The Treaty of Paris recognized United States independence after the Revolutionary War. Signed in 1783, it formally ended the war between the United States and Great Britain and acknowledged the United States as a sovereign nation.
The treaty was negotiated by American representatives including Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, and Henry Laurens. Its terms established the United States’ boundaries, granted access to fishing grounds, and addressed debts and property questions left by the conflict.
The Declaration of Independence in 1776 announced the colonies’ claim to independence, but international recognition came later through diplomacy and military victory. The treaty followed the American victory at Yorktown in 1781 and the preliminary peace agreement of 1782. It is therefore an important sequel to the event commemorated by America250.