Final answer:
Many Southerners believed that the dependence of English and French textile industries on American cotton would lead to their intervention in favor of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, which is true.
Step-by-step explanation:
The belief that the dependence of the English and French textile industries on American cotton would force them to intervene on the side of the Confederacy is true. Many Southerners indeed held this belief during the period leading up to and during the American Civil War. The South provided the majority of cotton that Britain imported and believed this reliance would translate into support for their cause. Despite their predictions, Britain and France did not formally support the Confederacy. Britain, especially, was reluctant to disrupt its relationship with the United States and jeopardized neither the vital supply of grain nor its own economic interests. Britain found alternative sources for cotton in India and Egypt, undermining the South's economic strategy and leaving it without the anticipated income or alliances.