Knights of the Golden Circle: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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[[File:Golden Circle (Proposed Country).png|thumb|upright=1.8|Map of the Golden Circle with its possible subdivisions. The rest of the United States is in light green because the Knights of the Golden Circle originally planned to have the US take over these areas.]]

~~{{Merge|Golden Circle (proposed country)|date=May 2020|discuss=Talk:Knights of the Golden Circle#Merger Proposal with Golden Circle}}{{Refimprove|date=August 2013}}~~

{{Infobox organization

| name = Knights of the Golden Circle

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}}

The '''Knights of the Golden Circle''' ('''KGC''') was a [[secret society]] founded in 1854 whose existence was not, in fact, a secret. Its objective was to create a new country, known as the [[Golden Circle (proposed country)|Golden Circle]] ({{lang-es|Círculo Dorado}}), where [[slavery]] would be legal. The country would have been centered in [[Havana]] and would have consisted of the [[Southern United States]] and a "[[Golden Circle (proposed country)|golden circle]]" of territories in [[Mexico]], which was to be divided into 25 new slave states, [[Central America]], northern parts of [[South America]], and [[Cuba]], [[Haiti]], [[Dominican Republic]], most other [[Caribbean islands}islands]] in the [[Caribbean]], spanning {{convert|2400|miles}} in diameter.<ref name=Gawalt/><ref>{{citation

|title=Handbook of Texas

|contribution=Knights of the Golden Circle

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}}</ref>

Originally, the KGC advocated that the new territories should be annexed by the [[United States]], in order to vastly increase the number of slave states and thus the power of the [[Proslavery in the antebellum United States|slave-holding Southern upper classes]]. After the [[Dred Scott Decision]] (1857) increased anti-slavery agitation, the Knights then changed their position: the [[Southern United States]] should secede, forming their own [[Confederate States of America|confederation]], and then invade and annex the area of the Golden Circle to vastly expand the power of the South.<ref>Woodward, Colin ''American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America'' New York:2011 Penguin Page 207</ref> In the United States, the new country's northern border would roughly coincide with the [[Mason-Dixon line]], and within it were included such cities as [[Washington D.C.]], [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Mexico City]], and [[Panama City]].

The KGC grew out of previous unsuccessful proposals to annex Cuba ([[Ostend Manifesto]]), parts of Central America ([[Filibuster War]]), and all of Mexico ([[All of Mexico Movement]]). Except for Cuba, where the issue was complicated by the desire of many in the Cuban colony for [[Cuban War of Independence|independence from Spain]], people living in these countries were not consulted; Mexico and Central America had no interest in being part of the United States, and said so.▼

▲The KGC's proposal grew out of previous unsuccessful proposals to annex Cuba ([[Ostend Manifesto]]), parts of Central America ([[Filibuster War]]), and all of Mexico ([[All of Mexico Movement]]). Except for Cuba, where the issue was complicated by the desire of many in the Cuban colony for [[Cuban War of Independence|independence from Spain]], people living in these countries were not consulted; Mexico and Central America had no interest in being part of the United States, and said so.

As [[abolitionism in the United States]] increased after the [[Dred Scott Decision]] of 1857, the members proposed a separate [[Confederate States of America|confederation of slave states]], with U.S. states south of the [[Mason-Dixon line]] to secede and to align with other slave states to be formed from the "golden circle". In either case, the goal was to increase the power of the Southern slave-holding upper class to such a degree that it could never be dislodged.<ref>Woodward, Colin ''American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America'' New York:2011 Penguin Page 207</ref>

During the [[American Civil War]], some Southern sympathizers in the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] or [[Northern United States|Northern states]], such as [[Ohio]], [[Illinois]], [[Indiana]], and [[Iowa]], were accused of belonging to the Knights of the Golden Circle, and in some cases, such as that of [[Lambdin P. Milligan]], they were imprisoned for their activities.

==Background==

European colonialism and dependence on slavery had declined more rapidly in some countries than others. The Spanish possessions of [[Captaincy General of Cuba|Cuba]] and [[Captaincy General of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]] and the [[Empire of Brazil]] continued to depend on slavery, as did the [[Southern United States]]. In the years prior to the [[American Civil War]], the rise of support for [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolition]] of slavery was one of several divisive issues in the United States. The slave population there had continued to grow due to natural increase even after the ban on international trade. It was concentrated in the [[Deep South]], on large plantations devoted to the commodity crops of cotton and sugar cane, but it was the basis of agricultural and other labor throughout the southern states.

==Early history==

[[George W. L. Bickley]], a doctor, editor, and adventurer who lived in [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]], founded the association, organizing the first ''castle,'' or local branch, in Cincinnati in 1854.<ref name="cabridgesfantasy">{{cite journal |last=Bridges |first=C. A. |title=The Knights of the Golden Circle: A Filibustering Fantasy |journal=Southwestern Historical Quarterly |volume=44 |issue=3 |pages=287–302 |jstor=30235905 | date = January 1941 }}</ref> Membership increased slowly until 1859 and reached its height in 1860.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}} The membership, scattered from New York to California and into Latin America, was never large. Records of the KGC convention held in 1860 state that the organization "originated at Lexington, Kentucky, on the fourth day of July 1854, by five gentlemen who came together on a call made by Gen. George Bickley".<ref name="tsha">

{{cite web

|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/vbk01

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|last1=Campbell |first1=Randolph B. |publisher=Handbook of Texas Online

|access-date=December 13, 2011}}

</ref> Some Knights of the Golden Circle active in northern states, such as Illinois, were accused of anti-Union activities after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] began (1861).<ref name=springhouse>{{cite web| last= Simon |first= John Y.| title= Judge Andrew D. Duff of Egypt|url= http://www.springhousemagazine.com/egypt.htm |publisher=Springhouse Magazine| date= 2006-04-07|access-date= 2008-07-03}}</ref>

</ref> He organized the first ''castle,'' or local branch, in Cincinnati in 1854. Hounded by creditors, he left Cincinnati in the late 1850s and traveled through the East and South, promoting an expedition to Mexico. The group's original goal was to provide a force to colonize the northern part of Mexico and the [[West Indies]]. This would extend pro-slavery interests. In August 1861 the ''[[New York Times]]'' described the order as a successor to the [[Order of the Lone Star]], which had been organized for the purpose of conquering Cuba and Nicaragua, succeeding in the latter cause in 1856 under [[William Walker (filibuster)|William Walker]] before being driven out by a coalition of neighboring states. At that time the order's prime objective was said to be to raise an army of 16,000 men to conquer and "Southernize" Mexico, which meant making slavery again legal in Mexico (it was not), while supporting the [[Knights of the Columbian Star]] for public office.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1861/08/30/archives/the-knights-of-the-golden-circle.html|title=The Knights of the Golden Circle|date=1861-08-30|work=New York Times|access-date=October 6, 2019}}</ref>▼

▲~~</ref> He organized the first ''castle,'' or local branch, in Cincinnati in 1854.~~ Hounded by creditors, heBickley left Cincinnati in the late 1850s and traveled through the East and South, promoting an expedition to Mexico. The group's original goal was to provide a force to colonize the northern part of Mexico and the [[West Indies]]. This would extend pro-slavery interests. In August 1861 ~~the~~ ''[[The New York Times]]'' described the order as a successor to the [[Order of the Lone Star]], which had been organized for the purpose of conquering Cuba and Nicaragua, succeeding in the latter cause in 1856 under [[William Walker (filibuster)|William Walker]] before being driven out by a coalition of neighboring states. At that time the order's prime objective was said to be to raise an army of 16,000 men to conquer and "Southernize" Mexico, which meant making slavery again legal in Mexico (it was not), while supporting the [[Knights of the Columbian Star]] for public office.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1861/08/30/archives/the-knights-of-the-golden-circle.html|title=The Knights of the Golden Circle|date=1861-08-30|work=New York Times|access-date=October 6, 2019}}</ref>

==Plans to seize Lincoln and inaugurate Breckinridge as president==

Several members of [[James Buchanan|President James Buchanan]]'s administration were members of the order,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Keehn|first=David|date=February 2014|title=Avowed enemies of the country|journal=Civil War Times|volume=53|pages=60–65|via=ProQuest}}</ref> as well as Virginia's secessionist Senator [[James M. Mason]].<ref name=Gawalt/>{{rp|102–104}} The Secretaries of War and Treasury, [[John B. Floyd|John Floyd]] and [[Howell Cobb]] respectively, were members of the circle, in addition to Vice President [[John C. Breckinridge|John Breckenridge]]. Floyd received instructions from the Order to "seize Navy-yards, Forts, etc. while KGC members were still Cabinet officers and Senators".<ref name=":0" /> The plan was to prevent Lincoln from reaching Washington by capturing him in Baltimore. Then they would occupy the District of Columbia, and install Breckinridge as president instead of Lincoln.<ref name=Gawalt/> Floyd used his position as Secretary of War to move munitions and men to the South towards the end of Buchanan's presidency. His plot was discovered, and led to greater distrust of secret societies and [[Copperhead (politics)|Copperheads]] in general. This distrust was the result of a confirmed plot to overthrow the federal government, rather than general discontent.

[[Robert Barnwell Rhett]], who has been called "the father of secession", said a few days after Lincoln's election:

"We will expand, as our growth and civilization shall demand – over Mexico – over the isles of the sea – over the far-off Southern tropics – until we shall establish a great Confederation of Republics – the greatest, freest and most useful the world has ever seen."<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/the-happiest-man-in-the-south/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 |title = The Happiest Man in the South|date = 2010-12-16|author= Adam Goodheart}}</ref>

</blockquote>

==Civil War==

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==In popular culture==

* The [[alternate history]] novel ''[[Bring the Jubilee]]'' and the similarly themed movie ''[[C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America]]'' explore the results of a Southern victory in the Civil War. Both works posit the Golden Circle as a plan enacted after the war.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060218094937/http://www.csathemovie.com/ ''C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America''], Official Website, archived link</ref> Both also have the Confederacy take over all of South America rather than the northern portion of the continent. However, in the former, the Confederacy annexes both [[Hawaii]] and [[Alaska]], and in the latter the Confederacy also annexes all of the continental United States.

~~{{In popular culture|date=April 2018}}~~

* In the [[Southern Victory Series]], the Confederacy's post-war territorial expansion into Latin America amounts only to the purchase of Cuba from [[Restoration (Spain)|Spain]] and the purchase of [[Sonora]] and [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]] from the [[Second Mexican Empire|Mexican Empire]] for the purposes of constructing a transcontinental railway and establishing a [[Confederate States Navy|Confederate naval]] presence in the Pacific. Following [[Settling Accounts|the Confederacy's defeat in the Second Great War]], Cuba, Sonora and Chihuahua along with the rest of the CSA are annexed to the United States.

* ''The Night of the Iron Tyrants'' (1990–1991), written by the novelist [[Mark Ellis (American author)|Mark Ellis]] and drawn by [[Darryl Banks]], is a four-part [[comic book]] [[miniseries]] based on ''[[The Wild Wild West]]'' television series. It features the Knights of the Golden Circle in an assassination plot against President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] and [[Dom Pedro II of Brazil]] during the Philadelphia [[Centennial Exposition]] of 1876.

* The KGC are the villains of the graphic novel ''[[Batman]]: Detective No. 27'' (2003) by [[Michael Uslan]] and [[Peter Snejbjerg]].

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==See also==

* [[Adams-Onís Treaty]]

* [[All of Mexico Movement]]

* [[American imperialism]]

* [[Antebellum South]]

* [[Judah P. Benjamin]]

* [[Camp Douglas (Chicago)#The Camp Douglas Conspiracy|Camp Douglas Conspiracy]]

* [[Confederados]]

* [[Confederate colonies]]

* [[Filibuster (military)]]

* [[~~Judah P. Benjamin~~Linconia]]

* [[Manifest Destiny]]

* [[Republic of Sonora]]

* [[Republic of Yucatán]]

* [[Second Mexican Empire]]

* [[Slave Power]]

* [[Slavery in the United States]]

* [[Walker affair]]

==References==

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*{{cite book |title=Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition |last=Mingus |first=Scott L. |publisher=Ironclad Publishing |year=2009 |isbn= 978-0-9673770-8-7|location=[[Columbus, Ohio]] }}

*{{cite book |title=Jesse James Was One of His Names|last=Schrader |first=Del |publisher=Santa Anita Press |year=1975 |location=[[Arcadia, California]] }}

'''Further reading'''

*{{cite book |title=The Southern Dream of a Caribbean Empire, 1854-1861 |last=May |first=Robert E. |year=1973 |publisher=Louisiana State University Press |location=Baton Rouge |isbn=0-8071-0051-X }}

*[https://archive.org/details/authenticexposit00memb ''An Authentic Exposition of the “K.G.C.” “Knights of the Golden Circle,” or, A History of Secession from 1834 to 1861, by A Member of the Order'' (Indianapolis, Indiana: C. O. Perrine, Publisher, 1861).]

*Donald S. Frazier, ''Blood & Treasure: Confederate Empire in the Southwest'' (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1996).

*Warren Getler and Bob Brewer, ''Rebel Gold: One Man’s Quest to Crack the Code Behind the Secret Treasure of the Confederacy'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004).

*Dion Haco, ed., ''The Private Journal and Diary of John H. Surratt, The Conspirator'' (New York: Frederic A. Brady, Publisher, 1866).

*[https://archive.org/details/reportofjudgeadv00unit Joseph Holt, ''Report of the Judge Advocate General on “The Order of American Knights,” alias "The Sons of Liberty." A Western Conspiracy in aid of the Southern Rebellion'' (Washington, D.C.: Union Congressional Committee, 1864).]

*James D. Horan, ''Confederate Agent: A Discovery in History'' (New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1954).

*Jesse Lee James, ''Jesse James and the Lost Cause'' (New York: Pageant Press, 1961).

*[http://gunshowonthenet/AfterTheFact/KGC/KGC0571860.html K.G.C., ''Records of the KGC Convention, 1860, Raleigh, N.C.'']{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Gun Show on the Net Website

==External links==

* [http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Sons_of_Liberty?rec=985 Sons of Liberty (American Civil War)]

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[[Category:1863 disestablishments in Ohio]]

[[Category:Knights of the Golden Circle| ]]

[[Category:1860s in politics]]

[[Category:1860s in Central America]]

[[Category:1860s in the Caribbean]]

[[Category:1860 in Central America]]

[[Category:19th century in Central America]]

[[Category:19th century in the Caribbean]]

[[Category:History of the United States (1849–1865)]]

[[Category:Slavery in the United States]]

[[Category:Political history of the United States]]

[[Category:Proposed countries]]

[[Category:Proposed states and territories of the United States]]

[[Category:Expansion of slavery in the United States]]