Mr. Madison submitted the document to the Senate without delay. It was read aloud three times to the assembled body, and some senators wondered at the absence of any reference to impressment and the harassment of neutral trade, two of the main reasons for declaring war two and a half years earlier. Nor was there mention of navigation of the Mississippi. Nevertheless, when the key question was asked in proper parliamentary fashion—“Will the Senate advise and consent to the ratification of this treaty?”—the resulting vote was for ratification, thirty-five
