Читать книгу American Civil War For Dummies - Keith D. Dickson - Страница 125

In peacetime, all the world, but especially Great Britain and France, needed Southern cotton to feed their factories. For the South in wartime, though, cotton became a double-edged sword. Cotton hurt the South by taking up acreage that could be used to produce food for the Southern armies and civilian population. On the other hand, cotton represented a powerful strategic weapon for the South. Without cotton, European industries would have to shut down, causing great economic distress. European manufacturers could put pressure on their governments to do something about the lack of cotton. Cotton for the Confederacy could become a political bargaining tool to gain diplomatic recognition from the European nations.