How we cite our quotes: (Article.Sentence)
Quote #1
[…] His Britannic Majesty on His part has appointed the Right Honourable James Lord Gambier, late Admiral of the White now Admiral of the Red Squadron of His Majesty's Fleet; Henry Goulburn Esquire, a Member of the Imperial Parliament and Under Secretary of State; and William Adams Esquire, Doctor of Civil Laws: (2) And the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, has appointed John Quincy Adams, James A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell, and Albert Gallatin, Citizens of the United States […]. (Intro.1)
Notice the difference in the descriptions of the Plenipotentiaries? The British get their fancy titles while the Americans are just "citizens of the United States." Never mind that Henry Clay had just been the Speaker of the House and Adams had been a senator and Minister to Russia. When Congress was debating in 1789 how the first President was to be addressed, there were suggestions of "Excellency" and "Highness." Thomas Jefferson wrote to Madison that it was "the most superlatively ridiculous thing I ever heard of "(source). The respectful but less European "Mr. President" was chosen instead. "Citizens of the United States" seems to be in this spirit.
Quote #2
Such of the Islands in the Bay of Passamaquoddy as are claimed by both parties shall remain in the possession of the party in whose occupation they may be at the time of the Exchange of the Ratifications of this Treaty until the decision respecting the title to the said Islands shall have been made in conformity with the fourth Article of this Treaty. (I.4)
The Passamaquoddy Bay is right up against the modern Maine-Canadian border. Deciding who controlled what part of the bay would have an impact on the two countries' ability to trade at sea in the northern corner of the eastern seaboard. The final details weren't ironed out until the cleverly named Passamaquoddy Bay Treaty of 1910.
Quote #3
It was stipulated by the second Article in the Treaty of Peace of one thousand seven hundred and eighty three […] that the boundary of the United States should comprehend "all Islands within twenty leagues of any part of the shores of the United States and lying between lines to be drawn due East from the points where the aforesaid boundaries between Nova Scotia on the one part and East Florida on the other shall respectively touch the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean. (IV.1)
Much of the Treaty of Ghent deals with reinterpreting or clarifying the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War and decided on the original boundaries between the U.S. and Canada.
Quote #4
One Commissioner shall be appointed by His Britannic Majesty and one by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and the said two Commissioners so appointed shall be sworn impartially to examine and decide upon the said claims according to such evidence as shall be laid before them. (IV.3)
This was the mechanism the Treaty of Ghent invented to resolve all those pesky disagreements about islands in bays, lines between the Great Lakes, and river lands. It was kind of like giving two brothers a piece of tape and telling them to divide up their sides of the room. They both had to agree where to put the line.
Quote #5
The said Commissioners shall have power to ascertain and determine the points above mentioned […] and shall cause the boundary aforesaid from the source of the River St Croix to the River Iroquois or Cataraquy to be surveyed and marked according to the said provisions. (V.3)
Before they could debate land boundaries in the Great Lakes area, the Commissioners had to survey the land. They were allowed to hire surveyors, secretaries, and any other employees needed for the job.
Quote #6
The said two last mentioned Commissioners […] shall be, and they are hereby, authorized upon their oaths impartially to fix and determine […] part of the boundary between the dominions of the two Powers, which extends from the water communication between Lake Huron and Lake Superior to the most North Western point of the Lake of the Woods;-to decide to which of the two Parties the several Islands lying in the Lakes, water communications, and Rivers forming the said boundary do respectively belong.
A major battle in the War of 1812 was fought on Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes. Control of the lakes was considered important not only to the outcome of the war, but also to taking control of the upper-Midwest territories, then the American frontier. Take a look at any map of the U.S. and Canada and you'll notice that the border between the two countries cuts through the middle of the lakes. If you've ever wondered why, here's your answer.