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Partly-printed DS as president, one page, 8 x 10.25, August 12, 1854. President Pierce authorizes and directs "the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to the ratification of the exchange copy of a convention between the United States and Russia, concerning the rights of neutrals, concluded and signed in this city on the 22d ultimo." Crisply and prominently signed at the conclusion in ink by President Franklin Pierce. In very good to fine condition, with light show-through at the edges from old tape on the back, and creasing to the lower left corner.
On July 22, 1854, the United States and Russia signed a convention in Washington, D.C., establishing principles regarding neutral rights during wartime. This agreement affirmed that 'free ships make free goods,' meaning that neutral vessels could carry goods belonging to belligerent nations without risk of capture, provided the goods were not contraband of war. The convention also stipulated that neutral goods, except those considered contraband, were not subject to confiscation even when found on enemy ships. These principles were important to the United States relative to its neutral stance in the Crimean War, which had begun in March 1854. President Pierce would go on to refer to the treaty in his third annual message to Congress, delivered December 31, 1855, noting that the Kingdom of Hawaii and the State of Nicaragua had also agreed to the principles outlined in the treaty.
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