“The old cry was raised by the copperhead organs of “an abolition war,” and a pretext was thus found for an excuse for refusing to enlist, and for marshaling all the negro prejudice of the north on the rebel side. Men could say they were willing to fight for the union, but that they were not willing to fight for the freedom of the negroes; and thus it was made difficult to procure enlistments or to enforce the draft.”
From Life and Times of Frederick Douglass: (An African American Heritage Book)
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