The Rush–Bagot Agreement

Warships were crowding the Great Lakes at the end of the 18th century. American negotiators had proposed disarmament during the Jay Treaty talks in 1794, but Britain declined. After the War of 1812 ended in 1815, John Quincy Adams reopened the question in London. British leaders now had stronger reasons to listen: trade with the United States was recovering, and defending British North America in another war would be costly. [1]

Britain and the United States agreed in April 1817 to dismantle most of their armed vessels on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. Each country could keep one small armed vessel on Lake Ontario, two on the upper Great Lakes, and one on Lake Champlain, each carrying a single eighteen pound cannon. [2]

The War of 1812 had filled the lakes with rival fleets, and peace had not ended the competition. With no provision for naval disarmament in the Treaty of Ghent, both governments faced the expense of maintaining forces against a neighbour with whom they also wanted to trade. [1]

British minister Charles Bagot and acting American secretary of state Richard Rush settled the terms through notes exchanged on 28 and 29 April. Britain negotiated for territory that would later form part of Canada; no independent Canadian government yet existed. [2] [1]

The naval settlement left other frontier disputes to further negotiation. In 1818, Richard Rush and Albert Gallatin negotiated a boundary along the forty-ninth parallel westward to the Rocky Mountains and arrangements for fisheries and the Oregon country. Disputes farther east persisted. [1]

Related Diplomats

1. Richard Rush [2]
2. Charles Bagot [2] [1]

Related Reading

• Canada and the United States