The Patriot Post® · Negotiating Peace and Independence

The Battle of Yorktown is considered the final, decisive battle of the American Revolution, although scattered fighting continued across the colonies until the recognition of the surrender was announced by the British Parliament. But in reality, while an armistice was in place following Parliament’s recognition, the Peace of Paris finalized the peace terms and announced to the world that the American colonies were not only victorious but independent.

The official negotiations between British and American delegates — John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay — had begun in 1782 in Paris and would conclude with the authorized signing of the treaty on September 3, 1783.

John Adams and Benjamin Franklin are names easily recognized by most citizens, but who was John Jay, and why was he chosen to represent the colonies in the negotiations?

Jay, a graduate of King’s College (later Columbia University), was a successful New York attorney who initially was concerned about the growing conflict between the colonies and England. A strong proponent of the Rule of Law, Jay worried that the increasing violence might result in a “mob rule” mentality that would undermine individual safety and economic stability. But as the British stranglehold increased, including the massing of troops in the colonies and the blatant violation of the rights established through English common law, Jay became a staunch supporter of independence.

With the calling of the First Continental Congress in 1774, Jay traveled to Philadelphia and became one of the favorited delegates. His “The Address to the People of Great Britain” identified the clear violations of individual rights and laid the groundwork for justified separation, and his influence helped assure New York’s approval for the Declaration of Independence. One year later, Jay would help draft New York’s first constitution and would be chosen to serve as the state’s first chief justice.

In 1779, Jay would accept a Continental Congress appointment as Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain, an impressive-sounding title for a critical diplomatic mission — obtaining financial support for the revolution and access to the Mississippi River from France’s ally. In May 1782, he would join Benjamin Franklin in Paris to conduct “secret talks” with the British. They would later be joined by John Adams, who had been serving as Congress’s ambassador to the Dutch. Adams and Franklin would later acknowledge that it was Jay’s skillful diplomacy that resulted in a treaty with surprisingly liberal terms for the former colonies.

So, what were the terms of the Peace of Paris?

Britain recognized the independence of the United States and ceded the land beyond the Alleghany and Appalachian Mountains to the Mississippi River to the new nation, an important symbolic win for the colonists. The Proclamation of 1763, denying colonists the right to move “over the mountains” until the war debt repayments for the French and Indian War occurred, had been the first legislation to alarm the colonists and generate conversation about independence. Now, the victorious patriot could spread out across the land, and land grants based on military service in the patriots’ fight would become a reality.

Britain retained control of Canada but granted access to the Newfoundland fisheries, a nod to New England. Additionally, navigation of the Mississippi River would be open to both Great Britain and the United States.

Both countries agreed to pay their war debts, and the Continental Congress agreed to recommend that loyalists be treated fairly and confiscated properties would be restored. The issue of loyalists became a sticky point for many patriots who felt that the loyalists had often served as spies for the British and their actions had prolonged the war and contributed to patriot deaths. While some loyalists remained in their homes, many choose to relocate to Canada.

The Peace of Paris ended the American Revolution, recognized the United States as an independent nation, and acknowledged that the United States was now a key player in international diplomacy, ranked among the more established powers.

Two copies of the treaty, housed in our National Archives, bear the signature of David Hartley, the British representative, and the three American negotiators, signing in alphabetical order. A visit to Washington, DC, is always a good decision; adding a visit to the National Archives to view our “independence” would truly be a historic moment.