VALLANDIGHAM, CLEMENT LAIRD ) , American politician, was born in New Lisbon, Ohio, on July 29, 1820. He was duly admitted to the bar in 1842. Elected to the Ohio house of representatives in 1845, he became one of the ex tremists of the state rights Democrats of his section. From 1858 to 1863 he was in the lower house of Congress, where he was noted for his strong opposition to the principles and policies of the growing Republican party, his belief that the South had been grievously wronged by the North, his leadership of the peace democrats or "copperheads," who were opposed to the prosecution of the war, and his bitter attacks upon the Lincoln administration, which, he said, was destroying the Constitution and would end by destroying civil liberty in the North. In 1863 he made violent speeches in Ohio against the administration, and for these he was arrested by the military authorities, tried by military commission, and sentenced to imprisonment. President Lincoln commuted this sentence to banishment, and Vallandigham was sent into the Con federate lines, whence he made his way to Canada. While in exile
he was elected supreme commander of the Knights of the Golden Circle in Ohio and received the Democratic nomination for gover nor of Ohio, but was defeated. In 1864 he returned to Ohio, took active part in the campaign of that year, wrote part of the national Democratic platform at Chicago, and assisted to nominate Mc Clellan for the presidency. After the war he denounced the recon struction policy of the Republicans as unconstitutional and tyran nical, but in 1870, seeing the uselessness of further opposition, he advised his party to accept the situation and adopt new issues. Vallandigham was an able lawyer and a popular politician. He died in Lebanon, Ohio, on June 17, 1871.
See J. L. Vallandigham, Life of Clement L. Vallandigham (Balti more, 1872) ; J. F. Rhodes, History of the United States from the Compromise of 185o (1839-1906) ; H. van Fossan, "Clement L. Vallandigham," in Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, vol. xxiii., p. 256-267 (1914)