One War at a Time: The International Dimensions of the American Civil War [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Dean B. Mahin (Author) "A Lincoln biographer wrote that "the president had little to do with foreign affairs. . . . He willingly entrusted foreign policy to his secretary..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, Great Britain, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"an enjoyable book that fills in a neglected area of Civil War History." -- Roanoke Times, April 23, 2000

Product Description
One War at a Time - Lincoln's axiom for Union diplomacy- refutes the opinion of most historians and biographers that Lincoln played only a minor role in U.S. foreign relations. It reveals his continuing efforts to avoid a war with England or France while using the threat of war to prevent European recognition of Confederate independence. Mahin covers Confederate efforts to obtain diplomatic recognition, the construction of warships for the Confederacy in Britain, the British role in the blockade-running operation, and the postwar "Alabama claims" against Britain. Mahin also provides the first full anlysis of U.S. and Confederate reactions to the French intervention in Mexico and to the efforts to establish an imperial government in Mexico.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 343 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books; 1st edition (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574882090
• ISBN-13: 978-1574882094
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,593,716 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Addressing A Neglected Area, June 11, 2000

By A Customer

"One War at a Time: The International Dimensions of the American Civil War" sounds a bit pretentious at first glance. However, author Dean B. Mahin met the challenge he laid out for himself by writing one of most comprehensive accounts of Civil War foreign policy ever published. Any reader, novice or expert, will gain fresh understanding of our international policy in that era and a new appreciation of Abraham Lincoln's role in development and execution of that policy. This important book addresses a dimension of the Civil War that has been sorely neglected in the literature that tends to focus on battles and individual leaders. New ground is broken by the author who contends that Lincoln was deeply involved in foreign policy while other historians have often minimized his role. Mr. Mahin is well equipped to tread on this ground because his well researched book reflects the authors' insights gleaned from his forty years of service with Federal agencies including the Department of State and the U. S. Agency for International Development. His research led him to diplomatic correspondence, diaries, letters and speeches and these amply footnoted references support his contention that Lincoln conducted a diplomatic balancing act in his dealing with foreign powers, especially England and France. In particular he deals in depth with French intervention in Mexico and how this was countered. Lincoln's axiom of fighting one war at a time is the unifying theme in these discussions. Further Mahin brings an insightful writing style that lends new understanding to subjects that have been covered by other authors such as the "Trent Crisis" and the "Alabama Claims." His chapter titled "Cotton is King" provides an outstanding summary of Confederate finance, diplomacy and trade of this important commodity. In short, this is a "must-read" book for those who wish to enlarge their understanding of the international dimensions of the Civil War.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Very Very Good., February 26, 2003

By	Bob Mutch (ONT, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One War at a Time: The International Dimensions of the American Civil War (Paperback)

Well out of the 30 odd books I have read in the last 2 years on the Civil War and politics leading up to the war, this was one of the better books.
It shows Lincoln as an able player in foreign relations that he was.
The style of writing, and the fact that each chapter deals with an almost different topic, makes the book for a very good read. There is no getting bogged down with this book, and this book should end up on you not finished list.
When I about about 1/2 through the book I was already looking to see what about books this author had written.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lively writing, but not overly compelling, April 19, 2007

By	Eric Hobart (Gastonia, NC United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: One War at a Time: The International Dimensions of the American Civil War (Paperback)

Dean Mahin, in his book One War at a time, examines Abraham Lincoln's involvement in the diplomatic efforts of his secretary of state, William H. Seward. Mahin makes an intriguing claim at the outset of his book - that the policies of the Lincoln administration were largely responsible for maintaining the neutrality of both Britain and France, as Lincoln and his secretary of state William Seward "successfully used the threat of war with the United States to prevent European recognition of Confederate Independence..." Mahin evaluates American diplomacy through the lens of multiple diplomatic crises in an effort to support his thesis. Unfortunately, he does a poor job of demonstrating that the efforts of the Americans had such a significant impact as to prevent either the British or the French from recognizing the Confederacy. Instead, he merely proves that Lincoln's government was often focused on conciliation instead of threatening war. Rather than carefully analyzing the evidence, Mahin tends to focus on the details of the story, which makes for an intriguing read, but not an overly compelling one. The Trent incident, in which an American captain flagrantly violated international law by stopping a neutral vessel outside of territorial waters and seizing two passengers, nearly resulted in a British declaration of war on America. Mahin fails to explain how Lincoln was able to turn this concern into a British fear of war - instead, Mahin says, Lincoln was concerned about how to escape the incident without a loss of national dignity and writes a conciliatory letter to the British government to avoid hostilities.

All told, this was a very entertaining & informational book. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a broad basic history of international relations during the American Civil War from an American perspective (as opposed to a foreign point of view). However, the thesis presented at the outset of the book is not as well defended as I think it should be.