From Harper’s Weekly October 31, 1863 (at Son of the South):
THE STATE ELECTIONS.
PENNSYLVANIA. “Friend OHIO, I thought thee hadst got rid of this noxious weed, as I of mine; and yet I see an ugly Pumpkin growing upon thy land.”
OHIO. “Not upon my land, I guess! It’s the VALLANDIGHAM PUNKIN as I’ve tossed over into my neighbor’s field, and he’s bin and tuck root, you see, among the Canady thistles!”
Exiled Copperhead Clement Vallandigham was the Democrat nominee for Ohio governor in 1863, even though he was living in exile in Canada. He lost the election by a sizable majority. Ohio History Central sums up this period in Mr. Vallandigham’s life:
Vallandigham remained in the Confederacy for only a few weeks. He traveled to Canada, where he sought the Democratic nomination to be Ohio’s governor in June 1863. At the Democratic Party’s state convention, delegates endorsed Vallandigham’s efforts. They also demanded that President Lincoln allow Vallandigham to return to the United States. Lincoln agreed to do so but only if Vallandigham swore to support the Union war effort. Vallandigham refused to do so. Due to his controversial views and Union battlefield victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg during the summer of 1863, Vallandigham lost the election to the Union Party candidate, John Brough, by nearly 100,000 votes.
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Yakima Valley, Washington (c1904; Library of Congress)
