By Matthew Dennis, University of Oregon
If the War of 1812 was largely a series of military disasters for the United States, the Treaty of Ghent that ended it was a windfall and godsend. Signed in Belgium on Christmas Eve in 1814, copies arrived in Washington on February 14, 1815. The Senate ratified the pact two days later, and forgetting could begin.
But the status quo ante bellum (the state that existed before the war) was not really restored. US negotiators signed 14 treaties between July and October 1815 but returned no land.
Last updated: April 2, 2015