Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay negotiated preliminary terms with Britain recognizing American independence, months before the formal Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783. The agreement granted the new United States generous boundaries stretching to the Mississippi River, a diplomatic triumph for the fledgling nation.
After eight grueling years of war, American commissioners Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay sat down with British representative Richard Oswald in Paris to hammer out terms—doing so, controversially, without consulting their French allies as their formal alliance required.
The preliminary articles were remarkably favorable to the Americans: Britain recognized the thirteen states as free, sovereign, and independent, and ceded a vast western territory bounded by the Mississippi River, the Great Lakes, and Florida. Franklin's shrewd diplomacy and the British desire to weaken France's position by conciliating America both played roles in the generous terms.
The final, formal Treaty of Paris wouldn't be signed until September 3, 1783, once France and Britain also settled their own peace terms, but this November agreement effectively ended the fighting and set the stage for American independence to become internationally recognized reality.
Key people: Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, Richard Oswald