Clement Vallandigham
Clement Laird Vallandigham (velanŽdigham, -gam) (
1820-
1871), the leader of the
Copperheads in the
American Civil War, was born born in
Lisbon, Ohio. After graduating from Jefferson College and the Union Academy, he was admitted to the bar in
1842. Shortly after moving to
Dayton, Ohio to practice law, Vallandigham began his career as a
politician. As a
Democrat, He was elected to the Ohio legislature in 1845 and 1846 and served as editor of the Dayton Empire, a Democratic weekly, from
1847 until
1849. and was elected to
Congress in
1858. As a die-hard confederate, he was a very strong supporter of
states rights and
slavery, and on
May 1,
1863, in a speech at
Mt. Vernon, Ohio, Vallandigham stated that the Civil War was being fought not to save the Union but to free the blacks and enslave the whites. He died by accidently shooting himself with a firearm from evidence in a murder case he was working on.
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