Talk:Clement Smyth

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Birthplace

Are we sure about this person's birthplace being 'Finlea, Ireland'. In a brief search, I have been unable to confirm the current or past existence of the place as spelled. Thanks for comments. --User:Ceyockey (talk to me) 16:52, 16 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Dennis Mahony

It's not entirely accurate to say that Dennis Mahony was a proponent of the Confederate Cause. Mahony was closely associated with the Copperhead movement, and he supported Stephen Douglas for President. The Wiki article on Copperheadism states, "During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the Copperheads nominally favored the Union and strongly opposed the war, for which they blamed abolitionists, and they demanded immediate peace and resisted draft laws." This is an accurate summary of Mahony's views, except that, as far as I know, he did not openly oppose the draft.

While Mahony seemed to place more of the blame for the war on Abraham Lincoln than on the South, he thought the South's decision to secede was regrettable. So it would be more accurate to say in the article that Mahony was an outspoken critic of Abraham Lincoln and the abolitionists.