• Ratification Day is the anniversary of the day in 1784 when members of the Confederation Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War and formally recognized the independence of the United States from Great Britain.
• The Treaty of Paris was signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay for the United States, and David Hartley for Great Britain.
• The Treaty of Paris was a testament to the negotiating skills of the U.S. team, as they got independence, a promise to forget all past misunderstandings, repatriation of prisoners of war, no reparations, and more.
• The Treaty of Paris established the western boundary of the new nation at the Mississippi River, gave both Americans and British the right to transport goods along that waterway, and gave the United States fishing rights on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
• Congress had six months from the September 3 signing to get the treaty across the Atlantic Ocean, ratify the agreement, and get it back across the ocean to England.
• On January 14, 1784, Congress approved the treaty and issued a proclamation to notify all the good citizens of the United States.
• The ratification of the Treaty of Paris marked the beginning of the journey to become the United States of America.
Published January 15, 2023. Visit Letters from an American to read Heather Cox Richardson’s original post.