Rush-Bagot Treaty: Great Lakes Become Peaceful Border
The Rush-Bagot Agreement, signed on April 28-29, 1817, and ratified by the Senate on April 16, 1818, limited naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain to one vessel of no more than 100 tons with a single 18-pound cannon on each side. The agreement followed the War of 1812, which had featured significant naval combat on the Great Lakes. The treaty is often cited as the beginning of the longest undefended border in the world, though land fortifications continued on both sides for decades. It did not immediately demilitarize the border; rather, it prevented an expensive naval arms race that neither nation could afford. The agreement has been modified several times but remains in force over 200 years later.
April 16, 1818
208 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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