The legacy of Davis Bend

摘要

In a historical game of six degrees of separation, Jefferson Davis can be linked directly to civil rights pioneer Medgar Evers through Joseph Davis' experimental plantation at Davis Bend. Twenty-five years older than Jefferson, and the eldest of the 10 Davis siblings, Joseph left his law practice in the 1820s to run a 4,000-acre plantation 30 miles south of Vicksburg. He raised everything from cotton and grains to racehorses and fruit trees-and maintained a thriving population of more than 300 slaves. In an effort to create a model planta-tion, he offered incentives to his slaves, whom he called servants, if they were highly productive, and he conducted trials-in which he served as judge-of slaves charged with misconduct. He also supplied spacious housing and generous provisions as well as dental care.