"The Apple of Discord at the Geneva Tribunal"

"The Apple of Discord at the Geneva Tribunal"

An American political satire of the 1872 arbitration of the Alabama Claims between the U.S. and U.K. by an international commission, occurring in Geneva, Switzerland.

One of the last outstanding diploamtic issues of the  Civil War, the resolution of American damage claims over the actions of the British-built Confederate raider Alabama, and others of her kind, was a persistent issue throughout the aftermath of the conflict. Though occupied with the affairs of early Reconstuction after the war, Congressional and public interest in seeking compensation from Britain for its percieved role in prolonging the conflict rose. After a failed attempt at agreement under President Johnson, which gained little support in Congress as it was seen as a weak deal, successive attempts under President Ulysses S. Grant acheived a stronger position.

Through the 1871 Treaty of Washington, an international arbitration of the claims in Geneva was agreed to for the following year. The above image, by famed American illustrator Thomas Nast, captures elements of these events, portrayed in the context of the William Tell story. Here, the arrow fired by John Bull at the Apple of Discord - representing lingering tension between the U.S. and U.K over the claims- conveys the impact of the 15.5 million dollar settlement paid by the British. In reaching a settlement, not only was precedent set for future international arbitrations, but Anglo-American relations on the whole improved in the aftermath of the deal.

Thomas Nast

Library of Congress

October 5, 1872

Digitized by the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/resource/cph.3c04341/

Public Domain

Harper's Weekly

Still Image

English

Print; Wood Engraving