Representatives of Britain and the United States sign the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.
The Treaty of Ghent (8 Stat. 218) was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in Belgium). The treaty restored relations between the two parties to status quo ante bellum by restoring the prewar borders of June 1812.The treaty was approved by the British Parliament and signed into law by the Prince Regent (the future King George IV) on December 30, 1814. It took a month for news of the treaty to reach the United States, during which American forces under Andrew Jackson won the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. The treaty did not take effect until the U.S. Senate ratified it unanimously on February 16, 1815. U.S. President James Madison signed the treaty and exchanged final ratified copies with the British ambassador on February 17, 1815.
The treaty began more than two centuries of mostly-peaceful relations between the United States and the United Kingdom despite a few tense moments, such as the Aroostook War in 1838-39, the Trent Affair in 1861, and the Fenian raids in 1866-1871.