Which 1783 treaty recognized the independence of the United States?
Answer
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris recognized the independence of the United States in 1783.
Representatives of the United States and Great Britain signed the preliminary peace articles in 1782, and the definitive treaty was signed in Paris on September 3, 1783. Britain formally acknowledged the United States as an independent nation and ended the Revolutionary War between the two countries.
The treaty established boundaries for the new United States, extending west to the Mississippi River, north to the Great Lakes, and south to Spanish Florida. It also addressed fishing rights and debts owed to British creditors. The agreement reflected American military success but also resulted from wider diplomatic negotiations involving European powers.
The surrender at Yorktown in 1781 ended major land operations, but fighting and negotiations continued until the peace settlement. The Treaty of Paris is therefore distinct from the later Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. America250 looks back to the independence achieved through this revolutionary struggle.