Why was it deemed necessary that the “average person… knows they are on the border”, which resulted in the creation of the US-Canadian border slash?

Question

Was there a particular need to "make sure that the 'average person… knows they are on the border'" that led to the slash, perhaps a dispute due to an ambiguity, or a treaty that required it? Or was this just a common-sense move who's time had come? Where there any particular immediate political or economic benefits to its implementation?

Answer 1

One of the earliest features of civilization was the establishment of systems of law that indicate what everyone in a community will be punished for doing, that is, the limits of individual freedom in the interests - ideally - of the collective well being of the community as a whole. The enforcement of a system of law is the responsibility of a government.

Because different communities of human beings have established different governments - different governments that enforce different systems of law - it is necessary to know where one system of law must be obeyed and where a different system of law must be obeyed. Obviously, the jurisdiction of different systems of law need to be delineated so that one knows which system of law one needs to obey.

The boundaries of different governments delineate the limits of systems of law. Without boundaries, there is no way to know what system of law one needs to observe.