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The only hope for Confederate victory in the [[American Civil War homefront|Civil War]] was military intervention by The [[British Empire]] and [[Second French Empire]]. By 1862, the Civil War had begun in full force, and with British corporations and Foreign Office supporting the Confederacy,<ref>[https://theconversation.com/how-british-businesses-helped-the-confederacy-fight-the-american-civil-war-52517 How British businesses helped the Confederacy fight the American Civil War], ''The Conversation]], Published: March 7, 2016. </ref>tides had quickly turned against Lincoln. The British possessions of Toronto and Montreal served as Confederate bases, from which dozens of terrorist attacks were launched against Lincoln’s Union from the North.  

The only hope for Confederate victory in the [[American Civil War homefront|Civil War]] was military intervention by The [[British Empire]] and [[Second French Empire]]. By 1862, the Civil War had begun in full force, and with British corporations and Foreign Office supporting the Confederacy,<ref>[https://theconversation.com/how-british-businesses-helped-the-confederacy-fight-the-american-civil-war-52517 How British businesses helped the Confederacy fight the American Civil War], ''The Conversation]], Published: March 7, 2016. </ref>tides had quickly turned against Lincoln. The British possessions of Toronto and Montreal served as Confederate bases, from which dozens of terrorist attacks were launched against Lincoln’s Union from the North.  

Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Boothe was proven to have been in Canada for over 5 weeks prior to the murder, where he received payment, training and directions from British-sponsored confederates.<ref>[https://www.historynet.com/confederacys-canadian-mission-spies-across-the-border/?f CONFEDERACY’S CANADIAN MISSION: SPIES ACROSS THE BORDER], By HISTORYNET STAFF, 6/12/2006. historynet.com</ref> Boothe was discovered to have been deployed from [[Montreal]] to kill [[President Lincoln]], with union officers discovering a $500 cheque amidst his possessions signed directly by Ontario Bank President Henry Starnes (who would later become Mayor of Montreal). As Barry Sheehy pointed out in ''Montreal: City of Secrets'', during the [[American Civil War]], “the largest Confederate Secret Service base outside [[Richmond]] was located in Montreal,” under the direct control of confederate Secretary of State [[Judah Benjamin]]—himself an asset of British Intelligence.

Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Boothe was proven to have been in Canada for over 5 weeks prior to the murder, where he received payment, training and directions from British-sponsored confederates.<ref>[https://www.historynet.com/confederacys-canadian-mission-spies-across-the-border/?f CONFEDERACY’S CANADIAN MISSION: SPIES ACROSS THE BORDER], By HISTORYNET STAFF, 6/12/2006. historynet.com</ref> Boothe was discovered to have been deployed from [[Montreal]] to kill [[President Lincoln]], with union officers discovering a $500 cheque amidst his possessions signed directly by Ontario Bank President Henry Starnes (who would later become Mayor of Montreal). As Barry Sheehy pointed out in ''Montreal: City of Secrets'', during the [[American Civil War]], “the largest Confederate Secret Service base outside [[Richmond]] was located in Montreal,” under the direct control of confederate Secretary of State [[Judah Benjamin]]—himself an asset of British Intelligence.<ref>[https://archive.is/wip/8MsN4 Montreal, City of Secrets: Confederate Operations in Montreal During the American Civil War.] By Barry Sheehy, Baraka Books, 2017. </ref>

===France===

===France===

Paris was building an empire in Mexico, with its puppet "Emperor" Maximilian propped up by French bayonets. Washington saw this as a violation of the Monroe Doctrine, but avoided any confrontation until the war was over.<ref>After Appomattox, Washington sent tens of thousands of battle-hardened troops to the Mexican border. Paris finally pulled out; the Mexicans shot Maximilian. Richmond tolerated the French aggression. If somehow the Confederacy had become independent, it would have faced powerful enemies to its north and its south.</ref> The French navy was building up ironclad strength, but not as fast as the US Navy. Furthermore, the French people would never support such a war with the US, and if one broke out France might be attacked by Prussia (as happened in 1870). France would not move alone, but it would join Britain in a war. London, however, realized that the British people would never support such a war. Furthermore, the long-term economic prosperity of Britain depended on friendly commercial and financial ties with the US. Idle speculation about intervention always came crashing into the bottom line: Washington would declare war immediately on any nation that so much as exchanged ambassadors with Richmond. Not one nation did so; Confederate diplomats had only deuces to play.<ref>Lynn M. Case and Warren F. Spencer, ''The United States and France: Civil War Diplomacy'' (1970)</ref>

Paris was building an empire in Mexico, with its puppet "Emperor" Maximilian propped up by French bayonets. Washington saw this as a violation of the [[Monroe Doctrine]], but avoided any confrontation until the war was over.<ref>After Appomattox, Washington sent tens of thousands of battle-hardened troops to the Mexican border. [[Paris]] finally pulled out; the Mexicans shot Maximilian. Richmond tolerated the French aggression. If somehow the Confederacy had become independent, it would have faced powerful enemies to its north and its south.</ref> The French navy was building up ironclad strength, but not as fast as the US Navy. Furthermore, the French people would never support such a war with the US, and if one broke out France might be attacked by [[Prussia]] (as happened in 1870). France would not move alone, but it would join Britain in a war. [[London]], however, realized that the British people would never support such a war. Furthermore, the long-term economic prosperity of Britain depended on friendly commercial and financial ties with the US. Idle speculation about intervention always came crashing into the bottom line: Washington would declare war immediately on any nation that so much as exchanged ambassadors with Richmond. Not one nation did so; Confederate diplomats had only deuces to play.<ref>Lynn M. Case and Warren F. Spencer, ''The United States and France: Civil War Diplomacy'' (1970)</ref>

    

    

===Crisis with Britain: the Trent Affair===

===Crisis with Britain: the Trent Affair===