Editing Jefferson Davis (section)

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[[File:Jefferson Davis by Vannerson, 1859.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph of [[United States Senate|Senator]] Davis of the [[35th United States Congress]] by [[Julian Vannerson]] (1859)|alt= man with slight beard only on chin in profile looking right]]
The Senate recessed in March and did not reconvene until November 1857.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=256, 259}} The session opened with a debate on the [[Lecompton Constitution]] submitted by a convention in Kansas Territory. If approved, it would have allowed Kansas to be admitted as a slave state. Davis supported it, but it was not accepted, in part because the leading Democrat in the North, [[Stephen Douglas]], argued it did not represent the true will of the settlers in the territory.{{sfnm|Davis|1991|1pp=258–259|Eaton|1977|2pp=109–111}} The controversy undermined the alliance between Northern and Southern Democrats.{{sfn|Potter|1976|pp=325–326}}

Davis's participation in the Senate was interrupted in early 1858 by a recurring case of [[uveitis|iritis]], which threatened the loss of his left eye.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=289}} It left him bedridden for seven weeks.{{sfn|Davis|1991|pp=260–261}} He spent the summer of 1858 in [[Portland, Maine]] recovering, and gave speeches in [[Maine]], [[Boston]], and [[New York City|New York]], emphasizing the common heritage of all Americans and the importance of the constitution for defining the nation.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|pp=290–291}} His speeches angered some states' rights supporters in the South, requiring him to clarify his comments when he returned to Mississippi. Davis said that he appreciated the benefits of Union, but acknowledged that it could be dissolved if states' rights were violated or one section of the country imposed its will on another.{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=267}} Speaking to the Mississippi Legislature on November 16, 1858, Davis stated "if an Abolitionist be chosen President of the United States{{nbsp}}... I should deem it your duty to provide for your safety outside of a Union with those who have already shown the will{{nbsp}}...to deprive you of your birthright and to reduce you to worse than the colonial dependence of your fathers."{{sfn|Davis|1858|p=[{{Google books|id=spUsAAAAMAAJ|pg=PA356|plainurl=yes}} 356]}}

In February 1860, Davis presented a series of resolutions defining the relationship between the states under the constitution, including the assertion that Americans had a constitutional right to bring slaves into territories.{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=306|}} These resolutions were seen as setting the agenda for the Democratic Party nomination,{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=278}} ensuring that Douglas's idea of popular sovereignty, known as the [[Freeport Doctrine]], would be excluded from the party platform.{{sfnm|Davis|1991|1pp=278–279|Eaton|1977|2pp=112–113}} The Democratic party split—Douglas was nominated by the North and Vice President [[John C. Breckinridge]] was nominated by the South{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=313}}—and the Republican Party nominee [[Abraham Lincoln]] won the [[1860 United States presidential election|1860 presidential election]].{{sfn|Davis|1991|p=285}} Davis counselled moderation after the election,{{sfnm|Cooper|2008|1pp=31–32|Davis|1991|2p=286|Eaton|1977|3pp=119–120}} but South Carolina adopted an ordinance of secession on December 20, 1860. Mississippi seceded on January 9, 1861, though Davis stayed in Washington until he received official notification on January 21.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|pp=121–122}} Calling it "the saddest day of my life",{{sfn|Cooper|2000|p=3}} he delivered a farewell address,{{sfn|Davis|1861a}} [[resignation from the United States Senate|resigned from the Senate]], and returned to Mississippi.{{sfn|Eaton|1977|pp=120–124}}