In April 1861, the United States declared a state of insurrection against the Confederacy of Southern Rebel States. In Europe, this ordeal was nicknamed “the American question”. The question could not be avoided; it was necessary to choose between neutrality and intervention. European attitudes toward the American Civil War would have a significant effect on the final outcome of the war (Randall and Donald 355). Throughout the first months of the conflict, Europe's response was of great interest to both sides; Queen Victoria's Britain, in particular. Would Queen Victoria recognize Confederate independence? Such recognition would legitimize the Confederacy and provide it with allies capable of providing weapons and supplies that the Southern cause desperately needed (Davis 197). At the start of the war, most foreigners were poorly informed about America, according to Leslie Stephen in 1865: the name America five years ago conjured up in the ordinary English mind only a vague group of 'associations, consisting of Mrs. Trollope, Martin Chuzzlewit and Uncle Tom's Cabin. The choice between neutrality and intervention was not easy; either choice would lead to more choices.