The Cause Of All Nations Analysis

After eleven Southern states seceded from the United States in February of 1861, and the country was one the brink of a Civil War, the rest of the world watched to see if the ideals of freedom and democracy would defeat the institution of slavery and tyranny. In Don Doyle’s book The Cause of All Nations, he explains how at the outset of the war, European nations had taken great interest in America’s struggle and ignited a division between those who sided with the North and those who sided with the South. This division involved the aristocracy and conservatives sympathizing with the Confederacy, and the liberal-minded middle class siding with the Union. The American conflict was important to Europeans because the fate of republicanism and democracy …show more content…
Civil War. The war created a dichotomy between conservatives and aristocracies versus a liberal middle class. Due to the fact that the United States was one of the last remaining republics in the world, it was viewed as an experiment. The American war, many observers came to believe, would decide the destiny of democracy, and free labor generations to come (Doyle, 7). British conservatives wanted nothing more than to see the Union fail. They took interest in the war because if it ends in a catastrophe for the Union, it would be “an inexhaustible source of argument in their favor” (Doyle, 69). Sir John Pakington, an arch Tory Mp, warned people that “extreme democracy” would inevitably lead to doom and he used the U.S. as an example. He exclaimed, “Had democracy succeeded? Had extreme democracy contributed to promote the happiness of mankind? Take warning from this country” (96). In other words, if republicanism failed, it would ultimately show that constitutional monarchies like Britain’s would be superior and favorable. In the case of Britain, aristocracies and monarchies would always be pitted against …show more content…
While Lincoln and his administration were preoccupied and distracted with the South, France and Spain used the opportunity to blatantly disregard the Monroe Doctrine and recapture Latin American lands they had lost in the past. Spain’s goal was to recapture the island of Santo Domingo, Hispaniola, and Haiti while Napoleon III wanted to reinstate a monarchy in Mexico, to thwart the expansion and influence of the United States in Latin America (Doyle, 125). The Union was late to actually institute the Monroe Doctrine because they were worried that the French would ally with the Confederates. The Confederates, on the other hand loved the French presence in Mexico because it resulted in a monopoly and supply