Why? BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO EVIDENCE OF DAVIS EVER SAYING SO MUCH AS ONE SINGLE WORD IN OPPOSITION TO THE COURT!
Oh, and if you believe that this is an erronious characterization, then by all means prove me wrong and quote Davis opposing the court!
And you have provided absolutely ZERO evidence why we should.
Yes I have. Five pieces of strong complimentary evidence, actually. See post 752.
And other than one mention in passing in a single speech we have nothing to indicate support for a court.
Nonsense. Let's review the evidence:
1. Davis explicitly called for a court in his 1862 State of the Union Address and said so in the plainest of English.
And never once mentioned it ever again to any message to congress. This per the Journal of the (c)onfederate (c)ongress. So why didn't he continue to make it his priority?
2. Davis' Secretary of State Judah Benjamin pushed Congress to pass the court bill. This is reported in the Charleston Mercury on Dec. 24, 1863.
Actually, according to the Charleston Mercury, as quoted in your reply 741, Mr. Benjamin was accused by Mr. Foote of trying to organize a court "to suit himself". That would seem to imply that Mr. Foote thought that Mr. Benjamin was up to something, not that he was acting on behalf of the Davis regime. Unless, of course, the Davis regime was trying to organize a court that would please the secretary of state. Hardly evidence in support of Davis.
Congress repeatedly took up the court bill from its introduction through 1864, blocking or voting it down each time for the explicit purpose of restraining Davis' power to appoint judges. This is documented in the congressional record, the newspapers, and virtually every good historical account of the CSA congress.
And in the senate the legislation was constantly opposed, postponed, put off, and deferred by a variety of senators. What you haven't presented is any actions by allies of Davis to override these delays or, indeed, any indication that all the senators involved were foes of the Davis regime. They could very well be allies of Davis in the senate.
Davis enthusiastically filled the Confederate District Court benches with appointments almost immediately after their creation by Congress. His first appointment was Alexander Clayton on May 11, 1861 and they continued throughout the war, filling 16 benches total. If Davis was opposed to creating a judicial system, it stands to reason that he would have hesitated in filling these benches or even left them vacant but he did not.
Why would Davis 'enthusiastically' fill lower courts but not fight for the one court required by the constituion? The one which, coincidentally, might be in a position to oppose his actions?
Davis' collected works contain at least 8 other documents with explicit references to the issue of creating a confederate supreme court. In light of the other evidence it is more likely than not that they are supportive of creating a court rather than opposed to doing so.
So how did we get from 8 instances of Davis papers referring to a supreme court, as you claimed in reply 631, to 8 explicit references to creating a supreme court? Are you guessing or do you have something more you would like to share with the class?