Webster-Ashburton Treaty was an agreement between the United States and Britain. It settled a number of annoying disputes between the two countries. Secretary of State Daniel Webster signed the treaty for the United States and Lord Ashburton for Britain at Washington, D.C., in August 1842.
The most important dispute settled was the fixing of the boundary line between Canada and the state of Maine. The United States received more than half of the disputed area of 12,000 square miles (31,100 square kilometers). The treaty settled other disputes of a minor nature, and a clause provided for the mutual extradition of criminals.
The negotiations also provided opportunity for the peaceful discussion of problems arising from British efforts to suppress the African slave trade. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty was one of the many instances in which the United States and Britain settled disputes without going to war.
