The Copperheads were a group of extremely conservative Democrats who opposed many of the choices the Lincoln administration made. They believed in an extremely strict interpretation of the constitution, where the words were not intended to be interpreted or manipulated in any way that varied from its original meaning. They also believed that anything not mentioned in the Constitution directly was not something that was intended to be protected or enforced by federal law. The rise and fall of this political group can be clearly seen through three distinctive phases. The first phase was the secession of the southern states, the second being the Emancipation Proclamation, and the third being Union armies defeats throughout their southern campaigns. While not a largely intimidating group merely by numbers, the influence on public opinion towards the Lincoln administration and the war was all the power the Copperheads needed to be a serious player in Civil War politics. The Copperheads would call out President Lincoln’s actions, specifically suspending the writ of habeas corpus, his rejection of the South’s announcement of secession, and The Emancipation Proclamation. By suspending the writ of habeas corpus, President Lincoln essentially ignored the normal steps that action would have originally needed to go through, meaning going through the judicial branch of the government. By choosing to extend his presidential powers during wartime, the Copperheads believed that President Lincoln was violating citizens’ constitutional right to habeas corpus and undermining the separation of powers between federal government branches clearly outlined in the constitution. Chief Justice Roger Taney deemed Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus uncons... ... middle of paper ... ...his made it difficult for citizens to join their cause due to them being unaware of what the Copperheads’ goals ultimately were. The nature of the Copperheads was too much protesting without enough action, and this was not enough of a platform for large groups of people to get behind. The Copperheads were a larger, more significant, and more influential group than has been documented throughout post-Civil War history. The anti-war sentiment in the north was a strong one, but the powerful nationalistic viewpoint that the successes of the Union army and the love for President Lincoln were just too powerful and overwhelming to give the Copperheads a chance of true power during this fiercely political period in American history. Works Cited Weber, Jennifer L. Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln's Opponents in the North. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
In Edward Ayers’ book, In The Presence of Mine Enemies, he argues how rather than being vastly different, the North and South, from 1859-1863, were actually more similar than different. Though he focuses mainly on how the two were similar, he also includes differences between the North and South as well. Ayers effectively argues his point through the use of primary sources from The Valley of the Shadow archives.
Dilorenzo, Thomas J.. The Real Lincoln: a new look at Abraham Lincoln, his agenda, and an unnecessary war. Roseville, Calif: Prima, 2002
One of President Lincoln’s most notable infringements was his suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Within months of taking the presidential oath, Lincoln ordered the suspension of habeas corpus, citing “supra-constitutional reasons for taking unilateral executive action.” Attorney General Edward Bates’ defense of Lincoln’s actions regarding habeas corpus in which he refers to it as a privilege rather than a guaranteed civil liberty serves as basis for proving the illegitimacy of this act. If the writ of habeas corpus, which protects citizens from unlawful imprisonment, is viewed in the manner that Bates (and Lincoln for that matter) refers to it, one of the most basic constitutional liberties of a right to trial can easily be deprived and can very well devolve into despotism later
These commissioners were leaders of the Southerner’s secession and had a duty to, “spread the secessionist message across the entire region.”(18) They would write letters which Dew has put in his book, travel all across the south, and give speeches at conventions in order to persuade the southern states to unite against the Union and to join the forces of the growing secessionists. These commissioners were not just anyone either, they came from Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina, and Georgis (18) or the Four Deep South region. They were made up of about fifty-two men of judges, lawyers, doctors, newspaper editors, planters, and farmers. (19) And again, were the critical players leading to the American Civil War. They had power in influencing political leaders and were educated enough to persuade the southern people of what they feared most if the Republicans win in abolishment of
At the time, the South depended on slavery to support their way of life. In fact, “to protect slavery the Confederate States of America would challenge the peaceful, lawful, orderly means of changing governments in the United States, even by resorting to war.” (635) Lincoln believed that slavery was morally wrong and realized that slavery was bitterly dividing the country. Not only was slavery dividing the nation, but slavery was also endangering the Union, hurting both black and white people and threatening the processes of government. At first, Lincoln’s goal was to save the Union in which “he would free none, some, or all the slaves to save that Union.” (634) However, Lincoln realized that “freeing the slaves and saving the Union were linked as one goal, not two optional goals.” (634) Therefore, Lincoln’s primary goal was to save the Union and in order to save the Union, Lincoln had to free the slaves. However, Paludan states that, “slave states understood this; that is why the seceded and why the Union needed saving.” (634) Lincoln’s presidential victory was the final sign to many Southerners that their position in the Union was
wanted to fight for what they believed in. In fact, the reasons why Confederate and Union
DiLorenzo, Thomas. The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War. Three Rivers Press, 2003.
A successful army requires discipline, but Confederate soldiers refused to concede authority to anyone they did not vote for, at least in the beginning. Confederate soldiers were also prone to shirking duties they deemed menial, and some even left the army without dismissal if they believed they had served long enough. In the uppermost chain of political command, Jefferson Davis proved deficient in quelling the media outlets which railed against his decisions at nearly every turn. Davis gave deference to the right of free speech no matter how damaging it was. Donald then uses these points to highlight the Union Army and Lincoln administration’s successes. The North had the advantage of numerous immigrant conscripts who were used to being ordered around, so the pecking order was easily established from the beginning. In the political realm, Abraham Lincoln did not let Constitutional rights obstruct his goals; Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and threw defamatory journalists into prison. The Union thus had the unity it needed to achieve victory in the face of the South’s
The people of the North and South each believed fiercely in their cause, one for a free people the other for life servitude. Neither group, based on the documents presented were willing to budge regarding their beliefs. They North wanted to abolish slavery completely and the South could not understand why they had to give up their way of life because the concept was so ingrained in them as a people. The two completely different ideals could not co-exist peacefully and therefore the eventual climax of this issue, the war, was an inevitable
The Constitution does not explicitly give the president additional powers during times of emergency, but many people think that the framers of the Constitution implied these powers because the executive branch can respond faster than the legislative in times of crisis. Abraham Lincoln used the claim of emergency powers when he suspended the writ of habeas corpus without approval from Congress in 1862. In 1863, Congress passed the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act. This act gave the president power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, which allows prisoners to have their cases examined by a judge to determine if their detainment is lawful. Abraham Lincoln signed the
One of the first things that happened was that groups organized to intimidate people into going against Reconstruction. One such group was the Ku Klux Klan who went around anonymously to commit acts of atrocity to those who supported Reconstruction and equal rights for African Americas. Document 2 proves that they were totally against it; it says their purpose was to “establish a nucleus around which “the adherents of the late rebellion might safely rally”.” This just shows that they were not going to accept the reformation of the South and they wanted to find as many supporters as they could. As it is known, they threatened people at polls into voting for the groups that supported their views and that caused the elections to be swayed. Document 4 is another proof of the fact that some people refused to accept Reconstruction. “Let there be White Leagues formed in every town….time to meet brute-force with brute-force….it is time for us to organize.” These groups terrorized the people and made them afraid to show their...
Although, they didn’t favor emancipation, they were expecting slavery to die on its own over time. The border states that still held slavery, had many problems arise. A Union officer in Kentucky freed slaves, after a major victory. Many Union soldiers were upset and threw down their guns and disbanded. Lincoln had to intervene and unfree those slaves, because of fear of military backlash. The emancipation was very beneficial to the North, as it crippled the South’s production. They had very few slaves fighting for them, as they were now free. Still, the Emancipation Proclamation did great things for the North. Slaves that were held in rebellion states were now free people, which gave the Union more fighting support. As the freed slaves would join their cause to terminate slavery. With the Union’s victory of the war, it held to a stronger
A numerous amount of generals and soldiers of the south had a predisposed idea regarding what every person was fighting for, and from the looks of it, they were more so on the same page. When referring to what the war was being fought over, Englishmen Pickett used an analogy that gives reference to a “gentlemen’s club”, and not being able to maneuver out of it (Shaara 88). The men believed that the war conceived out of the misinterpretation of the constitution in regards to what or what not they had the right to do. In all, a large number of those fighting believed that the confederate army fought to protect the southern society, and slavery as an integral part of
The Young Reader's Companion to American History. Ed. John A. Garraty. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. 384+. Print.
For instance, if there were a terrorist in the United States planning to blow up a government building, but you could not suspend the writ of habeas corpus, it would take too long to make a case out of it, and there could have been a preventable tragedy. It could be easier to just have probable cause to keep them from harming anyone, but it defies everything our country was built on. President Lincoln had said, during his presidency, “the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the country may require it” (Source B). However, if a corrupted, but influential president in the legislative branch, decides to “go to war”, he could get away with many arrests that he could not have before they had “went to war”. Justice O’Connor believes in the suspension of the writ, as long as they are “given a meaningful opportunity to contest the factual basis for that detention” (Source E), meaning that they must have at least probable cause. Yet there could be many loophole opportunities in this, which is why the ability to suspend the writ Habeas Corpus should be