Treaty of Ghent

The Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812, a conflict fought between the United States and Great Britain over maritime grievances including the impressment of American sailors, interference with American trade during the Napoleonic Wars, and tensions on the western frontier. By 1814, with the war stalemated and both sides weary of the cost, negotiators met in the city of Ghent in present-day Belgium to seek peace.

American commissioners, among them John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay, bargained with their British counterparts through the latter part of 1814. The treaty was signed on December 24, 1814. Its terms essentially restored the prewar status quo, returning captured territory and leaving the central disputes, including impressment and boundaries, formally unresolved, since changing circumstances in Europe had already eased the maritime conflicts.

News of the treaty traveled slowly across the Atlantic, and before word arrived, American forces under Andrew Jackson won a celebrated victory at the Battle of New Orleans in January 1815. Although the treaty changed few borders, it confirmed American sovereignty, ended hostilities permanently between the two nations, and ushered in an era of growing national confidence sometimes called the "Era of Good Feelings."