Ocean heavies the cotton
(Lincoln proclaims slave trade suppression treaty, June 7, 1862)
Updated At : 07:17 AM Jun 07, 2025 IST
BY the summer of 1862, the rivers of America ran red with division. The Civil War was raging, emancipation still only a whisper behind closed doors, and the soul of a nation trembled between cotton and conscience. Yet across the Atlantic, in polished diplomatic ink, something quieter unfolded—a treaty that pledged to choke off the slave trade at sea.
