England claimed that Eastport was on the British side of the international border which had been determined in 1783 . Eastport was returned to US control in 1818 . The boundary between the U . S . and Canada remained disputed until settled by the Webster – Ashburton Treaty of 1842 . In 1866 , relations with Canada were threatened when hundreds of Fenians ( Irish nationalists ) awaited a shipment of arms to be landed at Eastport and intended for an invasion of English-ruled Canada . A U . S . military force was sent to seize the arms and successfully dispersed the group . Eastport is the location most recently occupied by a foreign country in the contiguous United States .
The Passamaquoddy supported Americans in the Revolutionary War based on promises and assurances made by General George Washington , which were never ratified by Congress . The state governments took Passamaquoddy lands for timber in exchange for promises to provide for the maintenance of Tribal members . By the mid-1830s , the Passamaquoddy Tribe had been deprived of almost all its traditional territory . State-appointed Indian agents exercised total control over the dispensing of food , clothing , shelter , health care , and other necessities . For many generations , the Passamaquoddy people lived at a bare subsistence level .
Two hundred years after the Revolutionary War the Federal Government finally acknowledged its obligation to the Passamaquoddy . In 1790 Congress passed legislation to curtail exploitation of Indian lands ( the Indian Trade and Intercourse Act ). A US District Court ruled that the Non- Intercourse Act applied to the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribes and ordered the federal government to litigate a claim against the State of Maine for the illegal taking of lands . Settlement of this case resulted in the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act in 1980 , which marked a critical turning point in the history of the Passamaquoddy Tribe . Today , the Passamaquoddy Tribe has both the sovereign status of a federally recognized Indian tribe and a unique status within Maine law .
Mapping and Navigation
The Baseline Road
Shipping had increased dramatically since the American Revolution and trade was flourishing , but the accuracy of existing nautical charts was poor . In 1807 Congress authorized
The Epping Baseline Road - The Epping Baseline was built in the wild blueberry barrens atop a wide glacial outwash delta and ancient shoreline . Because the wild blueberry barrens have remained a critical aspect of the Downeast Maine economy , most of the Epping Baseline Road remains intact ; no remnants exist of the other five baselines .
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