History Commons^™

U.S. Government Agency Podcasts, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Presents podcasts from U.S. Government agencies which can be discovered through the U.S. Government Publishing Office's Catalog of Government Publications. Agencies whose podcasts are presented include the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Peace Corps, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Government Accountability Office (GAO), National Park Service, Department of Justice, Federal Reserve System, and U.S. Naval War College.

Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …

Undersea Cables: The Ultimate Geopolitical Chokepoint, Bert Chapman

FORCES Initiative: Strategy, Security, and Social Systems

This work provides historical and contemporary overviews of this critical geopolitical problem, describes the policy actors addressing this in the U.S. and selected other countries, and provides maps and information on many undersea cable work routes. These cables are chokepoints with one dictionary defining chokepoints as “a strategic narrow route providing passage through or to another region."

How Two Sunken Ships Caused A War: The Legal And Cultural Battle Between Great Britain, Canada, And The Inuit Over The Franklin Expedition Shipwrecks, Christina Labarge

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

China's Nine-Dashed Map: Continuing Maritime Source Of Geopolitical Tension, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

The South China Sea (SCS) is becoming an increasingly contentious source of geopolitical tension due to its significance as an international trade route, possessor of potentially significant oil and natural gas resources, China’s increasing diplomatic and military assertiveness, and the U.S.’ recent and ongoing Pacific Pivot strategy. Countries as varied as China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and other adjacent countries have claims on this region’s islands and natural resources. China has been particularly assertive in asserting its SCS claims by creating a nine-dash line map claiming to give it de facto maritime control over this entire region without regard to …

Trade, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview of analysis of U.S. foreign trade policy during the early decades of the country's history. Examines bilateral U.S. trade relations with France and Great Britain, provides import and export statistics, details on commodities and products imports and exported, trade statistics, and information on the political and economic factors shaping U.S. trade during this period.

The Child Independence Is Born: James Otis And Writs Of Assistance, James M. Farrell

Communication

This chapter is a reexamination of the Writs of Assistance speech by James Otis. In particular, it is a reconsideration of the evidence upon which rests the historical reputation of Otis’s address. Are the claims by historians who credit Otis with sparking the Revolutionary movement in colonial America warranted or not? That reassessment begins with a detailed review of the nature and function of writs of assistance within the political, legal, and economic environment of colonial Massachusetts. It then turns to an analysis of the legal dispute over writs of assistance in the 1761 trial. From there we will reconstruct …

Locke V. United States And The Definition Of Probable Cause In U.S. Civil Forfeiture Proceedings, Benjamin Groff

Legal History Publications

United States civil forfeiture laws are rooted in admiralty in rem forfeiture proceedings that go back to mid-1700s English customs law, and a statute called the Act of Frauds. The procedure was born of the necessity of international marine trade. Similarly, when it came to using in rem seizure to enforce the customs laws, the Crown used a burden shifting presumption that was also born of necessity. Vessel owners were required to come forward and exculpate their vessel once the Crown showed probable cause of a violation. In Locke v. United States, Justice Marshall upheld that burden shifting presumption and …

Manro V. Almeida: Piracy, Maritime Torts, And Attachment In Rem, Stephanie Owen

Legal History Publications

In 1820, Captain Joseph Almeida, on the Bolivar and under South American colors, pursued and captured the Spanish ship Santiago off the coast of the Chesapeake Bay. On board was $5000 in specie owned by a small group of Baltimore merchants. The Baltimore merchants brought a libel against Captain Almeida and requested an attachment in rem to force Captain Almeida to answer for the maritime tort. Although the attachment initially issued, the lower court restored Captain Almeida’s goods. In 1825, the United States Supreme Court ruled that attachment in rem was a proper remedy for a maritime tort.

Mason V. The Ship Blaireau: Salvage, Slaves, And The Law Of Nations, Kristin Burnworth

Legal History Publications

In March 1803, French ship Le Blaireau ran into Spanish ship of war St. Julien in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, severely damaging the Blaireau such that her captain and crew abandoned ship and boarded the St. Julien, with the exception of seaman Thomas Toole. The next day, British ship The Firm found and temporarily repaired the Blaireau, and helped Toole bring her into port in Baltimore, which was The Firm’s destination. The case addressed the question of awarding salvage; specifically, to whom should there be salvage, and in what amounts? It also raised questions about …

Issues Of Delay & Deviation In Marine Insurance: A Case Study Of Oliver V. The Maryland Insurance Company, 7 Cranach 487 (1813), Kyle Hildreth

Legal History Publications

An examination of the case Oliver v. The Maryland Insurance Company, 7 Cranch 487 (1813). In Oliver, Robert Oliver, the plaintiff, sued the Maryland Insurance Company, the defendant, in an attempt to recover on an insurance policy he had purchased for a shipment of goods aboard the snow Comet. The Comet was seized by a British ship on its return from Spain, and was condemned under the Orders in Council of 1807. The Court affirmed a lower court judgment that Oliver was not entitled to recover, because the Comet had engaged in an unreasonable delay and deviation …

The Merrimack, 12 U.S. 317 (1814): Transatlantic Trade And The Transfer Of Property During The War Of 1812, Jeremy Esperon

Legal History Publications

A key prong of American strategy during the War of 1812 was to enlist the aid of privateers – private actors licensed by the government to use force against the enemy. Among the ships American privateers seized during the war pursuant to this strategy was the Merrimack, an American-owned vessel returning from Liverpool, England to Baltimore, Maryland carrying on board a cargo of British goods. Her seizure led to the Supreme Court case The Merrimack, 12 U.S. 317 (1814), a seemingly banal case that in fact is a cautionary tale for merchants of one belligerent nation seeking to …

The Anne, 16 U.S. 435 (1818): The Fate Of Vessels Captured After The War Of 1812, Kimberly Schindel

Legal History Publications

The War of 1812 officially ended in 1815 with the Treaty of Ghent, but many vessels were captured and condemned as prizes after the Treaty was ratified. One of those ships was The Anne. This paper describes The Anne's capture and analyzes it within its place in history. Particularly, it looks at the role of neutral nations during wartime, and the effect they had on prizes captured within their territory. Finally, it analyzes the legal aspects of the case, including the arguments and opinions and discusses the impact that The Anne had on principles of maritime law.

Mccall V. Marine Insurance Company, Megan J. Mcginnis

Legal History Publications

Marine insurance contracts were one of the most important categories of federal litigation in the early nineteenth century. The increase in international conflict resulted in a corresponding increase in the risk associated with maritime activity and the number of claims insurance companies litigated in an effort to minimize losses. Accordingly, a rich body of commercial law was developed by the federal courts in which the cases were tried. One such case was McCall v. Marine Insurance Company, in which the Supreme Court determined the impact of the addition of a single unusual word in the clause that set forth …

Thirty Hogsheads Of Sugar V. Boyle, 9 Cranach 191 (1815): How One Case Expanded The American Conception Of Prize Law, Emily Miller

Legal History Publications

The outbreak of the War of 1812 introduced an opportunity for merchants and sailors alike, as the concept of privateering became a key facet in the United States’ war at sea. This case, Thirty Hogsheads of Sugar v. Boyle, is an illustration of such privateering activity, as Thomas Boyle, commander of the privateer ship, the Comet, engaged in prize taking activity with a British ship, after receiving a commission from the government on June 29, 1812. This paper puts this particular case into the greater privateering context surrounding the War of 1812, exploring why the case may have …

The Santa Maria: Baltimore Privateering And Piracy During The Latin American Revolutions, Megan E. Tawes

Legal History Publications

After the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars, South American privateering in Baltimore took on a new dimension. Technically, the United States remained neutral with Spain in the face of Latin American revolution. However, Baltimore remained an area where privateering on foreign commissions was common. This paper puts privateering in 1817 in the context of international and national affairs. The Santa Maria involved pirates and what was considered a bona fide purchaser in a prize court. Included in the paper are historical backgrounds of the key players involved as well as a legal analysis of the issues brought up …

Pirates, Privateers, And The Merchants Who Walked The Line: An Exploration Of The 19th Century Maritime Trade Through The Lens Of Harmony V. United States, Thomas R. Riley

Legal History Publications

Through the lens provided by judicial, statutory, and social records from the first half of the 19^th century, with a focus on Harmony v. United States,[1] an avid recreation of mercantile practices can be formed which emphasizes the role of piracy and privateering in the early United States of America.

[1] Harmony v. United States, 43 U.S. 210, 11 L. Ed. 239, 1844 U.S. LEXIS 325, 2 HOW 210 (U.S. 1844)

Warts And All: How The Plattsburgh Should Change The Way We Look At The Face Of Baltimore Maritime History, David Seaton

Legal History Publications

In 1820 the Plattsburgh was condemned for violating federal anti-slave trade legislation. This little known, rarely cited Supreme Court decision is important, because it pierces the veneer of romanticism that has been allowed to sugar over our recollection of Baltimore's maritime history. The case indicates that some of the most prominent ship owners and captains at the time, including Thomas Sheppard, John N. D'Arcy, Henry Didier, and Thomas Boyle, have links to the slave trade. This paper explores the cruel realities of the international slave trade, the ineffective federal laws aimed at prohibiting it, and the efforts by merchants to …

Yeaton And Others, Claimants Of The Schooner General Pinkney And Cargo V. The United States: The Case, The History, And The Impact, Magaly Bittner

Legal History Publications

On February 28, 1806 Congress passed an embargo against any part of St. Domingo not in possession by the French Government. There was much debate regarding the embargo and the international politics regarding the Haitian Revolution. On August 23, 1806 the Schooner General Pinkney, owned by William Yeaton set sail from the port of Alexandria for St. Jago de Cuba, but instead went to the prohibited port of Cape Francois, St. Domingo. In addition to this ship, another ship owned by William Yeaton, the Schooner Betsey and Charlotte also took the same course on September 23, 1806. Both were held …

How The British Gun Control Program Precipitated The American Revolution, David B. Kopel

David B Kopel

Abstract: This Article chronologically reviews the British gun control which precipitated the American Revolution: the 1774 import ban on firearms and gun powder; the 1774-75 confiscations of firearms and gun powder, from individuals and from local governments; and the use of violence to effectuate the confiscations. It was these events which changed a situation of rising political tension into a shooting war. Each of these British abuses provides insights into the scope of the modern Second Amendment.

From the events of 1774-75, we can discern that import restrictions or bans on firearms or ammunition are constitutionally suspect — at least …

The Admiralty Jurisdiction Of Torts And Crimes And The Failed Search For Its Purposes, Graydon S. Staring

Graydon S. Staring

This article views the jurisdiction, or power, of the Admiral in its historic setting as that of a governor, a ruler, of the offshore waters claimed by the kings. He had military, legislative (regulatory), police and judicial powers, the recognition of which became customary for maritime nations. The judicial jurisdiction comprised the legal questions that arose from his other functions. Like the rest of his powers, it was territorial rather than defined by other subject matter. This was the situation when the Constitution was adopted, when admiralty in its broadest form known to us was found in the colonies and …

Usn Commander W.R. Anderson Writes On Uss Nautilus Stationary A Summary Of The Ship'd Journey Across The North Pole, 1958, William Robert Anderson

Broadus R. Littlejohn, Jr. Manuscript and Ephemera Collection

Anderson thanks addressee Mr. Sickel for his interesting letter (not included) and summarizes the journey of the USS Nautilus under the polar ice cap and across the North Pole on August 3, 1958. The letter is typed on USS Nautilus stationary.