treaty of ghent

The Treaty of Ghent (8 Stat. 218), signed on December 24, 1814, in Ghent, currently in Belgium, was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The treaty largely restored relations between the two countries to status quo ante bellum. Due to the era's slow speed of communication, it took weeks for news of the peace treaty to reach America, well after the Battle of New Orleans had ended. Contents [hide] 1 The agreement 2 The aftermath 3 See also 4 References 5 Sources 6 External links //

The agreement

The treaty released all prisoners and restored all war lands and boats, that is, returned to America approximately 10,000,000 acres (40,000 km2) of territory near Lakes Superior and Michigan, in Maine, and on the Pacific coast.[1] The treaty made no major changes to the pre-war situation, but did make a few promises. Britain promised to return captured slaves, but instead a few years later paid the United States £250,000 for them.[2] The British proposal to create an Indian buffer zone in Ohio and Michigan collapsed after the Indian coalition fell apart. The United States ignored the guarantees it made in article IX regarding American treatment of the Indians.[citation needed]

The aftermath

Fighting immediately stopped when news of the treaty finally reached the United States, after the American victory in the Battle of New Orleans and the British victory in the Battle of Fort Bowyer, but before the British assault on Mobile, Alabama.

The U.S. Senate unanimously approved the treaty on February 16, 1815, and President James Madison exchanged ratification papers with a British diplomat in Washington on February 17; the treaty was proclaimed on February 18. Eleven days later, on March 1, Napoleon escaped from Elba, starting the war in Europe again, and forcing the British to concentrate on the threat he posed.

See also List of treaties Timeline of United States diplomatic history Results of the War of 1812

References ^ W.G. Dean et al. (1998). Concise Historical Atlas of Canada. ^ Lindsay, Arnett G. "Diplomatic Relations Between the United States and Great Britain Bearing on the Return of Negro Slaves, 1783-1828." Journal of Negro History. 5:4 (October 1920); Knight, Charles. The Crown History of England. Oxford, England: Oxford University, 1870.

Sources American Military History: Army Historical Series. Chapter 6: The War of 1812. Center of Military History, U.S. Army, Washington, DC, 1989. Official US Army history, available online. Bemis, Samuel Flagg. John Quincy Adams and the Foundations of American Foreign Policy (1950). A. L. Burt. The United States, Great Britain and British North America from the Revolution to the Establishment of Peace after the War of 1812, 1940 (Online Edition. Engelman, Fred L. The Peace of