Civil War-Era Democrats and President Abraham Lincoln: Two Assessments of Loyal Opposition in Wartime

In: http://hdl.handle.net/1805/20017

Abstract

A review essay of two recent books on political opposition in the North during the American Civil War finds historians have not adequately researched the Democratic opposition to the Lincoln administration. Historians must focus their attention on the words and actions of the rank-and-file membership of the Democratic Party to understand why they took violent measures to oppose the Republican government across the North.