Britain in the American Civil War: Gender, Humanitarianism and Confederate Recognition (1861-65)

Abstract

Charles Francis Adams, the US Ambassador to Great Britain in the Civil War, was born into one of the most prestigious and powerful political families in the nation. He was the son of the sixth president, John Quincy Adams, and grandson of the second president, John Adams. Charles Francis Adams served in the Massachusetts State Legislature and in the United States Congress. He also unsuccessfully ran as vice president on the Free Soil Party ticket with Martin Van Buren in 1848. The wives of leading politicians, financiers and aristocrats from across Britain hosted the event, which raised over 20,000 GBP. This was apolitical work suitable for elite women to undertake under the guise of charity. James Spence, Liverpool merchant and one of the most esteemed and powerful advocates for the Confederacy in Britain, repeatedly and meticulously justified Confederate recognition through political and economic rationale rather than moral impetus.