398 AMKKICAN DIPLOMATIC QUESTIONS 



There were several reasons why President Lincoln and his 

 cabinet chose to adopt a cautious policy. In the first place, 

 the United States had substantial claims of her own against 

 Mexico, and being thoroughly disgusted with the childish 

 follies of her Southern neighbor, had only herself declined 

 to become a party to the London Convention, because of 

 her established policy of non-alliance with foreign powers. 

 The Secretary of State, William If. Seward, had not failed, 

 from the beginning, to obtain the most convincing and satis- 

 factory assurances from France that the object of the inter- 

 vention was solely for the purpose of collecting a debt, and 

 was in no wise intended to be converted into a political 

 movement. Although the Monroe Doctrine had, on previ- 

 ous occasions, been loosely regarded as a general inhibition 

 against foreign intervention of any kind whatever in the 

 Western continent, a more reasonable construction of Mr. 

 Monroe's words could not give them so broad a meaning. 

 The allies, it was thought, had an undoubted right to use 

 force in the collection of just claims against Mexico, and the 

 United States had no right to interpose so long as her own 

 safety was in no manner involved. 



Another reason why Mr. Si? ward chose to adopt a compla- 

 cent attitude of neutrality, a course for which he had later 

 to endure the accusation of cowardice, must be taken into 

 account. His responsible position at the head of the Depart- 

 ment of State was, at that particular moment, fraught with 

 the greatest difficulties. A mistake in the management of 

 foreign affairs would almost surety have invited disaster,, 

 and this particular matter called for the utmost delicacy 

 of diplomatic treatment. 



The cjyil war that had been threatening the United States 

 for a quarter of a century had at last come ; any violation 

 of the Monroe Doctrine, however offensive to the people of 

 the United States, would probably have been disregarded be- 

 cause of other and greater dangers. Mr. Seward neverthe- 

 less anxiously watched the progress of the allies ; he sought 

 constantly to conciliate the three powers, though expressing 

 always his country's displeasure with any foreign meddling 



