King Cotton and its impact on foreign intervention in the War ❧ ❧ 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 ❧ ❧

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 ❧ ❧ 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

Missing/Captured 750 1,020 1,770

Total 12,400 10,320 22,720 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 ❧ Origin: Cycle of Adams letters European intervention. It did not end October 17, 1862 irrevocably, for the military situation ❧ Purpose: to write about what remained fluid and most Britons remained certain that the North could never win. success the North had over the But at least they had avoided losing. South. Antietam had, in Charles Francis Adam’s ❧ Value: it is a valid piece of understatement,’done a good deal to writing because it is written the restore our drooping credit here.’ It had same day the battle occurred. done more; by enabling Lincoln to issue ❧ Limitation: it is biased towards the Emancipation Proclamation the battle the South because it only talks also ensured that Britain would think twice about the South losing and what about intervening against a government.” the North had attained as well as the North’s goal. Two Factors that kept Europe from recognizing the South ❧ ❧ 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 ❧ ❧ 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 ❧ ❧ 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.