ABSTRACT This essay analyzes Union peace activism, commonly called the “Copperhead” movement, to illustrate how anti-war rhetoric during the US Civil War participated in debates over the nature of political violence. While the Copperhead push to end the war failed, the movement was an influential cultural and electoral force, pressuring opponents to modify their views while popularizing a version of national identity that did not end with the advent of Reconstruction. Far from petitioning for peace, the Copperheads’ rhetoric reframed the boundaries of justified violence along intersecting lines of gender, race, and memory. Specifically, I consider how the Copperheads appealed to a powerful “generational” memory built on a gendered interpretation of activism itself, offering a narrative of “manly” resolve meant to withstand the withering effects of their effeminate opponents who threatened the bedrock of an American civilization indebted to a white supremacist system.

中文翻译：

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暴力和平与美国的铜头蛇遗产

摘要 本文分析了通常称为“Copperhead”运动的联盟和平激进主义，以说明美国内战期间的反战言论如何参与关于政治暴力性质的辩论。虽然铜头蛇结束战争的努力失败了，但该运动是一股有影响力的文化和选举力量，迫使反对者改变他们的观点，同时普及一种并未随着重建的到来而结束的民族认同版本。Copperheads 的言论远非祈求和平，而是沿着性别、种族和记忆的交叉线重新界定了正当暴力的界限。具体来说，我考虑了铜头党如何吸引建立在对激进主义本身的性别解释之上的强大的“世代”记忆，