Treaty of Washington (1871)

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The American Commission to the Treaty of Washington of 1871. Washington, D.C., 1871 L. to R.: Robert C. Schenck, Ebenezer R. Hoar, George H. Williams, Hamilton Fish, Samuel Nelson, Bancroft Davis

The Treaty of Washington was a treaty negotiated between the United Kingdom and the United States in 1871.

The treaty dealt with grievances stemming from the American Civil War (such as the Alabama claims and the Fenian raids) and cross-border issues with the newly-formed Dominion of Canada. Its negotiation helped to avert what some felt was an inevitable war between the two parties.

The British government selected as its Commissioners Earl de Grey (Marquis of Ripon), Sir Stafford Northcote, Sir Edward Thornton, Mountague Bernard, and Canadian Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. Although the treaty was signed in the name of the British Empire, Macdonald's presence established that the newly-formed Dominion of Canada would at least take part in settling foreign matters that affected it directly, especially with respect to dealings with the U.S.

At Geneva, in 1872, the U.S. was awarded $15,500,000 pursuant to the terms of the treaty, and the British apologized for the destruction caused by the British-built Confederate ships, while admitting no guilt.

Compensation for the Fenian raids was not included, and American fishermen were given rights to fish in Canadian water. This greatly irritated Macdonald, but he nonetheless signed the treaty under the argument that he must as a junior member of the British delegation. The treaty was published in the Canadian press to widespread condemnation, but Macdonald remained silent on the issue. When it came time to debate the treaty in the Canadian House of Commons, he revealed that he been secretly negotiating for a better deal, and had obtained a cash payment from the Americans for the use of Canadian fishing grounds, and in lieu of any claim against the US over the Fenians, the British had agreed to guarantee Canadian loans for the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. This masterstroke of diplomacy and statecraft allowed an otherwise deeply unpopular treaty to be ratified by Parliament.

The scholar of international law John Bassett Moore has called this treaty "the greatest treaty of actual and immediate arbitration the world has ever seen."