George Davis (American politician)
George Davis (March 1, 1820 – February 23, 1896) was a Confederate politician and railroad counsel who served as attorney general of the Confederate States for 480 days in 1864 and 1865. A skilled orator, he gave a notable public speech in March 1861 in which he argued that North Carolina should secede from the United States of America to protect the private economic interest in chattel slavery. Biography Early years George Davis was born on his father's slave operated plantation at Porters Neck, near Wilmington, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina and was valedictorian of its Class of 1838. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1840. In 1848, he became general counsel of the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, a highly remunerative position that he held until the end of his life. 1861 Peace Conference delegate Davis began his political career as a Whig. The party collapsed in 1856. With other Southern former Whigs who wanted to avoid secession over the slavery issue and refused to join either the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, he backed the Constitutional Union Party in the Election of 1860. Following the election of Abraham Lincoln, Davis