United States abandons the Declaration of London

On 22 October 1914 the acting Secretary of State, Robert Lansing, instructed the US ambassador in London, Walter Hines Page, to convey an important decision to the British government. The United States withdrew its proposal that the belligerents and the neutrals apply the Declaration of London of 1909 during the war as a provisional code of naval warfare.

The end of the talks

Washington had proposed adopting the Declaration as early as 6 August. The Central Powers agreed to it on condition of reciprocity, but Britain and France wanted to apply it only with their own modifications, which allowed them to control seaborne trade more tightly. Throughout the autumn the Americans tried to persuade London to accept the Declaration without reservations. The British even proposed a new Order in Council in place of the August one, but the State Department considered that it still restricted the rights of neutrals too much.

On 19 October Page reported that the Foreign Secretary, Edward Grey, had finally refused. Parliament had not ratified the Declaration, and its provisions prohibited treating as contraband such goods as rubber or iron ore, which Germany used mainly for war production. London also wanted to keep the right to stop cargoes bound for Germany through neutral ports, for example Dutch ones.

Lansing’s note

In his telegram of 22 October Lansing stated that since Britain could not accept the Declaration without changes, the US government was withdrawing its proposal. From then on the rights and duties of the United States and its citizens were to be defined by the existing rules of international law and the treaties concluded by the USA, irrespective of the provisions of the Declaration. Washington reserved the right to protest in every case in which those rights were violated. On 24 October the State Department sent a similar note to Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Russia and Belgium.

Grey received the decision with evident relief. Page reported that the British understood it to mean that the Americans would not formally protest against the new order and the new contraband lists, but reserved the right to object in particular cases. Grey also promised that Britain would cause American trade as little trouble as possible.

Significance

The abandonment of the Declaration of London ended the attempt to bring naval warfare under a single code common to all. The United States did not accept the British rules, but nor did it enter into an open dispute with London. It chose to protect its rights case by case, in a long exchange of notes and protests. On 29 October Britain issued a new order and extended contraband lists, and in the following months the blockade of Germany grew ever tighter.