In 1852, Charles ran as the Free Soil candidate for Congress, and finished second out of four candidates. After that election, Charles Adams returned to writing, and edited his grandfather's papers and wrote a biography of his grandfather as well. After that, he became interested in politics again, attacking the Dred Scott Decision in his articles.
Adams joined the new Republican Party, and was elected to Congress in 1858, and re-elected in 1860. He supported William Seward for the Presidential nomination in 1860, but Abraham Lincoln got the nomination instead. Seward suggested Charles Adams for Minister to England, a position that Adams' father and grandfather had held.
Adams faced some serious problems when he arrived in London. The British seemed ready to recognize the Confederacy. They had already granted the South a belligerency status, and were taking active steps to support them militarily. Adams played up the slavery issue, which most Englishmen opposed. Still, most Englishmen thought the South would win the war, and were ready to help them.
There was also the issue of warships built in England for delivery to the South. The Southern raider Alabama had been built in England and sank or captured 64 Union ships before it was finally destroyed. Two iron-clad ships were under construction for the Confederate government, and Adams demanded the ships be seized. The British foreign minister replied that there was not enough evidence to warrant taking the ships. Adams threatened war unless the ships were seized. His stance, taken in light of recent victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, forced the British government to seize the ships before the Confederate agents could take delivery.
One strong incentive for England to support the South was their dependence on southern cotton. England was the world's largest textile manufacturer, and the textile industry was England's largest. They were dependent upon southern cotton to keep their textile mills running. The South had declared that King Cotton would assure English support for their cause.
Adams knew something more important than cotton. England was also an island that could not raise enough food to support its population. The English were even more dependent on northern wheat than they were on southern cotton. Adams used this threat effectively. British politicians facing re-election would not want to see a severe food shortage occur.
Adams' ability, combining threats with appeals to the British people, brought just the right pressure to bear on the British government. The southern states never received recognition, and their military support eventually dwindled to almost nothing. Had England and France entered the war on the southern side, the results would have been very different. Because Adams' work was behind the scenes, he received little credit for his accomplishments. But his work was arguably the greatest contribution to Union victory made by any individual in the war.
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