What treaty officially ended the American Revolutionary War, a peace milestone highlighted in America250 history?

The Treaty of Paris (1783) officially ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized the United States as independent.

Representatives of the United States and Great Britain signed the treaty in Paris on September 3, 1783. The American negotiators were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, and Henry Laurens, although Laurens arrived after the main negotiations. David Hartley signed for Britain on behalf of King George III.

The treaty acknowledged the former Thirteen Colonies as free, sovereign, and independent states. It also established U.S. boundaries extending west to the Mississippi River, north to the Great Lakes, and south to Spanish Florida. Congress ratified the treaty on January 14, 1784.

The name can cause confusion because several treaties called the Treaty of Paris exist. The 1763 treaty ended the Seven Years’ War, while the 1783 treaty concluded the American war for independence. The Peace of Paris was a broader group of agreements involving Britain, France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic.