Much again. Up next on American History tv, historian don doyle discusses his book, the cause of all nations, and International History of the American Civil War. The war looks at how was viewed around the world and the perspectives of the foreignborn soldiers fighting in it. This event is a little over an hour and 45 minutes. It is my pleasure to welcome don doyle who graduated from the university of california at davis. During his sophomore year, he took off a semester and travel to europe, where he developed a lifelong pastor lifelong question for history which took him to northwestern university, where he earned his phd. He spent much of his career at Vanderbilt University where he developed a strong interest in the civil war era. The professorcame of history at South Carolina. He also enjoyed numerous overseas teaching and research experiences. He was a fulbright professor of American History three times, and rome, italy, genoa, italy, and rio de janeiro, at universities in all three places. He also taught at university of leeds in england and has spent a good deal of time traveling in europe and latin america. Seven books and five edited collections of essays in addition to numerous articles, logs, and guess ed leases. Essays came out of the research for the cause of all nations, on which he will speak tonight. He has written for salon. Com, usa today, and other popular journals. Of his Early Research involved the social history of 19thcentury america, but he withed out branched out u. S. And italy. Tonight, he will speak on his latest book, and International History of the American Civil War. This book has been named one of the best nonfiction books of the year. Welcome dr. Doyle. [applause] dr. Doyle thank you, very much for that very fine introduction. To bob for all the logistical support, and all of you coming through the rain to talk about the civil war. Im delighted to know this will be going out to a larger audience through cspan. Trying to Say Something new about the American Civil War is no easy challenge. Began, i was on sabbatical in washington, d. C. And was across from the ford museum where Abraham Lincoln died. If you go out to the second floor to the bedroom, you come out and go down to the gift store, theres a stairway and eighthour of translucent plastic that goes through both floors. It must be 10 feet wide and must be 40 feet. The tower is filled with books on lincoln and the American Civil War. I was thinking as im beginning that book is that its a great deal of scholarship from generations to this man into this war and im thinking im going to have just one more brick on the pile. What on earth do i have to say that is new . The American Civil War lies at the heart of our national identity. Of the conversation we have with ourselves about ourselves. For a long time, it was regarded as a tragic others war, a kind with issues that should have been resolved, northcs on both sides, and south, inflame the passions of the people and led the men to this disastrous war. In the 1960s, we began to turn war asward the civil dealing with real issues and issues that were unresolved, having to do with race and the legacy of slavery. Unfinishede revolution. It became the prelude to the American Civil Rights movement and the war took on this effect we were talking about the civil war and also talking about ourselves and this long, relet reckoning with race and the legacy of slavery. My view takes us out of this narrative be on the battlefield, beyond the political arenas, beyond the bounds of the nation, north, south, lincoln, davis, lee, grant, the symmetry that we have to this National Narrative we have and to look at it from outside from a global view or at least transatlantic you and understand what the war meant to the world. Exchange across the atlantic as well as to europe affected the way americans understood their war. This global perspective tell us that his new about the American Civil War . First thing i discovered is this war that we think of as an american event fought i american soldiers, about issues that were peculiarly american, it mattered a great deal to the rest of the world. This war and reported on it and discussed it. It was discussed in the parliaments of written and france and germany for top it was an important event a followed with great interest. Discoveryance of this came at the end of the war when they heard the news of the unions victory and within days, the news of lincolns death and, all over, the european and american world, people came out into the streets to hear the news, by newspapers and learn more. They wrote letters and resolutions, tens of thousands of letters came in, letters of sympathy and solidarity to express condolence over lincolns death. It was a measure of just how much this war meant to the rest of the world. Why did it matter so much . This was not as obvious. There was a huge Economic Impact 80 of the worlds supply of cotton came out of the american south. That supply was cut off deadly, first by the south. Lifewanted to force europe forcing an embargo. Then one way or another, very totle cotton was eating out europe and there was talk of a cotton famine sweeping through not just the district of Northern England but northern europe, france, belgium, italy, germany and all the industrial world depended on cotton from the south and the other supplies would be developed but that was yet to come. They were afraid of not just losing profits or even losing jobs, but social unrest and fervor working up in the lancashire district of written and northern europe. There was a political fear as well. But the material interest and economic concerns were there and they were grave. What they talked about most was the social impact of the war and what it would mean for the future of world history. Contest, this was a that involved the future of the republican experiment and the future of slavery and free labor. Did his annual address in 1861 and said america was last best hope of earth, we have used that as a bragging point of americas exceptionalism. But it is not a boast. Lament. A there were not any republics outside of switzerland in a few small city state. Republicanism and the idea of government by the people had died. It had been defeated in the revolution of 1848 and there was an idea that government for the people just did not work and now america was proving that again. Had republics but they were in turmoil. Revolutions right and left. The republican experiment as they referred to it was unproven. There was an idea that republics ever since the time of the ancient republics in rome and greece, that they were inherently fragile and weak and would always descend into anarchy or despotism. Democracies could not fight wars. They could not sustain the strain of war. Democracies do not make war with each other that is very popular. There was an idea democracies could not fight wars or were incapable of it. When america descended into war and ink and abandon habeas about and there was talk the american bastille being raised and medical prisoners being put in, it was despotism as well as anarchy the Great Republic was descending into. One of the french republicans who plays a minor but poignant americay story said is not only america. One place or when race more on the map. It is especially the model school of liberty. If against all possibility, america had perished, with it would fall a great experiment. Idea of democracy being an experiment, not the future, but an imperiled experiment that was about to fail was foremost on the minds of european us. People who believed in government by aristocracy and inherited power, dynastic rule, they were happy to see the Great Republic fail. They were trying to overthrow the regime and establish a experiment in europe. Many believed by the end of the century, the United States and all the trouble republics in the new world would make their way back to monarchy. Some under the protection of britain, france or spain. They would be restored to monarchy and Catholic Authority in latin america. I tell the story about many of my antecedents and self carolina promoting the idea of monarchy in america in the south. Mob look of this what they have done they have elected Abraham Lincoln. We want to be stored to some sort of monarch a goal order. The south carolinians were telling William Howard russell isnt there some friends that can come and take us over . Cant we be repatriated . In rebellion against the idea of extreme democracy as they called it. Also to the question why did it matter, there was a geopolitical contest that had grave consequences for the entire euro american world. Greatan powers, the ,owers of britain, france lesser powers like spain, russia, italy, many were not interested in just waiting for republicanism to fail. They were there to help and restore monarchical rule even before the guns fired at fort sumter in march of 1861. Later, in the 1860s, they would pick fights with peru and chile in an attempt to restore lost empires. The spectacular intervention came in mexico in the first year of war, as early as october, the part powers formed a try alliance in london and agreed to an allied invasion and put pressure on or overthrow the elected republican regime of the neato warez. The idea, as it developed in napoleon the thirds mind, the nephew of napoleon the first two overthrows the second republic of france. Hey try again in 1848 and crowned himself emperor, taking andge from his uncles book had the idea of restoring the glory that was france under his uncle and that it would he not just the greatest power in power, but establishing over the latin race in the new world. Showcaseuld become the against theal order shambles of republicanism in the rest of america. The archduke of austria and restore the church to power. This would be not just the takeover of mexico but it would create a hegemonic power over all of latin america. The very term was coined in this of latinunified race peoples who included the french, the portuguese and italian and the latin race would be restored to power against the anglosaxon, teutonic order in the old world and the new. Would block third the insidious influence of the anglosaxon republicans in the muchd states and restore of what had been given up to the United States under this mexican empire under maximilian. It was a big clash between historical forces and republicanism, slavery, and freedom. Forcesflict between the of good and evil or order and chaos, depending on your point of view. Intellectuals, reformers, political speakers of the american contest as a way of talking about what was going on in europe and latin america. For aame a proxy war contest that was global or at least transatlantic. Listened to one of my Favorite French republicans a history professor, one of the leading experts on american constitutional law in france. Solidarity and the cause of america is the cause of liberty. So long as there should be across the atlantic a society of 30 millions of men living under a government of their choice with laws made by themselves, liberty will cast raise over europe like an illuminating pharaohs. America, disencumbered of slavery, will be the comfort of all spirits and generous hearts. But should it become eclipsed in the new world, it will become night and we will see the work , spithington, franklin upon and trampled underfoot. Essay offrom an reelections in 1864. Karl marx, exiled radical in london writing for the new york daily tribune, one of the largest in the world at the time found in article analyzing the nature of his content. The first grand war of contemporaneous history is the american war. The highest form of popular selfgovernment is giving battle to the meanest and most shameless of mans enslaving recorded in the annals of history. America, ramon castillo, the president of peru said latin america was about to of the crowns against the liberty caps. Would haveis tremendous consequences for them. Was an epic battle that would decide the future and it was a battle that had been going on since the french revolution in American Revolution over the basic principles of human thelity upon which rested idea of popular sovereignty that people could be sovereign and people collect their own government and decide laws and power would come from the people and not divine rule. Foreigners were romanticizing this war and it became a moral conflict of enormous consequence. To beericans seemed wanting to keeping it as small as possible and the union denied this was over slavery. Lincoln was trying to discredit any idea that he was out to abolish slavery or transform the south. Lincoln had to discredit the idea there was any reasonable cause. He did not want sympathy for the south which was trying to say they were being oppressed by some tyrannical force before lincoln had taken power. They were suffering from the abolitionists that were going to overthrow their system of labor racial warfare or a racial holocaust in the south. Sayoln was careful to theres no cause for revolutionary overthrow of this government. Slavery is safe in the states where it exists. The Republican Party wants only to limit its expansion. Quoting himself from an earlier speech i have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe i have no lawful right to do so and no inclination to do so. That last bit is what got a lot of europeans. Ofe was after 10 years arguing over this issue of slavery, foreign onlookers had seen this young democracy tearing itself apart. Partyy, the antislavery mobilized and almost overnight, it seized National Power for the first time. You have a president in power that is openly hostile to slavery and now in his inaugural address says i dont have any power to do anything about slavery. To preserve the union and the slavery is safe where it exists. Foreigners cannot understand the constitution. They are accustomed to monarchical power. Constitution the limiting power. Lincoln hadon his reasons, both the internal and domestic political constraints that also did not want foreign powers to come in and intervene or recognize the south. It wasnt just lincoln. Bestam seward, one of our secretaries of state, very shrewd. The beginning of this was really disappointing to a lot of deny any intention of the union to use this war to bend slavery. He was terrified foreigners would see that threat of abolition as a threat to business interests and that would rebound to the benefit of the south and britain and france might come in and intervene in order to stop this demolition of the cotton market. As he instructed, whether the revolution shall succeed or fail, the condition of slavery will remain just the same. This was not just lincoln speaking to this was domestic and Foreign Policy. This. Egan questioning the diplomats begin writing back. He was interested in using his diplomats not just for him but as their eyes and ears of washington. He asked them right back what is going on. On. Us what is going very interested in public sentiment and opinion. I argue they were on the cutting edge of a new Public Diplomacy a term a did not use at the time. Public diplomacy and soft power very contemporary phrases, but that is what they were doing here. A german immigrant, a radical who had come over after the quickly inand rose the Republican Party, helped lincoln get elected by deliberate part of the german vote and wanted to be an ambassador. Everyone wanted to be an ambassador. It was lucrative and prestigious. He wanted to show them this was going to be a representative of the Great Republic. They appointed him to spain. Offensive it would be to european governments to send this radical revolutionary over as our ambassador and first wanted italy but lincoln finally he was frustrated after the battle of bull run and could see the tide turning against the europe turning against europe. He wrote this wrong this long dispatch hoping it would get to lincoln. That the ruling classes of europe wanted america to fail. They wanted democracy to fail. But the public was hopeful. Assuming the war would be nothing than a grand up rising. Assumed it would be nothing more than a grand uprising of the popular conscience in favor of a great unitarian principle. He said the union was squandering its most valuable moral capital by denying slavery be an issue. Why should europeans support the north if its only goal was the privilege of being where he associated with the imperious and trouble slave states. Waraid we must place the against the rebellious slave states against a higher moral basis and thereby give us the control of public moral opinion. If you control the public, even in autocratic nations like france and spain, the autocratic governments are even more afraid they are not going to let it out in an opposition party. They are going to go to the barricades in france and are very sensitive to that. Must arouseing they that public sentiment in a war not just against slavery but in favor of republican principles. Precisely as he was writing to seward, seward had already authorized and other diplomatic mission. He sent one of his most trusted , a man by the name of henry sanford, a career diplomat and had beencut posted in various places in europe before the war and was now in brussels. He was on officially the head of what they called secret service also known as propaganda, managing the press, whatever you want to call it. He sent him to this Remote Island in the mediterranean. I open my book with this story to issue an invitation to another of the most famous people in the Atlantic World at national the i