Why did the south believe they would be entitled to enlist foreign intervention and why were they unable to do so?
1 Answer
The southern confederacy hoped that England or France would come to their assistance because of these European countries dependence on cotton produced in the South.
Explanation:
England's economy was dependent on the cotton produced in the south. France also had a large investment in the manufacturing of cloth that was dependent on cotton produced in the south.
The confederacy hoped that these nations would come into the war on the side of their business partners. Both England and France sent military observers to the Confederacy indicating their interest in the south winng the Civil War.
England and France allowed the south to use their funds banked in Europe to purchase war materials including warships. However the ability to purchase war materials was all the support that the Confederacy would receive from their European business partners.
In the years immediately before the Civil War the south had record crops of cotton, This made the south large profits but worked against the south. England and France had surpluses of cotton left over from the bumper years before the Civil War. This meant that there was no urgency to intervene on behalf of the Confederacy. Also England was able to develop cotton production in India and Egypt lessening the nations dependence on the south.
Most telling however was slavery. Both England and France had outlawed slavery by 1833 The efforts of Christian preachers and politicians in England like William Wiberforce and Newton had created a social atmosphere making support of slavery impossible. When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation after the first Union victory at Antietam the war became a war in favor of slavery in the south. This made open support of the Confederacy politically impossible. The Union victory made it likely that the south would lose the war making support of the south a future liability if the north won.
The south hoped that the cotton trade would induce foreign nations to intervene on behave of the Confederacy. The issue of slavery and the likelihood that the north would win the war made it impossible for these European nations to come to the active aid of the Confederacy
