As South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860, the ports at
Charleston bustled with activity as the leading export, cotton, was delivered in 400-pound bales 1
by farmers and middlemen, crowded onto steamboats by the thousands, and shipped off to ports
in New York, Liverpool, and other cities. As other Southern states seceded and the Confederate
States of America was established, the centrality of cotton to the Southern economy informed
political, diplomatic, and military decisions made by Confederate leaders. Facing Civil War
against the industrial North and desperately in need of foreign support, particularly that of Great
Britain, the Confederacy adopted a trade embargo known as “cotton diplomacy.” Instead of
bringing the cotton textile industry to its knees, as was intended, this strategy prevented the…