Webster–Ashburton Treaty
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, settled the dispute over the location of the Maine-New Brunswick border between the United States and Canada, then a colony of Britain. It also established the details of the border between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, originally defined in the Treaty of Paris (1783); reaffirmed the location of the border (at the 49th parallel) in the westward frontier up to the Rocky Mountains, originally defined in the Treaty of 1818; called for a final end to the slave trade on the high seas, to be enforced by both signatories; and agreed on terms for shared use of the Great Lakes.
The treaty was signed by United States Secretary of State Daniel Webster and United Kingdom Privy Counsellor Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton. A plaque commemorating the treaty was placed at the site of the old State Department building in Washington, D.C. where the signing occurred.
The treaty was responsible for a geographic oddity. Since Fort Montgomery, a U.S. fort in northeastern New York, had been constructed on Canadian soil, the northern borders of New York east of the St. Lawrence and Vermont were adjusted to 3/4 of a mile north of the 45th parallel, thus placing the abandoned fort on U.S. soil.
This treaty marked the end of unofficial fighting (known informally as the Aroostook or Lumberjack's War) along the Maine-New Brunswick border and resolved issues that had led to the Indian Stream conflict as well as the Caroline Affair. The border was fixed with the disputed territory divided between the two nations. The British acquired the Halifax-Quebec route they desired. Also, as a result of this treaty, portions of the western U.S.-Canada border were adjusted so as to be consistent. It gave the U.S. negligibly more land to the north. The Creole case was passed over by both nations.
Ultimately, the only "losers" were the original Brayon (and Native) inhabitants of the region, who saw not only their homeland but also their people split between the American state of Maine and the British colony of New Brunswick.
Ten months of negotiations for the treaty were held largely at the Ashburton House, home of the British legation on Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C. The house has been designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
In order to make the controversial treaty more popular in the United States, Webster released a map of the Maine-Canada border which he claimed had been drawn by Benjamin Franklin. Many historians believe that this map was forged.
See also
- List of treaties
- Timeline of United States diplomatic history
- Estcourt Station, Maine
- Oregon boundary dispute
External links
- Text of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (The Avalon Project at Yale Law School)
- Webster-Ashburton Treaty (U.S. Department of State)
- Franklin Map Possibly Forged