THE CIVIL WAR AND THE COPPERHEADS

Cartoon in Ye Book Of Copperheads, 1863

Copperhead, also called Peace Democrat, was any citizen in the North who opposed the Civil War and advocated restoration of the Union through a negotiated settlement with the South. The New York Times used the word "Copperhead" on July 20, 1861, in reference to the snake that sneaks and strikes without warning.

Democrats accepted the label, re-interpreting the copper "head" as the likeness of Lady Liberty on the one cent coin.  It should be noted that although all "Copperheads" were Democrats, not all Democrats were "Copperheads."  Most northern Democrats were not Copperheads and Democratic supporters of the war were "War Democrats." Copperhead strength was mainly in the Midwest, where many families had Southern roots and where agricultural and rural interests resented the strength of industrialists in the Republican Party and the government.

In addition, groups opposed to conscription and emancipation: the Irish population in New York City, who feared that freed Southern blacks would come north and take their jobs, backed the Peace Democrats. Copperheads also found members in the ranks of those who objected to Lincoln’s repeal of some of their civil liberties. Most famously, he suspended the writ of habeas corpus, responding to riots and militia actions in border states by allowing the indefinite detention of "disloyal persons" without trial. And, there were those who simply wanted an end to the massive bloodshed.

In 1862 the Copperheads organized the Knights of the Golden Circle, which became the Order of American Knights and the Sons of Liberty. Although Republicans accused these groups of treasonable activities, there is little evidence to support it. Most Copperheads were active in politics and were more interested in defeating Republicans to keep the Democratic Party in power. 

Republican prosecutors accused some prominent Copperheads of treason in a series of trials.  On May 1, 1863, former Congressman Vallandigham declared the war was being fought not to save the Union, but to free the blacks and enslave southern whites. The army arrested him for declaring sympathy for the enemy. He was court-martialed by the Army and sentenced to imprisonment, but Lincoln commuted the sentence to banishment behind Confederate lines.

On the other hand, Copperheads were able to block important war legislation on the state and federal level. At the 1864 Democratic national convention, Copperheads gained control of the party platform and inserted a plank calling the war a failure and advocating immediate peace negotiations. Party presidential candidate George McClellan (US Army General) refused to accept the Copperhead peace plank. By the end of the war, the terms Democrat and Copperhead were virtually synonymous and the Democratic Party carried the stigma of disloyalty for decades after Appomattox.

Historians agree that the Copperheads goal of restoring the Union with slavery was naive and impractical.