GDG- Re: Defeat of AoP, Recognition by Britain

[cameron2 at optimum.net]

<<  Yes, the all in one basket concept behind the King Cotton method of inducing
recognition from Britain seemed not only arrogant, but foolhardy as well.
When that failed, they had no other leverage to employ.  In addition, it
antagonized a lot of people in Britain.  >>

I've never researched the matter, but have read that one reason the "King Cotton" rational failed was that at the time the war started, cotton in Britain was in ample supply.  And, if need be, new supplies could be obtained elsewhere, such as India.  And while Britian mills did reduce production, it was not so much due to a lack of raw material, as the fact that finished cloth had become a glut on the market.  Cotton did not provide the south with nearly the leverage they tought it would.