Glossary

Anaconda Plan

General Winfield Scott proposed this overall strategic design for winning the war by blockading southern ports, splitting the Confederacy by controlling the Mississippi River, and placing Union armies at key points. Lincoln accepted the first two parts of the plan but insisted on a more aggressive posture for Union armies.

Conscription Act

The Confederate Congress enacted the first draft law in American history in 1862 because of declining enlistments. The act was resisted by Southerners who claimed it violated states' rights, a political philosophy that was at odds with the Confederate need for effective, centralized military planning.

Constitutional Unionists

During the election of 1860, a new but short-lived party called the Constitutional Unionists emerged. This coalition of former Whigs, Know Nothings, and Union Democrats nominated John Bell of Tennessee for president.

Copperheads

Peace Democrats who favored negotiating an end to the war and letting the South leave the Union were called "Copperheads" by their detractors.

Ex parte Merryman

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney declared that Lincoln had exceeded his authority by suspending the writ of habeas corpus and jailing advocates of secession in Maryland. Taney claimed that only Congress had the authority to suspend writs of habeas corpus in times of rebellion. Lincoln ignored the ruling.

Fire-eaters

In 1860 southern extremists such as William Yancey were known as "Fire-eaters" who threatened to leave the Democratic party convention unless the party defended their right to hold slaves and nominated a Southerner for president. When the convention rejected an extreme proslavery platform, delegates from eight southern states walked out.

Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1863) was the bloodiest engagement of the war, with combined casualties of over 50,000. It was a decisive battle because southern generals never again had sufficient troops to invade the North.

greenbacks

To finance the war effort the Union approved an income tax, borrowed heavily, and also issued "greenbacks", a fiat currency that had no backing in gold or silver. They held their value better than Confederate fiat currency because of slowly growing confidence in the Union war effort.

Homestead Act

Passed by the Republican-dominated Congress in 1862, this act granted 160 acres free to individuals who agreed to farm that land for at least five years. It was part of the Union effort to sustain wartime prosperity.

Merrimack

The U.S. naval vessel Merrimack was covered with iron plates and fitted with a huge ram in an unsuccessful attempt to break the Union blockade.

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