Why Russia Saved the United States during the American Civil War

The relationships, good and bad, between the U.S. and both England and France are a great focus of American history. What is often overlooked is that in the 75 years preceding the American Civil War, the United States and Russia formed a friendship that proved both valuable and successful. The two countries carried on a trading alliance, established regular communications, and exchanged emissaries. At the onset of the American Civil War, Russia offered the Union her diplomatic support. By examining letters, military dispatches, and American newspapers, this paper documents Russian-American relations during the Civil War. This paper finds that Russia and America made excellent natural allies because of tactful communication between the respective emissaries, similar expansionist ideals, and because of their shared concerns about powerful European nations intervening in their internal affairs