Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1867-10-17
REACTIONS HISTORICALLY
CONSIDERED.


The Republican party has experienced
reactions" before This is a very mid
and light visitation to that which il endured
in 1869. 1t was struck with blast that
year which its opponents claim:d would
send it TO the bottom, but it quickly right
eel up and sailed triumphantly into port.
Did the mighty reaction" of that year
stop the war, or change the purpose of the
Republicans to emancipate the slaves and
enlist them as soldiers in the army? That
was the issue The great work Of enamel
patton was not by any means as far al
vanced when the elections Of go were held
as the work OF reconstruction is now. II
was the fall when new Congress was to
be elected. The object Of the Copperhesds
emancipation proclamation; they argued
the un cons,itutionality Of it, and drew dis
NAL pictures OF the ..war of races" which
must cnsus and of the wholesale butchcry
of innocent white women and children by
savage, ignorant niggers that inevitably
would result from that incendiary abolition
decree" The independent floaters" were
prodigiously alarmed by these evil prog
nostications, and frightened at the blood
shed and discouraged by the defeats sus-
tanned by Mcclellan, Buell., and other con-
servative Democratic Generals, and so bad
ly were these timid souls scared that they
bolted their party and voted the Copper
head ticket.
Just recall the result of that years cleo
ton:
Maine gave but COPS Republican major
ity. and one Copperhead was elected to
Congress.
III > -
majority for Governor, and elected one
Democrat TO Congress.
New York went Copperhead on the State
ticket by 1888, elccting Seymour Gov
ernOr, and seventeen members OF Congress
ofthe same ilk against only fourteen Re
publicans.
Pennsylvania went Copperhead by 1921,
and elected thirteen Copperheads to Con
gress. against eleven Republicans.
NV Jersey voted the same way by Il,
to Congress to one Republican.
Ohio went Copperhead by 5,777, and
elected fourteen COpperhead Congressman
against five Republicans.
Indiana went Copperhead by 9,543, and
elected seven Copperheads against four
Republicans.
Illinois went Coppcrhead by 1856, and
elected nins Copperheads to five Rspubli
cans.
In Michigan the Republican majority
was cut down to G,6lt, and one Congress
man lost.
Wisconsin went Copperhead liz votes,
and elected three Copperhead Congressman
against three Republicans.
The Coppcrhead organs and demagogues
were perfectly wild over these tremendous
''gains" and popular revolutions" But
what benefit did they derive from them?
Were they able TO stop the war, or arrest
emancipation, or prevent the employment
of negroes as soldiers, or revoke the habeas
corpus suspension, or restore the Conser-
vstivc Generals TO the command OF the ar
mics, or to stop volunteering? No, not
one of them. The war was prosecuted
with more energy than before. Emancipa-
ton was perfected, and black soldiers were
enlisted; the draf: was enforced, and the
reasonable Copperhcads were arrested and
put into Forts Warren and Lafayette. At
the subsequent Presidential election there
was 2 swing back of the politicalpendlum,
and the Copperhead party were crushingly
defeated Every State which was lost In
1862 was recovered i'm 1864, except New
JERSEY
The so called reaction of this fall is no
more to he compared to that of 1862 than
fresh breeze with hurricane which
prostrates everything in its march.