Burden of Confederate Diplomacy

Burden of Confederate Diplomacy Description

Thoroughly researched . . . [Hubbardâs] interpretation is solid, well supported, and touches all of the major aspects of Confederate diplomacy.âAmerican Historical ReviewAs 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.âVirginia Magazine of History and BiographyOf the many factors that contributed to the Southâs loss of the Civil War, one of the most decisive was the failure of Southern diplomacy. In this penetrating work, Charles M. Hubbard reassesses the diplomatic efforts made by the Confederacy in its struggle to become an independent nation. Hubbard focuses both on the Confederacyâs attempts to negotiate a peaceful separation from the Union and Southern diplomatsâ increasingly desperate pursuit of state recognition from the major European powers. ÂÂ ÂDrawing on a large body of sources, Hubbard offers an important reinterpretation of the problems facing Confederate diplomats. He demonstrates how the strategies and objectives of the Southâs diplomatic programâthemselves often poorly conceivedâwere then placed in the hands of inexperienced envoys who were ill-equipped to succeed in their roles as negotiators. ÂÂ ÂThe Author: Charles M. Hubbard is associate professor of history at Lincoln Memorial University and executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Museum in Harrogate, Tennessee.