John Jay

In November 1777 Adams learned he was named commissioner to France, joining Franklin and Arthur Lee in Paris.

In the meantime, Adams thwarted an attempt by neutral European powers to mediate the war without consulting the United States.

Adams pursued loans and recognition in the Dutch Republic, presenting credentials at The Hague in April 1781 and returning in January 1782.

Adams collaborated with Franklin, Jay, Jefferson, and Laurens in negotiations; the treaty was signed September 3, 1783, recognizing independence.

The Continental Congress elected New York delegate John Jay as president on December 10, 1778, three days after he became a delegate.

Jay served as President of the Continental Congress from December 10, 1778, until September 28, 1779, before his appointment as Minister to Spain.

Huntington was elected to succeed John Jay as President of the Continental Congress on September 28, 1779, after Jay departed for Spain.

The presidency was mostly ceremonial, requiring correspondence and document signing; Huntington served until ill health forced his resignation on July 9, 1781.

American and British representatives drafted a provisional treaty on November 30, 1782, after months of negotiation in Paris.

The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, at the Hôtel d'York in Paris by Adams, Franklin, Jay, and Hartley.

The Congress of the Confederation ratified the treaty on January 14, 1784; Britain ratified on April 9, 1784, with exchange in Paris on May 12, 1784.

Following the Yorktown defeat and the fall of North's government, peace negotiations began in Paris in April 1782.

In September 1782, Vergennes proposed a solution to the deadlocked US-British negotiations, which the United States rejected.

On November 30, 1782, American and British representatives signed preliminary peace articles in Paris, acknowledging US independence.

Congress endorsed the preliminary settlement on April 15, 1783, and ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784, in Annapolis.

The definitive Treaty of Paris was signed at the Hôtel d'York in Paris on September 3, 1783, by Adams, Franklin, Jay, and Hartley.

Negotiations began in Paris in April 1782 after North's government fell following Yorktown, continuing through the summer.

The treaty was drafted on November 30, 1782, with Shelburne seeking to separate the United States from France.

Great Britain signed separate agreements with France and Spain; the last two Peace of Paris treaties were signed at the Palace of Versailles in 1783.

On September 3, 1783, Adams, Franklin, Jay, and Hartley signed the treaty at the Hôtel d'York in Paris, ending the war.

The Dutch treaty was not finalized until 1784, when captured East Indies possessions were returned for trading privileges; a hoped-for commercial treaty with Britain failed to materialize.

The Congress of the Confederation ratified the treaty on January 14, 1784; Britain ratified on April 9, and copies were exchanged in Paris on May 12, 1784.

The Independent Journal released the first Federalist essay on October 27, 1787, becoming the first newspaper to publish the series.

Over the following month, seven more essays appeared in The Independent Journal and two other New York newspapers.

After Britain entered the war against France in 1793, the Royal Navy seized nearly 300 American merchantmen, and Congress voted on a trade embargo in March 1794.

Hamilton devised a negotiating framework, and Washington dispatched Chief Justice John Jay to London to negotiate a comprehensive treaty with Britain.

The Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation was signed on November 19, 1794, during the Thermidorian Reaction in France, and submitted to the Senate the following June.

Wartime debts and the Canada–US border went to arbitration; Americans gained most-favored-nation trade, and Britain agreed to vacate eight forts on US territory by June 1796.

Washington submitted the treaty to the Senate in June 1795; it was ratified on June 24, 1795 by a 20–10 vote, exactly the minimum needed for concurrence.

After the treaty took effect on 29 February 1796, a bitter House funding fight ensued; Fisher Ames's April 1796 speech preceded a final vote deadlocked at 49 to 49.