In 1863, especially in the Middle West, pacifist secret societies were formed.
They expressed their weariness of the war and their opposition to the prosecution of the conflict. These associations attracted the support of a minority of the population, declaring their unwillingness to subjugate the South by force of bayonets. That led to a formation of a sort of unofficial "Peace Party" , which found its leader in the former Democratic Congressman of Ohio Clement Vallandigham. They were nicknamed "Copperheads", like the eponymous poisonous reptile. The majority of the population harshly reacted
to such kind of outrageous defeatism and Vallandigham was expelled "manu militari" from the United States.
copperheads were Northern supporters of the Confederacy
The Peace Democrats wanted to end the Civil War as well as the draft. They sympathized with the South.
The majority of the democrats were on the side of the confederates during the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln was actually a republican. Believe it or not!!!
Clement L.Vallandigham
The Peace Democrats, later called the Copperheads. The leader was Clement L. Vallandigham.
Northern democrats who advocated peace in the south
copperheads
copperheads
copperheads were Northern supporters of the Confederacy
Almost as soon as the war broke out the democratic party was divided. The south was all for slavery and the north opposed it.
Democrats who opposed the American Civil War and sought a negotiated peace with the Confederate States. They were called "Copperheads" because copper was seen as a symbol of treachery. The Copperheads were mainly concentrated in the Midwest and had significant political influence during the war.
Many northern democrats felt that the war could be resolved through diplomatic means, and that the bloodshed had gone on too long.
The Republicans called the Peace Democrats "Copperheads" because they were comparing them to venomous snakes.
These members of the Democratic Party who were opposed to the war. They preferred a negotiated peace with the Confederacy. The are also known as 'copperheads'.
Copperheads, who were mostly Democrats. They just opposed the war, and not necessarily the issue of slavery.
•The "Copperheads" were Northern Democrats who opposed the war and called for reuniting the states through negotiation rather than force. They were called "Copperheads", after the poisonous snake, by the Republican opponents who favored war. This answer is completely incorrect. The Copperheads were northern Democrats alright, but they demanded peace at any cost, promoted and resisted the draft, encouraged the Union soldiers to desert, met with and accepted money from confederate agents, tried to assist confederate soldiers in taking over their prisons and escaping. The republicans did not favor war as the previous writer states, they favored keeping the union in one piece and that would entail war - big difference. No one favors war, it is just that some choose to run away from it, and others choose to defend what is right.
They were opposed to using force to keep the south in the Union.