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Confederate States of America (view source)
Revision as of 23:19, November 30, 2009
, 23:19, November 30, 2009→Economics: diplomacy
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==Diplomacy==
===Relations with the United States===
For the four years of its existence, the Confederate States of America asserted its independence and appointed dozens of diplomatic agents abroad. The United States government, by contrast, asserted that the Southern states were provinces in rebellion and refused any formal recognition of their status. Thus, U.S. Secretary of State [[William H. Seward]] issued formal instructions to [[Charles Francis Adams Sr.]], the new minister to Great Britain:
<blockquote>You will indulge in no expressions of harshness or disrespect, or even impatience concerning the seceding States, their agents, or their people. But you will, on the contrary, all the while remember that those States are now, as they always heretofore have been, and, notwithstanding their temporary self-delusion, they must always continue to be, equal and honored members of this Federal Union, and that their citizens throughout all political misunderstandings and alienations, still are and always must be our kindred and countrymen.<ref>William Seward to Charles Francis Adams Sr., April 10, 1861 in Marion Mills Miller, Ed. ''Life And Works Of Abraham Lincoln'' (1907) Vol 6.</ref></blockquote>
However, if the British seemed inclined to recognize the Confederacy, or even waver in that regard, they were to be sharply warned, with a strong hint of war:
<blockquote>[if Britain is] tolerating the application of the so-called seceding States, or wavering about it, you will not leave them to suppose for a moment that they can grant that application and remain friends with the United States. You may even assure them promptly, in that case, that if they determine to recognize, they may at the same time prepare to enter into alliance with the enemies of this republic."<ref>Seward to Adams April 10, 1861 ibid</ref></blockquote>
The Confederate Congress responded to the hostilities by formally declaring war on the United States in May 1861 — calling it "The War between the Confederate States of America and the United States of America." The Union government never declared war but conducted its war efforts under a proclamation of [[Union blockade|blockade]] and rebellion. Mid-war negotiations between the two sides occurred without formal political recognition, though the laws of war governed military relationships.
Four years after the war, in 1869, the United States Supreme Court ruled in ''[[Texas v. White]]'' that secession was unconstitutional and legally null. The court's opinion was authored by Chief Justice [[Salmon P. Chase]]. Jefferson Davis and his vice president Alexander Stephens both wrote long books expounding their theories of secession's legality.
== Economics ==
== Economics ==
The southern economic model was challenged by its lack of access to capital. When a businessman in the North wanted to build a factory, he could obtain a loan from the bank or from a group of investors, pay the labor and material costs to erect it, maintain the factory as collateral, paying back the loan with cash flow from the business. The capital was constantly liquid, changing hands from one individual to another.
The southern economic model was challenged by its lack of access to capital. When a businessman in the North wanted to build a factory, he could obtain a loan from the bank or from a group of investors, pay the labor and material costs to erect it, maintain the factory as collateral, paying back the loan with cash flow from the business. The capital was constantly liquid, changing hands from one individual to another.
Banks were fewer in the South, and most plantation profits went to purchases of more slaves and more land.
Banks were fewer in the South, and most plantation profits went to purchases of more slaves and more land.
== Legacy of destruction==
== Legacy of destruction==