What was the Treaty of Paris?

The Treaty of Paris was the definitive peace agreement that ended the Revolutionary War, signed on September 3, 1783 between the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain at the Hotel d'York in Paris. American commissioners Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay negotiated for the United States, having been joined by Henry Laurens shortly before the signing. British commissioner David Hartley signed for King George III.

The treaty contained ten articles. Article 1 was the heart of the agreement: His Britannic Majesty acknowledged the United States to be free, sovereign, and independent States, and relinquished all claims to government, propriety, and territorial rights. Articles 2 and 3 established generous boundaries: from the Atlantic west to the Mississippi River, from the Great Lakes south to the 31st parallel, with northern boundaries running through the St. Croix River, the height of land, and the 45th parallel through what is now upstate New York. American negotiators secured roughly twice the territory most observers expected.

Article 4 required that creditors on either side encounter no lawful impediment to recovery of bona fide prewar debts, while Article 5 obligated Congress to recommend to the states the restoration of confiscated Loyalist property; both provisions proved difficult to enforce. Article 6 prohibited future confiscations or prosecutions of Loyalists. Article 7 ordered withdrawal of British forces with all convenient speed and required the British to leave behind enslaved people; the British evacuated thousands of formerly enslaved people who had escaped to British lines, freeing them and resettling them in Nova Scotia, Britain, and later Sierra Leone. Article 8 guaranteed navigation of the Mississippi to both nations. Article 9 dealt with prisoners and prizes. Article 10 set terms for ratification within six months.

The treaty was signed alongside parallel agreements at Versailles between Britain and France, and between Britain and Spain, on the same day. Spain recovered Florida and Minorca, France recovered Senegal and other small possessions, and Britain kept Gibraltar. Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784, and Britain ratified on April 9, 1784. The treaties were exchanged on May 12, 1784.

The American negotiators violated Congress's standing instructions to coordinate with France by negotiating preliminary articles secretly with Britain on November 30, 1782, but the favorable result vindicated their boldness. The Treaty of Paris remains the founding document of American diplomatic recognition.