copperheadism means the state of being a Copperhead; sympathy in the North for Southern secessionists during the American Civil War. It carries an Arena rating of 1123, earned across 57 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, copperheadism ranks #2,348 of 17,105 for Most Storied Words, #2,578 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #4,708 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #5,158 of 17,131 for Scariest Words.
Why “copperheadism” is a great word
COPPERHEADISM — [Noun] A political stance in the Northern United States during the Civil War characterized by sympathy for the Southern cause and advocacy for a negotiated peace. From Copperhead (a nickname for a Northern peace Democrat, itself from the venomous snake) + -ism (denoting a practice or ideology). First attested in the 1860s. Unlike Unionism, which demanded ironclad loyalty and total victory, or Abolitionism, which framed the conflict as a moral crusade, Copperheadism was the politics of expedient accommodation, often willing to countenance the perpetuation of slavery to stop the bleeding. It was the hissed whisper in a crowded tavern, the handbill for armistice plastered over a recruitment poster, and the cold calculation that a divided country was preferable to a shattered one—a seductive conviction that the deepest venom often coats the plea for peace.
Etymology
From Copperhead + -ism.
noun
- The state of being a Copperhead; sympathy in the North for Southern secessionists during the American Civil War.e.g.“The project went nowhere, but it did plant seeds of copperheadism that germinated a couple of years later.” — 1988, James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, Oxford, published 2003, page 247:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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