Synthesized answer
The vessel "Alabama" became a central point of contention between the United States and Great Britain due to actions taken by Great Britain concerning the Confederacy. Following the secession of the Southern States and the establishment of a separate Confederate government [3], the British government issued a proclamation of neutrality and recognized the Confederates as belligerents [2]. The United States government alleged grievances against Great Britain, including a general unfriendliness and breaches of neutrality by allowing Confederate vessels like the "Alabama" to be built and equipped on British territory [1].
Specifically, the "Alabama" was being built in Birkenhead by Messrs. Laird and was obviously intended for use as a man-of-war [2]. Despite the United States consul at Liverpool providing particulars about its character, and legal officers advising that the vessel ought to be detained if the information was correct [2], the vessel was eventually taken command of by Captain Semmes under a Confederate commission [1]. After a destructive career, the "Alabama" was sunk by the "Kearsarge" [1]. The United States government held Great Britain responsible for the…
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From the book
rpool in two British ships. Captain Semmes there took command of her under a commission from the Confederate government. After a most destructive career she was sunk off Cherbourg by the “Kearsarge” on the 19th of June 1864. On these facts the United States government alleged against Great Britain two grievances, or sets of grievances. The first was the recognition of the Southern States as belligerents and a general manifestation of unfriendliness in other ways. The second was in respect of breaches of neutrality in allowing the “Alabama,” the “Florida” (originally the “Oreto”, the…
tes on the 13th of April 1861. On the 19th of April President Abraham Lincoln declared a blockade of the southern ports. On the 14th of May the British government issued a proclamation of neutrality, by which the Confederates were recognized as belligerents. This example was followed shortly afterwards by France and other nations. The blockade of the southern ports was not at first effective, and blockade-running soon became an active industry. The Confederates established agencies in England for the purchase of arms, which they despatched in ordinary merchant vessels to the Bahamas, whence…
← Alabama 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica , Volume 1 "Alabama" Arbitration by Montague Hughes Crackanthorpe Alabama River → See also Alabama Claims on Wikipedia ; and our 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica disclaimer . 244259 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica , Volume 1 — "Alabama" Arbitration Montague Hughes Crackanthorpe “ALABAMA” ARBITRATION. —This is one of those arbitrations on pecuniary claims, made by one state, on behalf of its subjects, against another state, which are referred to in the article Arbitration, International . The case is important, both from a historical and a juridical point of…
ontended that it must be a diligence commensurate with the emergency or with the magnitude of the results of negligence. The British government maintained that while the measure of care which a government is bound to use in such cases must be dependent more or less upon circumstances, it would be unreasonable to require that it should exceed that which the governments of civilized states were accustomed to employ in matters concerning their own security or that of their citizens. The tribunal adopted the view suggested by the United States. It found that Great Britain was legally responsible…
. With respect to the “Alabama” claims the British commissioners suggested that they should be submitted to arbitration. The American commissioners refused “unless the principles which should govern the arbitrators in the consideration of the facts could be first agreed upon.” After some discussion the British commissioners consented that the three following rules should apply.
More questions about this book
- Analyze the significance of the British government's proclamation of neutrality in 1861. How did this proclamation, coupled with the ongoing construction of vessels like the “Alabama” in British shipyards, create a complex legal and diplomatic challenge for Britain?
- The text states the “Alabama” Arbitration "affords a conspicuous example of the value of arbitration as a means of averting war." If you had to teach someone the *process* by which this arbitration helped avert war, what specific elements of the dispute and the decision-making process would you emphasize to illustrate this value?
- Considering the Confederates' established agencies in England and the British government's initial response to information about the “Alabama,” what potential geopolitical or legal risks was Britain taking by *not* immediately acting on the US consul's initial letter?
- Imagine you are advising the commissioners of customs in July 1862. Based on the details provided about the “Alabama” and the ongoing hostilities, what were the primary legal and diplomatic arguments *for* detaining the vessel, and what potential counterarguments or practical difficulties might have delayed their action?