Appointment of Adams and Jefferson as ambassadors

Background. American independence was recognized with the signing of the treaty on September 3, 1783. Adams had earlier been part of a negotiating team alongside Franklin, Jefferson, Jay, and Laurens, though Jefferson did not initially go to Europe. Jefferson, meanwhile, served as a Virginia delegate to the Congress of the Confederation organized after the peace treaty, and was the principal author of the Land Ordinance of 1784, whereby Virginia ceded its claimed territory northwest of the Ohio River to the national government.

Appointments. Adams was appointed as the first American ambassador to Great Britain in 1785. Jefferson was appointed as Minister to France, serving from 1785 to 1789. These appointments formalized their roles as key diplomatic representatives for the United States in Europe, following earlier collaborative efforts in treaty negotiations.

Context. Jefferson's 1784 appointment named him Minister Plenipotentiary for Negotiating Treaties of Amity and Commerce with Great Britain and other countries, a role distinct from his later service as Minister to France from 1785 to 1789. Adams, for his part, served as the first American ambassador to Great Britain, appointed in 1785. The supplied passages do not describe the relationship between these two posts beyond the fact of both men's service.