The Research On The Diplomatic Activities Of The Confederacy During The American Civil War

During the period of American civil war,the north and south not only invested enormous armies in the frontal battlefield,but also dispatch the diplomats to the Europe.At that time,Britain’s foreign policy was undoubtedly the wind vane for many European countries,therefore the Confederacy had sent two diplomatic missions to the Britain in order to get the recognition and even economic or the military support.This thesis focuses on the Confederacy’s first missions--the Yancey Mission.During the period of staying in Britain,The Yancey Mission had the opportunity to meet British Foreign Secretary Lord Russell and experienced the opportunity period between the Confederacy and Britain--from the declaration of neutrality by Britain to the breaking out of the “Trent ” incident.The Yancey Mission also witnessed the process of the failure of Confederacy diplomacy with Britain,and the subsequent Mason mission could not reverse the trend during its all tenure.The purpose of this thesis is to study the Yancey Mission’s diplomatic activities,the tactics it used.Therefore,we can have a deeper understanding on the reasons why the Yancey Mission and the Confederacy’s diplomacy had failed during the Civil War.With the study of the Yancey Mission,we can also have a further understanding,through another perspective,on the issue of the diplomacy during the American Civil War.