Of the many factors that contributed to the South's loss of the Civil War, one of the most decisive was the failure of Southern diplomacy. In this penetrating new work, Charles M. Hubbard reassesses the diplomatic efforts made by the Confederacy in its struggle to become an independent nation. Hubbard's much-needed synthesis focuses both on the Confederacy's attempts to negotiate a peaceful separation from the Union and on Southern diplomats' increasingly desperate pursuit of state recognition from the major European powers.

Drawing on a large body of sources, including original documents...

"Thoroughly researched . . . Hubbard's] interpretation is solid, well supported, and touches all of the major aspects of Confederate diplomacy."--American Historical Review
"As the first examination of the topic since King Cotton Diplomacy (1931), this work deserves widespread attention. Hubbard offers a convincingly bleak portrayal of the limited skills and myopic vision of Rebel diplomacy at home and abroad."--Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
Of the many factors that contributed to the South's loss of the Civil War, one of the most decisive was the failure of Southern...

From his early years as a small-town lawyer through his rise to the presidency, Abraham Lincoln respected the rule of law. Secession and the Civil War, however, led him to expand presidential power in ways that, over time, transformed American society. In this incisive essay collection, recognized scholars from a variety of academic disciplines including history, political science, legal studies, and journalism explore Lincoln s actions as president and identify within his decision-making process his commitment to law and the principles of the Constitution. In so doing, they demonstrate how...