ABSTRACT
Among the least-acknowledged legacies of Richard Cobden is his influence on American thought and politics. Cobden's influence was felt directly, through his mediation between the United States' and British governments during the Trent and Alabama affairs of the American Civil War, and indirectly, through the example of his ideas and advocacy. The best opportunity to know the mind of a man of principle arises when events bring his principles into conflict. This chapter tries to better understand Cobden by revisiting how, during the American Civil War, he grappled with an unexpected quandary: the disjunction of the causes of peace, free trade, and anti-slavery. It explores what it means to be radical, democratic, liberal, or progressive and which of these was Cobden. The chapter reviews the connections between the principles of peace, free trade, and anti-slavery in Cobden's thought, and provides a brief account of Sumner's acquisition of the same principles.
