Continental Congress Ratifies The Treaty of Paris

The Continental Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784, officially establishing the United States as an independent and sovereign nation.

The Continental Congress approved preliminary articles of peace on April 15, 1783. The treaty, signed in Paris on September 3, 1783, required Congress to return the ratified document to England within six months.

Although Congress was scheduled to convene at the Maryland State House in November, as late as January 12 only seven of the thirteen states were legally represented. Operating under the weak Articles of Confederation, Congress lacked the power to enforce attendance. With the journey to England requiring approximately two months, time was running short.

The Peace of Paris (1783) was the set of treaties which ended the American Revolutionary War. On 3 September 1783, representatives of King George III of Great Britain signed a treaty in Paris with representatives of the United States of America – commonly known as the Treaty of Paris (1783) – and two treaties at Versailles with representatives of King Louis XVI of France and King Charles III of Spain – commonly known as the Treaties of Versailles (1783). The previous day, a preliminary treaty had been signed with representatives of the States General of the Dutch Republic, but the final treaty which ended the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War was not signed until 20 May 1784; for convenience, however, it is included in the summaries below.