United Kingdom and the American Civil War facts for kids
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland stayed officially neutral during the American Civil War (1861–1865). It recognized the Confederate States of America (CSA) as a group fighting a war. However, Britain never recognized the Confederacy as an independent nation. It never signed a treaty with them or exchanged ambassadors.
Over 90 percent of Confederate trade with Britain stopped. This caused a severe shortage of cotton by 1862. Some British ships, called blockade runners, secretly sent supplies and luxury items to Confederate ports. In return, they brought back cotton and tobacco. In Manchester, the lack of American cotton caused a big economic problem. Despite many people losing their jobs, some Manchester cotton workers refused to process any cotton from America. They did this because they opposed slavery. President Lincoln praised them for their stand. Top British officials thought about helping to make peace in the first 18 months. The Confederacy wanted this, but the United States strongly said no.
Britain and the US continued to trade a lot. The US sent grain to Britain. Britain sold manufactured goods and weapons to the US. British trade with the Confederacy dropped by over 90% from before the war. A small amount of cotton went to Britain. Hundreds of thousands of weapons and luxury goods were brought in by many small blockade runners. These were run and paid for by private British businesses.
The Confederacy hoped Britain and France would step in to help them win independence. A serious argument, called the "Trent Affair," happened in late 1861. But it was solved peacefully after five weeks.
Britain would likely only have intervened with France's help. France was busy with an imperial project in Mexico. By early 1863, Britain was no longer seriously thinking about intervening. Britain turned its attention to other parts of the world, especially Russia and Greece. The expensive Crimean War (1853–1856) had ended not long before the American conflict began. The United Kingdom also had big responsibilities in British India. This was after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. France had many imperial goals outside of North America. It was already involved in or planning military actions in Morocco, China, Vietnam, North Africa, and Italy.
A long-standing issue was the sale of weapons and warships to the Confederacy. The US strongly protested these sales. But Britain did not stop its companies from selling arms and warships to the Confederacy. This included the famous ship CSS Alabama. The Alabama Claims were settled peacefully after the Civil War. An international group awarded the US $15.5 million. This was only for damages caused by the warships.
In the end, Britain's involvement did not greatly change the war's outcome. The US diplomatic mission, led by Minister Charles Francis Adams Sr., was much more successful. The Confederate missions were never officially recognized by Britain.
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Confederate Plans
Confederate leaders, especially President Jefferson Davis, believed in "King Cotton." This was the idea that Britain needed cotton for its large textile industry. They thought this need would force Britain to officially recognize them. They also hoped Britain would help make peace or even intervene militarily. The Confederates did not check if this "King Cotton" plan would work beforehand. Instead, people demanded that cotton shipments to Europe stop in spring 1861.
When Confederate diplomats arrived, they tried to convince British leaders. They argued that the US naval blockade was illegal. Historian Charles Hubbard noted that President Davis left foreign policy to others. He expected events to achieve diplomatic goals. Davis believed cotton would secure recognition from European powers. The people Davis chose for diplomatic roles were not picked for their diplomatic skills. This was partly because he thought cotton would do most of the work.
Hubbard added that Davis's policy was stubborn. It tried to force Europe's hand. European countries resisted the "King Cotton" strategy. Other Confederate leaders, like Judah Benjamin and Christopher Memminger, warned against stopping cotton exports. They said cotton should be sold immediately to build up money in foreign banks.
Union Plans
The Union's main goal in foreign affairs was to keep good relationships with other countries. They wanted to continue large-scale trade. They also wanted to stop any country, especially Britain, from officially recognizing the Confederacy. Other goals included preventing the Confederacy from buying foreign-made warships. They also wanted European support against slavery. And they hoped to attract immigrant workers, farmers, and soldiers.
Before the war, relations between Britain and America were friendly. Issues like the Oregon border and the border with British Canada were solved peacefully. Trade was busy. Secretary of State William H. Seward was the main person behind the Union's foreign policy. He wanted to keep the principles that had worked well since the American Revolution. These were: "the United States should not interfere in other countries' affairs, and foreign countries should not interfere in the affairs of the United States or other countries in this part of the world."
British Plans
British public opinion was divided on the American Civil War. However, most Britons did not express a strong opinion. Some wealthy people, who felt a connection to Southern plantation owners, supported the Confederacy. Others, like Anglican clergy, admired tradition. The Union was favored by middle-class people, religious groups, thinkers, and most factory workers. They saw slavery as a threat to the dignity of working people.
In the British government, Chancellor of the Exchequer William Ewart Gladstone supported the Confederacy. His family's wealth had come from slavery in the West Indies before 1833. Foreign Minister Lord Russell wanted Britain to stay neutral. Prime Minister Lord Palmerston was unsure. He balanced his support for national independence, his opposition to slavery, and the strong economic benefits of Britain remaining neutral.
Even before the war, Lord Palmerston chose a policy of neutrality. His international concerns were mostly in Europe. He had to watch Napoleon III's plans in Europe and Otto von Bismarck's rise in Prussia. There were also serious problems involving Italy, Poland, Russia, Denmark, and China. British reactions to American events were shaped by past British policies. They also considered their own national interests, both for strategy and economy. In North America, as relations with the United States improved, Britain became careful about arguing over issues in Central America. As a naval power, Britain had a long history of insisting that neutral nations respect its blockades. This view led Britain to support the Union blockade from the start of the war. This frustrated the South.
Diplomats from other countries were suspicious of Britain's reasons. The Russian Minister in Washington, Eduard de Stoeckl, wrote that "The Cabinet of London is watching attentively the internal disagreements of the Union. It awaits the result with an impatience which it has difficulty in hiding." De Stoeckl believed Britain would recognize the Confederacy as soon as possible. Cassius Clay, the United States Minister in Russia, said, "I saw at a glance where the feeling of England was. They hoped for our ruin! They are jealous of our power. They care neither for the South nor the North. They hate both."
Lincoln appointed Charles Francis Adams Sr. as minister to Britain. A key part of his job was to make it clear to the British that the war was an internal insurrection. This meant the Confederacy had no rights under international law. Any move by Britain to officially recognize the Confederacy would be seen as an unfriendly act toward the US. Seward's instructions to Adams suggested that Britain should be careful. A nation with many scattered possessions, including Scotland and Ireland, should avoid "setting a dangerous example."
Lord Lyons became the British minister to the United States in April 1859. He had two decades of diplomatic experience. Lyons, like many British leaders, had concerns about Seward. He shared these freely in his letters, which were read widely within the British government. As early as January 7, 1861, before Lincoln became president, Lyons wrote to British Foreign Secretary Lord Russell about Seward. He feared Seward would be a difficult foreign minister. Lyons thought Seward would try to gain popularity by acting aggressively towards Britain.
Despite his distrust of Seward, Lyons kept a "calm and measured" approach throughout 1861. This helped lead to a peaceful solution to the Trent crisis.
Slavery and Trade with the Confederacy
The Confederate States formed after seven of the fifteen slave states left the Union. This happened because Republican President Lincoln was elected. His party wanted to stop slavery from spreading. They also wanted to weaken the political power of slaveowners. Slavery was the foundation of the South's plantation economy. Most people in Britain found slavery morally wrong. Britain had abolished slavery in its Empire in 1833.
Until late 1862, ending slavery was not the immediate goal of the war. In fact, some Union states still allowed slavery.
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was announced in September 1862. It made ending slavery a goal of the war. This made European intervention on the side of the South unpopular. However, some British leaders thought it would cause a large-scale race war. They believed this might need foreign intervention. Gladstone started a cabinet discussion about whether Britain should intervene. He stressed the humanitarian need to stop the huge number of deaths. He also mentioned the risk of a race war and the Union's failure to win decisive battles. In the end, the cabinet decided the American situation was less urgent. They felt containing Russian expansion was more important. So, they rejected intervention.
During the Civil War, several British arms and financial companies secretly worked with Confederate agents in Europe. They supplied the Confederacy with much-needed weapons and military goods. In return, they received Southern cotton. British textile factories relied heavily on this cotton. Companies like Trenholm, Fraser & Company also funded British shipyards. These yards built blockade runners. These ships were used to get past the Union blockade and import cotton. British companies like Sinclair, Hamilton and Company, S. Isaac, Campbell & Company, and London Armoury Company were major suppliers of arms. They often gave credit to Confederate agents for these purchases. One historian estimated these actions extended the Civil War by two years. They also cost 400,000 more lives of soldiers and civilians.
Trent Affair
An actual war was possible in late 1861. This happened when the U.S. Navy stopped a British mail ship. It seized two Confederate diplomats. Confederate President Jefferson Davis had named James M. Mason and John Slidell as representatives. They were to promote Confederate interests in England and France. They traveled to Havana, in Spanish Cuba. From there, they boarded the British mail steamer RMS Trent for England. The American warship USS San Jacinto, led by Captain Charles Wilkes, was looking for them.
It was generally agreed then that a nation at war could stop and search a neutral merchant ship. This was allowed if the ship was suspected of carrying enemy messages. Wilkes believed Mason and Slidell were like Confederate messages. So, he thought he had the right to remove them. On November 8, 1861, he fired twice across the bow of the Trent. He sent a boat crew aboard, seized the Confederate diplomats, and took them to the US. They were held prisoner in Boston. Wilkes was celebrated as a national hero.
This violation of British neutral rights caused a huge outcry in Britain. Britain sent 11,000 troops to Canada. The British fleet prepared for war. They even planned to blockade New York City if war broke out. Also, the British stopped exporting saltpetre. The US needed saltpetre to make gunpowder. About 90% of the world's natural saltpetre was in British territory. The US had a team in London buying all they could get. A strong message was sent to Washington. It demanded the return of the prisoners and an apology. Lincoln was worried about Britain joining the war. He ignored anti-British feelings. He issued what Britain saw as an apology, without actually saying "sorry." He ordered the prisoners to be released.
War was unlikely anyway. The United States was importing saltpetre from Britain. It was also providing Britain with over 40% of its wheat imports during the war years. Stopping this would have caused a severe food shortage in Britain. Britain imported about 25–30% of its grain. Poor harvests in France in 1861 and 1862 made Britain even more dependent on shipments from New York City. Furthermore, British banks and financial institutions in the City of London had funded many projects, like railways, in the US. There were fears that war would lead to huge financial losses. Investments would be lost, and loans would not be repaid.
Britain's cotton shortage was partly made up by imports from India and Egypt by 1863. The Trent Affair led to the Lyons-Seward Treaty of 1862. This was an agreement to work together to stop the Atlantic slave trade. Both the US Navy and the Royal Navy would help.
Considering Recognition of Confederacy
The idea of recognizing the Confederacy became important in late summer 1862. At that time, it seemed to Europeans that the war was a stalemate. The US attempt to capture the Confederate capital had failed. In both the east and west, the Confederates were attacking. Charles Francis Adams Sr. warned Washington that the British government might soon offer to mediate. This would be a polite way of saying Britain thought the fight had gone on long enough. It would suggest the South should get what it wanted. Adams warned that recognition risked an all-out war with the United States.
War would involve an invasion of Canada. It would mean a full American attack on British shipping worldwide. It would stop American grain shipments, which supplied much of Britain's food. It would also end British sales of machinery and supplies to the US. The British leaders, however, thought that if the Union armies were clearly defeated, the US might change its mind. They might then accept mediation.
Earl Russell, the British Foreign Secretary, had not encouraged Mason. But after news of the Second Battle of Bull Run reached London in early September, Palmerston agreed. He suggested a cabinet meeting in late September. At this meeting, Palmerston and Russell would ask for approval of the mediation plan. Then, Russell and Palmerston decided not to bring the plan to the cabinet. They wanted to wait for more news about Lee's invasion of the North. If the Northerners were beaten, the plan would go forward. If Lee failed, it might be better to wait longer.
The British working-class people, especially the cotton workers who suffered the Lancashire Cotton Famine, consistently opposed the Confederacy. The people of Manchester passed a resolution of support and sent it to Lincoln. His reply became famous:
I know and deeply regret the suffering that the working people of Manchester and all of Europe are enduring in this crisis. It has often been said that the attempt to overthrow this Government, built on human rights, and replace it with one based only on slavery, would likely gain Europe's favor.
Because of disloyal citizens, the working people of Europe have faced a severe test. This was to force them to approve that attempt. Given these circumstances, I see your clear statements on this issue as an example of amazing Christian heroism. It has not been surpassed in any age or country. It is truly a strong and inspiring promise of the truth. It shows that justice, humanity, and freedom will ultimately win everywhere.
Therefore, I welcome this exchange of feelings. It is a sign that, no matter what else happens, no matter what trouble comes to your country or mine, the peace and friendship between our two nations will be lasting. I wish to make them so.—Abraham Lincoln, January 19, 1863
There is now a statue of Lincoln in Albert Square, Manchester. An excerpt from his letter is carved on its base.
Lincoln became a hero among the British working class with progressive views. His picture, often next to Garibaldi's, decorated many homes. One can still be seen in the childhood home of David Lloyd George. This is now part of the Lloyd George Museum.
The key factor in late 1862 and after was the Battle of Antietam. Lee's invasion failed at Antietam. He barely escaped back to Virginia. It was now clear that a final, decisive Confederate victory could not be expected. The quick decline of the Confederate strength was visible in Britain as well as America. In the end, Palmerston and Russell dropped any idea of bringing a mediation-recognition plan to the cabinet.
Richard Cobden was a leading politician who opposed intervention. In a speech in 1862, he said it "would be cheaper to keep the whole population of the cotton districts [...] on turtle, champagne and venison than to send to America to obtain cotton by force of arms."
Emancipation Proclamation
During late spring and early summer 1862, the war continued. The Confederates used their slaves to help their war effort. Lincoln decided that emancipation was "a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing [the] rebellion." This is a quote from the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln wrote the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. He waited for a battlefield victory to announce it. The Battle of Antietam gave Lincoln that victory. On September 22, he issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. It gave the states that had left the Union 100 days to return. Otherwise, on January 1, 1863, all slaves in rebellious areas would be free. On that date, Lincoln issued the Final Emancipation Proclamation. Besides freeing slaves in rebellious states, it allowed them to "be received into the armed service of the United States." This further helped the Union war effort.
William Ewart Gladstone, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, had accepted slavery when he was younger. His family had become rich through owning slaves in the West Indies. However, he found the idea of slavery terrible. His goal was to civilize all nations. He strongly spoke out for Confederate independence. When the Emancipation Proclamation was announced, he argued against it. He claimed an independent Confederacy would free slaves better than an invading Northern army. He warned that a race war was about to happen. He said this would justify British intervention. Emancipation also worried the British Foreign Secretary, Lord John Russell. He expected a bloody slave uprising. The question then would be British intervention for humanitarian reasons. However, there was no slave uprising and no race war. The war minister advised against going to war with the United States. This, along with British public opinion, convinced the cabinet not to act.
Confederate Diplomacy
Once the war with the US began, the Confederacy's best hope was military help from Britain and France. The US knew this. It made it clear that recognizing the Confederacy meant war. It also meant an end to food shipments into Britain. The Confederates had believed in "King Cotton." They thought Britain had to support them to get cotton for its industries. But they were proven wrong. Britain actually had plenty of cotton in 1861. It depended much more on grain from the US.
During its existence, the Confederate government sent many groups to Europe. Historians do not rate their diplomatic skills highly. James M. Mason was sent to London as Confederate minister to Queen Victoria. John Slidell was sent to Paris as minister to Napoleon III. Both met privately with high British and French officials. But they failed to get official recognition for the Confederacy. Britain and the US were almost at war during the Trent Affair in late 1861. Mason and Slidell had been taken from a British ship by an American warship. Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, helped calm the situation. Lincoln released Mason and Slidell. So, this event did not help the Confederacy.
In the early years of the war, British Foreign Secretary Lord Russell and Napoleon III explored the risks of recognizing the Confederacy. British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston also considered it, but less so. Recognition meant certain war with the US. It would also mean losing American grain, exports, and investments in American stocks. There was a potential invasion of Canada and other British colonies in North America. It would also mean higher taxes and a threat to British merchant ships. There was little to gain in return. Many party leaders and the public did not want a war with such high costs and few benefits. Recognition was considered after the Second Battle of Manassas. The British government was preparing to mediate the conflict. But the Union victory at the Battle of Antietam and Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation changed things. This, along with opposition within Britain, caused the government to back away.
In 1863, the Confederacy expelled all foreign consuls. These were British or French diplomats. They were expelled for advising their citizens to refuse to fight against the US.
Throughout the war, all European powers chose to be neutral. They met informally with Confederate diplomats. But they did not give official diplomatic recognition. None ever sent an ambassador or official group to Richmond. However, they followed international law. They recognized both sides as groups fighting a war. Canada allowed both Confederate and Union agents to work openly within its borders.
After the War: Alabama Claims
Northerners were very angry at Britain's tolerance of non-neutral actions. They were especially upset about the building of warships and blockade runners. These ships smuggled weapons to the South. At first, the United States only demanded huge payments for "direct damages." These were caused by British-built commerce raiders, especially the CSS Alabama. Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts also demanded that "indirect damages" be included. He specifically mentioned the British blockade runners.
However, Palmerston flatly refused to pay. The argument continued for years after the war. After Palmerston's death, Prime Minister Gladstone agreed to include the US war claims in treaty discussions. These discussions were about other issues, like fishing rights and border disputes. In 1872, following the Treaty of Washington, an international arbitration board awarded $15,500,000 to the US. This was only for "direct damages" caused by British-built Confederate ships. The British apologized for the destruction but did not admit guilt.
Long-Term Effects
The Union victory encouraged groups in Britain that wanted more democracy. They wanted more public say in the political system. The resulting Reform Act 1867 gave working-class men in England and Wales the right to vote. This weakened the power of the wealthy landowners. These landowners had often identified with the Southern plantation owners. Important thinkers like Walter Bagehot, Thomas Carlyle, John Stuart Mill, and Anthony Trollope commented on these changes. Additionally, many British and Irish men served in both the Union and Confederate armies.
See also
- Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839
- United Kingdom–United States relations
- France and the American Civil War
- Canada and the American Civil War
- Bahamas and the American Civil War
- Blockade runners of the American Civil War
- Timeline of British diplomatic history
- International relations (1814–1919)
- Foreign enlistment in the American Civil War
