Association formed to inspire loyalty to the Union cause in the American Civil War .
Ohio Republicans formed the first Union League of America (1862) to counteract the antiwar Copperhead s. Leagues formed in other states to support the war effort and to revitalize the Republican Party . They also acted as social organizations, and some remain as clubs in cities such as New York and Washington. After the Civil War, leagues formed in the South to promote the Republican cause among free blacks.