Alexander Long

Alexander Long (1816-1886) was an American politician who served as a Representative from Ohio. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Long was most memorable for his vociferous opposition to the U.S. Civil War, a war led by President Abraham Lincoln to reconquer the Confederate States of America, a confederacy of eleven Southern states that seceded from the Union. The anti-war faction in the Democratic Party was pejoratively dubbed the "Copperheads".

Long was born in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Before his political career, he practiced law in Ohio. He served in the Ohio State House of Representatives between 1848 and 1849. He was elected to Congress in 1862 and served from 1863 to 1865.

In 1964, he delivered the famous speech denouncing the war and called for the recognition of the Confederacy. He criticized Lincoln's dictatorial policies and said the war was "in violation of the Constitution and of the fundamental principles on which the Federal Union was founded". He demanded the immediate termination of the war, saying the war "is not reconstructive but destructive...result in the destruction of the Government and the loss of civil liberties to both North and South...ought...to immediately cease".

This speech caused consternation among the pro-war members of Congress. Schuyler Colfax, then-Speaker of the House, proposed a resolution to censure Alexander Long for supporting the recognition of the Confederacy. On April 9, 1864, Long was formally censured for "treasonable utterances". He ran for reelection in 1964 but lost. After the end of his Congressional career he resumed his law practice and continued to be involved in Democratic Party. He died in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1886.

Sources

• Congressional Biographical Directory
• Alexander Long's speech
• Cazauran, Augustus R. (compiler), The Democratic Speaker's Hand-book, 1868 OCLC: 1068646