“The role of foreign powers had a significant effect on the outcome of the United
States Civil War.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
THESIS
The role of foreign powers in the Civil War has been debated by historians over time. Both the North and South wanted to gain the support of specific major powers to enable them to take advantage of both military and financial assistance. Hence, there is a the direct influence of foreign nations in the Civil War, despite efforts by the Confederacy in particular is debatable.
Most nations remained "officially neutral" throughout the entirety of the war (although most favoured one or the other)
This neutrality for the most part, however, did not keep European countries from participating in various ways.
HISTORIOGRAPHY
Great Britain
Great Britain relied heavily on the South for its cotton, to power its textile factories. However, the British had large quantities piled up to last through an extended stall in shipments
The Union was worried that if Britain recognised the Confederacy (and therefore the Union was against them) they may lose Canada
Also, the Union could harm British merchant ships and possibly cut off supplies of American-produced food products
Therefore, Great Britain remained neutral and was able to work out a deal for continuous trade with both sides
However, trade with the Confederacy fell by 90 percent after the beginning of the war. Only a little cotton was able to get to England, and a few munitions made it to Confederacy ports.
Strongest example of support was Great Britain building 2 Confederacy warships at a British shipyard. The Union was obviously opposed to this, and after the war, they received $15.5 million in arbitration for the damage caused by the two warships
France
While France remained technically neutral, just like Great Britain, it did consider siding with
the Confederacy.
France repeatedly tried to convince Great Britain to join them in their Confederate support
& risk war with the North.
The French wanted not only the cotton the South provided, but they also had an interest in creating an empire in Mexico. They thought they could more easily take the region with Confederate help.
The people of France were not entirely in agreement. The Confederacy was endorsed by those who also supported Napoleon III and the Roman Catholics. French Republicans supported the Union.
During the war, the Union cut off the supply of cotton to France, causing what was known as the cotton famine.
Mexico
Some Mexicans wanted the French to use Confederate influence to create a gateway to Mexico. These Mexican conservatives thought the French would remove the current liberal Mexican president.
Supplies gifted from France to the Confederacy, arriving from overseas, travelled overland
via Mexico and into Texas.
Russia
Russia was the only country in Europe to offer assistance to the Union verbally.
Russian Navy sent two fleets to American waters just in case Great Britain and France joined
the war. They stayed there for seven months.
The role of Lincoln's Foreign Policy
He kept major European powers — mainly Britain — from intervening during the Civil War and thwarting the Union’s plans. He didn’t engage when foreign nations started nearby wars. And he leveraged new technological advancements, like the proliferation of newspapers and faster transportation, to influence global public opinion to his cause.
Lincoln’s time in office was a period of intense globalisation in the mid-19th century: steam ships, railroads, and the telegraph were really shrinking the world. Lincoln did his best to seize those new tools of diplomacy to make his case.
Eg. when France invaded Mexico in the middle of the Civil War. There were demands in the press and in Congress calling for an invasion of Mexico to oust Napoleon III’s troops. But Lincoln resisted, mainly so that he wouldn’t antagonise Napoleon III and push him to support the Confederacy.
Eg. the Emancipation Proclamation: He used his presidential position to speak directly to European workers, whom he felt might have the power to sway British opinion makers against intervening in the Civil War. So part of his logic in issuing the Emancipation Proclamation is that he wanted to make a dramatic gesture that would catch the attention of the newspapers and public opinion not only at home, but also abroad.
Lincoln also felt that if the North was to win the Civil War, and it wasn’t going to succeed if it was embroiled in a war in Mexico or with Britain.
Kevin Peraino
Diplomats and Attempts to Gain Foreign Support
1860s, Confederate diplomats and supporters abroad were eager to inform Europeans that the North was actively recruiting their sons to serve as cannon fodder. In one pamphlet, Confederate envoy Edwin De Leon informed French readers that the Puritan North had built its army “in large part of foreign mercenaries” made up of “the refuse of the old world.”
Embarrassed Northerners claimed the Confederacy exaggerated how many foreign recruits made up the U.S. armed forces
However, foreign soldiers gave the North an incalculable advantage. It could never have been won without them (Doyle)
Argued that Lincoln felt that demonstration of strength at home would have an impact on the minds of European statesmen. Therefore, while the Civil War was primarily a domestic conflict, it was fought with foreign policy in mind.