Synthesized answer
Based solely on the provided passages, if the "Alabama" were not detained in 1862, the specific legal and diplomatic challenges would be as follows.
First, the British government would face a legal challenge regarding its own neutrality. The vessel was "obviously intended for a man-of-war" and was being built for the Confederacy [1]. The law officers advised that, based on the particulars, "the vessel ought to be detained" under the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1819 [1][3]. Allowing the ship to sail would constitute a breach of neutrality, as it permitted a Confederate vessel to be "built and equipped on British territory" [2].
Second, this failure would lead to a major diplomatic challenge with the United States. The U.S. government would allege "breaches of neutrality" against Great Britain [2]. This would result in "correspondence ensuing over several years" and ultimately lead to arbitration [2][4]. The passages show that the tribunal would find Great Britain "legally responsible for all the depredations of the 'Alabama'" and would fix the damages at "$15,500,000 in gold" [4]. The passages do not specify any other immediate diplomatic challenges beyond these eventual claims and…
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
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…
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…
was laid before the law officers, who advised that, if these particulars were correct, the vessel ought to be detained. On the 21st of July sworn evidence, which was supplemented on the 23rd of July, was obtained and laid before the commissioners of customs (who were the proper authorities to enforce the provisions of the Foreign Enlistment Act of 1819), but they declined to move. On the 23rd of July the same evidence was laid before the law officers, who advised that there was sufficient ground for detention. By some accident, which has never been satisfactorily explained, but was probably…
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
- Explain the "Alabama" Arbitration as if to a child, highlighting *why* it was significant both historically and legally, and how it demonstrated arbitration's value.
- Walk through the precise sequence of events, beginning with the Southern States' secession, that led to the construction of the "Alabama" in a neutral country, detailing the causal links between each step.
- Critically analyze the British government's "proclamation of neutrality." How did recognizing the Confederates as belligerents both uphold and potentially challenge the spirit of neutrality in practice, especially regarding shipbuilding?
- Connecting the initial statement about arbitration to the specific facts, how did the detailed circumstances surrounding the "Alabama" controversy make arbitration an indispensable tool for preventing a wider conflict?