Knights of the Golden Circle

1398 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Lincoln's views on slavery

In 1854, a medical practitioner of ambiguous credentials, George W. L. Bickley, founded the Knights of the Golden Circle. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Golden Circle was complete with passwords, quasi-Masonic rituals, secret signs and symbols. The Knights of the Golden Circle (later called the Order of the American Knights and, by February 1864, the Sons of Liberty) (Bruce Tap, Over Lincoln Shoulder, 73) quickly hatched lodges throughout Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. To identify themselves, members wore the head of Liberty cut out from the old-style copper pennies. (Tap, 74) Affectionately, their enemies called them Copperheads, a reference to the venomous snake.

Although there were many, it is arguable that the antiwar Copperheads rallied the most passionate around one leader, Clement Vallandigham. Born on July 29th, 1820 in New Lisbon, Ohio, Vallandigham was a brilliant individual, whose young mind at age two knew the alphabet, at twelve, spoke Greek and Latin, and who entered Jefferson College in Philadelphia at the age of seventeen. At nineteen, Clement Vallandigham became principle at Union Academy in Maryland, and at twenty was editor of an extremist Democratic newspaper. (Tap, 6)

Later in life, Vallandigham gained the reputation in Ohio as an unbeatable, eccentric, defense attorney. After a term as governor of Ohio, Vallandigham was elected to congress with the platform of anti-Abolitionist Democrat, advocating Confederate Independence and denouncing emancipation, but was defeated in 1862. (Chandra Manning, What This Cruel War Was Over, 99) In his last speech before Congress, Vallandigham urged his countrymen to stop fighting. (Roger L. Ranson, The Confederate States of America: What Mi...

... middle of paper ...

...nited States. (Ranson, 160) Lincoln’s reputation however won by over 400,000 popular votes and easily confirmed an electoral majority. Several states now allowed their soldier citizens to cast a ballot, a first in United States history. Soldiers in the army gave Lincoln over than 70% of their votes. (Manning, 148)

Meanwhile, as the list of dead and wounded hit northern newspapers, Vallandigham returned from Canadian exile to attend a convention condemning this “unnecessary war” and adopting resolutions in favor of an “immediate cessation of hostilities” and a negotiated peace. (Manning, 149) Once again up to his old tricks, Vallandigham would later disguise himself by stuffing a pillow under his shirt and donning a false mustache just in time to denounce Lincoln publically in the 1864 presidential election, where at which Lincoln will ignore him. (Dickson, 316)

Show More
Related

  • Book Analysis of Stephen W. Sears’ Landscape Turned Red

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sears’ thesis is the Union could have won the war faster. McClellan was an incompetent commander and to take the initiative to attack an defeat the Confederate army. The Army of Northern Virginia, under...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Apostles Of Disunion

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    In, “Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War,” Charles B. Dew analyzes the public letters and speeches of white, southern commissioners in order to successfully prove that the Civil War was fought over slavery. By analyzing the public letters and speeches, Dew offers a compelling argument proving that slavery along with the ideology of white supremacy were primary causes of the Civil War. Dew is not only the Ephraim Williams Professor of American History at Williams College, but he is also a successful author who has received various awards including the Elloit Rudwick Prize and the Fletcher Pratt Award. In fact, two of Dew’s books, Tredegar Iron Works and Apostles of Disunion and Ironmaker to

    Read More

  • Lincoln's Suspension Of Habeas Corpus Analysis

    1451 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American Civil War not only proved to be the country’s deadliest war but also precipitated one of the greatest constitutional crises in the history of the United States. President Lincoln is revered by many Americans today as a man of great moral principle who was responsible for both preventing the Union’s dissolution as well as helping to trigger the movement to abolish slavery. In retrospect, modern historians find it difficult to question the legitimacy of Lincoln’s actions as President. A more precise review of President Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War, however, reveals that many, if not the majority, of his actions were far from legitimate on constitutional and legal grounds. Moreover, his true political motives reveal his

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass and Martin Delaney

    6401 Words  | 13 Pages

    I began the research for this paper looking to write about Frederick Douglass’ drive to start his abolitionist paper The North Star. What I then found in my research was the writings of a man I had never before heard of, Martin R. Delaney. Delaney and Douglass were co-editors of the paper for its first four years, therefore partners in the abolitionist battle. Yet I found that despite this partnership these men actually held many differing opinions that ultimately drove them apart.

    Read More

  • "The New View of Reconstruction"

    315 Words  | 1 Pages

    People attending schools before 1960’s were learning about certain “unscrupulous carpetbaggers”, “traitorous scalawags”, and the “Radical Republicans”(223). According to the historians before the event of 1960’s revision, these people are the reason that the “white community of South banded together to overthrow these “black” governments and restore home rule”(223). While this might have been true if it was not for the fact that the “carpetbaggers were former Union soldiers”, “Scalawags… emerged as “Old Line” Whig Unionists”(227). Eric Foner wrote the lines in his thesis “The New View of Reconstruction” to show us how completely of target the historians before the 1960’s revision were in their beliefs.

    Read More

  • Election of Lincoln and Civil War

    1277 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Lincoln won the 1860 election it was not by a majority vote. As stated by the historian Neville he in fact won less than 40 percent of popular votes. However because the American election system is based on the college votes system (where each state is worth a certain number of points and if a candidate wins the majority of votes in that state he wins all the points for that state, regardless of how much he wins by. To win the entire election a candidate must win the most amount of points) he was able to win the election with a minority of votes. Lincoln won all the states in the north and in the west which, because of their high population, were worth the most points.

    Read More

  • warriors of god

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    Warriors of God by James Reston Jr. is a non-fictional view of the third crusade. This particular crusade spanned from 1187-1192, containing many gruesome battles and a lot of intense moments between Islam and Christianity. Reston supplies the reader with a little background to the third Crusade when he talks about the first Crusades happening since 1095. Reston gives a fairly impartial view of this holy war. He discusses the battles, politics, and emotions of the Crusade as an outside party and if he takes any side at all it is with the Muslims. He often speaks badly of King Richard and he speaks well of Saladin, the sultan. He portrays Richard as a greedy, anti-Semite, who is intolerable of other religions, while he shows Saladin as tolerant to the Jews, reasonable, and an overall good leader. Reston wrote this book mostly to inform readers about the third Crusade but also to add some of his own insights. His thesis was a little unclear but he stated that the Crusades were the most violent event in history all the way up to Hitler’s rein. Reston did a good job in proving this when he told of battles and then analyzed them. He told of a time when King Richard had twenty thousand Muslims executed and when Saladin had Reginald of Chatillon beheaded along with many other Christian prisoners.

    Read More

  • The Rule of Huayna Capac

    864 Words  | 2 Pages

    Del Testa, David W., Florence Lemoine, and John Strickland. Government Leaders, Military Rulers, and Political Activists. Westport, Conn: Oryx Press, 2001. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost (accessed November 10, 2013).

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Irrepressible Conflict Between The North And South

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    The turmoil between the North and South about slavery brought many issues to light. People from their respective regions would argue whether it was a moral institution and that no matter what, a decision on the topic had to be made that would bring the country to an agreement once and for all. This paper discusses the irrepressible conflict William H. Seward mentions, several politician’s different views on why they could or could not co-exist, and also discusses the possible war as a result.

    Read More

  • The Era of Good Feelings

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... secretary of state. The southern states, who were Jacksonian supporters, were subsequently outraged and furious. They claimed it was unfair and classified it as “corrupt”. This drove a greater wedge between the southern states and the northern states, who had favored Adams. This political event epitomized sectionalism and discredits the notion that this time was an “Era of Good Feelings”.

    Read More

  • John Wilkes Booth

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    Without any question, most people have a very clear and distinct picture of John Wilkes Booth a in their minds. It is April 1865, the night president Lincoln decides to take a much-needed night off, to attend a stage play. Before anyone knows it a lunatic third-rate actor creeps into Lincoln's box at Ford's theater and kills the president. Leaping to the stage, he runs past a confused audience and flees into the night, only to suffer a coward’s death Selma asset some two weeks later. From the very moment that Booth pulled the trigger, the victors of the Civil War had a new enemy on their hands, and a good concept of whom they were dealing with. A close examination of the facts, however, paint a different view of Booth, a picture that is far less black and white, but a picture with many shades of gray.

    Read More

  • How Did Abraham Lincoln Cause The Civil War

    427 Words  | 1 Pages

    However some people say he was the main cause of the civil war. What made the election unusual in so many ways was that really important southern Democrats actually wanted their party to lose (kim 1). So it would be a perfect excuse for them to leave the union. Apparently on the night of election day, when Charleston heard that Lincoln had won the election there were few

    Read More

  • The Knight's Templars

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Templars are still said to be in existence today. The Templars that escaped capture probably went underground. The Templars are said to exist under a different name. Freemasonry today shows similarities of the Knights Templars. Christopher Columbus sailed the seas with the Templar insignia on his sails. The skull and crossbones of pirates is another Templar symbol. Lacking in supplies, they turned to theft of other ships for survival. It is a true mystery as to weather the Templars possessed great relics, but the conspiracy was the cause of their downfall.

    Read More

  • The Beliefs of Locke and Newton, Inspired Jonathan Edwards

    1493 Words  | 3 Pages

    Minkema, Kenneth P., Stout, Harry S.. "The Edwardsean Tradition and the Antislavery Debate, 1740-1865." Journal of American History 1(2005):47. eLibrary. Web. 17 Jan. 2012.

    Read More

  • Knights In The Middle Ages

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    The earliest knights where not more than a contracted soldier. After the fall of the Roman Empire in Europe, Europe was in chaos. Wealthy lords would try to win over young men trained in battle by giving them money or war reparations. As the middle ages went on, the lords began to give land to the knights to pay for their loyalty and to give them income other than from war. Knight began to treat this land, and thus, their position as hereditary, and soon knights became a part of the upper class in the middle ages. Knights soon found themselves part of local politics, justice, and the upper class society of the Middle Ages. By the end of the middle ages, knights where a very powerful social class; not just free-lance soldiers.

    Read More

More about Knights of the Golden Circle

Open Document