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Historic HENRY CLAY 3-Page ALS Reports War of 1812 Treaty Negociations at Ghent

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Historic HENRY CLAY 3-Page ALS Reports War of 1812 Treaty Negociations at Ghent
Autographs
Henry Clay Historic Content Three-Page Autograph Letter Signed Regarding the War of 1812 Treaty Negotiations!
HENRY CLAY (1777-1852). American Lawyer, Planter, and Statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives, “War Hawk” Negotiator for the United States concluding the War of 1812 resulting in advantageous The Treaty of Ghent with Britain.
December 2, 1814-Dated, Autograph Letter Signed, “H. Clay”, measuring 8” x 9.75”, 3 pages, Choice Extremely Fine. Clay, who was a United States negotiator resulting in The Treaty of Ghent, Belgium reports on the points that divide the British and Americans. Some historic disputed points include; claim to the navigation of the Mississippi; concession of the right to fish, etc.; the actual state of the negotiation and the high probability of a favorable speedy result...”. On December 24, 1814, “The Treaty of Ghent” was signed by British and American representatives at Ghent, Belgium, ending the War of 1812. By terms of the treaty, all conquered territory was to be returned, and commissions were planned to settle the boundary of the United States and Canada. This important content Letter reads, in part:

“Since my last letter was written we have received the British note which I mentioned we were expecting, along with our project returned accompanied by marginal suggestions and objections. He immediately replied and asked a conference, which took place yesterday. The points which at present divide us are these: We insist upon a mutual restoration of all territories place and possession taken by either party during the War. They offer a restoration of all places etc belonging to either party. The effect of which stipulation would be, that they would hold the islands claimed by them in the bay of Passamaquoddy. As however we have agreed upon a mode of settling the question of right to all disputed territories by referring it in the first instance to Commissioners, and if they do not agree afterwards to some friendly slate, the difference between us on this point though still material, is not so important as but for the reference it would be. The next point of difference arises out of a claim they set up to the navigation of the Mississippi and as incident to it access from the British territories to that river by British subjects with their goods and effects. We object to the grant of this privilege without an equivalent. I was myself for objecting to it in toto but a majority of my colleagues was for demanding as the equivalent the concession of the right to fish etc within the British jurisdiction. The first point I believe we could have arranged yesterday in conference but as they affected surprise as to our objections to the claim to the navigation of the Mississippi and alleged a want of instructions on that subject which rendered it necessary to refer to their government they said would refer both points. We have now therefore to wait the answer from London, which may be expected in 8 or 10 days. Considering the actual state of the negotiation and the high probability of a favorable speedy result, we have deemed it eligible to put on ourselves greater restrictions, as to speaking of its present condition than we have heretofore observed...”

The American victory on Lake Champlain led to the conclusion of U.S. - British peace negotiations in Ghent, Belgium. On December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the war. Although the treaty said nothing about two of the key issues that started the war–the rights of neutral U.S. vessels and the impressment of U.S. sailors, it did open up the Great Lakes region to American expansion and was hailed as a diplomatic victory in the United States.
In June 1812, the United States declared war against Great Britain in reaction to three issues: the British economic blockade of France, the impressment of thousands of neutral American seamen into the British Royal Navy against their will, and the British support of hostile Indian tribes along the Great Lakes frontier. A faction of the U.S. Congress, made up mostly of Western and Southern congressmen, had been advocating the declaration of war for several years.

These War Hawks, as they were known, hoped that war with Britain, which was preoccupied with its struggle against Napoleonic France, would result in U.S. territorial gains in Canada and British-protected Florida.

Did you know? After the British burned the White House during the War of 1812, President James Madison and his wife were unable to live there. Madison’s successor, James Monroe, moved back into the White House in 1817, while it was still being rebuilt.

In the months following the U.S. declaration of war, American forces launched a three-point invasion of Canada, all of which were repulsed. At sea, however, the United States was more successful, and the USS Constitution and other American frigates won a series of victories over British warships. In 1813, American forces won several key victories in the Great Lakes region, but Britain regained control of the sea and blockaded the Eastern seaboard.

In 1814, with the downfall of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), the British were able to allocate more military resources to the American war, and Washington, D.C., fell to the British in August. In Washington, British troops burned the White House, the Capitol and other buildings in retaliation for the earlier burning of government buildings in Canada by U.S. soldiers. However, the British soon retreated, and Fort McHenry in Baltimore harbor withstood a massive British bombardment and inspired Francis Scott Key (1779-1843) to pen the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

On September 11, 1814, the tide of the war turned when an American naval force under Thomas Macdonough (1783-1824) won a decisive victory at the Battle of Plattsburg in New York on Lake Champlain. A large British army under Sir George Prevost (1767-1816) was thus forced to abandon its invasion of the U.S. northeast and retreat to Canada.

The American victory on Lake Champlain led to the conclusion of U.S.-British peace negotiations in Belgium, and on December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed, ending the war. Although the treaty said nothing about two of the key issues that started the war–the rights of neutral U.S. vessels and the impressment of U.S. sailors–it did open up the Great Lakes region to American expansion and was hailed as a diplomatic victory in the United States.

News of the treaty took almost two months to cross the Atlantic, and British forces were not informed of the end of hostilities in time to end their drive against the mouth of the Mississippi River. On January 8, 1815, a large British army attacked New Orleans and was decimated by an inferior American force under General Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) in the most spectacular U.S. victory of the war.

The American public heard of the Battle of New Orleans and the Treaty of Ghent at approximately the same time, fostering a greater sentiment of self-confidence and shared identity throughout the young republic.

See Website Name: HISTORY

https://www.history.com/topics/war-of-1812/treaty-of-ghent