Download Diplomacy

King Cotton and its impact on foreign
intervention in the War
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❧
King Cotton
❧  The phrase was commonly used by Southern
politicians and authors.
❧  Saying “king” cotton instead of just “cotton” showed
the political and economic importance of cotton
production.
❧  In 1793 the cotton gin was invented.
❧  After the invention, cotton exceeded tobacco as the
dominant cash crop in the South.
King Cotton
❧  This compromised more than half of the U.S.
exports.
❧  Southerners argued the importance of cotton in
the international marketplace
❧  They believed the industrial powers of Europe
could not long afford to allow the northern navy
to enforce its blockade.
The importance of the Trent Affair of 1861
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❧
Trent Affair of 1861
❧  The Trent Affair reflected the uneasy state of
international relations created by the war.
❧  The Confederacy hoped that England or France, even
both, would come to its aid.
❧  The Trent affair was settled through diplomatic evasion
and maneuvering, but the international situation
remained tense throughout the war.
Trent Affair of 1861
❧  Leaders of both the north and the south could imagine
situations in which England or France would intervene with
the weapons and supplies
❧  Foreign intervention loomed as an intense hope for the
confederacy and a great fear of the north.
❧  Anger over the Trent Affair was balanced by resentment of
southern assumptions about British dependence on cotton.
Battle of Antietam
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❧
Battle of Antietam
❧  September 17, 1862
❧  The bloodiest single day of the Civil
War
❧  Four times more soldiers killed and
wounded than in the campaign’s other
fights combined Approximate Numbers
Union
Confederate
Total
Killed
2,100
1,550
3,650
Wounded
9,550
7,750
17,300
750
1,020
1,770
12,400
10,320
22,720
Missing/Captured
Total
Battle of Antietam
❧  Most well-known of the battles in Lee’s first invasion of the
North, has the most battlefield land preserved and attracts
the most battlefield visitors.
❧  After Antietam, Lee’s return to Virginia, and the issuing of the
Emancipation Proclamation, Europe’s will to be involved was
went so low to the point where they barely existed
❧  This meant that the Confederacy was completely on its own
Emancipation Proclamation
“Thus ended the South’s best chance for
European intervention. It did not end
irrevocably, for the military situation
remained fluid and most Britons remained
certain that the North could never win.
But at least they had avoided losing.
Antietam had, in Charles Francis Adam’s
understatement,’done a good deal to
restore our drooping credit here.’ It had
done more; by enabling Lincoln to issue
the Emancipation Proclamation the battle
also ensured that Britain would think twice
about intervening against a government.”
❧  Origin: Cycle of Adams letters
October 17, 1862
❧  Purpose: to write about what
success the North had over the
South.
❧  Value: it is a valid piece of
writing because it is written the
same day the battle occurred.
❧  Limitation: it is biased towards
the South because it only talks
about the South losing and what
the North had attained as well
as the North’s goal.
Two Factors that kept Europe from
recognizing the South
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❧
Factors that kept Europe from recognizing the
South: 1
❧  The Union created a blockade of Confederate ports
which prevented the export of cotton and the
smuggling of war materiel
❧  After the U.S. announces its intention of establishing
an official blockade of Confederate ports, foreign
governments began to recognize the Confederacy as a
belligerent in the Civil War. Great Britain granted
belligerent status on May 13, 1861, Spain on June 17,
and Brazil on August 1. Other foreign governments
issued statements of neutrality.
Factors that kept Europe from recognizing the
South: 1
❧  As the war progressed and more
territory came under Union control, the
blockade became more effective, but
less of an international issue.
❧  However, until the capture of Fort
Fisher in 1865, the Confederate Army
was still able to obtain some supplies
via blockade running ships.
Factors that kept Europe from recognizing the
South:2
❧  The South was an aristocracy, and the fact that it had a
broad democratic base was easily overlooked by the
European’s at a distance of three thousand miles.
❧  Southern nation was based on the institution of chattel
slavery-a completely repugnant anachronism by the
middle of the nineteenth century.
❧  Neither the British nor the French people would go
along with any policy that involved fighting to preserve
slavery.
Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan for
Reconstruction
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❧
Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan for Reconstruction
❧  Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan was an attempt to reunite
the southern states after Union victories at Gettysburg
and Vicksburg.
❧  He issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and
Reconstruction because he believed the south had
never truly seceded and that Reconstruction should be
based off forgiveness. It was meant to rally the union
and persuade confederate soldiers, tired from fighting,
to surrender.
Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan for Reconstruction
❧  Thus, the Ten Percent Plan, which stated that if ten percent of
a state’s voters swore an Oath of Allegiance, the state could
be readmitted to the Union.
❧  All southerners excluding high-ranking Confederate army
officers and government officials would be given a full pardon.
❧  Most supported Lincolns plan because it would help to bring a
quick end to the war. The plan was largely a political tactic
because it was feared if the war continued on for any longer
that the south and north could easily never be reunited
Radical Republicans Opposing Lincoln’s
Plan
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❧
Radical Republicans Opposing Lincoln’s Plan
❧  The radical republicans believed that the Reconstruction
plan wasn’t harsh enough and that it needed to punish
the south for causing the war.
❧  They ended up passing the Wade-Davis bill in return to
the ten percent plan. This bill was stating that fifty
percent would have to swear an “ironclad” oath in order
to be readmitted.
❧  Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill because he feared fifty
percent would ruin chances of ending war quickly.
References:
❧  Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 23 Sept.
2014.
❧  United States. National Park Service. "Casualties of Battle." National Parks
Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 13 Sept. 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
❧  "The Blockade of Confederate Ports, 1861–1865 - 1861–1865 - Milestones - Office
of the Historian." The Blockade of Confederate Ports, 1861–1865 - 1861–1865 Milestones - Office of the Historian. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.
❧  "The Ten Percent Plan." The Ten Percent Plan. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.
❧  "Europe and the American Civil War." Europe and the American Civil War. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.
References (cont.)
❧  McPherson, James M. "18 John Bull's Virginia Reel." Battle Cry of
Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford UP, 1988. N. pag. Print.