Changes

Joining GOP ranks as a Radical Republican, Wade was an ardent supporter of [[women's suffrage]] and trade unions.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/> He voiced heavy opposition towards the Fugitive Slave Act and the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]], drawing the ire of Southerners.

Joining GOP ranks as a Radical Republican, Wade was an ardent supporter of [[women's suffrage]] and trade unions.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/> He voiced heavy opposition towards the Fugitive Slave Act and the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]], drawing the ire of Southerners.

As the South plotted secession in response to the election of President Abraham Lincoln, Wade gave a fiery speech on the Senate floor in mid-December 1860. Described as a "regular war speech" by ''[[The New York Times]]'', the two hour-long address vowed that the Republican Party would be ready to execute federal laws as needed without regard for whether secession takes place or not.<ref>December 18, 1860. [https://www.nytimes.com/1860/12/18/archives/the-secession-agitation-congressional-proceedings-senate-the.html THE SECESSION AGITATION.; CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. SENATE. THE SECESSION AGITATION.] ''The New York Times''. Archived version available [https://archive.md/0As4v here]. Retrieved November 9, 2021.</ref>

As the South plotted secession in response to the election of President Abraham Lincoln, Wade gave a fiery speech on the Senate floor in mid-December 1860. Described as a "regular war speech" by ''[[The New York Times]]'', the two hour-long address vowed that the Republican Party would be ready to execute federal laws as needed without regard for whether Southern states secede or not.<ref>December 18, 1860. [https://www.nytimes.com/1860/12/18/archives/the-secession-agitation-congressional-proceedings-senate-the.html THE SECESSION AGITATION.; CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. SENATE. THE SECESSION AGITATION.] ''The New York Times''. Archived version available [https://archive.md/0As4v here]. Retrieved November 9, 2021.</ref>

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Wade became chair of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/> He frequently criticized the policies of President Lincoln, viewing them as too lenient and hesitating against the [[Confederacy]]. Indeed, Wade even doubted Lincoln's abolitionist stances and said that the latter's viewpoints:<ref name=battlefieldtrust/>

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Wade became chair of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of War.<ref name=battlefieldtrust/> He frequently criticized the policies of President Lincoln, viewing them as too lenient and hesitating against the [[Confederacy]]. Indeed, Wade even doubted Lincoln's abolitionist stances and said that the latter's viewpoints:<ref name=battlefieldtrust/>