Article 1 of the 1783 Treaty of Paris recognized the United States as free, sovereign, and independent states.
The article required Great Britain to acknowledge the independence of the 13 former colonies and to relinquish claims to their government, property, and territorial rights. This was the treaty’s foundational political statement: it converted the American victory in the Revolutionary War into formal international recognition.
The treaty contained additional provisions that addressed territory, fishing rights, debts, Loyalist property, prisoners of war, and access to the Mississippi River. Article 2 established boundaries, while Article 8 addressed navigation on the Mississippi. These details are sometimes mixed up with the independence clause, but the recognition itself appears in Article 1.
The treaty was signed on September 3, 1783, by American representatives and David Hartley for Britain. Although later events and agreements superseded most of its provisions, Article 1 is commonly identified as the portion that recognized the existence and sovereignty of the United States.