Copperhead isolationists

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copperhead_(politics)

The Copperheads were a vocal group of Democrats located in the Northern United States of the Union who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. Republicans started calling antiwar Democrats "Copperheads", likening them to the venomous snake. The Peace Democrats accepted the label, reinterpreting the copper "head" as the likeness of Liberty, which they cut from copper pennies and proudly wore as badges. 

They comprised the more extreme wing of the "Peace Democrats" and were often informally called "Butternuts" (for the color of the Confederate uniforms). The most famous Copperhead was Ohio's Clement L. Vallandigham, a Congressman and leader of the Democratic Party. Republican prosecutors accused some leaders of treason in a series of trials in 1864. 

Copperheadism was a highly contentious, grassroots movement, strongest in the area just north of the Ohio River, as well as some urban ethnic wards. Some historians have argued it represented a traditionalistic element alarmed at the rapid modernization of society sponsored by the Republican Party, and looked back to Jacksonian Democracy for inspiration. Weber (2006) argues that the Copperheads damaged the Union war effort by fighting the draft, encouraging desertion, and forming conspiracies, but other historians say the draft was in disrepute and that the Republicans greatly exaggerated the conspiracies for partisan reasons. 

Some historians argue the Copperheads' goal of negotiating a peace and restoring the Union with slavery was naive and impractical, for the Confederates refused to consider giving up their independence.[citation needed] Copperheadism was a major issue in the 1864 presidential election; its strength increased when Union armies were doing poorly, and decreased when they won great victories. After the fall of Atlanta in September 1864, military success seemed assured, and Copperheadism collapsed.

When the Fight Came Home: In ‘Copperhead,’ Opposing the Civil War Brings Trouble by Neil Genzlinger

It was, apparently, a war to end all subtlety. Ron Maxwell, director of the Civil War drama “Copperhead,” renders everything in capital letters in this story of dissent and repression on the home front. Though the tale, based on a novel by Harold Frederic, remains relevant to our time, the film is too self-conscious and tedious for the message it delivers. 

Billy Campbell is Abner Beech, a New York dairy farmer who was no fan of slavery but was opposed to the war —a Copperhead, in the political labeling of the day. An overzealous antislavery firebrand (Angus Macfadyen) turns the town against him, and principles of free speech and the right to dissent are put to the test. 

Abner’s son (Casey Thomas Brown) falls for the daughter of his father’s tormentor (Lucy Boynton) and enlists to impress her. Practically every scene runs too long, as if intent on documenting exactly how a country dance was done or a courtship conducted, and an oppressive musical score makes sure you don’t miss a single emotion or point.