15,697
edits
Changes
no edit summary
Thanks to a communication malfunction, the cable containing the severe early reaction and demands of British officials took almost a month to arrive in Washington. By then, emotions had cooled on both sides and a more balanced view of the situation prevailed. Nevertheless, the British still expected a response from President Abraham Lincoln and continued to emphasize that Captain Wilkes had acted without official authorization.
<div class="portal" style='float:right; width:35%'>====Related Articles===={{#dpl:category=Civil War|ordermethod=firstedit|order=descending|count=6}}</div>
====Lincoln compromises with Britain and eases Tension====
The Lincoln administration understood that it would be unwise to risk a possible armed conflict and perpetuate bad relations with a foreign power while it was prosecuting a war against the Confederacy and moved to smooth things over through diplomatic negotiations. Charles Francis Adams, the U.S. Minister to Great Britain assured the British that the United States did not want a war and advised President Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward that they should conform to some of the British demands.
* Article: [https://history.state.gov/milestones/1861-1865/trent-affair| The Trent Affair, 1861]
[[Category:US State Department]] [[Category:Wikis]][[Category:Civil War History]] [[Category: History of the Early Republic]] [[Category:19th Century History]] [[Category:Political History]] [[Category:Diplomatic History]]
