Copperhead
June 29, 2013
My wife and I just got home from watching the Civil War-era film Copperhead. The Copperheads were the northerners who opposed that war. The Copperheads in the film opposed slavery, but opposed war even more. If you’re a war-lover, you won’t care for it: the Republicans come across as vicious men and women of butcherous dispositions – nothing seems to change – and the Copperheads as advocates of peace. While there is not a single battle-scene in the film, its focus is on how war destroys individual lives – not just those of soldiers – and the peaceful, orderly nature of communities. It is well worth seeing!!
Butler Shaffer was Professor Emeritus at Southwestern University School of Law. He is the author of In Restraint of Trade: The Business Campaign Against Competition, 1918–1938, Calculated Chaos: Institutional Threats to Peace and Human Survival, and Boundaries of Order. His latest book is The Wizards of Ozymandias.

