Defending the indefensible?: The pro-confederate lobby in Britain in the aftermath of the emancipation proclamation

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide the first dedicated examination of the pro-Confederate movement in Britain in the wake of the Emancipation Proclamation. By analysing the ideas and activities of pro-Confederates after emancipation, the article problematizes our understanding of Civil War diplomacy and British responses to the conflict. Through an analysis of propaganda, and the correspondence between Confederate representatives and British sympathizers, it offers insights into reactions to emancipation among a group who were deeply invested in the conflict. It also explores how southern sympathizers attempted to publicly respond in a way that they hoped would appeal to Britons after 1863. In doing so, it emphasizes the intellectual and organizational vibrancy that characterized pro-Confederates in this period as well as the extent to which emancipation itself did not automatically determine the diplomatic outcome of the conflict. In addition, it demonstrates that Confederate activism in Britain had always rested on shaky ideological foundations. The lack of clear moral distinction between the belligerents prior to emancipation had allowed sympathetic Britons to project their own values on to the Confederacy. The effects of emancipation on southern diplomatic prospects were as much about revealing these internal dynamics as causing a sudden shift in attitudes towards Confederate nationalism.