Why was the South unable to gain any support from foreign power?

Answer 1

Britain and France supported the South wholeheartedly. They were just not able to overcome the industrial might of the North. Plus they were thousand of miles away.

Answer 2

The south bet on cotton. They felt the European economy would collapse without it. They expected the British would declare war and the British navy shatter the north's Blockade. In spite of growth and innovation, that probably could have happened. What really beat that card was cotton grown in India. It kept the British mills going. While a lot of British sympathized with the south, unless the south showed a clear edge to total victory it was not worth the gamble to them. The casualty rates coming in the newspapers were about WWI to them then. In WWI we saw theirs and Europes we held out until 1917. You can't blame them. These casualty rates were the worst for centuries. Only WWI dwarfed them. France was totally involved in Mexico. It was consuming many of their best troops and generals. With Prussia an ever threat to the East.... Unless the South could win a deceive victory that left no question they would win, the Europeans were staying out.

Answer 3

Popular reason Slavery:
Real reason deep recession bordering on being almost depression in Europe wiping out the demand for Southern cotton for their textile mills.
In fact British Empire had a vested interest in seeing the Union permanently divided since an untied America was a direct challenge to their power and influence world wide.

Answer 4

financially it was obvious the north would win the other countries wanted to trade with the union, but France came close and did some illegitimate trade with the south.