Summary
The War Democrats were a faction of the Democratic Party that remained loyal to the Union and the Lincoln Administration during the Civil War, believing the Federal Government should preserve the Union by force.
Although they came primarily from Northern states, they represented different social backgrounds, political factions, and geographic regions. Key members also came from Southern states, including Andrew Johnson (Tennessee), John B. Henderson (Missouri), and Joseph Holt (Kentucky). Stephen A. Douglas joined the faction and became its leading spokesman after the Battle of Fort Sumter.
Although War Democrats supported preservation of the Union, they did not agree with all of Lincoln’s policies. Many opposed the suspension of habeas corpus and the Confiscation Acts, which allowed Union forces to confiscate enslaved people, because they believed those measures violated constitutional rights and property rights.
As the war continued, however, some members adopted antislavery positions and supported policies favored by the Radical Republicans. John B. Henderson later wrote the Thirteenth Amendment even though he had previously supported slavery.
Many War Democrats held important positions in government and the military. Edwin M. Stanton served as Secretary of War, Andrew Johnson became Vice President in 1865, and military leaders such as Benjamin F. Butler and Daniel E. Sickles supported the Union cause. Their support strengthened Lincoln’s wartime coalition and helped counter the peace movement.
In 1864, many War Democrats joined Lincoln in the National Union Party, a coalition that included Lincoln, Republicans, and pro-war Democrats. As the war continued and public support changed, the faction gradually dissolved, and its members either returned to the Democratic Party or joined the Republican Party.
Facts
- War Democrats were a faction in the Democratic Party that supported the use of military force to restore the Union.
- The faction included Democrats from every Union state and several Southern states.
- In 1861, Stephen A. Douglas became the group’s leading spokesman.
- War Democrats opposed the moderate Peace Democrats, who sought a negotiated peace; the radical Copperheads, who tried to obstruct the war effort; and the Redeemers, who sought to restore the governments of the southern states during Reconstruction.
- Some War Democrats came to support antislavery policies and aligned with the Radical Republicans, who sought to punish the South for the war.
- War Democrats formed a political alliance, known as the National Union Party, with Lincoln and other Republicans for the 1864 Presidential Election, helping Lincoln win reelection to a second term.
- Andrew Johnson, a prominent War Democrat, ran as Lincoln’s Vice President on the National Union Party ticket.
Significance
The War Democrats are important to American History because they supported President Abraham Lincoln’s use of military force to preserve the Union.
AP US History
Definition
War Democrats — The War Democrats were a faction of the Democratic Party that supported preserving the Union during the Civil War and supported the war effort. Although they opposed some wartime measures, including the suspension of habeas corpus and the Confiscation Acts, they rejected the Peace Democrats’ call for a negotiated settlement. War Democrats served in important government and military positions, contributed to Lincoln’s National Union Party, and gradually declined as members returned to the Democratic Party or joined the Republican Party.
Alignment
The War Democrats are part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the AP US History curriculum:
- Drifting Toward Disunion (1854–1861)
- Girding for War: North and South (1861–1865)
- Furnace of Civil War (1865–1865)
Terms
Confiscation Act of 1861 — The Confiscation Act of 1861, also known as the First Confiscation Act, authorized the Federal Government to seize enslaved people whose labor aided the Confederate war effort. The law ended their owners’ claims to their labor but did not explicitly grant them freedom. Signed by President Abraham Lincoln on August 6, 1861, it established an early Federal policy toward escaped and captured enslaved people and represented an important step toward emancipation.
Confiscation Act of 1862 — The Confiscation Act of 1862 was enacted by Congress and signed by President Abraham Lincoln on July 16, 1862. Also called the Second Confiscation Act, it authorized the seizure of Confederate property, freed enslaved people captured or escaping while aiding the rebellion, prohibited military personnel from returning them to claimants, and allowed the President to employ African Americans in the Union war effort. It pushed the United States toward universal emancipation and the abolition of slavery.
