"Free Pass... Constitutional Purifying Association" by COPPERHEADS - 1864

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015-10-03. Paperback. Used:Good.

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015-10-03. Paperback. Used: Good.

New Hampshire: Printer Unknown, 1863. First Edition. Printed broadside, 16 ½ x 11 ½ inches, archivally mounted and matted. A very good copy with some light toning, small closed tear at upper margin, light foxing at upper margin, very tiny spot of loss to illustration at fold. Franklin Pierce remained politically active upon his return to New Hampshire following his presidency, advocating for the Democratic cause and generally opposing the Civil War and Lincoln's policies. This scarce pro-Union anti-slavery broadside, printed for the 1863 New Hampshire elections which happened March 12, takes aim at Pierce and his fellow Democrats, repeating the unfounded claim first made in 1862 by William Seward that Pierce belonged to the secret Knights of the Golden Circle, the secret society formed with the goal of forming a new territory out of the CSA, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. There was never evidence that Pierce had any involvement in the KGC, though the society had members in southern… Read More

[New York: Currier & Ives, 1864. Lithograph broadside, oblong 12-1/4" x 13-1/2" [image]. Fine, in a wood frame. "This biting political caricature responds to a presidential campaign held during the American Civil War. A "Copperhead" is surrounded by a "Blunderhead," a "Sorehead," a "Blockhead" and a "Wronghead," with broken shackles below. Behind the group "McClellan's Letter," "Chicago Platform," and "London Times" are depicted. "The image criticizes a Northern political faction active 1861-64 known as the Copperheads, whose members favored the Union but opposed Lincoln and the Civil War. The print responds to McClellan's nomination as Democratic candidate for president, and attempts to reconcile his military service with the party's peace platform. Currier & Ives name does not appear on the print, but scholars of Civil War era satires linked it to the firm" [online site, Metropolitan Museum of Art]. The Copperhead at the center is Horatio Seymour, Governor of New York, a leading opponent of the… Read More

[Philadelphia?, 1864. Lithograph broadside, 12-3/4" x 13-1/2." Signed Harley Del. in small letters at the lower left of the cartoon. A few spots at the blank upper margin, mounting remnants on the verso. Very Good. "An emotionally charged condemnation of the Copperheads or Peace Democrats and their support of reconciliation with the Confederacy. In a scene at a polling place an old man (right) is approached by a "Copperhead" vote distributor, who thrusts a ticket at him, saying, "Here is an old Jackson Democrat who always votes a straight ticket." The older man angrily replies, "I despise you more than I hate the rebel who sent his bullet through my dead son's heart! You miserable creature! Do you expect me to dishonor my poor boy's memory, and vote for men who charges American soldiers, fighting for their country, with being hirelings and murderers?" A bespectacled man watches the scene from behind the ballot box. "The narration and dialogue for the episode are provided in the lower margin"… Read More