The Treaty of Paris (1783) officially ended the American Revolutionary War, a milestone in the founding story celebrated by America250.
Representatives of Great Britain and the United States signed the treaty in Paris on September 3, 1783. The American negotiators were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, and Henry Laurens, while David Hartley signed for Britain. The agreement recognized the United States as free, sovereign, and independent.
The treaty also established boundaries for the new nation, including territory extending west to the Mississippi River and south to Spanish Florida. Britain recognized American fishing rights in waters near Newfoundland, while the United States agreed to recommend that states restore property taken from Loyalists and honor lawful debts.
The fighting had largely stopped after the 1781 surrender at Yorktown, but the war did not formally end until the peace treaty. It is often confused with the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which ended the earlier French and Indian War, or the 1783 group of agreements collectively called the Peace of Paris.