and more were being printed to cover costs. They lost their credit in 1864, and Memminger quickly resigned. J.P. Benjamin Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884) was a prominent lawyer both before and after the American Civil War. He was known in the Senate for his pro-slavery speeches. After his state, Louisiana, seceded from the Union, he was appointed attorney general for the Confederacy. Later he was named secretary of war by Jefferson Davis, but several blunders led to defeats, so he resigned and was named secretary of state by Davis. He angered white Southerners by saying he thought that slaves should be recruited into the military and freed after their service. After the war was over, he escaped to England, and eventually became one of the Queen's counsels. Lucy Pickens Lucy Holcombe Pickens (1832-1899) was better known as the 'Queen of the Confederacy". She was an American socialite and the First Lady of South Carolina after her husband, Francis W. Pickens, was elected governor in 1860. She is the only woman who is depicted on Confederate Currency. Lucy helped to shape the stereotype of the "Southern Belle". Clement C. Clay Clement Claiborne Clay Jr. (1816-1882) graduated from the law department of the University of Virginia in 1839. He enjoyed a rising career in politics, serving in the United States Senate from the years 1853-1861, when he withdrew when his state seceded and became a member of the Confederate Senate (1861-63) and also a diplomatic member of the Confederate States. At the end of the war, imprisoned for a short while before settling on his plantation in Alabama and "[devoting] himself to agricultural pursuits and the practice of law" until his death. John C. Calhoun John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) was an American politician who held many offices, including secretary of war, congressman, and vice president. He was also a champion of state's rights and a symbol of slavery to the South. He believed in nullification, the idea that each state was sovereign, and that the United States Supreme Court could not declare something as unconstitutional, but that that power belonged to the state. He argued this because he feared on day the North would abolish slavery. This idea was not very popular, not even with future president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis. He spent the last 20 years of his life fighting the abolition movements and trying to unite the South. George W. Randolph George Wythe Randolph (1818-1867) was a lawyer, Confederate general, and the Confederate secretary of war during the Civil War. Jefferson Davis appointed him as secretary of war to replace Judah P. Benjamin in 1862. Randolph's frustration with Davis' war tactics and his tuberculosis issues caused him to resign in November 1862. R.M.T. Hunter Robert M.T. Hunter was a representative and a senator from the state of Virginia. He was removed from the Senate in 1861 for supporting the rebellion. He then went on to serve as the Confederate secretary of state from 1861-62 and then went on to serve in the Confederate senate. He is remembered for his passionate speeches against recruiting black slaves to fight in the Confederate Army, because he knew it meant they would have to give those who fought freedom after the war. Works Cited Research contributed by Samantha Monk, Fall 2019 English Intern.