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The Treaty of Ghent (), signed on December 24, 1814 in the city of Ghent, was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. The treaty restored relations between the two nations to ''status quo ante bellum'' — that is, it restored the borders of the two countries to the lines before the war started in June 1812.〔Gene A. Smith, "'Our Flag was display'd within their Works': The Treaty of Ghent and the Conquest of Mobile." ''Alabama Review'' 52 (1999): 3-20.〕 The Treaty was approved by the Prince Regent (the future King George IV). It took a month for news of the peace treaty to reach the United States. American forces under Andrew Jackson won the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815. The Treaty of Ghent was not in effect until it was ratified by the U.S. Senate unanimously on February 18, 1815. It began two centuries of peaceful relations between the U.S. and Britain, although there were a few tense moments. ==Background== After the abdication of Napoleon in April 1814 British public opinion demanded major gains in the war against the United States. The senior American representative in London told Secretary of State James Monroe: :"There are so many who delight in War that I have less hope than ever of our being able to make peace. You will perceive by the newspapers that a very great force is to be sent from Bordeaux to the United States; and the order of the day is division of the States and conquest. The more moderate think that when our Seaboard is laid waste and we are made to agree to a line which shall exclude us from the lake; to give up a part of our claim on Louisiana and the privilege of fishing on the banks, etc. peace may be made with us.: However the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, aware of growing opposition to wartime taxation and the demands of Liverpudlian and Bristolian merchants to reopen trade with America, realized Britain had little to gain and much to lose from prolonged warfare. After rejecting Russian proposals to broker peace negotiations, Britain reversed course in 1814. With the defeat of Napoleon the main British goals of stopping American trade with France and impressment of sailors from American ships were dead letters. Negotiations were held in Ghent, Kingdom of the Netherlands, starting in August 1814. The Americans sent five commissioners: John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, James A. Bayard, Sr., Jonathan Russell, and Albert Gallatin. The British sent minor officials who kept in close touch with their (much closer) superiors in London. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Treaty of Ghent」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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