PBS - Jefferson Davis: An American President (2008)

For the first time on film, this revealing documentary presents the complete story of Jefferson Davis in three informative and entertaining full-length episodes.
Jefferson Davis is perhaps the most misunderstood and maligned figure in United States history. One of the most outstanding statesmen of the United States during the first 60 years of the 19th century, he sacrificed everything to defend the South's position related to the rights of the states and conservative constitutional interpretation.
Against staggering odds he led the South and held it together in the bloody Civil War or War Between the States. Over 620,000 Americans died in this tragic war, sometimes called a second American Revolution. The history of this period has been written mainly by the victor, however, historians are revisiting Davis and his legacy.
A West Point graduate was a hero of the Mexican War, United States Senator, outstanding Secretary of War under Franklin Pierce and the only President of the Confederate States of America. But what few people realize is that he had already spent many years before the Civil War began in patriotic service to the United States of America. As an Army officer, congressman, Secretary of War and two-term Mississippi senator, Davis was instrumental in founding the Smithsonian Institution, and was largely responsible for the design of the United States Capitol.
This unprecedented documentary–five years in the making–includes many rare photographs, unparalleled interviews with top Davis scholars and never-before-seen footage from the Confederate White House and many private homes.
Jefferson Davis was a proud American, a loyal Mississippian, and a sophisticated statesman and military hero. But he was also a husband, father, and friend whose life spanned and reflected much of the 19th century.
Executive Producer Percival Beacroft, pulled together a team headed by award-winning filmmaker Brian Gary and Producer/Writer Wendi Berman and created this monumental 3-part series which sheds long overdue light on the expansive and often tragic life of Jefferson Davis.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES: Unparalleled interviews with top Jefferson Davis scholars ; Never-before-seen footage from Jefferson Davis’ boyhood home to the actual place of his capture ; Filmed on location at the United States Capitol, both Confederate White Houses, the West Point art collection, and many more institutions and private homes ; Extensive, pre-Hurricane Katrina footage of Beauvoir (Biloxi, MS) and Fortress Monroe (VA)

Written, Produced, Directed & Edited by Brian Gary ; Rosemont Pictures Inc. Production with Flying Chaucer Films and Public Broadcasting Service

Part 1: American Patriot
Jefferson Davis was the Confederate States of America's first and only president. But what few people realize is that he had already lived half a century before the Civil War began - much of which was spent in patriotic service to the United States of America.
Jefferson Davis' early years: West Point, military appointment, and his first love and tragically short marriage to Sarah Knox Taylor. After ten reclusive years as a planter, Davis marries again and forges a political path that leads him to Washington City as a Mississippi representative to Congress. He distinguishes himself in the Mexican War and returns a hero. Davis then serves his country in the Senate, as Secretary of War and in the late 1850s, with the stirrings of secession abounding, Davis tries to keep the fledgling nation together but at the end, Davis must side with his home state of Mississippi and departs his beloved Washington City…forever.

Part 2: Confederate President
As an Army officer, congressman, Secretary of War and two-term Mississippi senator, Davis was instrumental in founding the Smithsonian Institution, and was largely responsible for the current design of the United States Capitol.
After a three-day respite from political life, Davis receives word that he has been appointed provisional President of the Confederate States of America. The firing on Fort Sumter in 1861 sparks the Civil War and Davis not only has to build a country but also defend it in the face of invasion. The four years are filled with struggle and adversity, both for his country and his family. After his cabinet disbands in 1865, Davis and his compatriots journey southward, camping in tiny Irwinville, Georgia…where Davis is finally captured by Federal troops, ending The War Between the States.

Part 3: Shattered Hero
The records consist of drafts, galley proofs, revisions, page proofs, typescripts, and reviews of the published volumes of The Papers of Jefferson Davis.
Davis is imprisoned at Fortress Monroe, Virginia for over two years–during which there is a public outcry over his treatment and the validity of jailing someone not yet accused of any crime. After his release, Davis begins what will be a cross-country and international search for meaningful employment so that he may provide a life for his family. When an old friend offers her home, Beauvoir, in Biloxi, Mississippi, to live and write in peace, Davis accepts. He later dies in December 1889 in New Orleans after a final trip to his beloved Mississippi plantation, Brierfield.