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American Civil War Foreign Relations Series

[edit] United States Relations with Russia 1860 to 1865

Throughout the American Civil War, tsarist Russia maintained a diplomatic friendship with the

United States that remained diplomatically unofficial until after the war ended. Although theUnited States and Russia had similar peculiar institutions prior to the war, slavery in theUnited States and serfdom in Russia, the Russians did not view serfdom in the same light as

slavery. Even after the Confederacy seceded, the majority of Russians still viewed the UnitedStates with contempt in regard to segregation and racism. However, Tsar Alexander II had freed

the serfs in Russia before Lincolns inauguration, giving Lincoln partial justification foremancipating American slaves. During the war, Russia needed American goodwill and support

due to increasing tensions with England and France, than the United States needed Russiansupport. This essay will attempt to construe the nature of the friendship between Russia and the

United States, the reasons for this friendship, and the effects of the friendship.

By the time of Lincolns inauguration in March 1861, Russian Minister to the United StatesEdouard de Stoeckl had been in America for twenty years and had been Minister for seven.Stoeckl had witnessed the gradual decline into secession and war. He witnessed the deaths of the

Great Compromisers in the early 1850s, and was dismayed by the lack of ability remaining inCongress. Stoeckl personally held a low opinion of Lincoln-criticizing what he perceived to be

Lincolns indecisiveness, ignorance, and inability to perform the presidential duties-and,alternately, a rather high opinion of his friend, Jefferson Davis. In April 1861, Stoeckl

volunteered to act as a mediator between Confederate commissioners and Federal representativesto determine the status of the Confederacy peacefully. Secretary of State William Seward

declined to participate in the mediation, which the Confederates wholeheartedly supported.

Russia was the first nation to stand behind the Union in friendliness. The nature of thisrelationship was not one of support - the Russian leadership did not love democracy - but one of

convenience. Russia aligned itself with the United States because England and France, Russiasenemies, aligned themselves more closely with the Confederate States. Although the Russian

aristocracy had no use for democracy, they feared insurgency. Along with all other conservativemonarchs in Europe, Tsar Alexander II would not recognize the Confederacy mainly because he

considered it a revolutionary regime in an era of frequent revolutions and regime changes inEurope. It is apparent that the Tsar, as well as other monarchs, feared that the insurrection

mounted by the Confederacy would spark the beginning of another round of revolutionsthroughout Europe. It is interesting to note at this point that extremely few European nations

retain their monarchs a century later, most having become democratic or communistic states.

Russia had a second motive to align itself behind the United States. A reunited United States

would potentially be a powerful ally for the Russians, an ally that Russia desperately neededafter losing the Crimean War. In 1863, Tsar Alexander II ordered the Russian Atlantic Fleet and

the Pacific Fleet to United States ports for the winter. Many construed this action to mean thatRussia was openly aiding the Union and that the Russian Navy would supplement the Federal

Navy against the Confederacy. However, this apparent meaning proved false. Tensions betweenRussia and England were escalating over Russian actions against the Polish and war between the

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two was on the horizon. The Tsar sent the navy to the United States so that the naval fleets wouldnot be trapped by the winter ice in arctic Russia ports. An underlying motive probably was to

warm American support for Russia in case of war with England.

The effects of the relationship between Russia and the United States were relatively few, but

very important. In 1861, the Russian government proposed a land based telegraph line from theUnited States to Europe through Canada and Russia. This plan was later abandoned in 1867when the Atlantic cable was laid, but throughout the war Lincoln and the Congress supported

this option as the most viable. Russia also agreed to refuse to participate in any Europeanplanned intervention or interference into American affairs. This agreement came in 1863 with

France and England trying to persuade Russia to participate in a European intervention in theAmerican Civil War. Coinciding with this invitation was an invitation from England and France

to the United States to act against Russia for its suppression of Poland. These invitations to boththe United States and Russia were no more than a western European attempt to disrupt the

diplomatic relationship between those two nations. Russias refusal of the France-Englandinvitation was to ensure that the United States would not interfere in Russian affairs in return.

Lincoln maintained American isolationist policy by refusing the France-England invitation toreact against Russia, even though he was personally opposed to Russian despotism.

On 3 March 1861, Tsar Alexander II freed over twenty million serfs in Russia and ended

serfdom forever. This action gave American abolitionists fuel for their fight against slavery andhelped to justify Lincolns decision to free the slaves in America. The main difference in the two

emancipations was race. The serfs were of the same race and heritage, spoke the same language,had the same religion, and shared the same culture as their masters. Upon emancipation, the serfs

gained full civil rights (to Russian standards), self government, and had a claim to the land theyhad toiled on for years. American emancipation was much different. The slaves were of a

different race and considered inferior to their masters. They were not allowed to worship withtheir masters; they had a different heritage and culture, and many times spoke a different

language adopted solely by slaves. Upon emancipation they were granted civil rights by law, butin practice most of those rights were denied. They were kept out of government by their former

masters and could not make a claim on the land on which they had previously toiled. Thetreatment of former slaves by white Americans soured relations with Russia somewhat. Russia

was critical of segregation and racism within the United States and became vocal in theircriticisms.

Russia and the United States maintained friendly relations during the American Civil War. Thereasons for this friendliness differ between the two nations; both had a need for international

friends, but both were wary of the other. The nature of this relationship was opportunistic-Russianeeded a strong ally against England and France, and the United States needed a quasi-ally to

disrupt European interference in American affairs. The effects of the relationship were based onthe nature of the relationship. Both Russia and the United States were able to disrupt intervention

into their affairs by western European powers by maintaining their diplomatic friendliness.Diplomatic relations between Russia and the United States were important in the course that each

nation made its own.

[edit] Bibliography

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y Harold Hyman, ed. Heard Round the World (New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1969).y Howard Jones. Union in Peril (Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.

1992).y Dean Mahin. One War at a Time (Washington D.C.: Brasseys. 1999).y Belle Becker Sideman and Lillian Friedman, ed. Europe Looks at the Civil War (New

York: The Orion Press. 1960).y Philip Van Doren Stern. When The Guns Roared (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co.

1965).

y Albert Woldman. Lincoln and the Russians (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 1952).[edit] Author

Dr. C. J. Stumph, D.D.