Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln's Opponents in the North (Signed)

Weber, Jennifer L. (Signed)

ISBN 10: 0195306686 / ISBN 13: 9780195306682

Published by Oxford University Press, 2006

About this Item

Hardcover with black cloth over boards, bronze lettering along spine. Black and bronze DJ with illustration across front cover. Corners, crown and foot of spine lightly bumped. DJ otherwise clean and unmarred. Title page dated 2006. Copyright page dated only 2006. Number line reads "1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2". xv + 286 pages. Includes foreword by James M. McPherson, variety of black and white illustrations throughout text. Former owner's name stamped on front attached endpaper, almost entirely covered by front flap. Pages otherwise clean and bright. Half title page inscribed "For Tim, with best wishes. Jennifer L. Weber" in dark marker. Binding neat and tight. Please email us with questions or to request photos.

Seller Inventory # 25-86

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln's Opponents in the North (Signed)
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195306686
• ISBN 13: 9780195306682
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

The Northern home-front during the Civil War was far from tranquil. Fierce political debates set communities on edge, spurred secret plots against the Union, and triggered widespread violence. At the heart of all this turmoil stood the anti-war Democrats, nicknamed "Copperheads."

Now, Jennifer L. Weber offers the first full-length portrait of this powerful faction to appear in almost half a century. Weber reveals how the Copperheads came perilously close to defeating Lincoln and ending the war in the South's favor. Indeed, by the summer of 1864, they had grown so strong that Lincoln himself thought his defeat was "exceedingly likely." Passionate defenders of civil liberties and states' rights--and often virulent racists--the Copperheads deplored Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus, his liberal interpretation of the Constitution, and, most vehemently, his moves toward emancipation. Weber reveals how the battle over these issues grew so heated that Northerners feared their neighbors would destroy their livestock, burn their homes, even kill them. And she illuminates the role of Union soldiers, who, furious at Copperhead attacks on the war effort, moved firmly behind Lincoln. The soldiers' support for the embattled president kept him alive politically in his darkest times, and their victories on the battlefield secured his re-election.

Packed with sharp observation and fresh interpretations, Copperheads is a gripping account of the fierce dissent that Lincoln called "the fire in the rear."

About the Author

Jennifer L. Weber was a newspaper journalist before becoming an academic historian. She is now Assistant Professor of History at the University of Kansas.