National Union (Arm-in-Arm) Convention

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NATIONAL UNION (ARM-IN-ARM) CONVENTION

NATIONAL UNION (ARM-IN-ARM) CONVENTION. The National Union (Arm-in-Arm) Convention, held in Philadelphia, 14–16 August 1866, was an effort by President Andrew Johnson's supporters to unite Democratic and moderate Republican opposition to the Radical Republicans. The convention platform called for sectional reconciliation, equality among the states, acceptance of the results of the Civil War, and the election of conservatives to Congress. Copperhead delegates, who had been tainted with charges of disloyalty during the Civil War, withdrew to preserve harmony. Although the convention was widely acclaimed at first, Radical Republican successes in the congressional elections of 1866 demonstrated its failure. Johnson's support grew so weak that in 1868 his Radical Republican opponents impeached him.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863– 1877. New York: Perennial Classics, 2002.

McKitrick, Eric L. Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Charles H.Coleman/a. g.

See alsoDemocratic Party ; Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson ; Radical Republicans ; Reconstruction ; Sectionalism .

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National Union (Arm-in-Arm) Convention