"Copperheadism" in the Middle West: an analysis

Abstract

Wars, throughout the history of the United States, have had their detractors. Each war, in this nation which provides for the right to dissent, has been criticized by contemporaries for its leadership, its purpose, its failure to provide a purpose, its strategy, its length, alleged political or economic motives behind it--for any or all of these factors. One third of the colonists are believed to have been Tories during the Revolutionary War--and one third neutral in their beliefs. During the French Naval War the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed as a result of pro-French feeling in the land. New Englanders--referred to as "Blue Lights" for their alleged practice of passing signals to the enemy--threatened secession when they dis- agreed to the continuance of the War of 1812.