ABSTRACT This article argues against the often-made connection between democratic reform and Union victory in the Civil War. Defining democracy narrowly as an electoral process, the article looks at France, the German states, a selection of Latin American countries, and Great Britain to illustrate that democratic reforms were an ongoing conversation started long before the Civil War. While the Second Empire of Napoleon III receives much scholarly attention because of its perceived autocratic tendencies, historians often forget that Napoleon retained universal manhood suffrage during his reign. More importantly, the article illustrates that the United States were a symbol of what to avoid during Great Britain's Reform Act debates as democracy was frequently equated with mob rule. Overall, the article illustrates that the countries discussed had ongoing conversations about democratic electoral reforms well before the 1860s and that debates surrounding democratic reforms did not focus on the United States.

中文翻译：

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民主：内战和选举改革的跨国斗争

摘要 本文反对民主改革与联邦内战胜利之间经常建立的联系。将民主狭义地定义为选举过程，文章着眼于法国、德国各州、一些拉丁美洲国家和英国，以说明民主改革是在内战之前很久就开始的持续对话。虽然拿破仑三世的第二帝国因其专制倾向而受到学术界的广泛关注，但历史学家经常忘记拿破仑在其统治期间保留了普选权。更重要的是，这篇文章说明了美国是英国改革法案辩论中要避免的象征，因为民主经常被等同于暴民统治。全面的，