Susan Schwartz, age 14, of Asbury Park, N.J., for her question:

WHAT WAS THE TREATY OF GHENT?

The Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States. The two countries signed the treaty at Ghent, Belgium, on December 24, 1814 and ratified it on February 17, 1815.

The treaty settled none of the disputes that caused the war. It merely restored the situation that had existed before the war.

The treaty did not even mention the fact that American seamen had been forced to serve on British ships. This omission was less important than it seemed because the British had no reason to continue the practice after the final defeat of Napoleon in 1815.

The Treaty of Ghent marked the beginning of a period in which Great Britain and the United States chose to settle their disputes peacefully. The troublesome fisheries question, the problem of payment for slaves seized by the British during the war and the disagreement over the northwestern boundary were all worked out in later negotiations.

The Rush Bagot agreement of 1817 provided for naval disarmament on the Great Lakes.