Lincoln's Diplomacy

[Eva Elisabeth]

Laurie, IMO D. B. Mahin's "One war at a time" is a very good book, too (and has one chapter on cotton).

(01-17-2014 11:37 PM)Don1946 Wrote:  Seward was the mastermind behind Union diplomacy.

Similar was said and written quite often. From my humble point of view, dealing with foreign affairs is the usual business and duty of a Secrtary of State. Nevertheless I think Lincoln was not as unaware, ignorant, and uninvolved in foreign politics as many authors claim, but he had already more than enough business to do "at home". One example of his influence is the May 2, 1861 dispatch Seward intended to let C. F. Adams (US minister to Britain) present to Britain's Foreign Secretary John Russell, in which Seward criticized that Russell had met with Confederate envoys and promised them British recognition would be discussed in the cabinet. Lincoln thought Seward's language was too strong and left no chances for negotiations. He revised the dispatch (e.g. calling Britain's actions "hurtful" instead of "wrongful", taking out "enemies", etc.), and advised Seward not to let Adams hand Russell the dispatch out but letting him use it for guidance in a discussion.

I believe if Lincoln had had sufficient time, he would have tried to further educate himself on the subject as he did with military strategies and warfare.

What is your opinion - did Abraham Lincoln have an influence on or interest in foreign politics or not, and why (not)?