did the confederacy agree to abolish slavery in exchange for recognition?

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  • #15111
    ronmicle
    Member

    Just got through reading Donald Livington’s excellent article about Lincoln. In it, he mentions that

    Jefferson Davis was an enlightened slave holder who said that once the Confederacy gained its independence, it would mean the end of slavery. The Confederate Cabinet agreed to abolish slavery within five years after the cessation of hostilities in exchange for recognition by Britain and France.

    Is this true? Someone in the comment section asked for a citation and emailed Livingston. I’m hoping one of the professors here can help me out.

    #15112

    Here you go:

    Slavery and the Civil War Revisited

    Also, here is a link to the material: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1915097?seq=1

    #15113
    ronmicle
    Member

    Thanks Prof. McClanahan. So it seems that this fact along with Lincoln’s offer at the Hampton Roads Peace Conference (see my post here) clearly show that the war did not even remotely hinge on slavery. Just like how Lincoln wrote to Horace Greeley that he would preserve the Union regardless of slavery being legal or illegal, the South was adamant on independence regardless of slavery being legal or illegal

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