<P> William L. Dayton of New Jersey was appointed by Lincoln as U.S. minister to France . He had no foreign affairs experience and did not speak French, but was assisted a great deal by the U.S. consul general in Paris, John Bigelow . When Adams made his protest to Russell on the recognition of Confederate belligerency, Dayton made a similar protest to Thouvenel . Napoleon offered "his good office" to the United States in resolving the conflict with the South and Dayton was directed by Seward to acknowledge that "if any mediation were at all admissible, it would be his own that we should seek or accept ." </P> <P> When news of the Confederate victory at the First Battle of Bull Run reached Europe it reinforced British opinion that Confederate independence was inevitable . Hoping to take advantage of this battlefield success, Yancey requested a meeting with Russell but was rebuffed and told that any communications should be in writing . Yancey submitted a long letter on August 14 detailing again the reasons why the Confederacy should receive formal recognition and requesting another meeting with Russell . Russell's August 24 reply, directed to the commissioners "of the so - styled Confederate States of America" reiterated the British position that it considered the war as an internal matter rather than a war for independence . British policy would change only if "the fortune of arms or the more peaceful mode of negotiation shall have determined the respective positions of the two belligerents ." No meeting was scheduled and this was the last communication between the British government and the Confederate diplomats . When the Trent Affair erupted in November and December the Confederacy had no effective way to communicate directly with Great Britain and they were left totally out of the negotiation process . </P> <P> By August 1861, Yancey was sick, frustrated, and ready to resign . In the same month, President Davis had decided that he needed diplomats in Britain and France . Specifically, ministers that would be better suited to serve as Confederate ministers, should the Confederacy achieve international recognition . He selected John Slidell of Louisiana and James Mason of Virginia . Both men were widely respected throughout the South, and had some background in foreign affairs . Slidell had been appointed as a negotiator by President Polk at the end of the Mexican War, and Mason had been chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1847 to 1860 . </P> <P> R.M.T. Hunter of Virginia was the new Confederate Secretary of State . His instructions to Mason and Slidell were to emphasize the stronger position of the Confederacy now that it had expanded from seven to eleven states, with the likelihood that Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky would also eventually join the new nation . An independent Confederacy would restrict the industrial and maritime ambitions of the United States and lead to a mutually beneficial commercial alliance between Great Britain, France, and the Confederate States . A balance of power would be restored in the Western Hemisphere as the United States' territorial ambitions would be restricted . They were to liken the Confederate situation to Italy's struggles for independence which Britain had supported, and were to quote Russell's own letters which justified that support . Of immediate importance, they were to make a detailed argument against the legality of the Union blockade . Along with their formal written instructions, Mason and Slidell carried a number of documents supporting their positions . </P>

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