The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, and it was ratified by congress on January 14, 1784. It marked the end of the American Revolutionary war. It would only be brought back to life by history books, stories, and other accounts of the events which so violently took place.

After eight years of bloodshed and sorrow; eight years of devastation and loss; after many had died and seen loved ones fall, it was finally over. To be lost in memory and haunted dreams.

On that cloudy day the British, represented by Richard Oswald and Henry Strachey, met with the Americans, represented by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and Henry Laurens. That day they signed a treaty of peace. The Americans were finally free. They could make their own rule, they could be their own people. The violence and bloodshed was over.

A painting was to be done of the signing, but when asked to pose for the picture, the British refused. They were too proud to have their faces on the painting of what amounted to a defeat. The painting to this day is incomplete.

Treaty of Paris by B. West, unfinished because the British party refused to pose for the portrait. | Public domain image, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Provisions of the Treaty of Paris

The Treaty of Paris consisted primarily of ten articles. These were:

