 Under the Congressional calendar of the 1860s , members of the 38th United States Congress , elected in November 1862 , did not begin their work until December 1863 ; by the time Blaine finally took his seat that month , the Union had turned the tide in the war with victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg . As a first @-@ term congressman , he initially said little , mostly following the administration 's lead in supporting the continuing war effort . He did clash several times with the leader of the Republicans ' radical faction , Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania , firstly over payment of states ' debts incurred in supporting the war , and again over monetary policy concerning the new greenback currency . Blaine also spoke in support of the commutation provision of the military draft law passed in 1863 and proposed a constitutional amendment allowing the federal government to impose taxes on exports . 
