To the Editor:

Monday, June 5 will be observed as a holiday in Alabama marking the birthday of CSA president Jefferson Davis. No man in American history is more worthy of honor and emulation.

Davis was the son of an American Revolution soldier, and he believed in the principles on which that historic event was based.

He stated in his inaugural address in Montgomery “the American idea that governments rest upon the consent of the governed, and it is the right of the people to alter or abolish governments whenever they become destructive of the ends for which they were established.”

Davis went on to observe that the newly-formed Confederate states “merely asserted a right which the Declaration of Independence of 1776 has defined to be inalienable.”

This was a correct interpretation of history and still is today, even though it has ever been true that the victors in war write or re-write history to suit themselves.

Jefferson Davis is a giant figure in our history, and we must never forget our past because it in large measure dictates our current status and is prophetic of our future.

The spirit of Jefferson Davis still lives, and true Southerners will never forget him or the cause for which he stood. Men and women of goodwill throughout Alabama will pay tribute to Davis today, along with state and county employees who enjoy this as one of their paid holidays.

Leonard Wilson

Commander

Alabama Division SCV