The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1868-03-03
For the Spirlt.l
An Expose ofRadicalisnl.

l@s AN IApOsc VA kAhuACsatfSuhs
| RtR. EDITOR: In these times, when
the very existence Of free government, in
conradistinction to moneyed aristoc-
facy, seem almost to be threatened with
destruction; when those who love the
whole Union, after the manner in which
our fathers made it, have been, and are
still, in some quarters, looked upon as
having desire to repudiate the outstand-
ing Indebtedness of the National Gov
ernment, by the payment thereof in
greenbacks, we are apt to hear the advo-
Gates of the greenback measure, and par
ticularly those in favor Of allowing the
States lately in rebellion representation
in Congress, termed, in no polite phrase,
l"Copperheads, "Butternuts, TRAITORS.
Nav, Ipropose, with your permission,
to occupy short space in your columns,
to give my idea Of the origin, and also
the peryersion of the meaning of the
term "Copperhead" as applied to Demo
Gratis in this crisis of political affairs in
our once glorious, but now humbled and
distracted country.
The origin of the term "Jopperhead"
comes from the wearing by certain parties
Of the uncrowned head of the goddess
of liberty, enstamped on, and cut out Of,
the old copper cent, as remuneration Of
all kingly or sovereign authority, except
as founded in the whole people.
Now, it is well known that the prinoi-
| pal cause of the division Of the Demo
cratic party in 1860 was. the assertion
by the Southerners, that Congress had
sovereign authority to interfere to pro-
tect the institution Of slavery in the Ter
|riteries and.in so far as the question of
sovereignty was concerned the Republicans
at the Chicago convention insisted that
congress has sovereign power to inter-
fere to preventslavery in the Territories. "
Both of which assertions I deny. (And
any man who is worthy Of being an Amer
lean citizen should deny it also) Both
of these sectional parties robbing the
people of sovereignty, and comforting it
on Congress the first has been decided
invalid by the terrible arbitrament of
war; the second, true to the teachings of
the Chicago platform, has assumed die
tatorial form, in robbing the Chief Mag.
istrate of his Constitutional rights in
connection with the remova! of unfaithful
officers, and supplying their place with
more suitable men; in circumscribing the
veto power bv attempted intimidation in
the form of threatened impeachment; in
making Gen. Grant COMMANDMENTS Chief
of the Army, irremovable, and making
him military despot, unimpeachable,
and not amenable to any power on earth
for misconduct in Office, oppression, or
tyranny, how great soever the crime may
be; by giving him despotic control of ten
States of this Union, which failed by
war to getout of it, but have been kicked
out by a wicked, usurping, and unconsti-
tutional Congress; and finally degrading
the Supreme Court, SO as to secure to
Congress the control Of the Judicial De-
partment of the government; in fact, as
well as in form, assuring sovereign power
in all things as much as any absolute
despotin any oe the rotten monarehies
of the old World, aud all thisin the name
of Liberty and Republicanism! When
We behold these things We are constrained
to exclaim with Madam Roland, "Oh,
Liberty, hoau many crimes are committed
IN thy nanae!"
1t will be seen from the foregoing, that
the rebels and the present Republican par.
ty were in perfectharmony in respectto the
Capitalization Of. sovereignty in Congress
whilst the present Democratic Copper
head party maintain the doctrine of SOW
ereignty in the people, or snaore familiar
ly, popular Sovereignty" hence the at
tempt to degrade the Democracy by call
ing them "copperheads, &c.. when they
are in fact, the only party which believes
in the supremacy of the people, thereby
making the officers their servants, instead
Of their masters, as is now the Republi-
can practice, that they may grind down
the working classes and make them slaves
to high taxes, levied and collected for the
ben eft of tax exempted bondholders and
bankers, who are now holding high car
niyal at the peoples expense; but who
will wake up some of these days with
their bonds paid in greenbacks and their
banks wiped out.
Of the4erms "Butternuts,' Traitors
let those who have read the history of
the rebellion, who have seen the Csnstitu-
tion violated by the Republicans, and have
heard the pleadings Of the Democracy
for its preservation in purity, answer
these infamously slanderous epithets, by
voting. the .defamers of pure men and
wholesome laws to an oblivion as endu-
ring as their condemnation is just.
$500 Us.