Browse all Entries, Images, Videos, and Audio Files in the Civil War Politics topic.
Order of American Knights
Numerous Northerners opposed the Civil War. Most opponents usually utilized peaceful forms of protest to object to the war and referred to themselves as Peace Democrats, while their opponents nicknamed them Copperheads after the venomous snake. There were numerous reasons why the Peace Democrats opposed the Union war effort. During the American Civil War, the…
Peace Democrats
A majority of Northerners supported the Union war effort, yet a sizable and vocal minority opposed the conflict. Most of the opponents, the Copperheads, preferred a peaceful resolution to the war, with some of these people even calling on the North simply to leave the seceded Confederate states alone. During the American Civil War, people…
President Lincoln’s Executive Order Prohibiting Citizens Liable for the Draft from Leaving the United States, and Suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus
August 8, 1862 On August 8, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued an executive order prohibiting citizens liable for the draft from leaving the United States, and suspending the writ of habeas corpus for persons arrested for disloyal practices. WAR DEPARTMENT, By direction of the President of the United States, it is hereby ordered that until…
Price-Harney Agreement (Transcript)
May 21, 1861 Concluded on May 21, 1861, the Price-Harney Agreement was an unsuccessful attempt to maintain peace in Missouri at the onset of the American Civil War. SAINT LOUIS, May 21, 1861. The undersigned, officers of the United States Government and of the government of the State of Missouri, for the purpose of removing…
Relief Law
1864 Upon becoming Ohio's twenty-sixth governor on January 11, 1864, John Brough sought to aid the Union war effort. He succeeded in enacting a two mills property tax to support soldiers' families. Upon becoming Ohio's twenty-sixth governor on January 11, 1864, John Brough sought to aid the Union war effort. He succeeded in enacting a…
Robert Cumming Schenck
October 4, 1809 – March 23, 1890 Robert Cumming Schenck was an eight-time United States Congressman from Ohio and a major general in the Union army during the American Civil War. Robert Cumming Schenck was born in Franklin, Ohio, in Warren County, on October 4, 1809. He was the son of Elizabeth Rogers Schenck and…
Samuel Medary
February 25, 1801 – November 7, 1864 Samuel Medary was a prominent Ohio newspaper publisher. During the American Civil War, his newspaper, the Crisis, was a nationally prominent voice for Peace Democrats. Samuel Medary was born on February 25, 1801, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. His father, Jacob Medary, was a tenant farmer of Welsh descent.…
Samuel Sullivan Cox
September 30, 1824 – September 10, 1889 Samuel Cox was a prominent lawyer, newspaper editor, and Peace Democrat who represented Ohio and, later, New York in Congress. Samuel Sullivan Cox was born on September 30, 1824, at Zanesville, Ohio. He was the grandson of Revolutionary War General James Cox. Cox was the second son of…
Tenure of Office Act
March 2, 1867 Following President Abraham Lincoln's death on April 15, 1865, Vice President Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency. Johnson chose to keep Edwin McMasters Stanton as Secretary of War. Following President Abraham Lincoln's death on April 15, 1865, Vice President Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency. Johnson chose to keep Edwin McMasters Stanton as Secretary…
Thomas Corwin
July 29, 1794 – December 18, 1865 Long-time Ohio politician Thomas Corwin sponsored the Corwin Amendment in the U.S, House of Representatives in 1861 as an eleventh-hour attempt to avert the American Civil War. Thomas Corwin was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky on July 29, 1794. He was one of six children of Matthias and…