Cotton Workers for Slavery? An examination of the extent Lancashire cotton workers supported the Confederacy during the cotton famine of the 1860s.

Abstract

This paper looks at the extent at which the cotton workers of Lancashire supported the Confederacy during the American Civil War. The aim of the paper is to dispel the illusions that are given by some of the historians on the topic and to try and find the real actions of the cotton workers of Lancashire, England. There are many books stating that the cotton workers supported the union and other saying the Confederacy. The Confederacy was pro-slavery, so does this mean that those supporting them supported slavery too?
To find out the opinions of the cotton workers in Lancashire, the local newspapers of the time were examined. These newspapers were the Preston Guardian and the Liverpool Mercury. The articles should provide an insight into the lives and views of the cotton workers. There was also a tour around the docks of Liverpool to examine the influence the Confederates had in the town and the relations they had with the cotton mills. Upon examination it can be seen that there is no definitive answer to which side the cotton workers supported during the American Civil War, but there are signs that there was support for the Confederates through the Southern Clubs, as well as support for the Union through the large numbers of people willing to immigrate to the Northern states of America.