NE boundary problem

• where "highlands", St. Croix R., 45th line,
  
• 1798 Schoodic, not Magaguadavic R.
  
• Transcanada Road planned after 1812
  
• Madawaska & Aroostook settlers 1820
  
• William I awards 7908 mi. to U.S. 1831
  
• view large map 949x1461 of Maine Boundary problem from A.B. Hart (1906) vol. 17

States Rights problem

• 1820 Missouri Compromise
  
• Maine protests 4119 mi lost
  

2nd Party System problem

• Jackson offers Michigan Terr. to Maine
  
• but supports Senate 21-20 rejection of award
  
• sectionalist Jackson vs. nationalist Whigs
  
• Bank veto, Maysville Road veto, Indian removal
  

Daniel Webster

• 1812 conservative Federalist from NH
  
• 1816 lawyer for merchants, bankers, upper class
  
• 1816 drafted BUS recharter bill
  
• 1819 won Dartmouth College case
  
• 1819 won McCulloch vs. MD case
  
• 1827 elected to Senate
  
• 1841 secretary of state for Whigs
  

Canadian Rebellion 1837 - 1st crisis

• Wm. Mackenzie on Niagra River's Navy Isl.
  
• NY's "Patriot" army of Col. Rensselaer
  
• Caroline stopped Dec. 29
  
• Amos Durfee in Buffalo's Eagle Tavern
  
• Gen. Winfield Scott, Rush-Bagot invoked
  

Aroostook War 1839

• Maine "Red Shirts" vs. NB "Blue Noses"
  
• Rufus McIntire posse vs. "trespassesers"
  
• Scott arranges St. John compromise
  

Alexander McLeod case 1841

• Palmerston threatens diplomatic break if executed
  
• new Whig admin of Harrison, Tyler after Apr. 6
  
• new Tory council of PM Peel, Aberdeen
  
• McLeod trial Oct. 4-12, 1841
  
• Webster gets Bentem bill passed 1842
  

Creole incident Nov. 1841

• South enraged at Brit. liberation of slave ship
  
• Brit demand "right to visit" illegal slavers
  
• Giddings Resolution to stop coastal slave trade divides Congress
  

Fish River incident Nov. 1840

• Maine demands St. John boundary
  

Webster's Diplomacy

Need for strong leadership in 1842

• due to Canadian rebellion, Aroostook War, McLeod case, Creole incident
  
• resignation of Tyler's cabinet Sep. 11, 1841, due to his veto of Bank recharter bill
  
• Congress paralyzed by debate over slavery, Giddings resolutions
  
• "Loyal Maine Men" north of the Aroostook imprisoned Brit. "trespassers" at the Fish River Nov. 1840
  
• need to win the support of Maine, Mass., NY, to overcome opposition of state rights advocates
  

Newspaper campaign

• Webster paid $2500 to publisher Francis Smith to print favorable editorials
  
• Webster paid $850 to Peleg Sprague and Albert Smith as agents in Maine to influence public opinion - they discovered Maine willing to privately compromise, but not lose face publicly
  
• Maine and Mass invited to attend negotiations with British
  

Lord Ashburton invited

• change of government in Brit. in Sep. 1841 had replaced anti-American Palmerston with pro-trade Lord Aberdeen and PM Robert Peel
  
• Alexander Baring (Lord Ashburton) pro-American, owned land in Maine, married Anne Bingham, was retired head of Baring Bros. bank that had financed the Louisian Purchase, and Webster had been legal advisor to the bank since 1831.
  
• Arrived in U.S. Apr. 4, 1842, and stayed at St. Johns rectory (image at right taken by Schoenherr, 1989)
  
• Ashburton sought compromise, willing to settle for King William's line and give up Rouse's Point as long as Canada allowed to build military road
  

Battle of the Maps

• Ashburton agreed to suppress pro-British Sparks map and fake Oswald map
  
• Webster agreed to suppress pro-British Steuben map, but he showed it in private to Maine's agent Charles Daveis
  
• real Oswald map that was pro-Maine was used by Ashburton to pressure Parliament
  

Treaty signed Aug. 9

1. Maine boundary fixed at St. John River; Maine and Mass paid $150,000
   
2. New York boundary adjusted to include Rouse's Point
   
3. Minnesota boundary gave U.S. 6500 sq. mi., including Mesabi Range
   
4. slave trade prohibition to be enforced, U.S. to keep 80 guns off Africa, Brit to no longer stop and free coastal slave ships
   
5. extradtion agreement with Canada for 7 crimes
   

Significance

References:

• Doan, Daniel. Indian Stream Republic: settling a New England frontier, 1785-1842; with an introduction and afterword by Jere R. Daniell; edited by Ruth Doan MacDougall. Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1997 (the manuscript was written in the 1960's by Daniel Doan, but never published until his daughter Ruth Doan MacDougall edited her father's manuscript and published the text). 267 p.; maps; 24 cm. Includes bibliographical references. Series: Library of New England. Subject: Indian Stream Republic -- History. Northeast boundary of the United States. Pittsburg (N.H.) -- History. SDSU F42.C7 D63 1997
• Evans, Eric J. Sir Robert Peel: Statesmanship, Power, and Party. New York: Routledge, 1991. 82 p.; bibliographical references (p. 79-82). SERIES Lancaster pamphlets. SUBJECT(S) Peel, Robert, Sir, 1788-1850. Prime ministers -- Great Britain -- Biography. Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1837-1901. Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1830-1837. DA536.P3 E84 1991
• Hart, Albert Bushnell, ed. The American Nation: a History from Original Sources. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1904-18.
• Jones, Howard. To the Webster-Ashburton Treaty: a Study in Anglo-American relations, 1783-1843. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1977. 251 p.: ill.; bibliography: p. 221-237 and index. SUBJECT(S) Great Britain. Treaties, etc. United States, 1842 Aug. 9. Northeast boundary of the United States. United States -- Foreign relations -- Great Britain. Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- United States. E398 .J66 - This book is the most complete and reliable history of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty.
• Krein, David F. The Last Palmerston Government: Foreign Policy, Domestic Politics, and the Genesis of "Splendid Isolation". Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1978. 252 p.; bibliography: p. 225-229 and index. A revision of the author's thesis, University of Iowa. Subjects: Palmerston, Henry John Temple, Viscount, 1784-1865. Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- 1837-1901. DA550 .K73 1978
• Peterson, Merrill D. The Great Triumvirate: Webster, Clay, and Calhoun. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. 573 p., [16] p. of plates: ill., ports.; bibliographical references and index. SUBJECT(S) Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852. Clay, Henry, 1777-1852. Calhoun, John C. (John Caldwell), 1782-1850. Statesmen -- United States -- Biography. United States -- Politics and government -- 1815-1861. E339 .P47 1987
• Read, Donald. Peel and the Victorians. New York: Blackwell, 1987. 330 p.: ill., facsims.; bibliographical references and index. SUBJECT(S) Peel, Robert, Sir, 1788-1850. Public opinion -- Great Britain -- History -- 19th century. Prime ministers -- Great Britain -- Biography. Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1837-1901. DA536.P3 R42 1987
• Weeks, William Earl. John Quincy Adams and American Global Empire. Lexington, Ky. : University Press of Kentucky, 1992. 238 p.: maps; bibliographical references and index. SUBJECT(S) Spain. Treaties, etc. United States, 1819 Feb. 22. Adams, John Quincy, 1767-1848. Florida -- History -- Cession to the United States, 1819. United States -- Foreign relations -- Spain. Spain -- Foreign relations -- United States. F314 .W44 1992
• Wiltse, Charles M., ed. The Papers of Daniel Webster. Hanover, N.H.: Published for Dartmouth College by the University Press of New England, 1974-1989. 14 vols.; bibliographical references and indexes. Contents: ser. 1. Correspondence: v. 1. 1798-1824. v. 2. 1825-1829. v. 3. 1830-1834. v. 4. 1835-1839. v. 5. 1840-1843. v. 6. 1844-1849. v. 7. 1850-1852 -- ser. 2. Legal papers: v.1. The New Hampshire practice. v. 2. The Boston practice. v. 3. The federal practice (2 v.) -- ser. 3. Diplomatic papers: v. 1. 1841-1843. v. 2. 1850-1852 -- ser. 4. Speeches and formal writings: v. 1. 1800-1833. v. 2. 1834-1852. Subjects: United States -- History -- 1809-1817. United States -- History -- 1801-1809. United States -- History -- 1815-1861. UCSD E337.8 .W24 1974 CIRC Annex.
• Ziegler, Philip. The Sixth Great Power: Barings 1762-1929. London: Collins, 1988. 430 p., [16] p. of plates: ill., ports, geneal. tables; bibliography: p. 382-384 and index. SUBJECT(S) Baring Brothers & Co. Ltd. -- History. Merchant banks -- Great Britain -- History. HG2998.B36 Z54 1988b

Links:

• Daniel Webster Defender of the Constitution has sections on all phases of his career with images
• Daniel Webster's Lost Portsmouth
• John Mitchell's Map, An Irony of Empire from the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education, University of Southern Maine - mirror
• Maps include large map of Maine Boundary problem, and Map 1840 shows Upper and Lower Canada, both from A.B. Hart (1906) vol. 17; see also Jacksonian Era 1825-45 maps
• St. John's Church from NPS and history
• Tranascanada Highway
• Upper St. John River Valley
• Webster-Ashburton Treaty from Avalon - mirror
• whiskey history and Kentucky and Crow and Bourbon History from Old Rip Van Winkle