Description
Book SynopsisThis book evaluates the propaganda war fought by Northern and Southern journalists in London during the American Civil War and provides analyses of their motives and published partisan arguments, as well as of their British subscribers.
Trade ReviewDuring the Civil War, Britain faced a conundrum: a major sector of the British economy was dependent on cotton from the Southern states, but the British deplored slavery. Official recognition of the Confederacy by Great Britain would have provided valuable backing against the Union. There was no clear response available to Parliament, according to Sebrell. In London, pro-Union and pro-Confederate newspapers edited by Americans avidly—and sometimes clumsily—circulated propaganda, seeking public support. John Adams Knight ran the pro-Union London American; Henry Hotze created and ran The Index, which promoted the Confederacy and was largely funded by that government. Sebrell compares the efforts, circulation, and readership of these publications. Hotze’s warnings that the US had designs on Canada were undermined by his ham-fisted attempts to justify slavery, and while Parliament debated the issue, the Union began to construct ironclad ships superior to Britain’s, creating a further deterrent to British recognition of the Confederate States. The British could no longer afford the possibility of war with the US. This well-researched book addresses an aspect of the Civil War generally overlooked. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. * CHOICE *
[H]is research is sound and the conclusions he draws . . . are persuasive. * America's Civil War *
[This book] affords a degree of fresh insight by focusing on the efforts of two periodicals that were especially vested in the outcome of the conflict – the London American, a pro-Union newspaper, and The Index. . . .Persuading John Bull represents the most comprehensive study of Union and Confederate propaganda to emerge in recent years and readers will find in it much of interest. . . .Historians of Anglo-American relations and of the global connections of the Civil War more generally will undoubtedly find this book a welcome addition to the burgeoning literature on British public opinion . . . it will also serve to increase awareness of the Index and the London American as valuable historical resources and inspire further interrogation of the many themes that arise in their coverage of the conflict. * Reviews in History *
Persuading John Bull offers a detailed, clear, and thoughtful examination of an intriguing episode in northern and southern propaganda efforts in Britain. Particularly in its coverage of The London American and The Index, it enriches our understanding of Anglo-American relations, broadly construed, during the Civil War. The author has original insights to share even when covering ground familiar to specialists. -- David Prior, Indiana University
This book furthers our understanding of the transatlantic nature of the American Civil War. Dr. Sebrell offers a thorough examination of the sources that explain the moves made by 'the blue and the grey' in Great Britain during the conflict. -- Mike Benbough-Jackson, Liverpool John Moores University
Table of ContentsAbbreviations Used in the Source Citations 1.An Introduction 2.1860-61: The Origins of The London American & of the War 3.The Blockade and its Early Controversies in Britain 4.Henry Hotze Arrives in London 5.Summer of 1862: A Move Towards Possible Intervention 6.Knight’s Propaganda Movement Collapses 7.1863: Anglo-Confederate Surges and Discrepancies 8.Naval Controversies 9.1864: The Confederates Make Last Ditch Efforts in Britain 10.1865: A Conclusive Ending Appendixes Bibliography
