The Treaty That Established American Independence

September marks the 240th anniversary

September marks the 240th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Paris, formally ending the American Revolution.

The new country had declared independence in 1776, but it would take seven long years of war to achieve victory. America’s triumph was anything but a foregone conclusion: the Continentals were fighting one of the most powerful militaries in the world; at certain moments, as when the British captured New York, all seemed lost. 

George Washington, the comte de Rochambeau and the marquis de Lafayette plan the siege of Yorktown. Auguste Couder, 1836. Palace of Versailles/Wikipedia.

Through a combination of the inspired leadership of George Washington, the tactical acumen of commanders like Nathanael Greene, and the support of France, America eventually sapped Britain’s will to fight. For London, the war had become a costly and distant quagmire that simply wasn’t worth pursuing anymore. The final blow came on the Yorktown peninsula in 1781, when an army led by Washington and French general the Comte de Rochambeau trapped and defeated Gen. Charles Cornwallis’s more-than 8,000 British troops. When British Prime Minister Lord Frederick North heard of the defeat, he replied, “Oh God. It is all over. It is all over.”

Lord North was right—the Battle of Yorktown marked the end of major British military operations in North America, though the peace itself would take two more years.

John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin (the British delegated refused to pose), by Benjamin West, 1783-1784. Winterthur Museum/Wikipedia.

Under the able diplomatic leadership of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens and John Jay, who stayed in Paris to work out the terms of peace, America finally gained what it had fought for. The American cause was aided by Lord North’s replacement as prime minister by Lord Shelburne, who saw the potential trade peace would bring.

The treaty saw Great Britain formally recognize the United States as a new and independent nation, and ceded the Northwest Territory, which included what is now Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and parts of Minnesota. This doubled the size of the country and opened the West, setting America on a path to stretch “from sea to shining sea.”

Few peace treaties have had such an effect on the course of world history as the Treaty of Paris. The young nation went through many growing pains, including a second war with Great Britain, a destructive Civil War, and bitter internal struggles, but it grew stronger after each challenge. Over the next two centuries, America would fight Nazi and Soviet tyranny, spread innovations in medicine, science, and culture around the planet, and safeguard the trade routes the world benefits from daily. While this spectacular journey might have begun in Concord, or Philadelphia, or maybe even London, it was made official that fall day in Paris, 1783.