Secret History of Confederate Diplomacy Abroad

Secret History of Confederate Diplomacy Abroad
- Used Book in Good Condition
One of the Southâ€™s most urgent priorities in the Civil War was obtaining the recognition of foreign governments. Edwin De Leon, a Confederate propagandist charged with wooing Britain and France, opens up this vital dimension of the war in the earliest known account by a Confederate foreign agent.

First published in the New York Citizen in 1867â€“68, De Leonâ€™s memoir subsequently sank out of sight until its recent rediscovery by William C. Davis, one of the Civil War fieldâ€™s true luminaries. Both reflective and engaging, it brims with insights and immediacy lacking in other works, covering everything from the diplomatic impact of the Battle of Bull Run to the candid opinions of Lord Palmerston to the progress of secret negotiations at Vichy.

De Leon discusses, among other things, the strong stand against slavery by the French and a frustrating policy of inaction by the British, as well as the troubling perceptions of some Europeans that the Confederacy was located in South America and that most Americans were a cross between Davy Crockett and Sam Slick. With Franceâ€™s recognition a priority, De Leon published pamphlets and used French journals in a futile attempt to sway popular opinion and pressure the government of Napoleon III. His interpretation of the latterâ€™s meeting with Confederate diplomat John Slidell and the eventual mediation proposal sheds new light on that signal event.

De Leon was a keen observer and a bit of a gossip, and his opinionated details and character portraits help shed light on the dark crevices of the Southâ€™s doomed diplomatic efforts and provide our only inside look at the workings of Napoleonâ€™s court and Parliament regarding the Confederate cause. Davis adds an illuminating introduction that places De Leonâ€™s career in historical context, reveals much about his propagandist strategies, and traces the history of the Secret History itself. Together they open up a provocative new window on the Civil War.
Country USA
Brand University Press of Kansas
Manufacturer University Press of Kansas
Binding Hardcover
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780700614110
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	University Press of Kansas
Manufacturer	University Press of Kansas
Binding	Hardcover
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780700614110
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

Secret History of Confederate Diplomacy Abroad

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