“I Felt a Little Rebellious”: Copperhead Politics through the Eyes of a University of Michigan Law Student

Gideon Winan Allen left the University of Wisconsin in 1862 to begin his studies in the law school at the University of Michigan. His girlfriend remained in Madison and the two young adults thus commenced a vibrant and emotional correspondence that serves as the main source for this paper. In their letters, they discussed their feelings toward each other, the events of the Civil War, happenings in their respective towns, and, with incredible intensity, politics. Annie Cox, the object of Allen’s affection, was a devout abolitionist and Republican while her betrothed pledged his loyalty to the Democrats and eventually proudly called himself a Copperhead. Their political disagreements revealed the degree to which northerners on the home front invested themselves in these opposing political camps during the war. Examining this discourse helps us to explore how young men who did not go to war perceived themselves during this national conflict. We can also better grasp how and why northerners faced such challenges to their unity during the war and how those Americans who viewed the war from the home front established their own ways of contributing to the national crisis.

This paper will examine the nature of the political discourse between this young student, his beloved, and his classmates during a civil war that placed him diametrically opposed to the surrounding political majorities.  As Allen consciously avoided military service by spending the war years obtaining a higher education, he also responded to the national situation by crystallizing his political ideology. This paper will use the example of Allen and his experience as a Copperhead to examine larger questions regarding the nature of loyalty among youth who chose not to participate in the war effort and as an opportunity to offer thoughts regarding the experience of those on the Midwestern home front.