The Franklin Mint History Of The United States, 1776-1973
Manufacturer
The Franklin Mint
CultureAmerican
DateNo Date
MediumSilver
DimensionsOverall: 1 3/4 in. (45 mm.)
Credit LineGift of Dr. Eugene F. Poutasse
Object number76.81.43
Not on view
DescriptionOne of collection of 200 silver medals.The 1818 medal: Northern boundary Set at 49th Parallel
The boundary between the United States and Canada was one of the questions left unsettled by the Treaty of Ghent. In 1806 American commissioners in London had proposed that the 49th parallel of latitude westward from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains be the boundary between the two countries. But no agreement was signed at that time due to the failure of the two governments to agree on other questions.
Richard Rush, the popular Minister to England, and Albert Gallatin, Minister to France, were in 1818 asked by President Monroe to negotiate the boundary. Henry Goulburn and Frederick J. Robinson were the British representatives. The 49th parallel to the Rocky Mountains was readily agreed upon but the British would not agree to extending the line to the pacific.
Both countries had strong claims to the Oregon territory based upon discovery, settlement and the establishment of trading posts. Spain and Russia were also claimants. In order that a northern boundary might be effected, the Oregon portion was left unsettled, the two countries agreeing that all of the territory claimed by either country should be equally open to both during a ten year period without prejudice to the claims of either.
