The Role of Media in the American Civil War

Home , Battle of Fort Sumter

Masaryk University

Faculty of Education

Department of English Language and Literature

Bachelor Thesis

Brno 2014

Supervisor: Author:

Michael George, M.A. Kristina Půdová

I proclaim that this bachelor thesis is my individual work and that I used only the sources cited in the bibliography.

Brno, April 2013 Kristina Půdová

I would like to express my genuine gratitude to my supervisor Mr. Michael George, A.M. for his valuable advice, essential materials and also for his very kind approach.

Annotation

This thesis examines the power of information in the American Civil War. People, whose grandfathers were fighting side by side in the War of Independence, were suddenly mortal enemies willing to lay down lives for their cause. The thesis illustrates the period through the eyes of chosen newspapers. The aim of this work is to study the general mood in both Southern and Northern section, to catch the attitude of the contemporary newspapers and finally what the exact information provided to people during the Civil war were.

Key Words:

Civil War, newspapers, media literacy, impartiality, slavery Content

1. Introduction ...... 7

2. The Eve of War ...... 8

2.1. Abraham Lincoln’s Presidential Election ...... 8

2.2. Secession and the Birth of the Confederacy ...... 10

2.3. Battle of Fort Sumter ...... 15

3. The War Years ...... 19

3.1. The Early Years ...... 19

3.1.1. The Scott’s Great Snake ...... 19

3.1.2. The Battle of Fredericksburg ...... 25

3.1.3. First military drafts in the American history ...... 26

3.1.4. The Siege of Vicksburg and Battle of Gettysburg ...... 28

3.2. The Last Years of War ...... 31

3.2.1. The Battle of Atlanta ...... 31

3.2.2. Lincoln re-elected ...... 33

4. The Aftermath ...... 36

4.1. The Surrender at Appomattox ...... 36

4.2. Abraham Lincoln's Assassination ...... 40

5. Conclusion ...... 44

6. Works cited ...... 45

1. Introduction

―If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed.‖ – Mark Twain

By buying the newspapers, watching TV or listening radio news people have proved, that the information are valuable. They help to create or adjust personal opinions and thus adopt a stance on an issue. People tend to adopt other people’s view and this is what makes the media a powerful tool. To control the news generally means to control the people who read them, and thus the media should be as unbiased as possible nowadays.

The American Civil War was the first conflict, where the people were informed fast about the progress of the war, owing to the newly-adopted telegraph and the newspapers boom. As I find writing about tense situations more intriguing, I chose to describe what the newspapers reported to their readers on selected events. The goal of this thesis is to illustrate the general mood in the divided nation from both Southern and Northern point of view through the eyes of the contemporary newspapers.

2. The Eve of War

The United States before 1860 was a prospering, eager country at first sight. Waves of immigrants were coming to live their dream to a place where everybody had equal chance to get rich. However, there were dark clouds coming on the horizon as the gaps between southern and northern parts of the country were getting deeper. The two sections were as different as night and day. In general the North was a booming section with big urban areas and a flourishing industry owing to variety of natural resources, whereas the South was predetermined for agriculture due to its climate and fertile soil.

The one thing that both sections had in common in past years was slavery. Although the

North abolished slavery voluntarily before 1850, the slavery in the South did not end before the Civil War was over. Historian Douglas Harper claims that ―slavery in the

North never approached the numbers of the South. The North failed to develop large- scale agrarian slavery, such as later arose in the Deep South, but that had little to do with morality and much to do with climate and economy.‖ Thus by the end of 1850s a two different cultures lived united in one country.

2.1. Abraham Lincoln’s Presidential Election

The 19th Presidential elections were announced on November 6, 1860. The newly- elected President was expected to solve not only the question of spreading, but also section’s different view on centralism. In 1854, a new party entered American political life – the Republicans. The party had had a rather short history and thus it seemed improbable that its candidate could conquer the Presidential post. Besides, the

Democratic Party possessed not only the South, but also several major northern states.

At the end, the elections of 1860 entered four men as the Southern Democrats refused to support Stephen A. Douglas, the candidate of the northern branch of democrats and 8 chose John C. Breckenridge instead. Those who were unable to choose any candidate nominated neutral John Bell and created the Constitutional Union Party. Harry T.

Williams described the Republican Party’s demands when searching for a suitable candidate in his book ―the Union Sundered‖: ―He had to be from a large state, to possess some reputation and to be a firm antislavery man but not an extremist. Only one man fitted the specification‖(92). Finally, when the elections were over and Abraham

Lincoln, a rather unknown lawyer from Illinois, was about to become a President of the

United States, the Republicans knew their choice was good.

Being unbiased was not a common feature for 19th century press. The reactions varied as every newspapers was rooting for a different candidate and furthermore, a several ones were being created and published only in order to get its candidate elected.

On November 8, 1860, the White Cloud Chief from Kansas celebrated crushing defeat of Democrats in the young territory in the article ―Whoop-ee‖: ―The Millennium come!

We have the glorious tidings to proclaim, that Lincoln and Hamlin are our next

President and Vice President, by overwhelming majorities‖ (1). The Republican’s platform for Kansas was to add the territory to the United States as a free state and the party fulfilled the pledge in January 1861.

Massachusetts was one of the first states to abolished slavery in early 1830s. The state was heavily republican-oriented so as a result, Lincoln got there 13 electoral votes. The

Massachusetts Daily Spy saw in Lincoln’s election ―a great political revolution‖ when publishing an article ―The Disunion Outcry‖:

It does not mean evil to any section of the country. It is not only regular and

lawful, but is necessary to restore the old spirit and policy of the country, and

give peace to the land. Mr. Lincoln will be inaugurated peacefully, and we

believe confidently that his administration will reproduce the era of good

feeling. (2)

However, in spite of the Daily Spy’s positive conviction, the war broke out 6 months later.

The democratic-oriented South was not willing to make any compromise in the matter of slavery; therefore, the election of Abraham Lincoln raised negative reactions only.

The Richmond Dispatch predicted the future development in the section in the article

―The Presidential Election‖: ―The event is the most deplorable one that has happened in the history of the country. The Union may be preserved in spite of it. We think it will; but we are prepared to expect trouble. We have already one sign from South Carolina, and this may be followed by others of more serious character.‖ (1)

A month after the election in December 1860, South Carolina became the first state to leave the Union, followed by seven other states from Lower South before Lincoln’s inauguration in March 1861. ―In a sense, the spark which ignited the whole was set by a tall, inelegant lawyer from Illinois.‖ (Nofi 15)

2.2. Secession and the Birth of the Confederacy

South Carolina left the United States on 20th December 1860, nevertheless, the state desired to secede years before Lincoln’s election. The first secession crisis came in 1850 conditioned by growing sectionalism and increasing anti-slavery mood in the North.

John Barnwell, the author of ―Love of Order: South Carolina’s First Secession Crisis‖, states that:

South Carolina had a greater interest in maintaining slavery than any other state

in the South. Not only had South Carolinians been subject to slave uprisings in

the Stono Rebellion of 1739, but the African-American population greatly

outnumbered the white population, particularly in the low country, where nearly

90% of the population was slave. Both secessionists and cooperationists in the

secession crisis of 1850-51 feared the specter of a breakdown of law and order,

leading to an ―African wilderness,‖ where slaves would rule their former

masters.

Although Abraham Lincoln was mild in the question of slavery, it was enough for South

Carolina to leave the Union. The secession ordinance passed unanimously and the state declared the independence. On 27th December 1860 the New York Tribune published an article: ―Affairs in Charleston – Preparing for War‖ and warned about next Carolina’s intentions:

South Carolina knows that there is no such thing as peaceful secession. She has

from the beginning acted on the principle that Secession is Revolution, and from

the first moment been preparing for it. She can to-morrow bring ten thousand

men into the field who, if not well armed, can supply all deficiencies from the

United States Arsenal. (2)

On the other hand, the Republican press was not always against Carolina’s secession.

An article ―Why not let South Carolina Secede?‖ printed in the New York Times on

November 13, described more liberal views on the section crisis:

It would be much better for this country to let South Carolina go peaceably out

of this Union, with, however, the distinct understanding that she-forever stays

out, and never makes an application to be readmitted. And this feeling was not

from any hostility to South Carolina, or her people, or her institutions, but to get

rid of the eternal noise and trouble her politicians give this country. We say, in

the name of common sense, let her go on her own terms - but never let her come

back. (1)

Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana joined South Carolina in leaving the Union during January 1861, followed by Texas in February. By April 1861,

Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas were only southern slave states that had not seceded yet, together with so called ―border states‖ - Delaware, Maryland,

Missouri and Kentucky. In spite of their pro-slavery status, these states were unable to leave the Union owing to the number of unionist people living there. As a result, a situation when brother fought against brother was not rare after the war broke out. The most famous skirmish that put people of one state against each other happened in

Maryland in April 19, 1861. The incident known as Baltimore or Pratt Street Riot was a brush between the 6th Massachusetts Infantry and pro-Southern crowd. The New York

Times described the brush in the article ―Startling from Baltimore‖:

At the Washington depot, an immense crowd assembled. The rioters attacked the

soldiers, who fired into the mob. Several were wounded, and some fatally. It is

said that four of the military and four rioters are killed. The city is in great

excitement. Martial law has been proclaimed. The military are rushing to the

armories. (1)

Although the majority of men from Maryland later joined the Union army, in 1861 the people of Baltimore identified themselves more with the South.

It is said that the main reason for the collective secession was the southern fear of losing its way of life as the plantations would never prosper the way they did, had they paid for the labor force. The Newbern Weekly Progress from North Carolina commented on the trend of secession in the article: ―What has Destroyed the Government?‖:

That Northern fanaticism has long been a source of annoyance and an element of

discord in our national councils is not to be denied; that they have trampled upon

the Constitution and defrauded the citizens of Southern States is a matter of

history. But if we would ascertain the immediate cause of the secession mania

which is now sweeping through the South and which has successfully broken up

the best Government upon earth we must seek it in the corruptions of the great

democratic party and the restless ambition of their leaders. (4)

Consequently, the southern states decided that the best way to maintain their economic and cultural interests would be to leave the current union and create a new one. And thus on 4th February 1861, the Confederate States of America were born.

The young republic acted fast. The capital was set in Alabama in the city of

Montgomery, where the first Provisional Congress met on 4th February. Only five days later, the Confederacy elected its first and only President. Jefferson Davis was a planter and later a soldier of Mississippi origin. In 1853, he served as the Secretary of the War under the President Davis in the former United States. It is believed that Davis owned his election for a Confederate President mainly to his ability to gratify both moderate and radical wings of the new government. The article ―Jefferson Davis‖ claims that he was initially popular within the southerners: ―He had a dignified bearing, a distinguished military record, extensive experience in political affairs, and—most importantly—a dedication to the Confederate cause.‖ However, the article went on 13 adding that he was also endowed with a few negative character traits that later impede him of being successful within his own government: ―He was impatient with people who disagreed with him, and he had the unfortunate habit of awarding prominent posts to leaders who appeared unsuccessful. Davis’ loyalty to these people led to bickering and quarrels throughout his administration.‖

In spite of the difficulties in Davis’s administration, his governance started with great enthusiasm due to the anti-union fever that overwhelmed the South. In the article ―From the Seceded South‖ the Cincinnati Daily Press commented on Lincoln’s arrival to

Montgomery on 17th February 1861: ―The trip of Mr. Davis from Mississippi to

Montgomery was one continuous ovation. He made twenty-five speeches on the route, returning thanks and complimentary greetings to crowds of ladies and gentlemen and military at the various depots.‖(1)

In the beginning of 1861 the Union was ready to get back the lost states, nevertheless, the South had no intention to return. In his inaugural speech on 18th February, the

Confederate President Davis specified: ―We ask nothing, want nothing and will have no complication. If other states join our confederation, they can freely come on our terms.

Our separation from the old Union is complete. No compromise, no thought of reconstruction, will now be entertained‖ (qtd. in Hunnicutt 152). The decisions were made on both sides and one single incident was enough to move the war from newspapers to battlefields. The siege of Fort Sumter in April 1861 came to be the turning point.

2.3. Battle of Fort Sumter

By the end of winter of secession in 1861, the states of the Upper South still did not openly expressed support to the one or the other side and thus the newly-formed

Confederacy was not a great slave-holding empire as many expected but a minor seven- states republic. The Charleston Mercury reviewed the situation in its editorial on

January 24, 1861: ―Border southern states will never join us until we have indicated our power to free ourselves. Let us be ready for the war. The fate of the Southern

Confederacy hangs by ensign halyards of Fort Sumter‖ (4). Jamie Malanowski, the author of the ―And the War Came‖, provides the statement of the Mobile Mercury from

Alabama. The newspapers went even further, anxious that some confederate states might have reconsidered their position and to return back to the old union: ―The country is sinking into a fatal apathy, and even the patriotism of the people is oozing out under this do-nothing policy‖ (qtd. in Malanowski 168). The President of the Confederacy

Jefferson Davis knew he would need an action soon to appease the low voices of people calling for reconstruction and louder cry of fire-eating secessionists. The moment came on April 12, 1861 in the Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.

Fort Sumter, the federal property on the Confederate land, was a thorn in South

Carolina’s eye. As its crew was running out of food in the beginning of April, the Union

President Lincoln informed South Carolina’s Governor Pickens about ship carrying supplies for the fort. ―The Confederacy’s President, Jefferson Davis, saw this as a challenge. He had to make a decision: let Fort Sumter be supplied or capture the fort.‖

(McPherson 16)

The quest was entrusted to the confederate general from Louisiana, P.G.T. Beauregard, who bombarded the federal fortification for 34 hours. The Union Major Robert

Anderson had no other choice than to call for armistice on April 14, due to the lack of supplies and ammunition. Despite the battle was bloodless with the exception of a mule, it started the bloodiest conflict in the North America.

William H. Campbell, the editor of the Cass County Republican from Dowagiac,

Michigan, reported the outset of the war:

Jeff. Davis and his band of ingrates and traitors, have plunged this country into

civil war. They have started the war, let the consequences be upon their own

heads. It was commenced on Friday last, and after a two days siege, Fort Sumter

has been vanquished, and the Government forces within it made unconditional

surrender to the rebel authorities.‖ (2)

The article went on with an analysis of Union Major Anderson’s options to defend the fortification, coming to the decision that no other choice could have been made:

―Humiliating as this result is, it is not surprising that we see the result we do. It is rather more surprising that we should have anticipated anything different‖ (2). In the article

―War Begun!‖ the Pennsylvanian Alleghanian called the war coming ―the war between

Freedom and Slavery‖: ―The War has been commenced! The blow which we have been awaiting, but which we would fain have averted, has fallen! The so-called Southern

Confederacy has plunged the country into a war that must be, indeed, terrible; for it will be the death-struggle between Freedom and Slavery.‖ (2)

With the war within arm’s reach, the newspapers often speculated about, in that time neutral position of the Border States. The Holmes Country Republican went through the issue shortly after Fort Sumter capitulation on April 18, in the article ―The Choice‖: The civil war is upon us and some people have not already made up their minds – they will

16 have to choose between the two contending parties, as to which they will support. The choice is between submission to rebellion or the Federal authority.‖ (2)

It was evident that in the first week of war, the Border States tried to maintain their neutrality. The Weekly Standard from Raleigh saw in these states the peacemaker when publishing the article ―Rumors from Washington‖: ―The mission of the Border States now is to command the peace, if possible, and to maintain their rights in the Union. If they cannot check and control the two extremes no other power can‖ (3). As the newspapers home state was North Carolina, the Standard went on with its view to

Carolina’s military involvement: ―Mr. Lincoln may call, but North-Carolina will extend no aid to him in any effort to coerce the Confederate States. The leaders and many of the people of those States have grievously erred, but any attempt to coerce them, or to put them down by force, will make bad infinitely worse‖ (3). The article was published on 17th April 1861, the North Carolina seceded from Union a month later as the last state to join Confederacy.

The Emporia News from Kansas shared Standard’s view on the upcoming conflict in the article ―Lincoln Stands Firm!‖:

We repeat what we said in the last Presidential campaign, and what we said in

our last issue, that the Union cannot be maintained by force. It will fall to pieces

before the first touch of aggressive or coercive power. We very much fear that a

general civil war impends. A special dispatch to the New York Post of

yesterday, says that the Governors of Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina and

Missouri refuse to respond the call for troops. Maryland, however, responds

promptly. (2)

Whereas the majority of both Northern and Southern population was in enthusiastic fever of the war being so close, only a few could see the horrifying side of the conflict.

3. The War Years

The armies of the Union and Confederacy met for the first time 2 months after the

Battle of Fort Sumter on July 21, 1861. James McPherson in his book ―Fields of Fury‖ estimated, that ―both sides thought the war would be over quickly, and nobody wanted to be left out of the fighting. Southerners felt that with another victory, they’d win the war. On the other hand to many in the North, Richmond was a symbol of power. If the

Union could capture Richmond, Northerners thought the Confederacy would collapse‖

(18). Thus started the 4 years of confederate’s ―one more victory‖ on the way to independence and northerners desire to rejoin the belligerent sections.

3.1. The Early Years

3.1.1. The Scott’s Great Snake

The Scott’s Great plan or the Anaconda plan were popular nicknames for the strategy of the Union Navy forces. The Government intended to weaken the Confederacy by cutting it off from the rest of the world and thus to stop import of weapons to the South and export of cotton especially to Great Britain. Yet the goal was not only to take over the Southern ports but also to split the Confederacy by controlling the Mississippi river.

At first, the results of the Scott’s snake were disputable due to the frequent success of the ―blockade runners‖ in breaking the blockade. However, it is said that the war was shortened considerably as the Confederate troops lacked the supplies and weapons provided from Europe.

Owing to the low impact of the blockade at the beginning, the South doubted that the plan could do any harm to its economy. In the early November 1861, the Savannah

Daily Morning News published an article ―What the Blockade has done for us‖ that 19 emphasized southern independence of foreign resources: ―It was the cry at the North that they would starve us out. Those who joined in it knew but little of the resources of our ―Sunny South‖ or of the energy of our people‖ (2). The Atlanta Southern

Confederacy went even further with celebrating the self-reliance to foreign aid in the article ―Blockade Broken‖: ―We have enough to spare. It is highly gratifying to our young pride as a nation to find in this practical way how rich and diverse are our resources, and how independent of the rest of the world we may be if necessity so require‖ (1). Apart from the enormous self-confidence in the matter of their own ability to supply, the Confederate States were also aware of what the blockade would cause to the European economics. Great Britain and France were dependent on the Southern cotton and as the blockade cut down the export to Europe, not only British manufactories entered a period of high unemployment but also producers of wine and silk in France were affected by closed markets in the United States. The Gazette and

Sentinel from Louisiana criticized the blockade for its feasibility:

Probably nothing has done more to injure the United States in the respect of the

European nations, than Mr. Lincoln’s blockade of the United States. A blockade

to be regarded by other nations must be complete – it must be an actual and not a

paper blockade. And this we have not the power to do, even were our navy ten

times as large as it is. (Bradburn 2)

Indeed, in 1861 the blockade was leaky. According to James Rickard, the author of

―The Blockade and the War at Sea‖, only one of ten ships attempting to trade with the

South ended in capture, however as the war proceeded the number of ships captured climbed to two out of three in 1864.

2.1.1. The First Battle of Bull Run

On July 21 1861, two months after the fall of Fort Sumter, the first major conflict of the upcoming war started in Virginia, only 25 miles to Washington D.C. The goal was to reach quickly the Confederate capital Richmond and annex the rebel states back to the remainder of the United States before the end of summer. Yet what first seemed as the

Union victory turned into a defeat at the end of the day. The battle gained its name from a small stream of Bull Run where it took place, however the South named the skirmish according to the city of Manassas nearby. According to ―The Civil War Battle Names‖ the phenomenon of having 2 different names for one battle was not rare in the Civil War as the Unionists tended to call the conflicts after natural resources such as creeks or rivers (Wilson’s Creek, Stones River), whereas the Confederate army used names of towns nearby, or even farms and railroad stations (Oak Hills, Murfreesboro).

The first battle of Bull Run is very well known as a spectator event. The Northerners encouraged by the newspapers shouting mottos as ―On to Richmond‖ in the headlines, were keen to see the clash in their own eyes. The article ―Remembering the First Battle of Bull Run‖ described the curious situation as follows: ―Hundreds of people— including reporters, government officials and even average citizens—traveled out to watch the battle. They made a day of it, bringing picnic lunches and wine, almost as if they were attending a modern-day tailgate party‖. Due to the general enthusiasm on the

North after a few won skirmishes in Virginia, the defeat was even bitter as the Michigan

Cass County Republican commented on:

After performing such deeds of valor as are rarely to be found on the pages of

history, after a series of brilliant victories, such as never before were won on the

continent, after carrying one after another of the enemy’s batteries, after our 21

troops had covered themselves with imperishable honor by their brilliant

conduct, and just when a complete triumph over the rebel army seemed about to

crown their efforts, victory was turned into a defeat. (Campbell 3)

The battle was very-well planned on both sides, however as it was the first real conflict between two inexperienced armies, to keep the troops organized was the hardest task for the leadership. The Northern press saw the cause of the defeat in atrocious conduct, specifically the New York Tribune criticized in ―The Causes of our Defeat‖: ―the cowardly or imbecile conduct of Gen. Patterson in permitting Johnson to form a junction with Beauregard, when it is asserted, he was repeatedly telegraphed to engage

Johnson at any hazard‖ (2), meanwhile Robert M. Clarke for the Lancaster Gazette from

Ohio accused the government of ―imbecility and a disposition to compromise with rebels‖ (1).

The Union defeat meant an increase of morale for southern troops at first, secondly the acquisition of cannons and supplies that the northerners left behind when retreating. The southern newspapers celebrated the first confederate victory. The Shreveport Daily

News mocked the northern newspapers in the article ―the Northern Press on the

Manassas‖: ―The Republican papers that have been hallowing ―Ho! For Richmond!‖

Now that disaster has followed their demand, want to blame somebody for their foolish advice‖ (1). From the southern point of view, the battle is also known as a place when gen. Thomas J. Jackson came to his immortal nickname ―Stonewall‖. In the ―First battle of Bull Run‖ the situation is described as follows: when Jackson burst into the fight at a key moment helping to hold an important position, General Barnard Bee told his soldiers to look at Jackson standing there ―like a stone wall‖.

The first battle of Bull Run showed the war was about to be neither quick nor simple affair as many had expected. On August 3 1861 the Harper’s Weekly published a sober editorial ―When to Celebrate a Victory‖ that would be soon true for the North as well as for the South: ―The proper time to celebrate a victory is when the army returns victorious, not when it marches out to battle.‖ (483)

2.2 The Middle Years

2.2.1. Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

„All Slaves in States in Rebellion on the First of January Next to be Free―(―A Degree of

Emancipation‖ 1) . This is what the New York Times shouted out on 23 September

1862. Approximately 4 million slaves lived in the South by 1863. They all were officially set free owing to Emancipation Proclamation, an executive order issued by the

President Abraham Lincoln. Although the proclamation was valid for all slaves throughout the continent it could have an immediate effect only in Tennessee, southern part of Louisiana and western part of Virginia as those were under Union occupation. In fact, the document did not granted freedom to any single slave. However, the declaration lifted spirit of many black men on the South and what was „the most important, it signified that the war had taken a new turn. It was to be a war for freedom now as well as Union, and from this position there could be no retreat.―(Williams 118)

Predictably, Southern newspapers criticized the declaration and announced that no

Union proclamation "will have the slightest effect upon the slave population of the

South‖ (Richmond Dispatch 12 Jan. 1863, qtd. in ―The Emancipation Proclamation‖).

Not only the editors denounced the act but also questioned its legal validity.

On 7th November 1862 both Charleston Mercury and The Southern Confederacy agreed on Lincoln’s incompetence to proclaim the act of emancipation. ―There are three questions concerning the Presidents’ emancipation proclamation. One, has he a constitutional power to issue it, as a civil, political, or administrative act? The second, was it expedient? The third, has he constitutional power as commander-in-chief to issue it, at this time, as a military act?‖ (Smith 1) As a matter of fact the President himself lacked constitutional power to emancipate a single slave as a civil, political, or administrative act without congressional support. And was the proclamation expedient?

The reactions on the South were mostly negative. People were anxious of losing their style of life and feared revolt of their slaves, who on the other hand felt spark of hope flashed up. On the contrary, according to Connors, poor white farmers were upset as the war’s cause was no longer Union versus Confederacy rights, but they were just fighting to keep ―property‖ of wealthy plantation owners.

Nevertheless what is more surprising, the North was almost as divided, concerning the response on the Proclamation, as the South was. Of course, the majority of the

Northerners saw Lincoln as the ―Great Emancipator‖ and Bennett from New York

Herald pointed out that the men in the battlefields when looking at the Proclamation with ―the wretched but transparent negro in it, saw clearly the end of the war.‖ (1).

Despite the general enthusiasm, part of the nation feared that the proclamation written as it was could have deepened the gap between the quarreling states. Manypenny for

Ohio Statesman summarizes on 24th September 1862: ―God only knows what we are now to expect as a Nation. We hope for the best, but fear the worst.‖ (1)

In spite of the various reactions, the Emancipation Proclamation gave direction to the post-war America and the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution that abolished slavery was adopted in December 1865.

3.1.2. The Battle of Fredericksburg

The battle of Fredericksburg was fought from 11 to 15 December 1862 and no other battle of the American Civil War saw more men fighting – almost 200 000 in total.

Although the Union attacked in numerical superiority of 50 000, the Confederacy inflicted to its enemy a resounding defeat. The casualties of the North counted 12 700 men while the South suffered 5 300 casualties only.

The tone of the Northern press was bitter and severe towards Ambrose Burnside, the

Union troops general and in most cases towards the Administration in Washington as well. The press blamed Burnside for blind courage and string of wretched orders he had made. Murat Halstead, the reporter of the Cincinnati Commercial noted on 13th

December 1862: ―It can hardly be in human nature for men to show more valor or generals to manifest less judgment, than were perceptible on our side that day‖, pointing out the fact that despite suffering immense casualties, the Northerners gain absolutely nothing in the campaign. ―The Reports‖ in the New York Herald described the pressure on General Burnside when he was ―forced to cross the Rappahannock River and make this hopeless attack against his own better judgment.‖

The Union was shocked and bewildered from such a defeat and the spirit of the army of

Potomac was down in the dumps, regarding to the failure in the Peninsula campaign from spring 1862.

While the North was mourning, the headlines of all southern newspapers celebrated great victory. The Memphis Daily Appeal released considerably optimistic editorial

―Day Breaking‖ on 24th December: ―The signs in the political firmament are day by day becoming more cheerful & promising. The black clouds of war that for near 2 years have darkened our country's horizon are beginning to break & let through the cheering beams of hope & promise.‖ (2)

The battle of Fredericksburg proved the qualities of Confederate leaders as Robert. E.

Lee, J.E.B. Stuart and Thomas ―Stonewall‖ Jackson as well as strengthened the effort of the union forces to capture the Confederate capital, Richmond.

3.1.3. First military drafts in the American history

At the beginning of the war, finding men for the army was easily done as after capturing

Fort Sumter the war fever burst out on the both belligerent sides. Volunteers flocked to enrol confidently in the vision of short fighting against the inferior enemy. Harry T.

Williams, author of the Union Sundered, claims that the people of New York were

―wild with excitement‖ and the streets were ―vocal with a demand for blood‖ (28). In fact, the situation resembled in the South. ―The governor of Mississippi informed

President Davis that so many men were coming forward that arms for them were not available. (8)‖ Both North and the South commenced the war with the same number of men, approximately 500 000. However the general enthusiasm started to fade away as the war proceeded and thus the governments faced the lack of men the only possible way.

The first national draft passed by the Southern Congress in April 1862, the Union draft act followed soon after, in March 1863.

Indubitably, the Conscription Bill was the most criticized for the exemptions it contained. The men whose professions had high value for running the state, were relieved from the military duty. As among those exempted were druggists, teachers and editors, Williams comments on ―Suddenly there were more schools and drugstores than ever before though they could not analyze the simplest compound or put up the plainest prescription.‖ (9). The Union government faced criticism for allowing men to purchase themselves from the army by paying 300 dollars and consequently the newspapers primarily warned people about deepening the gap between rich businessmen and poor farmers. The author of ―The Conscription Law‖ in the Daily Sentinel expected that ―the three hundred dollar exemption clause would have been stricken out of the bill. It is an aristocratic provision that should not find favor in democratic Government, and its tendency must be to develop a poor man’s party - to excite the poor against the rich‖

(1). The saying ―a rich man’s war and poor man’s fight‖ spread all over the country reflecting the fact that majority of rich slave-owners were allowed to stay at home while the poor no-slave owning men were fighting the war.

The New York City suffered the worst riot in the history of the United States on 13th

July 1863. What first appeared as a peaceful demonstration turned into an anti-draft violence. The editorial in Cleveland morning leader ―Oddities of the Draft‖ described the situation from July 13th: ―Some have their wives and families with them. Some come in jolly crowds, and some come moping, melancholy, alone. There are lawyers, and divines, farmers and mechanics. Some swear, and some pray, and almost all drink‖

(1). Thence, the violence during the riots owed partly to ―the fact that the saloons were opened and the marchers were fueled by alcohol. Neither freed blacks were spared the rampage‖ (Angle 98). The crowd blamed them for being the cause of the war and

27 several were beaten to death. As soon as the riots had finished on July 16th, 105 people were dead.

McPherson summarizes: ―Even though people were getting exhausted of the war, both the Union and the Confederacy still felt the way a Unionist officer did, when in 1864 wrote ―we must succeed‖ (66).

3.1.4. The Siege of Vicksburg and Battle of Gettysburg

It is often alleged that the Battle of Gettysburg and fall of Vicksburg marked the crucial turning points of the war.

Although the campaign in Virginia did not proceed well for the Union, the strategy in the West appeared successful. The northern high command resolved to take control over the Mississippi river which was together with railroads crucial for supplying the

Confederacy. Owing to several operations on the river, the Vicksburg was the last strong tactical point holding Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana in touch with the rest of the

South by the end of 1862. As the city of Vicksburg was well-fortified, general Ulysses

Grant who led the Army of Tennessee came to decision to first isolate and later to impose a siege on the city. The sieges are ―long waiting periods. With lots of time on their hands, soldiers on both sides actually socialized and discovered that they had a lot in common‖ (McPherson 52). Interesting enough, Vicksburg surrendered just on the

87th anniversary of adopting the Declaration of Independence. Consequently, people in

Vicksburg do not celebrate 4th July in memory of the defeat.

The Northern newspapers considered fall of Vicksburg as first rays of victory coming.

The press enjoyed quoting southern newspapers shocked by the sudden turnover of the war. In Kansas the reporter of the Emporia News speculated in the article ―Vicksburg

28 reported captured!‖: ―There is every evidence that the leaders, as well as the soldiers, are losing their faith and ability to gain independence‖(2). Others went on with describing Southern mood as desperate, and people broken and dispirited. And they were right.

During the siege, the official reports from Vicksburg were mostly positive as the city defenders hoped for promised reinforcement. ―The Siege of Vicksburg‖ in the

Abingdon Virginian informed: ―Our men are encouraged by a report that Gen. Johnston is near with a large army and are in good spirits‖ (2). But the help never came. General

Johnston was indeed near, however strongly outnumbered and furthermore the communication between him and gen. John Pemberton, the commander of troops within

Vicksburg, was hard to establish due to the enemy army between them. An interesting fact is that Vicksburg newspapers were in business until the very end of the siege and keep the city in defiant mood. According to the ―The Fall of Vicksburg‖, one of the last news of the Daily Citizen printed on the back of wallpaper was ―the Yankee

Generalissimo surnamed Grant has expressed his intention of dining in Vicksburg on the Fourth of July. . . . Ulysses must get into the city before he dines in it." And as

Vicksburg put up a flag of truce in the morning of the 4th July, it is assumed that Grant got his dinner.

Almost simultaneously, the day before Vicksburg siege was ended, the Confederate

States lost great battle in Pennsylvania near the city of Gettysburg. Needless to say, the southern government was delighted by gen. Lee’s early achievements in the campaign.

After the victory at Chancellorsville, the army of Northern Virginia marched north and became a genuine threat not only for major Union cities, but even for the capital.

Southern hopes for capturing the North dashed away as the Army of Potomac, now under gen. Meade command won the crucial fight near Gettysburg on 3rd July, 1863.

Both Southern and Northern newspapers were aware of gravity of the battle of

Gettysburg. The Union roared with delight being now highly confident about its victory in the war meanwhile the Confederacy mourned for its dead and only the most obstinate ones believed in victory of South by this time. The battle of Gettysburg was undeniably one of the most reported ones owing to its position close to ―the yard‖ of big northern newspapers, New York Times and New York Daily Tribune in particular. The

Northerners were reading the information from the battlefield with one day delay at most, while the southern newspapers, not worried at all about plagiarism, copied the news as fast as they received some. As Glenn Brasher points out, all of the approximately 45 reporters on the field encountered the same problem and that was frequent cut off the telegraphic lines and thus due to the blackouts and often eloquent reporters, the news was highly unreliable. Consequently, the southern and northern newspapers published two different results after the battle was finished. The Union celebrated great victory and sang glory to the brave Army of Potomac, whereas Brasher claims that the Confederate journals denied all the news except those with reference to the good-fighting of southern troops. The majority of southern newspapers believed in inaccuracy of the reports transmitted, in addition Mercury on 10th July 1863, the

Charleston even announced ―a brilliant and crushing victory achieved by the army under

Gen. Lee‖ (qtd. in Brasher)1

However the most famous response to the battle of Gettysburg appeared in press 4 months after the fight was over. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was published on

1 See Charleston Mercury. 10 July 1863. Print. 30

November 19, 1863 and the reactions varied depending mainly on the political orientation of the press. The Chicago Times released an article saying:

The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly flat

and dishwattery remarks of the man who has to be pointed out as the President

of the United States. Is Mr. Lincoln less refined than a savage? It was a

perversion of history so flagrant that the most extended charity cannot view it as

otherwise than willful. (qtd. in The Historic Present)

Springfield Republican from Massachusetts described his speech ―a perfect gem, deep in feeling, compact in thought and expression, and tasteful and elegant in every word and comma.‖ (qtd. in ―The Gettysburg Address‖)

The battle of Gettysburg spoiled all southern hopes to conquer the North. The Army of

Northern Virginia was pulled back over the Potomac River and was never to come back again.

3.2. The Last Years of War

3.2.1. The Battle of Atlanta

Atlanta in 1864 was an important supply hub of Confederacy mainly owing to the

Western and Atlantic railroad. By this time the Union troops were already deep in the

South, marking the inevitable end of the war. In spring 1864 Union. Maj. Gen. William

T. Sherman began a series of operations called ―the Atlanta campaign‖ in order to take control over Georgia and subsequently continue to the Deep South. Sherman spent the spring 1864 pushing first gen. Johnson and after Johnson’s removal Gen. Hood, closer and closer to Atlanta. In spite of the Confederate’s victories in Resaca and New Hope

Church, Sherman’s unceasing pressure on the Southern troops lead to the battle of

Atlanta on July 22 1864.

As the South was getting slowly on the verge of losing the war, Sherman let its citizens to feel ―the hard hand of war‖. People on both sides were frustrated by long years of fighting. On July 30 Harper’s Weekly published an article ―Peace‖ analyzing the course of events had the war been shortened:

The duration of the war and its cost in life and money incline some quiet souls,

who would never consent to disunion, to ask whether we had not better try to

find a shorter road to peace than fighting. But is there any such road? Suppose

that the Government should order General Grant to send in a flag of truce and

propose an armistice. What should follow? (482)

Although even people in the North were tired of the war, the nation felt the victory coming. Only Lee’s army was now threatening the Union border in Virginia and

Sherman was just a few steps to destroy the already outnumbered army of Tennessee.

The Daily Intelligencer from Wheeling in Western Virginia, released news about the current troops to its readers counting the Confederate troops 106 000 men utmost and the Sherman’s army alone 170 000 men. (2)

Not only the North hold superiority in the number of troops but also the country possessed considerably more resources as the blockade had influenced the South. On the other hand, the people in Confederate States kept on fighting desperately, although they sensed that their Cause would be probably lost in the end. The reporter of the

Richmond Enquirer made an unusual confession in the article ―The New Terms of

Peace‖: ―We have been too proud and self-reliant and we have depended too much upon

32 our Generals and not enough on Providence. It let us to believe that God would probably bless our cause and that under Stonewall Jackson, Lee, Bragg and Johnston commanding armies that could whip ―five to one‖ (2).

Although the battle of Atlanta took place in July 1864, the city itself did not fall under the Union control until September of the same year. The general despair in the South after the loss of Atlanta expressed Mary Boykin Chestnut in the Diary from Dixie:

―Since Atlanta fell, I have felt as if all were dead within me forever‖ (436)

3.2.2. Lincoln re-elected

To hold election in wartime was an unprecedented event in 19th century. Still the current

President Abraham Lincoln insisted on the necessity of regular election claiming: ―We can not have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us‖ (641). Consequently, the United States announced Presidential elections on 8th November 1864. Against the republican President Lincoln, the Democrats nominated George B. McClellan, the former Union General of the Army of the

Potomac. The Democrats proclaimed peace and called for foreseeable end of the war.

However ―As the armistice would be invoked without requiring the South to agree to come to the convention, the Democrats, whether they realized it or not, were paving the way for Confederate independence.‖ (Williams 119)

The people tired of the war seemed to prefer McClellan’s peaceful platform, and besides according to ―President Lincoln is re-elected‖, many Northerners were strictly against

Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation from 1862 that turned the war from one of reunion to a crusade to abolish slavery. However Lady Fortune smiled upon Lincoln and the Union started to win again. Finally, after the fall of Atlanta in September 1864, 33 people in the North were determined to endure the war for a while and re-elected

Abraham Lincoln President for the second time.

The 19th century newspapers were far from being unbiased, thus as the elections were getting closer, both Republican and Democratic newspapers openly supported their candidates. As McClellan won in 3 voting states only – Delaware, Kentucky and New

Jersey, the majority of northern newspapers celebrated Lincoln’s victory. On 9th

November the National Republican commented on the elections in the article ―The

Grand Result‖: ―The people have nobly repudiated the traitors who sympathize with the

Southern cravens who squeal about taxation and who would stop the war and allow the insurrection to triumph after so many better men than themselves have given their lives to the sacred cause, in order to save their paltry dimes.‖ The Republican went on with criticizing the Democrats for the indirect support of slavery and southern independence owing to the negotiations between ―Northern copperheads and Southern traitors‖ (2).

Not surprisingly the Democratic South backed up George McClellan, although the

Northerners only were allowed to vote. The Houston Telegraph was concerned with

Lincoln’s potential power as a re-elected President in the article ―Old Abe – an Ugly

Customer‖:

For our part, if we had the choosing of the President, it would be certainly

McClellan. Old Abe has been and will continue to be an ugly customer. His re-

election will be a national ratification of the most extreme war policy. His power

will be absolute. Anything he has heretofore done, anything he may choose, he

will feel himself authorized to do under the popular sanction of his acts. (1)

On the contrary, a few southern newspapers saw a danger in McClellan’s election. For instance in the article ―The Presidential Elections‖, the Richmond Enquirer feared that

McClellan’s ability to lead the Union army would put the Confederacy in danger of losing the war: ―He [McClellan] would conduct the war strictly for military results, and on military principles, and therefore more formidably, and that the democratic party would become rapidly consolidated in the strenuous support of the war.‖ (1)

Only five months after Lincoln’s re-election, the war came to an end as Gen. Lee surrendered at Appomattox in 1865.

4. The Aftermath

Until the battle of Gettysburg, the war was developing in favor of the Confederate states. Nevertheless, everything changed since the Union victory at Gettysburg as the

South started to lose the important battles with the exception of the battle of

Chickamauga. It is believed that the confederate army’s performance on the battlefield was closely connected with the general economic situation owing to Scott’s Anaconda plan imposed on the southern harbors since 1861. Not only the Confederacy lacked food, medicine, weapons and ammunition, but also put the fighting men into a difficult situation. Due to the fact that in 1860s the social system for widows and orphans practically did not exist so far, ―if a husband or father died or was crippled in battle, the surviving family faced real hardship. One Southern woman wrote to her soldier husband: What do I care for patriotism? My husband is my country. What is country to me if he be killed?‖ (McPherson 66) Yet more and more people on both sides were calling for the end of long and exhausting war.

4.1. The Surrender at Appomattox

On April 3, 1865, the Confederacy lost its capital, Richmond. The Hancock Jeffersonian from Findlay in Ohio derided the situation of the South in the article ―Not a Good

Prophet‖: ―Without a Capital and with a shattered army, it is not expected that any but the blindest copperhead will say that the rebels are not injured.‖ (2)

By the spring of 1865, few remained from the original 800 000 men of the confederate army. While fighting the Gettysburg campaign, the army of the Northern Virginia comprised of 75 000 men, however, two years later General Robert Lee lead only

25 000 men to protect the South. William Matthews, the editor of the Lancaster Gazette

36 from Ohio hastened to say: ―Poor Lee! Struggling like a child in the hand of a giant determined to destroy him‖ (1). Being literally captured when trying to join the

Johnston’s army of Tennessee, Lee saw no other choice but to surrender. On 9th April

1865, Lee made an appointment with the Union General Ulysses Grant to arrange the terms of surrender. The two generals met in the town of Appomattox Court House. In the book ―The Union Restored‖, Harry T. Williams found symbolism in the meeting:

Lee came to the meeting accompanied by one staff officer and formally attired: a

gleaming splendid martial figure. Grant came in from the line, a dozen generals

and staff officers following him, and wearing his customary careless dress.

There was a symbolism in the confrontation – Lee the knightly soldier, the

representative of a way of war and of life that was disappearing, and Grant, the

businessman in uniform, the exponent of future war. (90)

The Tri-Weekly Herald from Newberry in South Carolina described the mood in the

McLean house, where the meeting took place, in the article ―General Lee the Prisoner of

War‖: ―General Lee tendered his sword to Grant in token of surrender. That officer, however, with a courtesy for which we must accord him due respect, declined to receive it saying: Gen. Lee keep that sword. You have won it by your gallantry. You have not been whipped, but overpowered, and I cannot receive it as a token of surrender from so brave a man.‖ (1)

Considering the terms of surrender, Grant was more than generous. Under the parole that they would fight no more, Lee’s soldiers would not be prosecuted for treason and in addition they were allowed to retain ownership of the horses and side arms. Lee knew these magnanimous terms would prevent the army to join Johnston’s army or to create a guerrilla groups and keep on fighting. With the evident appreciation of this concession, 37 he assured: ―This will have the best possible effect upon the men. It will be very gratifying and will do much toward conciliating our people.‖ (qtd. in Holzer 1145)

After the negotiations finished, Lee issued the last order to his army. The order n.9 starting with the sentence: ―After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.‖ Almost two hundred words later, he gave farewell to men whom he had lead since June 1, 1862: ―With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your Country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration for myself, I bid you an affectionate farewell.‖

The majority of the southern soldiers took the surrender with great deal of melancholy.

They fought for the cause they had considered right, however as the cause was lost, it was time to go home to their families. On the other hand, the Columbia Phoenix in the article ―Sad Details‖ mentioned those who refused to surrender: ―A considerable number swore that they would surrender, and made their way to the woods. Generals

Gary and Rosser of Virginia with a few followers cut their way out and escaped‖ (2). It was later revealed that Gary joined Jefferson Davis and helped with moving the cabinet south, whereas Thomas Rosser was captured in May 1865. The Phoenix continued with the description of the mood in the confederate camp:

During Sunday and Monday, a large number of Federal soldiers and officers

visited our camps and looked curiously on our commands, but there was nothing

like exultation, no shouting for joy. And no word uttered that could add to the

mortification already sustained. On the contrary, every symptom of respect was

manifested, and the Southern army was praised for the brave and noble manner

in which it had defended our cause. (2) 38

The northern press reacted to the recent events with an unconcealed contentment. The

Boston Evening Transcript from Massachusetts commented on the general enthusiasm in the article ―General Rejoicing‖: ―The joy of your population this morning, as the intelligence of the surrender of Lee’s army spread, hardly knew bounds‖ (2). In the

―Story of Three Days‖ a reporter of the New York Daily Tribune described the feelings of the northern population: ―Our feelings are in a state of gladness that can hardly be imagined. Men see in the capture of the greatest army of the enemy an end to their hardships and a return to their homes‖ (1). C.W. Willard announced Lee’s capitulation in the Vermont newspapers Green-Mountain Freeman:

The long contest – the four years of the internal strife – is virtually over. The

rebel army of Northern Virginia, which has been the strong power of Jeff Davis,

has laid down its arms. The soldiers composing it have gone to their homes,

never more to be found fighting against the Union. With the surrender and

dispersion of the army commanded by Gen. Lee, the last hope of Jeff Davis and

the leaders of the rebellion expires. (1)

Although the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered in the middle of April 1865, it took another 2 moths to finish the war officially. After the capture of Richmond, the

Confederacy government moved south into hiding and therefore, it was under competence of the generals to surrender their armies. The last confederate general to surrender was Stand Watie, the commander of the Indians in the western theatre.

The northern newspapers Raftman’s Journal published the article ―The Past and

Present‖ summarizing the war:

When the rebellion first broke out, the so-called Democratic Leaders and

presses, all over the land, proclaimed that it was impossible to conquer the South

– that the rebels were invincible and more than a match for the Northern troops –

and that it was too big a contract for the Government ever to succeed in re-

establishing its authority over the Seceded States. If the rebels, by the aid of the

money and ships of the aristocracies of Europe, and the encouragement and

sympathy of the Copperhead leaders in the North, could have accomplished their

purposes, then, indeed, the above predictions might have been fulfilled, and the

cause of American freedom forever destroyed. But what is the condition of

affairs at present? Precisely the reverse! Instead of rebels being invincible, they

are defeated on every battle-field. The Northern freemen are more than a match

for Southern slave-drivers and traitors. And the Government, instead of being

powerless to assert its authority, is to-day sweeping with an irresistible force

through the very heart of the rebellious territory. Soon again will the starry flag

of our Government float in triumph over every foot of our vast domain. (2)

After Lee and Johnston surrendered, everybody but former confederate President

Jefferson Davis knew that the war ended. He was desperately seeking the possibility to establish a government in exile in Europe. However, he was arrested by federal troops in Georgia on 10th May 1865. In spite of two years spent as a prisoner in Fort Monroe,

Davis’s fate was a way more pleasant than the one of his northern counterpart.

4.2. Abraham Lincoln's Assassination

As a President of a section that was on the verge of winning the civil war, Abraham

Lincoln’s life was visibly less stressful after the recent surrender of the army of

Northern Virginia. Therefore, he decided to spend the night of 14th April with his wife

40 in the Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. During Laura Keene’s performance ―Our

American Cousin‖ Lincoln was shot to head from behind and succumbed to his injuries early next morning. The murderer was a 26 years-old stage actor of a Maryland origin.

After his home state did not seceded from the Union, Booth despite his sympathy to the southern cause, resolved to stay in the North. When the war was coming to the end,

Booth and his copartners desperately tried to change the inevitable by paralyzing the

Union and putting the country into chaos after assassinating the President and his possible successors – Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William

Seward. Nevertheless, Seward survived the attack and Johnson was never attacked at all. The article ―President Lincoln is Shot‖ claims that Booth still saw a chance to win the war ―with Confederate president Jefferson Davis still free and General Joseph

Johnston's army still alive in the Carolinas.‖ Lincoln’s corpse was transported from

Washington D.C. to Springfield, his home town in Illinois.

The North fell into deep mourning after the news spread through the country. Not only republican but also democratic press produced patulous articles in tribute to assassinated

President. William Mitchell was unable to find words for his obituary for Saint Cloud

Democrat from Minnesota: ―No pen can write an eulogium of Abraham Lincoln dead.

But he lives and will live in thousands upon thousands of hearts, as the man whose nature knew no unkindness‖(2). In Ohio, the Cleveland Morning Leader mourned for

Lincoln in the article ―The Assassination of President Lincoln‖: ―How shall we write the terrible words that we must record to-night? How shall we blot the bright happiness of yesterday’s thanksgiving with this black stain of grief and crime! The brain reels, the heart sickens, the whole frame shudders, at the very thought of our great affliction‖(1).

In spite of his deep grief, William Campbell assured the readers of the government’s

41 stability in the article ―President Johnson’s Policy‖ published in the Daily Intelligencer in West Virginia:

But in this instance the wheels of government have not stopped for a moment,

and an event which would have shaken almost any other government to its very

centre, has no perceptible depressing effect upon the business of the country or

the credit of the nation. By our national calamity the world will learn an

impressive lesson of the permanence and stability of republican institutions. The

ruler dies, but the republic lives. (2)

Although the Lincoln’s assassination broke heart to people in the North, the reactions in the South varied. Whereas some people celebrated either publicly or in private, there were southerners who learnt to like Lincoln and felt compassion with the North. The

Freemont Journal from Ohio printed the article of Isaac Keeler on April 21, describing the general mood in the North: ―No event of the war, however calamitous, has been able to fill the heart of the nation with such anguish. All men, a few of the most malignant

Copperheads included, had learnt to love and trust Abraham Lincoln. It may be truly said the people believed in him, as they have believed in no man since George

Washington‖ (2). In contrast to the Journal’s observation, The Plymouth Weekly

Democrat from Indiana referred in its article ―The Assassination of the President‖ to southerners celebrating the assassination: ―It is said that several rebel prisoners at Camp

Morton, Indianapolis, on hearing the news of Mr. Lincoln’s assassination cheered lustily, for doing which they were promptly hung‖ (2). The article went on with another case of the same nature: ―We also learnt that a few individuals in other places who manifested joy at the occurrence were sent to prison by the military authorities, and

42 others of the same class have been dealt with by the citizens in a way that tended to silence, if it did not convince them of the error of their ways.― (2)

Even though the minor skirmishes continued even after Lincoln’s assassination, together with Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, the murder marked the end of an important American period and started a journey to a state based not on the economical benefits, but on the national identity.

5. Conclusion

Firstly, the thesis depicted the lives and attitudes of ordinary people as the press is the mirror of each era. People determine what they want to read and newspapers prints what it wants the people to be thinking about.

Secondly, the thesis helps to overcome generalization in the questions of the Civil War such as that Northerners were abolitionists and Southerners slave-holding tyrants. On an example of the Baltimore incident and Proclamation of Emancipation is evident, that not all the Northerners shared the Republican’s attitude.

At last, the aim of the thesis is to call attention to media literacy. It is crucial that people are aware of danger coming from mass media and are able to analyze and evaluate the received information.

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