The American Revolution began on April 19, 1775 with the Battles of Lexington and Concord (Massachusetts) and ended on October 19, 1781 with the British surrender at Yorktown (Virginia). The preliminary Treaty of Paris was signed on November 30, 1782. On December 2, 1782, King George III of Great Britain announced the recognition of the 13 United States, formerly the 13 British colonies.
David Hartley, one of two British representatives, and American representatives John Adams (Massachusetts), John Jay (New York) and Benjamin Franklin (Pennsyhlvania) signed the Treaty of Paris on September 3, 1783. France and Spain, allies of the United States of America, signed peace documents at Versailles, France on the same day. The Netherlands, another U. S. ally, also signed peace statements that day.
Specifics of the Treaty of Paris
Since the Treaty of Paris stated that at least nine of the 13 former colonies had to ratify it within six months of its signing to be official, the full recognition process was not complete until January 14, 1874, when it was ratified. The provisions of the Treaty of Paris were:
- Great Britain recognized the U. S. A. as free and independent.
- America's western boundary extended to the Mississippi River. American and British subjects could travel on it. The Great Lakes became the nation's northern boundary.
- American fishermen continued to have the right to fish "on the Grand Bank and on all the other banks of Newfoundland, also the Gulf of Saint Lawrence."
- In withdrawing from the U. S., British troops could not take any American slaves or other American property.
- The estates and property of British subjects that had been confiscated would be returned to them.
- America and Great Britain would pay each other's respective pre-war debts.
- America would not persecute those who had been loyal to Great Britain and would allow them to return to their native lands.
- All prisoners would be freed.
The crafty American negotiators wanted the best deal possible for the new nation. Though the French foreign minister Charles Gravier, Comte De Vergennes convinced the Continental Congress not to reach an agreement with Great Britain without consulting the French, Jay ignored that promise. In fact he ensured that neither the Marquis de Lafayette, a French nobleman who had fought in the Revolutionary War and solicitied money from King Louis XVI, nor French negotiators learned anything important about the American-British talks. In the end, the United States came to terms with Great Britain without consulting the French.
Sources:
Smith, Carter, ed. The Revolutionary War: A Sourcebook On Colonial America. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press. 1991.
"' Peace, Liberty, and Independence' : 225 Years After the Treaty of Paris." Exhibition. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Philadelphia. 2008.
Barber, James G. and Frederick Voss. Blessed Are the Peace Makers: A Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Treaty of Paris. An Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. September 3 through November 27, 1983. Washington, D. C.: The National Portrait Gallery by the Smithsonian Institutuion Press.1983.
