April 15, 1783

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Congress ratifies the provisional peace articles with Great Britain

Livingston began a letter reporting Congress “extremely divided” — then added a postscript before sending it: the ratification had passed.

15 April 1783: Philadelphia votes

Meeting in Philadelphia on 15 April 1783, the United States in Congress assembled ratified and confirmed the provisional articles signed in Paris the previous November. Official news had arrived that Britain, France and Spain had agreed on preliminary peace and a cessation of arms, and Congress had been debating whether the conditional Anglo-American articles required or warranted American ratification at all.

The instrument reproduced all nine articles and was issued under the seal of the United States, witnessed in the name of Elias Boudinot, president of Congress.

Five commissioners named, four who signed

The ratification named the five American commissioners of the original congressional commission — John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Henry Laurens and Thomas Jefferson. Only four had signed in Paris; Jefferson never joined them.

Congress also agreed that day to devise measures for releasing prisoners, according to Secretary for Foreign Affairs Robert R. Livingston's same-day postscript to George Washington.

Not the end of the war

The ceasefire did not originate here: Congress had proclaimed a cessation of hostilities four days earlier, on 11 April, and Washington explicitly said the proclamation announced a cessation rather than a general peace. Within days he proclaimed it to the Continental Army — soldiers gave three cheers and received an extra ration of liquor to drink to peace and independence — and arranged for British land prisoners to march toward New York.

The definitive Treaty of Paris was signed on 3 September 1783 and ratified by Congress on 14 January 1784.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 5 sources 3 audit passes

How this was checked

Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →

What the sources leave uncertain

Calling April 15 the day the war “ended” needs qualification. Congress had already issued a cessation-of-hostilities proclamation on April 11; Washington explicitly said the proclamation announced a cessation, not yet a general peace. The definitive Treaty of Paris was signed September 3, 1783, and ratified by Congress January 14, 1784.
Congress itself debated whether it was legally bound to ratify these conditional articles, which helps explain contemporary use of both “provisional” and “preliminary.”