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The '''Copperheads''' were a powerful [[Democratic Party|faction of the Democratic party]] in the North who opposed the [[American Civil War]], wanting an immediate peace settlement with the [[Confederate States of America]] knowing that meant independence for the Confederacy and the continuation of slavery. They bitterly opposed the U.S. government under [[Abraham Lincoln]], demouncing him as a tyrant; some collaborated with Confederates and were tried for treason fo so doing. Their opponents in the Democratic Party were supporters of the war called [[War Democrats]]. The Copperheads battled the War Democrats and usually succeeded in taking control of the Democratic party in most the northern states. After the war the Republicans for decades ridiculed many Democras as "Copperheads" even if their were passive during the war.
The '''Copperheads''' were a powerful [[Democratic Party|faction of the Democratic party]] in the North who opposed the [[American Civil War]], wanting an immediate peace settlement with the [[Confederate States of America]] knowing that meant independence for the Confederacy and the continuation of slavery. They bitterly opposed the U.S. government under [[Abraham Lincoln]], denouncing him as a tyrant; some collaborated with Confederates and were tried for treason fo so doing. Their opponents in the Democratic Party were supporters of the war called [[War Democrats]]. The Copperheads battled the War Democrats and usually succeeded in taking control of the Democratic party in most the northern states. After the war the Republicans for decades ridiculed many Democras as "Copperheads" even if their were passive during the war.
The name ''Copperheads'' was given to them by their opponents the [[Republican party]], after a hard-to-spot venomous snake. Copperheads reinterpreted this insult as a term of honor, and wore copper liberty-head coins as badges. They were also called "Peace Democrats" and "Butternuts". The most famous Copperhead was Ohio's [[Clement L. Vallandigham]], who was a vehement opponent of President Lincoln's policies. For many years after the war Republicans ridiculed Democratic politicians for taking support from Copperheads who were treasonous during the war.
The name ''Copperheads'' was given to them by their opponents the [[Republican party]], after a hard-to-spot venomous snake. Copperheads reinterpreted this insult as a term of honor, and wore copper liberty-head coins as badges. They were also called "Peace Democrats" and "Butternuts". The most famous Copperhead was Ohio's [[Clement L. Vallandigham]], who was a vehement opponent of President Lincoln's policies. For many years after the war Republicans ridiculed Democratic politicians for taking support from Copperheads who were treasonous during the war.
[[Image:Copper1.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Copperhead pamphlet from 1864, Lincoln as an African king]]
[[Image:Copper1.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Copperhead pamphlet from 1864, Lincoln as an African king]]
The Copperheads or Peace Democrats (or conservatives, as they called themselves) opposed the war and favored an immediate negotiated end to hostilities. They tolerated or favored the continuation of slavery and repeatedly appealed to racist sentiments, warning that emancipation would unleash hordes of free blacks on the North. "The Constitution as it is, the Union as it was," was their mantra. However, the Copperheads never fully recognized that what the Confederates fought so hard for was not a restoration of the Union ante bellum but complete independence. That is, the "Union as it was" was impossible if the Confederacy won.
The Copperheads or Peace Democrats (or "conservatives," as they called themselves) opposed the war and favored an immediate negotiated end to hostilities. They tolerated or favored the continuation of slavery and repeatedly appealed to racist sentiments, warning that emancipation would unleash hordes of free blacks on the North. "The [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] as it is, the Union as it was," was their mantra. However, the Copperheads never fully admitted that what the Confederates fought so hard for was not a restoration of the Union ante bellum but complete independence. That is, the "Union as it was" was impossible if the Confederacy won.
The Copperheads were deeply imbued with ideals of American [[republicanism]], as articulated by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. They interpreted the Constitution narrowly, and, in the long tradition of the Democratic party, they believed that the government, especially at the federal level, possessed only strictly limited power. Echoing the rhetoric of the Revolutionary generation, they "warned against tyranny, executive usurpation, and big government."
The Copperheads were deeply imbued with ideals of American [[republicanism]], as articulated by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. They interpreted the Constitution narrowly, and, in the long tradition of the Democratic party, they believed that the government, especially at the federal level, possessed only strictly limited power. Echoing the rhetoric of the Revolutionary generation, they "warned against tyranny, executive usurpation, and big government."
During the Civil War (1861-1865), the Copperheads nominally favored the Union but strongly opposed the war, for which they blamed abolitionists, and they demanded immediate peace and resisted draft laws. They wanted Lincoln and the Republicans ousted from power, seeing the president as a tyrant who was destroying American republican values with his despotic and arbitrary actions.
During the Civil War (1861-1865), the Copperheads nominally favored the Union but strongly opposed the war, for which they blamed abolitionists, and they demanded immediate peace and resisted draft laws. They wanted Lincoln and the Republicans ousted from power, seeing the president as a tyrant who was destroying American republican values with his despotic and arbitrary actions.
The antiwar movement made little headway until the severe military reverses the Union suffered in 1862. As battlefield defeats and casualties mounted, Northern morale slumped and Copperheads grew more numerous and more vocal in denouncing the Lincoln administration. In Illinois, Peace Democrats tried to push a reactionary anti-modern constitution through a state constitutional convention in 1862, but the Republicans managed to defeat it. However across the North the Democrats scored major gains in the Congressional and state elections of 1862, primarily because they focused the attacks on the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Lincoln in September. That was their proof that Lincoln was in league with the abolitionists, determined all along to use the war to inflict a social revolution upon the South. Lincoln's general suspension of habeas corpus appeared to confirm the Copperheads' allegation that the administration had no regard for sacred civil liberties in its relentless drive for conquest in an unjust war.
==Early Action==
The antiwar movement made little headway until the severe military reverses the Union suffered in 1862. As battlefield defeats and casualties mounted, Northern morale slumped and Copperheads grew more numerous and more vocal in denouncing the Lincoln administration. In [[Illinois]], Peace Democrats tried to push a reactionary anti-modern constitution through a state constitutional convention in 1862, but the Republicans managed to defeat it. However across the North the Democrats scored major gains in the Congressional and state elections of 1862, primarily because they focused the attacks on the Preliminary [[Emancipation Proclamation]], issued by Lincoln in September. That was their proof that Lincoln was in league with the [[abolitionists]], determined all along to use the war to inflict a social revolution upon [[the South]]. Lincoln's general suspension of [[habeas corpus]] appeared to confirm the Copperheads' allegation that the administration had no regard for sacred [[civil liberties]] in its relentless drive for conquest in an unjust war.
In 1863, rumors, which many Republican editors believed and circulated, alleged that a Copperhead conspiracy proposed to detach states from the Northwest for the Confederate cause, or break open prisoner of war camps that held thousands of Confederates. The existence of such conspiracies is impossible to tell, and no overt actions actually took place. attac However, heightened Copperhead activity caused a backlash among soldiers, who grew increasingly embittered against dissenters who they believed undermined their efforts at the front and by prolonging the war were the causing the deaths of their comrades.
In 1863, rumors, which many Republican editors believed and circulated, alleged that a Copperhead conspiracy proposed to detach states from the Northwest for the Confederate cause, or break open prisoner of war camps that held thousands of Confederates. The existence of such conspiracies is impossible to tell, and no overt actions actually took place. However, heightened Copperhead activity caused a backlash among soldiers, who grew increasingly embittered against dissenters who they believed were killing their comrades by undermining their efforts at the front and prolonging the war.
Some Copperheads tried to persuade Union soldiers to desert, and had some success in southern Illinois. They did talk of helping Confederate prisoners of war seize their camps and escape. They sometimes met with Confederate agents and took money. The Confederacy encouraged their activities whenever possible.<ref>Tidwell, 1995. pp. 155-20.</ref> Most Democratic party leaders, however, repelled Confederate advances.
Some Copperheads tried to persuade Union soldiers to desert, and had some success in southern Illinois. They did talk of helping Confederate [[prisoners of war]] seize their camps and escape. They sometimes met with Confederate agents and took money. The Confederacy encouraged their activities whenever possible.<ref>Tidwell, 1995. pp. 155-20.</ref> Most Democratic party leaders, however, repelled Confederate advances.
==Newspapers==
==Newspapers==
The Copperheads sometimes talked of violent resistance, and in some cases started to organize. They never actually made an organized attack. As war opponents, Copperheads were suspected of disloyalty, and Lincoln often had their leaders arrested and held for months in military prisons without trial. Probably the largest Copperhead group was the [[Knights of the Golden Circle]]; formed in Ohio in the 1850s it became politicized in 1861. It reorganized as the Order of American Knights in 1863, and again, early in 1864, as the Order of the Sons of Liberty, with [[Clement L. Vallandigham]] as its commander. One leader, Harrison H. Dodd, advocated violent overthrow of the governments of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri in 1864. Democratic party leaders, and a Federal investigation, thwarted his conspiracy. Indiana Republicans used the sensational revelation of an antiwar Copperhead conspiracy by elements of the Sons of Liberty to discredit Democrats in the 1864 House elections. The military trial of Lambdin P. Milligan and other Sons of Liberty revealed plans to set free the Confederate prisoners held in the state. The culprits were sentenced to hang but the Supreme Court intervened in ''[[Ex parte Milligan]]'', saying they should have received civilian trials. <ref> Klement (1960)</ref>
The Copperheads sometimes talked of violent resistance, and in some cases started to organize. They never actually made an organized attack. As war opponents, Copperheads were suspected of disloyalty, and Lincoln often had their leaders arrested and held for months in military prisons without trial. Probably the largest Copperhead group was the [[Knights of the Golden Circle]]; formed in Ohio in the 1850s it became politicized in 1861. It reorganized as the Order of American Knights in 1863, and again, early in 1864, as the Order of the Sons of Liberty, with [[Clement L. Vallandigham]] as its commander. One leader, Harrison H. Dodd, advocated violent overthrow of the governments of Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri in 1864. Democratic party leaders, and a Federal investigation, thwarted his conspiracy. Indiana Republicans used the sensational revelation of an antiwar Copperhead conspiracy by elements of the Sons of Liberty to discredit Democrats in the 1864 House elections. The military trial of Lambdin P. Milligan and other Sons of Liberty revealed plans to set free the Confederate prisoners held in the state. The culprits were sentenced to hang but the Supreme Court intervened in ''[[Ex parte Milligan]]'', saying they should have received civilian trials. <ref> Klement (1960)</ref>
When Lincoln enrolled black soldiers by the tens of thousands, racism helped recharge Copperhead rhetoric. Peace activists gained strength in the Democratic party, and Peace Democrats Thomas Seymour in Connecticut, George W. Woodward in Pennsylvania, and Vallandigham in Ohio won their party's nominations for governor. Antiwar sentiment, racial and ethnic animosity, and class antagonism reached a deadly climax in the summer of 1863 in the draft riots in New York City, Milwaukee and elsewhere. On In May 1863, former Congressman Vallandigham declared that the war was being fought not to save the Union but to free the blacks and enslave Southern whites. The Army then arrested him for declaring sympathy for the enemy. He was court-martialed and sentenced to imprisonment, but Lincoln commuted the sentence to banishment behind Confederate lines. The Democrats nevertheless nominated him for governor of Ohio in 1863; he campaigned from Canada. But Vallandigham and the others inspired a Republican counterattack that carried the fall elections for war supporters, including War Democrats. The Republicans renamed their party the Union party in 1864 to capitalize on their successful coalition with War Democrats, and names the most prominent War Democrat to the ticket, [[Andrew Johnson]].
When Lincoln enrolled black soldiers by the tens of thousands, racism helped recharge Copperhead rhetoric. Peace activists gained strength in the Democratic party, and Peace Democrats [[Thomas Seymour]] in Connecticut, [[George W. Woodward]] in Pennsylvania, and [[Clement L. Vallandigham|Vallandigham]] in Ohio won their party's nominations for governor. Antiwar sentiment, racial and ethnic animosity, and class antagonism reached a deadly climax in the summer of 1863 in the [[New York draft riots|draft riots]] in New York City, Milwaukee and elsewhere. On In May 1863, former Congressman Vallandigham declared that the war was being fought not to save the Union but to free the blacks and enslave Southern whites. The Army then arrested him for declaring sympathy for the enemy. He was court-martialed and sentenced to imprisonment, but Lincoln commuted the sentence to banishment behind Confederate lines. The Democrats nevertheless nominated him for governor of Ohio in 1863; he campaigned from Canada. But Vallandigham and the others inspired a Republican counterattack that carried the fall elections for war supporters, including War Democrats. The Republicans renamed their party to the National Union party in 1864 to capitalize on their successful coalition with War Democrats, and names the most prominent War Democrat to the ticket, [[Andrew Johnson]].
Early in 1864, a new group, the Sons of Liberty, partially bankrolled by the Confederate government, began devising plots to seize Union arsenals, liberate Confederate prisoners held at [[Rock Island]], Illinois, capture the federal arsenal at [[Springfield]], Illinois, and spearhead a Northwest rebellion. All their schemes were foiled either by government double agents or by their own leaders' incompetence, and became campaign fodder for Unionist attacks on the Democratic party.
==[[United States presidential election, 1864|Election of 1864]]==
Vallandigham and other Copperheads operated behind the scenes at the 1864 Democratic convention in Chicago, causing it to adopt a largely Copperhead platform. However, it chose a pro-war presidential candidate, dismissed General [[George B. McClellan]]. He promptly rejected the platform, and the contradiction severely weakened their chances to defeat Lincoln's reelection.<ref> Klement (1998) </ref>
In addition, Union military victories brought Northern public opinion behind Lincoln. The Democrats could not effectively defend themselves, and Lincoln and his party won a sweeping landslide with 90% of the electoral vote, 212 to 21.
==Profile of the average Copperhead==
==Profile of the average Copperhead==
The sentiments of Copperheads attracted Southerners who had settled north of the Ohio River, social conservatives, poor subsistence farmers, and foes of railroads, banks and monopolies. Copperheads did well in local and state elections in 1862, especially in New York, and won majorities in the legislatures of Illinois and Indiana. Copperheads were most numerous in border areas, including southern parts of Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana (in Missouri, comparable groups were avowed Confederates). The Copperhead coalition included many Irish Catholics in eastern cities, mill towns and mining camps (especially in the Pennsylvania coal fields). They were also numerous in German American Catholic areas of the Midwest, especially Wisconsin.
The sentiments of Copperheads attracted Southerners who had settled north of the [[Ohio River]], social conservatives, poor subsistence farmers, and foes of railroads, banks and monopolies. Copperheads did well in local and state elections in 1862, especially in New York, and won majorities in the legislatures of Illinois and Indiana. Copperheads were most numerous in border areas, including southern parts of Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana (in Missouri, comparable groups were avowed Confederates). The Copperhead coalition included many Irish Catholics in eastern cities, mill towns and mining camps (especially in the Pennsylvania coal fields). They were also numerous in German American Catholic areas of the Midwest, especially Wisconsin.
Historian Kenneth Stampp has captured the Copperhead spirit in his depiction of Congressman Daniel W. Voorhees of Indiana:<ref> Stampp, ''Indiana Politics during the Civil War'' (1949) p. 211 </ref>
Historian Kenneth Stampp has captured the Copperhead spirit in his depiction of Congressman Daniel W. Voorhees of Indiana:<ref> Stampp, ''Indiana Politics during the Civil War'' (1949) p. 211 </ref>
==Historiography==
==Historiography==
Two central questions have run through the historiography of the Copperheads: how serious a threat did they pose to the Union war effort and hence to the nation's survival? And to what extent and with what justification did the Lincoln administration and other Republican officials violate civil liberties to contain the perceived menace?<ref> Charles W. Calhoun, "The Fire in the Rear," ''Reviews in American History'' 35.4 (2007) 530-537 online at [[Project Muse]]</ref>
Two central questions have run through the historiography of the Copperheads: how serious a threat did they pose to the Union war effort and hence to the nation's survival? And to what extent and with what justification did the Lincoln administration and other Republican officials violate civil liberties to contain the perceived menace?<ref> Charles W. Calhoun, "The Fire in the Rear," ''Reviews in American History'' 35.4 (2007) 530-537 online at [[Project Muse]]</ref> Neither question can be conclusively answered, as the Copperheads often operated secretly, and there were no public-opinion polls in the 1860's.
The first book-length scholarly treatment of the Copperheads appeared in 1942, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In ''The Hidden Civil War'', Wood Gray decried the "defeatism" of the Copperheads; he argued they deliberately served the Confederacy's war aims. Also in 1942 George Fort Milton published ''Abraham Lincoln and the Fifth Column'', which likewise condemned the traitorous Copperheads and praised Lincoln as a model defender of democracy.
The first book-length scholarly treatment of the Copperheads appeared in 1942, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In ''The Hidden Civil War'', Wood Gray decried the "defeatism" of the Copperheads; he argued they deliberately served the Confederacy's war aims. Also in 1942 George Fort Milton published ''Abraham Lincoln and the Fifth Column'', which likewise condemned the traitorous Copperheads and praised Lincoln as a model defender of democracy.
===Notes===
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