148 a short history of the united states
England, Charles Francis Adams, pointed out to the British ministry
in April 1863 that it was engaged in an act of war against the United
States did the government halt the further building of these raiding
ships.
And early in 1863 , the emperor of France, Napoleon III, proposed
mediation of the conflict, which Congress and Secretary of State
Seward rejected out of hand. Over protests from the United States,
Napoleon intruded in Mexican affairs, occupied Mexico City with a
French army, and installed Archduke Maximilian of Austria on the
Mexican throne. Not until the Civil War ended did Napoleon heed the
protests of Secretary Seward and withdraw his troops from Mexico.
Maximilian was subsequently executed by Mexican partisans under
Benito Juarez.
Two days after issuing the Preliminary Proclamation, the President
announced that at his discretion the writ of habeas corpus could be
suspended anywhere in the United States. That was quite a leap of ex-
ecutive authority and really required the approval of Congress. But this
was war, and the President felt that there could and probably would be
circumstances in which he must exercise extraordinary power to safe-
guard the liberty of the American people. Congress obliged in March
1863 by passing the Habeas Corpus Act, which allowed the President
to suspend the writ for the duration of the war.
Democrats, led by Clement Vallandigham, denounced this “impe-
rial military despotism.” Called “Copperheads” by their opponents be-
cause they wore “copper penny” badges to signify their willingness to
pursue a conciliatory policy toward the South, these Peace Democrats
engaged in antiadministration activities that only succeeded in dis-
crediting their cause because they adversely affected the war effort.
When the Confederates inflicted one of the worst military defeats of
the war on Union forces, now commanded by General Ambrose Burn-
side, at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13 , 1862 , Copperheads
were horrified by the carnage and demanded to know when the butch-
ery would end. Over 10 , 000 Union soldiers were killed or wounded in
this engagement. Lincoln replaced Burnside with General Joseph
Hooker.
To assist the military operation, Congress passed both a bill for the
recruitment of 150 , 000 black soldiers in early January 1863 and the