Why I Fought to Restore My Great-Great-Grandfather’s Citizenship

By Dr. Howard Edward Haller

As I write these words, I feel the weight of history resting on my shoulders.

Not just as an author…
Not just as a historian…
But as the great-great-grandson of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States during the American Civil War.

This story isn’t just about politics or controversy—it’s about family, truth, and the legacy passed down to me by a woman who shaped my view of the world: my grandmother, Lucy White Hayes Young, lovingly known to me as Granny Lucy.

A Childhood Rooted in History

    Granny Lucy was a force of nature—fiercely independent, brilliantly creative, and deeply committed to her family’s legacy. She studied art and history in Europe as a teenager and returned home with stories that stitched together the past and present in ways no history book ever could.

Her visits to our home weren’t just social calls. They were living history lessons, filled with the languages she spoke, the paintings she loved, and most memorably—the stories she told me about our ancestor, Jefferson Davis.

Through her eyes, I didn’t just see a man from the pages of American history. I saw a real person—one who faced unimaginable trials, who held deeply to his beliefs, and who bore the burden of a fractured nation long after the war had ended.

A Turning Point

I was sixteen when the conversation that changed everything took place. It was March 1965.

Granny Lucy spoke to me candidly—not as a child, but as someone now old enough to begin shouldering responsibility. That day, I felt the full weight of our family’s story—and I began to understand that Jefferson Davis’s legacy hadn’t ended in 1889 when he passed away.

No, part of it was still unfinished.

The Unfinished Story

Jefferson Davis never had his U.S. citizenship restored—even though it had been recommended after the Civil War.

Despite his efforts to reconcile the divided nation, despite being released from prison without ever being tried for treason, his citizenship remained revoked. For nearly a century, no official act had reversed that decision.

Granny Lucy knew this—and she saw something in me that day. She believed I was the one who could make things right.

And so began a personal journey that would span more than a decade. I met with lawmakers. I studied legal records. I made phone calls, wrote letters, and sought out champions on Capitol Hill.

Eventually, in October 1978, President Jimmy Carter signed S.J. Res. 16, officially restoring Jefferson Davis’s full U.S. citizenship posthumously.

It wasn’t just a legal resolution.
It was a moment of healing—for our family and for a nation still reckoning with its past.

Why It Still Matters

Many sources mistakenly credit others for this act of restoration. But I want to set the record straight—not for my own glory, but because truth matters.

I, Dr. Howard Edward Haller, led this effort, motivated by a grandmother’s trust and a family’s honor.

This isn’t about rewriting history. It’s about completing it.

Want to Hear the Full Story?

To read (or listen to) the complete account of how Jefferson Davis’s citizenship was restored, click the orange button below.

You’ll get free access to my audiobook and eBook, The True Story of Jefferson Davis’s Citizenship Restoration. It’s a deeply personal story of love, legacy, and quiet determination.

If you’d like to support this project and help share this history with future generations, tips are appreciated—but never required.

Thank you for letting me share this story with you.