Great Britain Recognized U.S. Independence: September 3, 1783 (Treaty of Paris)

Date: September 3, 1783.

The Treaty

• Treaty of Paris (1783) — signed at Hotel d'York, Paris by:
  • US: John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens.
  • GB: David Hartley (representing George III).
• Article 1: "His Britannic Majesty acknowledges the said United States... to be free sovereign and independent states."
• Ratification: US Congress (Jan 14, 1784); King George III (Apr 9, 1784). Ratifications exchanged May 12, 1784 — formal legal effect.

Key Terms

• Borders: Mississippi R. (west), Great Lakes (north), 31°N (south), Atlantic (east).
• Fishing rights off Newfoundland.
• Debts & Loyalist property: honored in principle (largely unenforced).
• British troops to evacuate "with all convenient speed" (took until 1796 for frontier forts).

Context

• Yorktown surrender (Oct 1781) → 2 years of negotiation.
• France, Spain, Netherlands signed separate treaties with GB (Versailles, 1783).
• First time a European power recognized a colonial independence by treaty.

Commemoration: Sept 3 = Treaty of Paris Day (not a federal holiday). The 1783 treaty is in the National Archives (DC).