Copperheads: The Rise and Fall

¶ … Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln's Opponents in the North by jennifer L. weber

Most of the general public has limited information regarding the degree to which Americans in the North were reluctant to support the Civil War. Rrecent warfare conducted by the U.S. is largely blamed for its lack of efficiency and for the fact that the country puts across irresponsibility through its intervention in foreign affairs. People today tend to believe that most wars in which the U.S. got engaged in before the twentieth century were largely accepted by the masses. Jennifer L. Weber's book "Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln's Opponents in the North" goes at proving that the Civil War was indeed hated by many individuals in the North, even with the fact that they were wrong in their enterprise.

One of the main reasons for which many people in the North did not want the Civil War to happen was before of its very character, given that such a conflict would force them to fight against their relatives. Although any form of warfare is dreadful, civil war is particularly disastrous because armies are close to each-other and borders are not specifically defined. State lines are not the subject of division during civil war, with homes and communities being separated by an invisible line. The Copperhead movement was among the most passionate groups in the North to stand against Lincoln's decision to go to war.

The term Copperheads was apparently coined by Republicans, who associated the behavior of anti-war Democrats to that of poisonous snake. In spite of the obvious rudeness put across by Republicans, the Peace Democrats did not express their disapproval regarding the name and they actually used it for their own benefit. The idiom became well-known in 1862, as the anti-war Democrats came to identify themselves with it and actually seemed to enjoy it. Civil War contemporaries connected the term to the penny, which had Lady Liberty printed on one side, apparently being a reference to how anti-war Democrats were intensely involved in protecting their constitutional rights.

In Weber's opinion, Copperheads were mainly formed through the merging of three distinct groups in the North. Firstly, individuals who either emigrated from the south or had roots in the territory did not favor a conflict knowing that they would have to fight their own people. Secondly, those who had just arrived on the American continent, such as the Germans and the Irish, were against a Civil War because they did not relate to the cause and felt that it would be absurd for them to support a war that had nothing to do with them personally. Thirdly there were those who believed in a "strict constitutional constructionism" (Weber, 18), thinking that Republicans were not interested in reforming the social and economic condition of the Union, but that they actually wanted to abuse power in the government and thus pressure the concept of liberty. Most anti-war Democrats felt connected to this third group, with their theories being based on ideas expressed by Jefferson and Jackson almost a century and respectively five decades earlier.

Weber underlines that the Copperheads did indeed pose a threat to the Union, regardless of the fact that most people considered the group to be innocent in character. In order to support her belief, the writer related to the violent riots and incidents that were produced as a result of the Copperheads promoting their values across the North. The Copperheads supported the concept that it was absolutely natural for the underprivileged to be exploited, regardless if they were inferior because of their skin color or because of their social status. With the Copperheads putting across messages relating to how Republicans could directly threaten the lower classes by generating an influx of black laborers from the South, simple workers were influenced in rebelling against their government and against everyone they considered to be responsible for their disadvantaged status.

Weber stresses the significance of the army in reducing the influence that the Copperheads had in the North. In spite of the fact that the soldiers themselves were not very passionate about going to war, they did not support Peace Democrats because the faction was against the Union's principles. The military was apparently largely responsible for the fact that the masses did not appreciate Copperheads.

The Copperhead were ardent racists and this also reduced their influence in the North, as in spite of the fact that they were determined to have the public's interest directed at preventing black individuals from becoming equals, they were met with little support. The party went as far as calling Lincoln a dictator and insinuating that he virtually imposed his power over the Confederates, who were seemingly interested in defending the regulations set by the Constitution. A great deal of Unionists was apparently inclined to believe that Lincoln was actually devoted to disregard constitutional laws.

Copperheads were both supported and rejected by the public, depending mostly on the warfare conducted by the Union. The masses would thus defend Copperheads when the Union was losing and do the opposite when it won battles. Peace Democrats lobbied so as for the government to put an end to the war, motivating their act through claiming that Republicans were merely interested in expanding their sphere of influence and that this lead to the death of numerous young people. In the opinion of most Copperheads, the Union could never win the war and it was thus hopelessly to support it.

When all seemed lost for Lincoln as the Union proved to be unsuccessful in conducting warfare and the presidential elections appeared to favor anyone else but him, the conquering of Atlanta turned the odds to the Republicans. Weber offers a through narrative account regarding how the general public immediately turned its attention from the Copperheads and passionately put across its affection toward Lincoln. The Copperhead movement was humiliated by Lincoln's success as a president and as a leader of a moral war.