"Aroostook War" Ends -- March 25, 1839
On March 25, 1839, Governor John Fairfield of Maine agreed to terms that ended the so-called Aroostook War. The issue at hand was the border between the American state of Maine and British Canadian province of New Brunswick. The border was a long-standing controversy which almost boiled over in 1839 when the Governor Fairfield sent militia to occupy the Aroostook River Valley. President Martin Van Buren deftly defused the crisis and paved the way for the final settlement of the boundary question, which came in 1842.
The boundary line between Maine and New Brunswick had been a matter of controversy between Britain and the United States since the end of the American Revolution. The 1783 Treaty of Paris drew the boundary with maps that were both incomplete and incorrect in regards to the region of northern Maine. Since the rivers and mountains described in the 1783 treaty were unclear, the British and American governments each had their own ideas of the border boundaries.
The situation grew more serious in 1838, when both the British and the Americans began surveying roads through the Maine lands. Additionally, lumberjacks from both countries traversed the Maine backcountry at will, angering both sides. William Harvey, the governor of New Brunswick, arrested a Maine census taker who was surveying the settlements along the Madawaska River. Finally, in January 1839, Governor Fairfield of Maine mobilized a militia and sent it to the Aroostook River Valley to expel timber cutters from New Brunswick. In response, Governor Harvey claimed that the Maine men were in New Brunswick territory and that he had the right to expel them by force.
President Van Buren turned to diplomacy to defuse the crisis. On February 26, 1839, he delivered a special message to Congress, which put forward a program of action. Van Buren both praised and criticized Governor Fairfield. Fairfield was right to expel trespassers onto Maine's territory, but he should have communicated with the governor of New Brunswick as he mobilized the militia. Van Buren said he would support Maine if it was attacked, but that Fairfield's occupation of the Aroostook was a provocation, and it had to be discontinued.
At the same time as the President addressed Congress and Maine, he negotiated with the British minister in Washington. They agreed that New Brunswick would not attack, Maine would withdraw, and both sides would agree to a joint solution to deal with incidents of trespass. The joint memorandum was controversial in Maine, but supported almost everywhere else in the United States. Van Buren sent General Winfield Scott to negotiate on the ground in Maine, and Scott negotiated a truce between Governors Harvey and Fairfield. Maine and New Brunswick tacitly agreed to divide the disputed area into spheres of interest, with Maine controlling the Aroostook River Valley and New Brunswick controlling the Madawaska River Valley. The "Aroostook War" never actually became a real war. Although President Van Buren ended the crisis, a permanent settlement was not immediate. The United States and Britain did not formally resolve the boundary dispute until the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842.
For more information, please visit the Martin Van Buren home page or go to more Events in Presidential History.