,'rPrg
4. PEACE AND NEW BOUNDARIES
The Peace of Ghent
because the
The loss of lif'e at New Orleans was particularly tragic
sol di ers di d not
b a t t le s hould nev e r h a v e b e e n fo u g h t' A l th o ugh the
kn ow it , t he war w a s o ffi c i a l l Yo v e r!
been tryi ng
S inc e A ugus t l 8 l 4 fi v e A m e ri c a n c o mmi ssi onershad
ci ty of Ghent
to negot iat ea pe a c etre a ty w i th Bri ti s h d i p l o m ats at the
return most
S
tates
U
n
i
ted
th
e
th
a
t
i n B elgium . T he Bri ti s h d e m a n d e d
w anted
A
meri
cans
The
o f t he Nor t hwest T e rri to ry to th e l n d i a n s .
A
meri
can
from
.h e B r it is h t o gi v e u p th e ri g h t to i m p re s s sai l ors
sh ips . Neit her s i d e w o u l d c o mp ro mi s e '
real T he c lis c us s i o n sd ra g g e d o n fo r mo n th s. Fi nal l y everyone
N aw
i
th
di
sappeared'
i z ed t hat t he r ea s o n sfo r fi g h ti n g h a d s i mp l y
shi
ps
A
meri
can
p oleon def eat ed , th e B ri ti s h d i d n o t n e e d to stop
to
need
any
tl . om c ar r y ing g o o d s to Eu ro p e . T h e re w a s no l onger
N
a
v
y
'
i mpr es s s ailor s i n to th e R o y a l
rushed hi s
on Dec emb e r 2 4 , 1 8 1 4 . th e d a y a fte r J ackson had
but tw o
advance
m en out f r om N e y Orl e a n s to s to p th e B ri ti sh
Ghent'
of
weeks before the final battle, the delegatessigned the Peace
N o terri Th e t er m s of t h i s ' tre a ty w e re s i m p l e ' Pe a c e w as restored'
S
tatesdi d
U
ni
ted
The
ma
d
e.
to r y c hangedha n d s . N o p ro mi s e sw e re
hi
stori
an has
w
i
tty
not get what it h a d s e t o u t fo r i n 1 8 1 2 .As one
. . lt s ur r en d e re dn o th i n g e x c e p t th e ri g ht to shoot E ngl i shmen' "
s aid.
That was a r igh t n o o n e a n y l o n g e r w i s h e d to exerci se'
about
Nowaday s, o f c o u rs e . th e w h o l e w o rl d w oul d have know n
w
eeks
took
i
t
l
8l
4
i
n
th e t r eat y wit hi n h o u rs a fte r th e s i g n i n g . B u t
to
be
word
for
for the news to reach Washington and more weeks
w
ho
brave men
s ent t o t he t r oo p s a ro u n d N e w O rl e a n s ' T h us, the
n
e
e
d
l
essl
y.
d
i
e
d
w
a
l
l
fell bef or e J ac ks o n ' s d e fe n s e
T he B at t le o f N e w Orl e a n s d i d s e rv e s ome purpose' It restored
by the i l l A m er ic an m ilit a ry m o ra l e , w h i c h h a d b e e n b adl y damaged
the burni ng of
or ganiz ed bat t l e s a l o n g th e C a n a d i a n b o rd e r and by
Jackson'
A
ndrew
o
f
h
e
ro
p
o
p
u
l
a
r
was hingt on. I t a l s o ma d e a
E ngl and,
T he peac e tre a ty i ts e l f w a s e q u a l l y p o pul ar. l n N ew
B
ri
tai
n, some
w her e m os t peo p l e h a d b e e n o p p o s e dto fi g hti ng Great
U ni on' Late
F eder alis tlead e rsh a d re v i v e d ta l k o f s e c e di ngfrom the
to consi der
in l8l4 t hey h e l d a m e e ti n g , th e H a rtfo rd conventi on,
to premanaged
this s t ep. F or t u n a te l y , m o d e ra te sa t th e c o n venti on
seri
oqs-l
oss
v ent s uc h an e x tre m e a c t. W h e n th e w a r e nded w i thout
of
out
to t he Unit ed Sta te s , th e F e d e ra l i s t p a rty suddenl y seemed
pi cked up rapd at e and alm os t u n p a tri o ti c . T ra d e w i th E u rope al so
R
ufus K i ng' the
e
l
ecti
on,
i dly af t er t he w a r. In th e 1 8 1 6p re s i d e n ti a l
col l ege to
F eder alis t c an d i d a te , g o t o n l y 3 4 v o te s i n the el ectoral
,&'lR
w
U s e t h e s e q u e s t i o n s t o g u i d e Y o ur
r e a d i n g .A n s w e r t h e q u e s t i o n s
after completing Section 4.
Understanding lssues, Events, &
l d e a s . E x p l a i n t h e i m P o r t a n c eo f
e a c h o f t h e f o l l o w i n g w o r d s : P e ace
of Ghent, Hartford Convention,
R u s h - B a g o tA g r e e m e n t , N e g r o
F o r t . T r a n s c o n t i n e n t a lT r e a t Y '
1 . Wh a t w e r e t h e t e r m s o f t h e
P e a c eo f G h e n t ?
2 . Wh a t d i d t h e R u s h - B a g o tA g r ee ment Provide?
3 . Wh y d i d G e n e r a l J a c k s o n m a r ch
into Florida?
4 . Wh y d i d L u i s d e O n i s a g r e e t o
negotiatethe Florida question
w i t h J o h n O u i n c YA d a m s ?
5 . Wh a t w e r e t h e t e r m s o f t h e
T r a n s c o n t i n e n t a lT r e a t Y ?Wh a t
claims did the United States
m a k e f o r t h e t e r r i t o r Yw e s t o f
the LouisianaPurchase?
T h i n k i n g C r i t i c a l l Y . 1 . Wh Y d o Yo u
t h i n k t h e F e d e r a l i s tP a r t y l o s t p o p u l a r i t y a f t e r t h e Wa r o f 1 8 1 2 ? 2 '
l m a g i n e t h a t Y o u a r e L u i s d e O ni s
i n 1 8 1 8 .Wr i t e a j o u r n a l e n t r Y t h a t
d e s c r i b e sy o u r n e g o t i a t i o n s w i t h
John Ouincy Adams.
J am es M onr oe ' s 1 8 3 .
Peaceand New Boundaries
3f3
t
Solving Problems with England
Sti l l a n o th e r resul t of the W ar of l 8l 2 w as that i t convi nced E urope
that the United States was here to stay. The British no longer
dreamed of regaining their former colonies. This did not mean that
England and the United States suddenly became allies or even particularly friendly. The new attitude was one of respect rather than
friendship.
Many sore spots remained between the United States and Great
Britain. After 1815, however, these conflicts were solved by diplom a ts , n o t b y sol di ersand sai l ors.
The first step was to negotiate a treaty in l8l5 removing many
restrictions on trade between the two nations. Then, in 1817 they
signed the Rush-BagotAgreement, which provided that neither would
maintain a fleet of warships on the Great Lakes. Each was to have
four small vessels on the lakes to act as a kind of police force, but
the border between the United Statesand Canada-one of the longest
in the world-was to remain forever unfortified.
A difficult problem was deciding on the exact boundary between
Canada and the United States. American and British experts worked
o n th i s . In l 8l 8 one of these commi ssi onsfl xed the northern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase at 49" north latitude. At this time the
two nations also agreed to joint control of the area west of the
Louisiana territory, known as the Oregon Country.
|ac[<son'sInvasion of Florida
Many westerners had hoped that the War of 1812would pry Florida
from Spanish control. They were disappointed. But soon after the
war the United States got possession of both Florida and a huge
chunk of Spanish territory west of Louisiana.
Settlers who lived along the southern frontier of the United
States complained of raids by Seminolesfrom Florida, reinforced by
many Creek warriors who had gone there after their terrible defeat
by Andrew Jackson at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
The settlers also complained that many of their slaves were
e s c a p i n g i nto Fl ori da. A bout 250 of these runaw ays, often cal l ed
Maroons, controlled what was known as the Negro Fort on the Apalachicola River, about 60 miles (96 kilometers) south of the American
border. Knowing there was a fort controlled by runaways encouraged
other slaves to try to escape. In 1816 an American force marched
into Florida-Spanish territory-and blew up the fort, killing most
of its occupants.
Ea rl y in l 8l 8 Jackson w as sent to crush the S emi nol esand thei r
Maroon allies. Again ignoring the boundary line, he boldly pursued
them into Florida at the head of an army of 3,000 soldiers and 2,000
Indian allies. The Seminolesand Maroons fell back, avoiding a battle.
3L4
wAR AND PEACE, t8l2-1823
Jackson was furious. When two lndian chiefs were captured by
trickery, he had them hanged. At the town of St. Marks on the Gulf
of Mexico he seized Alexander Arbuthnot, a harmless, 7O-year-old
British trader. Arbuthnot's crime had been to warn the Seminoles
that the army was coming. Shortly thereafter Jackson captured another British civilian, Robert Ambrister, a former British marine who
was indeed working with the Seminoles.
Jackson believed that all the conflicts with the Indians were
causedby foreign agents. He decided to put Arbuthnot and Ambrister
on trial. It was obviously illegal to try English civilians before an
American military court on territory belonging to Spain. Jackson
neverthelessdid just that. The two men were found guilty and sentenced to death. Arbuthnot was hanged. Because he had been a
soldier, Ambrister was executed by a firing squad.
Since he was unable to find any lndians or Maroons to attack,
Jackson next marched into West Florida and captured the capital,
Pensacola,which had been relurned to the Spanish by the Treaty of
Ghent. He dashed off a letter to President Monroe explaining what
h e had done. T hen h e w e n t h o me to T e n n e s s e e.
The Transcontinental Treaty
Jackson's invasion prou.d that Spain could no longer control Florida.
ln Washington the Spanish minister to the United States, Luis de
On i s , bit t er ly pr ot e s te d th e s e i z u re o f P e n s a col zr.l t w as " an outra g e , " he s aid. J ac k s o n m u s t b e p u n i s h e d .
President Monroe was embarrassed.He did not want to approve
of what Jackson had done. But he did not want to give up the territory
Jackson had taken. He dared not criticize the popular general publ i cl y . S o he t old O n fs th a t h e a g re e d th a t J a c kson had gone beyond
h i s o r der s , but had d o n e s o b e c a u s eo f m i l i ta ry necessi ty.
O nis k new t h e n th a t th e U n i te d Sta te s was not goi ng to gi ve
b a ck W es t F lor ida . T h e re s t o f F l o ri d a w a s s u r el y l ost as w el l .
O nis was alr e a d y n e g o ti a ti n gw i th J o h n Qui ncy A dams, the secretary of state, about the boundary between the Louisiana Purchase
and Spanish Mexico. Perhaps he could get better terms in this discussion by agreeingto give up Florida.
John Quincy Adams, the son of ex-president John Adams, had
been in public service since he was a teenager. Like his father he
was very intelligent, hard-working, stubborn, and as shrewd as a
Yankee trader. He suggestedto Onfs that Spain should give up Flori d a . T he Unit ed S ta te sw o u l d th e n b e w i l l i n g to postpone settl i ngthe
Louisiana boundary. As Adams well knew, this was exactly the
opposite of what Onfs wanted.
Onis was afraid that a delay would only increase American
demands in the West. Already Adams was claiming that the Mexican
Museum of Fi neA rts. B oston
The yowng John Qaincy Ad'arns satforn
this oil portrait by John Singleton
Copley n few yea.rs after the Revoluti.onary War. Copley's paintings were
said to rniwor his sabjects with great
a.ccura,cy.What negotiation d.id.Ad.orns successfally cornplet e?
Peace and New Boundaries
3f 5
province of Texas was part of the Louisiana Purchase. So Onis
insisted that a "safe and permanent" line be agreed to quickly.
Adams pressed Onfs to accept the Rio Grande as the line. Since
th i s w o u l d have gi ven Texas to the U ni ted S tates, Oni s practi cal l y
spat out his refusal. Afler further dickering Adams suggesteda compromise. A western boundary would be drawn that left Texas in
Spanish hands. But he added the idea that from a point north of
Texas the boundary line should extend west " strttight to the Pacific
O c e 0 n ."
This would give the United States a boundary all the way across
N o rth A m e ri ca. Oni s tri ed to get A dams to gi ve up thi s cl ai m. H e
fa i l e d . F i n al l y he w rote hi s superi orsi n S pai n: " l f H i s Maj esty . . .
hasn't sufficient forces to make war on this country, then I think it
w o u l d b e best not to del ay maki ng the best settl ementpossi bl e."
In O ctober l 8l 8 the S pani sh government gave i n. l t agreed i n
principle to Adams' demand. In a few months the details were ironed
o u t b y A d a ms and Oni s. S pai n ceded Fl ori da to the U ni ted S tates .
ln return the United States canceled $5 million in claims against the
Sp a n i s h i n Fl ori da. The l i ne betw een Mexi co and the U ni ted S tates
followed roughly the present eastern and northern boundaries of
Texas, then went north to 42" north latitude, then west to the Pacific
Ocean.
Adams drove such a hard bargain that he forced Onfs to agree
th a t w h e re the boundary tbl l ow ed ri vers, i t w oul d run al ong the
Spanish side of the river, not the middle of the stream as most such
boundaries do.
The Transcontinental Treaty was a great triumph for Adams and
for the United States. Great Britain's Proclamation of 1763 had set
the western bounilaries of the American colonies at the Appalachian
Mountains. ln 1783 the peace treaty ending the Revolutionary War
extended that boundary to the Mississippi River. The Louisiana Purchase of 1803extended the boundary to the Rocky Mountains. Now
this treaty with Spain pushed the line on to the Pacific Ocean. ln
little more than 50 years the nation had grown from a string of
settlements along the Atlantic Coast to a powerful country a continent wide. John Quincy Adams was not exaggeratingwhen he said
that the day he and Onfs signed the treaty was "the most important
day of my life."
The Whole Continent One Nation
When Adams first suggestedextending the boundary line between
Mexico and the United States west to the Pacific, Onis argued that
there was no need for such a boundary. He insisted that the entire
Paciflc Coast belonged to Spain. He denied that the United States
had a right to any territory west of the Louisiana Purchase.
316
wAR AND PEACE, l8l2-L823
THE ACOUISITION
OF FLORIDA.1819
ffi
O..rpi edby U .S .,1810
FK I c" o" d to U .S .by S pai n,181e
100
100
200M i .
200 Km .
Pr oj ec ti on
Al ber sEqual - Ar ea
LEARNING
FROM MAPS. Florid.a, whicb wa.s a.British colony ot the
tirne of tbe Rwolwtionary
War, had.
again becotne a Spnnish possession.
Why was it irnpol"tant for American
d.efensesthat Florida becornepnrt of
the United. States? Did. the United
Stntesgnin or lose land. by signing the
Transcontinental Trenty in 1819?
Adams declared that Onis' argument was "nonsense." He reminded the Spaniard that Great Britain claimed the Oregon Country
an d wa s w illing t o s hare c o n tro l o f i t w i th th e U n i te d S tates.R ussi a
also had a number of trading posts along the northern Pacific Coast.
Adams, of course, wbn the argument. But his successwas more
a sign of Spain's weakness than of the correctness of his argument.
Aside from the explorations of Lewis and Clark, the United States
had little on which to base its claims in the region beyond the Rocky
Mountains. Jefferson had purchased Louisiana from France. Was
this not proof that the nation had not owned that land before 1803?
How could it claim a right to land still farther west?
The answer to this question was very simple. The people were
pu sh i n g st eadily wes t w a rd . T h e y a s s u m e dth a t th e l and beyond the
mountains was eventually to be a part of the United States. John
Quincy Adams, for example, was convinced that God intended the
Un i te d S t at est o c ont r o l a l l o f N o rth A m e ri c a . H e wrote i n 1811:
(( The whole continent appears to be destined
to be
peopled by one nation.
. The acquisition of a definite
line of boundary to the [Pacific] forms a great epoch in our
h i sto r y . ! !
No European country was strong enough or determined enough
t o re si st U nit ed S t at esc l a i m s v e ry v i g o ro u s l y . O f c o urse, the nati ve
Americans of the Northwest were another matter. They fought hard
t o p ro te c t t heir own c la i m s . B u t th a t c a me mu c h l a ter. W hen A dams
and Onis divided the land by drawing a line on a map, the actual
invasion of the region by white settlers lay far in the future [El]
Return to the Preview & Review on
page 313.
Peace and New Boundaries
3L7