Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Green, Amos

Born: 1826-XX-XX Pennsylvania

Died: 1911-05-05 Paducah, Kentucky

Amos Green was a lawyer, editorialist, political agitator, and Copperhead. Green read law and moved to Williamstown, Kentucky, in 1852, to begin his law career. In February 1853, Green married Julia F. Bledsoe. Around 1857, Green and his family moved to Paris, Illinois, where he opened a law practice. In 1858, he practiced law in partnership with James A. Eads. Green's work as an attorney allowed him to make the acquaintance of Abraham Lincoln, whom he opposed in several cases before the Illinois Supreme Court. In 1860, he was practicing law in Paris and owned real property valued at $10,000 and had a personal estate of $15,000. Green also took an active interest in politics. Initially a Whig, Green gravitated toward the Democratic Party in the late 1850s. Though never pursuing or holding political office, Green made his opposition to the Republican Party known through his political commentary--particularly in editorials contributed to the Democratic press. Upon commencement of the Civil War, Green's opposition to the Republican Party increased in vociferousness. In 1862, Union authorities arrested Green for writing disloyal articles about the Lincoln administration. With the help of John P. Usher, then assistant secretary of the interior, Green succeeded in obtaining his release, making him a hero of the Copperheads. Returning to Paris, Green continued his political agitation. Although not personally advocating violence, clashes between Copperheads and Union supporters became more frequent in and around Paris, culminating with the Charleston Riot in March 1864. Green became involved in secret societies, becoming grand commander the Order of the American Knights (Sons of Liberty) of Illinois in 1863. He declined reelection in 1864, but became embroiled in a conspiracy with Confederate agents in Canada to free Confederate prisoners of war as a pretext to a rebellion to establish a separate Northwest confederacy. In November 1864, Union authorities again arrested Green for his Copperhead activities. Green agreed to testify against his fellow Sons of Liberty colleagues in exchange for his freedom. He subsequently testified at treason trials held in Cincinnati in February 1865.

Kentucky, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1783-1965, 9 February 1853, Mason County (Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2016); U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Paris, Edgar County, IL, 12; George W. Hawes, comp., Illinois State Gazetteer and Business Directory, for 1858 and 1859 (Chicago: George W. Hawes, 1859), 342; For Lincoln’s legal cases involving Green, search Participant, “Green, Amos,” Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition , 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), https://lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/; Peter J. Barry, "Amos Green, Paris, Illinois: Civil War Lawyer, Editorialist, and Copperhead," Journal of Illinois History 11 (Spring 2008), 39, 40, 41-58, 60; Public Daily Ledger (Maysville, KY) 6 May 1911, 3:4.