Jeff Davis

Who was Jeff Davis?

Jefferson Davis, commonly known as Jeff Davis, was a Democratic politician who served from 1907 to 1913 as the 20th Governor of Arkansas. He took office as one of Arkansas's first New South governors and proved to be one of the state's most polarizing figures. Davis utilized his silver tongue and ability to demagogue to exploit existing feelings of agrarian frustration among poor rural whites and thus build a large populist appeal. However, since Davis often blamed city-dwellers, blacks and Yankees for problems on the farm, the state was quickly and ardently split into "pro-Davis" or "anti-Davis" factions.

Davis began his political career as attorney general, where he immediately began making political waves. His office challenged the legality of the Kimball State House Act and made an extremely controversial extraterritorial interpretation of the Rector Antitrust Act. His fight to prevent trusts from doing business in Arkansas and the extreme lengths he went to to enforce his opinion would be a common theme throughout his political career and provided him with credibility among the poor rural whites that would become his base.