Lincoln’s Northern Nemesis: The War Opposition and Exile of Ohio’s Clement Vallandigham

Clement Vallandigham was an Ohio lawyer, newspaper editor, and politician. When the Civil War broke out, he quickly emerged as Lincoln's leading antagonist in the North. He blamed the war on the Republicans, and he proposed to end it by abandoning that party's position on slavery. He opposed abolition, favored states' rights over the power of the federal government, and continuously opposed Lincoln's military bills--leading others to accuse him of wanting the Confederacy to win the war. In 1863, Vallandigham was court-martialed for declaring sympathies with the enemy and was exiled. The result of his arrest was a campaign (from exile) utterly unique in American history. This book tells Vallandigham's story, focusing on the war years and the events leading up to and following the 1863 Ohio gubernatorial election, which Lincoln considered to be crucial to the survival of the Union.