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Primary sourceDocument20 October 1818

Treaty of 1818

Albert Gallatin, Richard Rush, Frederick John Robinson, Henry Goulburn · 20 October 1818

An 1818 treaty with Britain fixing the 49th parallel border and joint control of Oregon, negotiated under President Monroe.

Monroe, as president, directed the negotiations that produced this treaty settling the border with Britain.

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What it is

The Convention of 1818, also called the Treaty of 1818 or London Convention, was signed between the United States and Great Britain on 20 October 1818. It set the boundary along the 49th parallel to the Rocky Mountains and arranged joint occupation of the Oregon Country. It was negotiated for the U.S. by Albert Gallatin and Richard Rush, and for Britain by Frederick John Robinson and Henry Goulburn.

Why it matters

This treaty settled a long-running boundary dispute left unclear by the 1783 Treaty of Paris and marked Britain's last major loss of territory in what is now the continental United States. As president, James Monroe oversaw the negotiations, continuing his broader policy of settling disputes with Britain peacefully after the War of 1812, alongside figures like Gallatin and Rush.

Look closer

  • Why might a straight-line border be easier to agree on than one following rivers or watersheds?
  • What does the clause about escaped slaves reveal about the issues still unresolved after the War of 1812?
  • Whose claims to the Oregon Country are left out of this agreement between only two powers?

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