Date of Award

5-1988

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

First Advisor

Frank Klement

Second Advisor

Thomas E. Hachey

Abstract

The "Trent affair" occupies a very interesting place in Civil War history. Besides almost touching off an armed Anglo-American confrontation, it also ignited spectacular verbal fireworks in both the President's Cabinet and in Congress. The cause of these reactions was England ' s ultimatum for the release of two imprisoned Southern agents and it temporarily clouded the otherwise rational minds in Washington who emphatically opposed the surrender on patriotic, and more importantly, political grounds. The Trent incident was the Lincoln Administration's first major test in diplomacy which it nearly failed, as Cabinet members and Congressmen fought amongst themselves to present the best summary of American indignation rather than face the crisis at hand. Thus, these reactions need close attention so as to see the individuals governing the country in a new light as they blindly clung to their sole triumph in the early stages of the Civil War.

Comments

An Essay Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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