HIST 1100 Final: Civil War Diplomacy

Denying the Existence of a State of War

William Seward and Abraham Lincoln deny the war's existence - All diplomatic dealings have to be done with the Union - Blockade of Southern Ports

Russia and the Union Cause

Russia concerned that the breakup of the US would give the British Empire another advantage

The Commercial Coercion Paradigm

South will get British support if cotton is on the line

The Diplomatic Impact of the Emancipation Proclamation

The International Echo of Emancipation - Realist Critique of Moral Diplomacy: No Englishman could side with the South in support of slavery against freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued - Emergence of race science (inferior v. superior) - British experience with emancipation in the West Indies in the 1830s (failed experiment)

Impact of the Emancipation Proclamation on the British Public

ULTIMATELY DID SWAY THE BRITISH PUBLIC OPINION

Civil War Diplomacy

"Jefferson Davis and other leaders of the South have made an army; they are making, it appears, a navy; and they have made what is more than either, they have made a nation." - William Gladstone (1862)

Why didn't the Europeans intervene?

1) Anglo-French Mediation on the Table in the Fall of 1862 - England and France would offer mediation - Recognize both sides in the conflict - Union would decline, Confederacy would accept 2) Europeans would wait again for proof that the Confederacy would be viable in war 3) The Polish Crisis - 18th Century Poland divided amongst 3 powers; European powers are now drawn to Polish conflict in January 4) The Confederate Window of Opportunity Reconsidered - Europeans cannot intervene in the war because of slavery and because the South continues to fail to prove it can win on its own

The Trent Affair

1) Confederate gov't not happy with the performance of its delegates in Europe 2) Sends Mason and Slidell to Europe as ambassadors (notoriously pro-slavery) 3) American ship called The Trent captures Mason and Slidell on their way to Europe 4) Britain warns either the US releases Mason and Slidell or they go to war 5) US apologizes and puts Mason and Slidell on a boat to Europe

Why did King Cotton Diplomacy fail?

1)English look for other sources of cotton 2) Northern Economy: - Textiles lost its prominent place in the British Industrial Revolution -Switch to manufacturing finished products, machines, etc. (These products go to the North) 3) Pressure on Britain by other economic interests not to get involved in the war

English Interest

British conservatives opposed to America's democratic institutions

The Battle over the International Recognition of the Confederacy

Confederate Belligerency Recognized - Recognition that there is a Southern belligerency grants Southern ships privileges in neutral ports - Will be treated as Union ships if they manage to escape the blockade

Undermining the Monroe Doctrine

Europeans resent and oppose the Monroe Doctrine because it is a statement of a sphere of influence with little to no backing

Cotton Embargo

imposed by local authorities