what two reasons were given for supposed british support of the confederacy during the civil war
United Kingdom and the American Civil War
The possibility of recognizing the Confederacy came to the fore late in the summer of 1862 . At that time , as far as any European could see , the war seemed to be a stalemate . The US attempt to capture the Confederate capital had failed , and in the east and west alike , the Confederates were on the offensive . Charles Francis Adams , Sr. , warned Washington that the British government might very soon offer to mediate the difficulty between North and South , which would be a polite but effective way of intimating that in the opinion of Britain , the fight had gone on long enough and should be ended by giving the South what it wanted . Recognition , as Adams warned , risked all - out war with the United States . War would involve an invasion of Canada , a full - scale American attack on British shipping interests worldwide , an end to American grain shipments that were providing a large part of the British food supply , and an end to British sales of machinery and supplies to the US . The British leadership , however , thought that if the Union armies were decisively defeated , the US might soften its position and accept mediation .
The possibility of recognizing the Confederacy came to the fore late in the summer of 1862 . At that time , as far as any European could see , the war seemed to be a stalemate . The US attempt to capture the Confederate capital had failed , and in the east and west alike , the Confederates were on the offensive . Charles Francis Adams , Sr. , warned Washington that the British government might very soon offer to mediate the difficulty between North and South , which would be a polite but effective way of intimating that in the opinion of Britain , the fight had gone on long enough and should be ended by giving the South what it wanted . Recognition , as Adams warned , risked all - out war with the United States . War would involve an invasion of Canada , a full - scale American attack on British shipping interests worldwide , an end to American grain shipments that were providing a large part of the British food supply , and an end to British sales of machinery and supplies to the US . The British leadership , however , thought that if the Union armies were decisively defeated , the US might soften its position and accept mediation .