What was the premise of Lincoln's foreign policy?

Lincoln's main foreign policy objective was to keep European powers away from helping the Confederacy. Lincoln always referred to the Confederacy as the "states in rebellion" and never awarded the Confederacy belligerent status which would have allowed the European powers to legally assist the government in Richmond. Lincoln passed the Emancipation Proclamation with an eye toward foreign policy, as Britain had long since denounced slavery. As the tide of the war turned in the North's favor, Lincoln assured Britain and France that it could still get to its Southern cotton without running the blockade. Lincoln and William Seward, his Secretary of State, promised Britain and France that any help given to the Confederacy would be seen as meddling and an act of war. While this can be seen as hollow rhetoric, the European powers were in no hurry to risk war with the United States. Lincoln also had to navigate some difficult diplomatic situations, such as when the British mail packet Trent was intercepted while carrying Confederate diplomats. The diplomats were ultimately released and the United States promised to not detain any more British vessels in international waters. Britain and France would eventually stop seeking Southern cotton as they learned that cotton could be grown in India and Egypt without it passing through a war zone. While Britain would clandestinely create privateer ships for the Confederacy, they were relatively low in number, and the damages to American shipping would be handled in arbitration courts after Lincoln's death.