by Mark Zuehlke
Adams survived only one term, being swept from office by Jackson in 1828 after a particularly bitter campaign marked by personal slanders. Returning to Congress in 1831, Adams played the role of the nation’s conscience by recalling its puritanical roots but was equally renowned for his inability to control his temper. After sixteen consecutive years in the House, Adams died at age eighty on February 23, 1848, just two days after a stroke left him slumped over his desk on the congressional floor.
Clay’s naked presidential ambitions were to go unrealized. Upon returning from Ghent he had been re-elected House Speaker and confidently expected that he was bound for a rebuilt White House. Three times he announced his candidacy and as often stood back waiting for an expected call from supporters, who kept their silence. Moving up to the Senate in 1831 to better oppose Jackson, Clay became the leader of the Whig Party. He was still aspiring to the presidency when carried off by death at seventy-five in 1852.
Of the Americans at Ghent, James Bayard had been liked and respected by all the others. Upon leaving the city he had gone to Paris to await passage to America. But he was ill, suffering severe chest congestion that left him incapacitated for weeks at a time, and his stay there was a trial of endurance. He longed for home, feared he would die before reaching it. Neptune sailed with Bayard and William Crawford aboard on June 18, 1815, and entered Delaware harbour on August 1 after forty-three days at sea. Bayard, bedridden the entire voyage, was taken ashore on a stretcher carried by twelve sailors. They refused to surrender him to the crowd of well-wishers who had gathered at news of his illness, insisting on bearing him home. Bayard told his family he would not survive. Five days later the forty-eight-year-old Federalist was dead.
If Bayard was the most respected among the Ghent commissioners, Jonathan Russell was the least so. Having assumed his post as minister to Sweden, he remained there until 1818. In 1821, he was elected to Congress as a Massachusetts representative for what proved his only term. Russell’s mediocrity would have earned him a moderate, not unfavourable niche in American history for his various roles in diplomacy. But, longing for more influence, Russell embarked on a vile and largely fraudulent campaign against his fellow negotiators Adams and Gallatin. Casting Adams as the chief villain and Gallatin as an appeaser seeking peace, Russell authored a phoney version of a lost correspondence he had sent to James Monroe that portrayed himself as both defender of New England and champion of the west. Monroe finally found the original letter, which unmasked the lies of Russell’s product. Undeterred, Russell produced another version that differed significantly from the previous two. Shunned by Clay, whom he kept trying to draw into his web of deceit, Russell became increasingly unhinged. Finally Adams lashed back with typical erudition and prodigious output by documenting the entire controversy, analyzing in detail Russell’s three letter versions, and publishing the entire thing in September 1822. Disgraced, Russell next tried to smear Clay, but with no success. Soon, when a man’s reputation was ruined by public disclosure, Americans declared that he had been “jonathanrusselled.” When he died at sixty in 1832, Adams wrote: “He is gone to his account and is sufficiently punished in this world for his perfidy.”4
Albert Gallatin had refused to be drawn by Russell’s attacks. After Ghent, Madison had offered Gallatin either secretary of the treasury or the post of minister to France. In 1816 he chose the latter and served in that capacity for seven years, returned home for three years (where he ran unsuccessfully for vice-president alongside Crawford), and then returned to Europe for a year as minister to Britain. Gallatin entered private life and died at eighty-eight on August 12, 1849, preceded three months earlier by his wife. In his later years, Gallatin studied North America’s Indian tribes and in 1842 founded the American Ethnological Society of New York, leading to his being called the father of American ethnology. On his deathbed, he had embarked on a rigorous self-examination, “to see whether I am in charity with all mankind. On this retrospect I cannot remember any adversary whom I have not forgiven, or to whom I have failed to make known my forgiveness.”5 Fitting last words for the man who had nudged the Ghent negotiations one small step at a time toward a satisfactory peace where the honour of both sides was preserved.
It is interesting to note that although its future rode on the outcome of the negotiations, no representatives from British North America were invited to join the British delegation at Ghent or to propose terms for the peace. Goulburn was the only commissioner possessing even a scant knowledge of the colony’s geography or the circumstances of its people. Perhaps tellingly, he considered the treaty a poor one for Canada, for the Indians, and for Britain. In the event, his concerns that Canadians and Indians were sacrificed for a speedy peace proved true only for the latter. Except for the Fenian raids of 1866, the borders stood inviolable thereafter from American military invasion. Had the commissioners in Ghent failed to reach agreement it is likely that the war would have ground on for years to come. Weary from decades of conflict, Britain might have given up on defending its holdings in North America, which perpetually cost more than they returned in the way of resources and wealth. Ultimately, although most Canadians failed to recognize it at the time, the Treaty of Ghent preserved the future of British North America by establishing a foundation of security from American incursions that ensured its survival. Combined with the new sense of selfhood that was fostered by the performance of the Canadian militia during the war, the conditions of the peace set British North America on the path that would in less than fifty years see the emergence of Canada as a distinct nation.
Hull, depicted much younger-looking than he actually was, surrenders his sword and Detroit to Brock. (Library and Archives Canada C-16404)
Brock is pictured here urging on the main counterattack that turned the flank and gave the British a victory at Queenston Heights but he actually died much earlier during an ill-fated charge against the American line. (Library and Archives Canada C-00273)
British boarders from Shannon fight hand-to-hand with the American crew of Chesapeake on June 1, 1813. (Library and Archives Canada C-974)
Laura Secord delivers her warning that the Americans are advancing on Beaver Dams to Lieutenant James FitzGibbon. (Library and Archives Canada C-11053)
The American and British fleets collide on Lake Erie in a decisive battle for control of the western frontier on September 9, 1813. (Library and Archives Canada C-7762)
Tecumseh is shot down by a Kentucky horseman during the final stage of the Battle of Moravian Town on October 5, 1813. With him dies the dream of a self-governing Indian confederacy. (Library and Archives Canada PA-21304)
Lt. Col. de Salaberry leads French-Canadian voltigeurs and militia to victory at Châteauguay on October 25, 1813. (Library and Archives Canada C-3297)
Although the British carries Fort Oswego on May 6, 1814, the raid fails in its purpose to capture the guns bound for arming the 62-gun frigate Superior. (from The Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812 by Benson Lossing [New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers], 1868)
The American failure at Lundy’s Lane on July 24, 1814, spells the end of attacks on Canada. (Library and Archives Canada C-12094)
This American cartoon accuses the British of waging uncivilized warfare by inciting Indians to massacre and slaves to revolt, and setting Washington to the torch. (Library and Archives Canada C-40831)
The Peace of Ghent comes too late to avert the Battle of New Orleans. (from The Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812)
The picturesque and ancient city of Ghent offers an amenable setting for the negotiations to end the war. (from The Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812)
Admiral Sir James Gambier and John Quincy Adams shake hands after the signing of the treaty on December 24, 1814, while the other negotiators and commission secretaries look on. Henry Goulburn is in the foreground with back mostly turned so that his features and expression are hidden. (Library and Archives Canada C-5996)
This allegorical American treaty mo
ntage represents the negotiated end of the war as a triumph for America. (from The Pictorial Field Book of the War of 1812)
APPENDIX:
THE TEXT OF THE TREATY OF GHENT
TREATY OF PEACE AND AMITY,
Between his Britannic Majesty and the United States of America.
His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, desirous of terminating the war which has unhappily subsisted between the two countries, and of restoring, upon principles of perfect reciprocity, peace, friendship, and good understanding between them, have, for that purpose, appointed their respective plenipotentiaries, that is to say: His Britannic Majesty, on his part, has appointed the right honorable James Lord Gambier, late admiral of the white, now admiral of the red squadron of his Majesty’s fleet, Henry Goulburn Esquire, a member of the Imperial Parliament, and under Secretary of State, and William Adams, Esquire, Doctor of Civil Laws:—And the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, has appointed John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell and Albert Gallatin, citizens of the United States, who, after a reciprocal communication of their respective full powers, have agreed upon the following articles:
Dec. 24, 1814. Ratified and confirmed, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, Feb. 17, 1815.
1821, ch. 40. 1827, ch. 38. 1825, ch. 52.
Firm and inviolable peace.*
ARTICLE THE FIRST.
There shall be a firm and universal peace* between his Britannic Majesty and the United States, and between their respective countries, territories, cities, towns, and people, of every degree, without exception of places or persons. All hostilities, both by sea and land, shall cease as soon as this treaty shall have been ratified by both parties, as hereinafter mentioned. All territory, places, and possessions whatsoever*, taken by either party from the other, during the war, or which may be taken after the signing of this treaty, excepting only the islands hereinafter mentioned, shall be restored without delay, and without causing any destruction, or carrying away any of the artillery or other public property originally captured in the said forts or places, and which shall remain therein upon the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, or any slaves or other private property. And all archives, records, deeds, and papers, either of a public nature, or belonging to private persons, which, in the course of the war, may have fallen into the hands of the officers of either party, shall be, as far as may be practicable, forthwith restored and delivered to the proper authorities and persons to whom they respectively belong.* Such of the islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy as are claimed by both parties, shall remain in the possession of the party in whose occupation they may be at the time of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty, until the decision respecting the title to the said islands shall have been made in conformity with the fourth article of this treaty. No disposition made by this treaty, as to such possession of the islands and territories claimed by both parties, shall, in any manner whatever, be construed to affect the right of either.
Territory, &c. to be restored, with exceptions.*
Archives and records to be restored.*
Immediately on ratification, orders to be sent to armies, &c. to cease hostilities.*
ARTICLE THE SECOND.
Immediately after the ratifications of this treaty by both parties, as hereinafter mentioned, orders shall be sent to the armies, squadrons, officers, subjects and citizens, of the two powers, to cease from all hostilities.* And to prevent all causes of complaint which might arise on account of the prizes which may be taken at sea after the said ratifications of this treaty, it is reciprocally agreed, that all vessels and effects which may be taken after the space of twelve days from the said ratifications, upon all parts of the coast of North America, from the latitude of twenty-three degrees north, to the latitude of fifty degrees north, and as far eastward in the Atlantic ocean, as the thirty-sixth degree of west longitude from the meridian of Greenwich, shall be restored on each side: That the time shall be thirty days* in all other parts of the Atlantic ocean, north of the equinoctial line or equator, and the same time for the British and Irish channels, for the Gulf of Mexico and all parts of the West Indies: Forty days for the North seas, for the Baltic, and for all parts of the Mediterranean: Sixty days for the Atlantic ocean south of the equator, as far as the latitude of the Cape of Good Hope; Ninety days for every other part of the world south of the equator: And one hundred and twenty days for all other parts of the world, without exception.
Limitation of time of capture in different latitudes.*
ARTICLE THE THIRD.
All prisoners of war taken on either side,* as well by land as by sea, shall be restored as soon as practicable after the ratifications of this treaty, as hereinafter mentioned, on their paying the debts which they may have contracted during their captivity. The two contracting parties respectively engage to discharge, in specie, the advances which may have been made by the other for the sustenance and maintenance of such prisoners.
Prisoners of war to be restored.*
Reference of the boundary established by the treaty of 1783.*
ARTICLE THE FOURTH.
Whereas it was stipulated by the second article in the treaty of peace,* of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, that the boundary of the United States should comprehend all islands within twenty leagues of any part of the shores of the United States, and lying between lines to be drawn due east from the points where the aforesaid boundaries, between Nova Scotia, on the one part, and East Florida on the other, shall respectively touch the bay of Fundy, and the Atlantic ocean, excepting such islands as now are, or heretofore have been, within the limits of Nova Scotia; and whereas the several islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy, which is part of the Bay of Fundy, and the island of Grand Menan in the said Bay of Fundy, are claimed by the United States as being comprehended within their aforesaid boundaries, which said islands are claimed as belonging to his Britannic Majesty, as having been at the time of, and previous to, the aforesaid treaty of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, within the limits of the province of Nova Scotia: In order, therefore, finally to decide upon these claims,* it is agreed that they shall be referred to two commissioners to be appointed in the following manner, viz: one commissioner shall be appointed by his Britannic Majesty, and one by the president of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and the said two commissioners so appointed shall be sworn impartially to examine and decide upon the said claims according to such evidence as shall be laid before them on the part of his Britannic Majesty and of the United States respectively. The said commissioners shall meet at Saint Andrews,* in the province of New Brunswick, and shall have power to adjourn to such other place or places as they shall think fit. The said commissioners shall, by a declaration or report under their hands and seals, decide to which of the two contracting parties the several islands aforesaid do respectively belong, in conformity with the true intent of the said treaty of peace of one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three. And if the said commissioners shall agree in their decision, both parties shall consider such decision as final and conclusive. It is further agreed, that in the event of the two commissioners differing upon all or any of the matters* so referred to them, or in the event of both or either of the said commissioners refusing, or declining, or wilfully omitting, to act as such, they shall make jointly or separately, a report or reports, as well to the Government of his Britannic majesty as to that of the United States, stating in detail the points on which they differ, and the grounds upon which their respective opinions have been formed, or the grounds upon which they, or either of them, have so refused, declined, or omitted to act. And his Britannic majesty, and the government of the United States, hereby agree to refer the report or reports of the said commissioners, to some friendly sovereign or state,* to be then named for that purpose, and who shal
l be requested to decide on the differences which may be stated in the said report or reports, or upon the report of one commissioner, together with the grounds upon which the other commissioner shall have refused, declined, or omitted to act, as the case may be. And if the commissioner so refusing, declining, or omitting to act, shall also wilfully omit to state the grounds upon which he has so done, in such manner that the said statement may be referred to such friendly sovereign or state, together with the report of such other commissioner, then such sovereign or state shall decide ex parte upon the said report alone. And his Britannic majesty and the government of the United States engage to consider the decision of such friendly sovereign or state to be final and conclusive on all the matters so referred.
Mode of the appointment of commissioners*