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THE CSS ''ALABAMA'' During the American Civil War, Confederate commerce raiders (the most famous being the CSS ''Alabama'') were built in Britain and did significant damage to Union merchant marine and naval forces. BRITISH POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT The British Prime Minister , Lord Palmerston , and Foreign Secretary Earl Russell had allowed the ''Alabama'' to put to sea from the shipyards of John Laird Sons And Company in Liverpool despite the explicit objections of the American Legation in London , and charges from the American Minister to Britain Charles Francis Adams that the ship was bound for the Confederacy. Though both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary were thought to slightly favor the Confederacy at the time of ''Alabama's'' construction this position was against British public opinion and MPs such as Richard Cobden campaigned against it. The subsequent release of the ''Alabama'' proved to be publicly embarrassing when both were later forced to admit that the ship should not have been allowed to depart, despite the opinion of the British Chief Justice that her release did not violate neutrality. Even so, the next year two Ironclad Warship s under construction in Birkenhead and bound for the Confederacy were detained after their completion but before their launch. As a direct consequence of the flap over the ''Alabama'' rather than turn the ships over to Monsieur Bravay of Paris , who had ordered their construction as intermediary for Confederate principals, Palmerston instructed the British Admiralty to tender an offer for the purchase of the ships. THE CLAIMS The United States claimed direct and collateral damage against Britain, the so-called ''Alabama'' Claims. United States Senator Charles Sumner originally requested $2 billion, or alternatively the ceding of Canada to the United States. In the particular case of the ''Alabama'' the United States claimed that the United Kingdom had violated neutrality by allowing the ''Alabama'' to be constructed, knowing that it would enter into service with the Confederacy . THE TRIBUNAL The tribunal was composed of representatives:
The final award of $15,500,000 in 1871 formed part of the Treaty Of Washington . A meeting room in the Hotel de la Paix in Geneva , Switzerland is named after this court case. LEGACY This established the principle of international arbitration, and launched a movement to codify International Law with hopes for finding peaceful solutions to international disputes. The ''Alabama'' Claims was thus a precursor to the Hague Convention , the League Of Nations , the World Court , and the United Nations . BIBLIOGRAPHY
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