Gaining Access to the Pacific
Although the Lewis & Clark Expedition made its way to the Pacific Ocean, the boundaries of what was acquired from France were, at best, ill-defined. The British claimed the area of what are now the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington and called it Columbia. The eastern boundary of the area was a vague line that ran through Western Montana.
The point is that no country had surveyed the land well enough to accurately set the boundaries of the Louisiana Territory or Columbia. The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812, caused a sea change in the relationship between the United States and our mother country, Great Britain. It was as if British politicians suddenly realized that their 32-year-old son (born in 1783) was about to make a name for himself. During the U.S. first 32 years, we fought the British twice, and each time, the Brits came up a cropper.
For the record, the first war – 1775 – 1783 – gained our independence. In the second that lasted between 1812 and 1815, we smacked the Brits in the face to force them to respect our rights and freedoms. Yeah, the British Army burned Washington. But, after the Battle of Plattsburgh in September 1814, they finally realized they would never be able to conquer us and came to the negotiating table in Ghent, Belgium.
This brings us to 1818 when the British and the U.S. negotiated the little-known Treaty of 1818, a.k.a. The London Convention of 1818 or The Anglo-American Convention of 1818. In it, both parties wanted something of value in terms of territory and rights. Note that every land acquisition by the United States that became a state or part of a state was the result of a treaty. For the list, see the 8/22/2022 post – Jefferson’s Constitutional Gamble Jefferson’s Constitutional Gamble – https://marcliebman.com/jeffersons-constitutional-gamble/ .
Article I of the treaty restates or re-iterates the fishing rights off Newfoundland and Labrador. These were given to us in the 1783 Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution but were clarified in this treaty.
Article II reset the northern boundary of the United States along the 49th parallel. When the 1783 Treaty of Paris and the Louisiana Purchase were signed, politicians drew lines on a map based more on guesswork than actual data. The accompanying map shows the sliver of land given to Canada and the western edge of Minnesota, which is the only portion of land in the contiguous 48 states north of the 49th parallel.
Article III gave the U.S. and British joint control of what was known as Oregon Country (modern British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington) for 10 years.
Article IV restated the commitments of the Anglo-American Convention of 1815 which was a commercial treaty. It was signed in June 1815, less than six months after the Treaty of Ghent.
Article V was a vague clause that allowed a neutral government to adjudicate property claims. At the core of this issue were the return slaves who joined the British Army or Royal Navy or escaped to British Territory and whom their former owners claimed as property.
Article VI required both parties to ratify the treaty within six months.
The treaty was negotiated by Albert Gallatin, the U.S. Ambassador to France, and John Robinson, a member of the U.K.’s Privy Council.
While the intentions of both parties were above reproach, the reality on the ground was far different. The British charted Hudson Bay Company began expanding its network of trading posts well below the 49th Parallel in Puget Sound, along the Columbia River into eastern Washington and Idaho. They tried and failed to restrict U.S. fur traders from doing business in the area.
Ultimately, two things occurred. One, the tide of immigrants to the U.S. moving west began to settle areas and diminish the power of the Hudson Bay Company and British influence. Two, the British realized its position in the area was untenable and agreed to cede what is known as the Oregon Territory to the U.S. in the Oregon Treaty of 1846.
Map is from the National Atlas of the United States.
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