Significant partly-printed DS as president, one page, 8 x 10, July 27, 1882. President Arthur directs the Secretary of State to cause the Seal of the United States to be affixed to “my Proclamation of the Geneva Convention of August 22, 1864, for the relief of the wounded in battle.” Signed boldly at the conclusion by Chester A. Arthur. In fine condition.
Following the Red Cross-founding Geneva International Conference of 1863, the first treaty of the subsequent Geneva Conventions was ratified by 12 nations on August 22, 1864. The treaty, which declared medical personnel neutral and that sick and wounded soldiers would be cared for regardless of nationality, also established the symbol of the red cross on a white background, a sign used by medical personnel to indicate neutrality in war zones. The United States was not a party to the Geneva Convention in 1864, as the nation was still embroiled in the Civil War.
Famed nurse Clara Barton, who founded the American chapter of the Red Cross in 1881, met with three presidents to advocate American support and ratification of the Geneva Treaty: Rutherford B. Hayes, who expressed concern about allying with European nations; James A. Garfield, who supported ratification but was assassinated before he could endorse the treaty; and Chester A. Arthur, who signed the treaty on March 1, 1882, with the Senate ratifying the Geneva Convention two weeks later. The Convention of 1864 was revised and replaced by the Geneva Conventions of 1906, 1929, and 1949. The Geneva Conventions have been ratified by nearly every country in the world—194 states in total—and any nation that violates these mandates can be held accountable for charges of war crimes. A most important document from the administration of Chester A. Arthur.
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