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HOME   -   HISTORIC DOCUMENTS   -   TREATY OF GHENT 1814

 
   


Handshake at Ghent - Admiral Lord Gambier and John Quincy Adams
Handshake at Ghent — Admiral Lord Gambier and John Quincy Adams

 

Treaty of Ghent 1814

Ghent is a city in Belgium.

The Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24, 1814, hence also called the Peace of Christmas Eve. It was negotiated to end the War of 1812.

Here is one of the three  originals of the Treaty of Ghent.

And here is the  transcript of the Treaty of Ghent.



The treaty was concluded between Great Britain and the United States.

Negotiations at Ghent lasted from August 8 to December 24, 1814, and were overshadowed by the Congress of Vienna, which assembled from September 1814 to June 1815 and discussed the future of Europe after Napoleon had a go at it.

This was the reason why Great Britain could only sent its B-team to Ghent, which, in turn, was the reason why the United States won, if not the war, but these negotiations.

 

Image Above

British and American diplomats signed the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814.

Left to right:

British delegates:
Anthony St. John Baker (Secretary) Baker later exchanged ratifications with U.S. President Madison.
Check this event in the timeline of the War of 1812
William Adams (Plenipotentiary) (or Henry Goulburn)
Henry Goulburn (Plenipotentiary) (or William Adams)
Admiral Lord Gambier (Chief Plenipotentiary)

American delegates:
John Quincy Adams (Chief Plenipotentiary)
Albert Gallatin (Plenipotentiary)
Christopher Hughes (Secretary)
James A. Bayard (Plenipotentiary)
[unknown] (or Henry Clay)
Henry Clay (Plenipotentiary) (or Jonathan Russell)
Jonathan Russell (Plenipotentiary) (or unknown)

Oil on canvas by Sir Amèdée Forestier, who created this artwork in 1914.

Smithsonian

 

What Did the Treaty of Ghent Decree?

It restored the status quo ante bellum, the state that existed before the War of 1812.

This included the state that existed with regards to the Native American tribes in 1811, before the Battle of Tippecanoe. In other words, land that then belonged to the Indians was returned to them.


However, in some instances developments were irreversible:

:: The Floridas

The U.S. took advantage of Spain's weakness that resulted from her involvement in the Napoleonic Wars and annexed
Spanish West Florida bit by bit. This would result in the Adams-Onís Treaty in 1819, and in July 1821, Florida would become a U.S. territory.


:: The Native Americans

Resistance by the Indians was broken. After the War of 1812, they could never again recover to fight for themselves in a way that would present a serious threat to the U.S. Britain was no longer a possible ally and, to make matters worse, the Treaty of Ghent failed to allot land for the natives.


What else was agreed upon?

Great Britain was allowed to hang on to the Passamaquoddy Islands until their rightful ownership was established.

Three commissions were created to determine the Canadian-American border and the Passamaquoddy Islands issue.

Britain declared the slave trade illegal from May 1, 1807, and the U.S. declared the slave trade illegal from January 1, 1808. In the Treaty of Ghent, both nations promised to work toward the abolition of the slave trade.

Britain abolished slavery from August 1, 1834.

The U.S. abolished slavery from December 6, 1865.

For more see also Slavery and Abolition.

 

None of the maritime issues that triggered the War of 1812 were mentioned in the Treaty of Ghent. These issues were dropped as a condition for peace, which was a good thing because there was no hope of either side budging on neutrality at sea or impressment.

 

In 1815, the engraver Alexis Chataigner couldn't help himself and went monumental.

Peace of Ghent 1814 and Triumph of America
Peace of Ghent 1814 and Triumph of America
Print is allegorical reference to the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812, showing Minerva, Roman goddess of war, dictating the terms of peace, which Mercury, Roman messenger of the gods, delivers to Britannia and Hercules, Roman bodybuilder, compels her to accept.
Engraving by Alexis Chataigner / Library of Congress
 

 

     

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