I am looking for more of an explanation as to why the emancipation proclamation was a political maneuver to keep Britain from trying to break the blockade of the south. It’s unclear to me why they would care. Were they afraid that they might be seen as fighting to preserve slavery? I also read through the Treaty of Ghent and found the 9th and 10th articles kind of curious. The 9th called for an end of hostilities with the native tribes and preservation of rights for them. The 10th called for both nations to move toward abolishing slavery or at least slave traffic. Is there any significance to these? Was there any reaction to them? Mostly, I’m curious why they were even in the treaty and who pushed to have them included.
Why they would care is one thing, and that they did is another. They certainly did. In fact, Queen Victoria told the US ambassador that her government would never side with the CSA because it was defending slavery.
.
