The British parliament and the American Civil War

During the 1860s, no one nation attracted as much attention from the British than the United States of America as the American Civil War proved to be one of the most divisive topics in Great Britain. In one particular forum - the British Parliament – the divisiveness concerning the war was clearly evident. This thesis examines the parliamentary debates on the neutrality policy from 1861 to 1863. In the debates, both the interventionists and the neutralists exploited numerous issues in their attempts to persuade their fellow members to support intervention or neutrality. The issues include the blockade, the cotton shortage, slavery, self-determination, and the fear of war with the United States if intervention occurred. Previous studies of Anglo-American relations have concluded that cotton was the major reason for intervention while slavery was the major reason for neutrality. This thesis contends that slavery and cotton were not the most common reasons for but simply two of many issues which were discussed.