Chapter 18: John Bull's Virginia Reel

Chapter 18: John Bull's Virginia Reel

The war in 1862 led to Confederate hope that they might get European diplomatic recognition again. Many Englishmen believed the South's revolution against the Union was justified. Soon, Liverpool secretly built a commerce raider warship and sent it to the Confederates. The British officials also allowed southern agent Bulloch to get his cruisers out of the country. Also, there was a cotton famine in Britain and the South and plenty of cotton.

Yet, the British view of Southerners as trying to get their freedom failed since they had slavery. The English prided themselves on stopping the transatlantic slave trade and abolishing slavery in the West Indies; thus, they couldn't support the South. But, also, since the North didn't fight for freedom, the British didn't see how they were any better. Since they didn't care about removing slavery, the British didn't support them.

The Battle at Antietam ended the Confederacy's hope of British intervention. This was mentioned in the previous chapter as well; because the Union said that Antietam was their victory, the British stopped caring, since the Confederacy wasn't winning any important battles. The Battle of Antietam also led to issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The battle was also significant since it warned the British that they shouldn't fight against a government that now wanted freedom, since Britishers had claimed they would support the Union if they worked to abolish slavery.

After the Proclamation was issued, many were confused; even though it didn't immediately free any slaves, it was still a statement to the world. This was also unconstitutional to remove slavery in states that were loyal to the Union. Then, the Democrats made emancipation their issue in control of Congress. Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus to enforce the militia draft also hurt the Republicans; the continuation of the war, combined with all these other issues, led to the Democrats gaining a lot in the 1862 elections.

Southern response to emancipation was terrible. Many abolition prisoners were executed. These massacres bothered the Union, who threatened to attack; this was a reason why they were afraid to use blacks in combat, since they could be captured and killed. Still, the Union now had the British support and the Emancipation Proclamation was a turning point in the war.

Key Terms: 

• Emancipation Proclamation: issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, as a war measure during the Civil War; directed at the Confederates, in order to weaken them and make them think that they were going to lose their property and drop their morale; although it didn't free any slave immediately, it still gave the Union British support; it was in response to the Battle of Antietam.
• habeas corpus: federal courts  determine if a state's detention of a prisoner is valid; Lincoln suspended it during the war, something many people hated, to hurt Confederate supporters.
• 13th amendment: passed after the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865; Constitutional amendment prohibiting all forms of slavery and involuntary servitude; ex-Confederate states were required to ratify the amendment prior to gaining reentry into the Union.

Questions: 

• Once the British supported the Union when the Emancipation Proclamation was passed, what did they do to help the Union/hurt the Confederacy?
• Were there any significant riots in the South that affected the war?
• In what ways did blacks in the South react after the Emancipation Proclamation was passed?

Citations: 

• McPherson, James M. "18: John Bull's Virginia Reel." In Battle Cry of Freedom, 546-567. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
• Accessed March 11, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/images/emancipation.jpg.