n the realm of foreign affairs, James Monroe sought to improve the country's international reputation and assert its independence. By virtue of his solid working relationship with Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, the two men successfully pursued an aggressive foreign policy, especially with regard to European intervention in the Americas.
In its early days, the Monroe administration wanted to improve relations with Britain. Toward that end, it negotiated two important accords with Britain that resolved border disputes held over from the War of 1812. The Rush-Bagot Treaty of 1817, named after acting Secretary of State Richard Rush and Charles Bagot, the British minister, demilitarized the Great Lakes, limiting each country to one 100-ton vessel armed with a single 18-pound cannon on Lake Chaplain and Lake Ontario. The Convention of 1818 fixed the present U.S.-Canadian border from Minnesota to the Rocky Mountains at the 49th parallel. The accords also established a joint U.S.-British occupation of Oregon for the next ten years.
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