細節
WASHINGTON, GEORGE, 1732-1799, President. Document signed ("G:Washington") as President, countersigned by Secretary of State Timothy Pickering, Philadelphia, 21 May 1796. 1 page, folio, 312 x 415mm. (12 1/2 x 16 1/2 in.), ON FINE PARCHMENT, boldly written in a clear calligraphic hand, large papered Great Seal of the U.S., two tiny holes at fold intersections (catching one letter).
WASHINGTON APPOINTS A AGENT TO SETTLE THE NORTHWEST BOUNDARY CONTROVERSY
President Washington names James Sullivan to a special commission, charged with settling the important boundary question left unresolved by the 1783 peace treaty with Britain: "Whereas Doubts have arisen what river was truly intended under the name of the River St. Croix mentioned in the Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and his Britannic Majesty, and forming a part of the boundary therein described; and whereas in the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation between the said United States and his Britannic Majesty, it is agreed to refer that question to the final decision of Commissioners to be appointed....[R]eposing special Trust and Confidence in the Ability, Diligence, and Integrity of James Sullivan of Massachusetts, I have nominated and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate appointed...Sullivan the agent of the United States..."
The Treaty of Paris (1783) attempted to establish the boundary between the United States and British North America by various streams from the western head of Lake Superior to the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, continuing westward to the Mississippi River. The St. Croix River was designated the northern boundary, but this was based on Mitchell's 1755 map of North America which incorrectly assumed that the source of the Mississippi River rose north of a line due west from the northwesternmost point of the Lake of the Woods; the source actually lay some 152 miles south of that latitude. This boundary gap first became an issue in 1792 when Great Britain attempted to close the gap by a boundary rectification, thereby extending their territory south to the navigable waters of the Mississippi and giving Canada access to the river, although the free navigation had already been granted to both parties under the Treaty. The dispute remained unsettled until the Oregon Treaty of 1846 established the division between the United States and British Canada at the 490 North Latitude through to the Pacific Ocean.
WASHINGTON APPOINTS A AGENT TO SETTLE THE NORTHWEST BOUNDARY CONTROVERSY
President Washington names James Sullivan to a special commission, charged with settling the important boundary question left unresolved by the 1783 peace treaty with Britain: "Whereas Doubts have arisen what river was truly intended under the name of the River St. Croix mentioned in the Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and his Britannic Majesty, and forming a part of the boundary therein described; and whereas in the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation between the said United States and his Britannic Majesty, it is agreed to refer that question to the final decision of Commissioners to be appointed....[R]eposing special Trust and Confidence in the Ability, Diligence, and Integrity of James Sullivan of Massachusetts, I have nominated and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate appointed...Sullivan the agent of the United States..."
The Treaty of Paris (1783) attempted to establish the boundary between the United States and British North America by various streams from the western head of Lake Superior to the most northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, continuing westward to the Mississippi River. The St. Croix River was designated the northern boundary, but this was based on Mitchell's 1755 map of North America which incorrectly assumed that the source of the Mississippi River rose north of a line due west from the northwesternmost point of the Lake of the Woods; the source actually lay some 152 miles south of that latitude. This boundary gap first became an issue in 1792 when Great Britain attempted to close the gap by a boundary rectification, thereby extending their territory south to the navigable waters of the Mississippi and giving Canada access to the river, although the free navigation had already been granted to both parties under the Treaty. The dispute remained unsettled until the Oregon Treaty of 1846 established the division between the United States and British Canada at the 490 North Latitude through to the Pacific Ocean.