Special Providence_ American Foreign Policy and How It Changed World - Walter Russell Mead

22 SPECIALPROVIDENCE

THEPENDINGCONFLICT

WhilemostAmericanstodaythinkoftheCivilWaraslargelya

domesticcontestinwhichforeigncountriesandforeignpolicywere

irrelevant,theattitudeofforeigncountriestowardtheConfederacywas

oneofthecrucialquestionsofthewar.Inthisr863Americancartoon,

BritainandFrance-bothofwhichcameclosetorecognizingthe

ConfederacyandtodemandingthattheUnionaccepttheirinterven-

tiontonegotiatea settlementtothewar-areseenassupporting

JeffersonDavis,whoistramplingontheAmericanflagandwieldinga

clublabeled"PirateAlabama"(areferencetotheConfederatewarship

Alabama,builtin"neutral"Britishports,whichattackedUnionship-

pinguntilitwasdestroyedbytheU.S.S.Kearsargeoffthecoastof

FranceinJuner864).

LibraryofCongress,PrintsandPhotographsDivision,LC-USZ62-42025

Ther850ssaw anotherrashofcrises betweenthetwocountries.
SouthernershopedtoestablishnewslavestatesinCubaandNicaragua.
TheBritishwereextendingtheircontrolalongthecoastsofCentral
AmericainthehopesofcontrollingcommunicationbetweentheAtlan-
ticandthePacific.BritisheffortstosearchshipsundertheAmericanflag
intheefforttosuppresstheAtlanticslavetradealsocausedcrises;closer
tohome,sodidtheBritishrefusaltoreturnslavesonAmericanships
drivenintoBritish-controlledharbors.