I been thinking about posting a bestiary -- that is, an I.F.F. dictionary of politically active names related to Civil War politics.
In no particular sequence, here's what I have so far (mostly quoted from Wiki):
- Fire Eaters: an easily provoked, belligerent person.
in U.S. History: an early and extreme Southern advocate of secession before the Civil War."Wigfall, for one, actively encouraged an attack on Fort Sumter to prompt Virginia and other upper Southern States to secede as well.
Thus, the Fire-Eaters helped to unleash a chain reaction that eventually led to the formation of the Confederate States of America and to the American Civil War.
Their influence waned quickly after the start of major fighting." - The Slave Power: (often called the "Slaveocracy") was a term used in the United States ca. 1840-1865 to denounce the political power of the slaveholding class in the South.
The argument was that this small group of rich men had seized political control of their own states and was trying to take over the national government in illegitimate fashion to use it to expand and protect slavery.
Massachusetts, Wooster Republican, February 2, 1859 (Reproduction):
- Dough face: 1. a Northerner who sympathized with the South during the controversies over new territories and slavery before the Civil War.
2. a congressman from a northern state not opposed to slavery in the South. - Bucktails: A New York political machine first formed by the Tammany Society, later controlled by future President Martin Van Buren.
Van Buren first expressed the winning Democrat strategy of nominating for president, "Northern men of Southern principles," (aka Dough Faces).
He was the first, President James Buchanan was the last. - Wide Awakes: In 1856, across the North, the new Republican party organized young men's marching clubs called "Rocky Mountain Clubs", "Wide Awakes", "Freedom Clubs", and "Bear Clubs"
The term "Wide Awakes" became popular in the 1860 campaign.
In Chicago on October 3, 1860, 10,000 Wide Awakes marched in a three-mile procession.
- Young Hickories: Similar organizations affiliated with the Democratic Party were called the "Douglas Invincibles", "Young Hickories" or "Earthquakes".
- Douglas Invincibles: Loosely organized political clubs sprang up in numerous towns and cities across the nation during the 1850s.
They adopted names like the Fremont “Bears,” the Douglas “Invincibles,” and the Lincoln “Rail Maulers” and “Wide-Awakes.” - Minute Men: Southern organizations were called the "Minute Men".
- Copperheads: A vocal group of Democrats located in the Northern United States of the Union who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates.
Republicans started calling anti-war Democrats "Copperheads," likening them to the venomous snake.
The Peace Democrats accepted the label, but for them the copper "head" was the likeness of Liberty, which they cut from copper pennies and proudly wore as badges.
After the fall of Atlanta in September 1864 military success seemed assured, and Copperheadism collapsed.Copperhead 1864 pamphlet, USA, mocking President Abraham Lincoln.
Does anyone know more names to add to the list?