SHUMUN XV
Seton Hall University Model United Nations XV
The Confederacy
Chair: Bo Gilliam
Director: Gabriela Taveras
Rapporteur: Mariah Ross
Committee Topics
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Cotton Diplomacy
States’ Rights
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Seton Hall University
School of Diplomacy and International
Relations
400 S. Orange Avenue
South Orange, NJ 07079
SHUMUN XV
History
The American Civil War began in response to Southern states seceding over the issue of slavery. The
war was fierce and gruesome resulting in over 620,000 deaths, the largest fatality from any war the United
States has been apart of. There was no international intervention. Cotton diplomacy was a Southern strategy
that aimed to persuade Great Britain and France, along with other European states, to recognize the
Confederacy as a separate, sovereign state. By 1860, the South had emerged as provider of majority of the
cotton consumed in Great Britain and France. The plan was to stop exporting cotton to these states. The
anticipated outcome was that Great Britain and France, upon taking such a blow to their textile industries,
would try to reinitiate trade by any means necessary. The two would thus support the Southern war effort.
Unfortunately for the Confederacy, the anticipated
outcome never entered into reality. The self-imposed
embargo did initiate the Cotton famine, a sudden
decrease in the supply of cotton. European states were
able to find other suppliers in Egypt and the East
Indies. Cotton diplomacy inevitably shrunk the
economy of the South.
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Website: www.shumun.com
Seton Hall University
School of Diplomacy and International
Relations
400 S. Orange Avenue
South Orange, NJ 07079
SHUMUN XV
Seton Hall University Model United Nations XV
States’ rights are outlined in the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. It says that the laws of the
federal government are the supreme law of the land. Any state law that is in confliction with federal law can
be overruled. The South repeatedly asserted that slavery may exist in states that approved it, in accordance
with state rights. The South proclaimed that outlawing slavery on the federal level would be a violation of
state sovereignty. Their interests were multifaceted. The economy of the South was booming for two reasons.
There was a high demand for cotton and the South had the supply: this yielded an immense profit. Through
using slavery, the South was able to eliminate majority of their costs, thus maximizing profit. Initially the
Supreme Court did side with the South, allowing states to decide whether or not to have legal slavery. As
time went on, the South proved to be inconsistent in their use of the states’ rights argument. Both
Northerners and Southerners without slaves recognized that slavery directly contradicted the moral principles
upon which America was founded.
Current Situation
Date: April 19, 1861
On Dec. 24, 1860, delegates at South Carolina’s secession
convention adopted the “Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which
Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union.” It emphasized “an increasing
hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the institution of slavery” and protested that Northern
states had failed to “fulfill their constitutional obligations” by interfering with the return of fugitive slaves to
bondage.
South Carolina was further upset that New York no longer allowed “slavery transit.” In addition, they
objected that New England states let black men vote and tolerated abolitionist
societies. According to South Carolina, states should not have the right to let their citizens assemble and
speak freely when what they said threatened slavery.
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Website: www.shumun.com
Seton Hall University
School of Diplomacy and International
Relations
400 S. Orange Avenue
South Orange, NJ 07079
Other seceding states agreed with South Carolina, such as Mississippi on January 9, 1861: “Our
position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery — the greatest material interest
of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most
important portions of the commerce of the earth. . . . A blow at slavery is a blow at commerce
and civilization.”
Southerners began the war effort confident that the cotton their plantations provided
European textile manufacturers would naturally ally their governments to the Confederacy,
especially Great Britain. After declaring succession, the North would declare a blockade on
Southern ports. Any interruption of cotton supply would disrupt the British economy and
reduce the workers to starvation, they thought. Britain would have to break the blockade and
provoke a war with the North that would allow Confederates to solidify independence and gain
international recognition.
When the Union did declare a blockade upon the rebel states in April 1861, however, it
did not prompt the response expected from the Europeans. The blockade’s legal and political
implications took on greater significance than its economic effects because it undermined
Lincoln’s insistence that the war was merely an internal insurrection.
A blockade was a weapon of war between sovereign states. In May, Britain responded
to the blockade with a proclamation of neutrality, which the other European powers followed.
This tacitly granted the Confederacy belligerent status, the right to contract loans and purchase
supplies in neutral nations and to exercise belligerent rights on the high seas. The Union was
greatly angered by European recognition of Southern belligerency, fearing that is was a first
step toward diplomatic recognition, but as British Foreign Secretary Lord John Russell said,
“The question of belligerent rights is one, not of principle, but of fact.”
Conflict Timeline
February 9, 1861 - The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis, a West
Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, as president.
March 4, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as 16th President of the United States of
America. Fort Sumter Attacked
April 12, 1861 - At 4:30 a.m. Confederates under Gen. Pierre Beauregard open fire with 50
cannons upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War begins.
April 15, 1861 - President Lincoln issues a Proclamation calling for 75,000 militiamen, and
summoning a special session of Congress for July 4.
Robert E. Lee, son of a Revolutionary War hero, and a 25 year distinguished veteran of the
United States Army and former Superintendent of West Point, is offered command of the Union
Army. Lee declines.
April 17, 1861 - Virginia secedes from the Union, followed within five weeks by Arkansas,
Tennessee, and North Carolina, thus forming an eleven state Confederacy with a population of
9 million, including nearly 4 million slaves. The Union will soon have 21 states and a
population of over 20 million.
April 19, 1861 - President Lincoln issues a Proclamation of Blockade against Southern ports.
For the duration of the war the blockade limits the ability of the rural South to stay well
supplied in its war against the industrialized North.
Questions to Consider:
1. How should the South react to continued Northern aggression?
2. The Union will most likely try to blockade Confederate ports. How can you help prevent
this occurring?
3. Is Cotton Diplomacy a policy the Confederacy should still pursue to win over European
legitimacy and recognition?
4. Think of some ways that the Confederacy can function better independently
(infrastructure, industry, etc). How can the Confederacy build up these economic
factors?
5. Does the issue of slavery need to be considered as a foreign policy objective for the
South? Why or why not?
Sources:
http://voiceseducation.org/node/207
http://www.etymonline.com/cw/draft.htm
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/statesrights.html
http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/A-D/Civil-War-Diplomacy-Cotton-diplomacy.html
http://www.civilwarhome.com/statesrights.htm