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 In April 1782 Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, and Henry Laurens began peace talks in Paris. The preliminary Articles of Peace were signed in November and the following April ratified by Congress. The final peace treaty was signed in Paris on September 3, 1783 and ratified by Congress on January 14, 1784.
George Washington left New York on December 4, 1783, after saying farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern. It was a sad farewell, one in which few words were spoken. The general raised a glass of wine in toast and then with trembling hands and lips, and with tears in his eyes, embraced each of his colleagues. On December 23 he resigned his commission to the Continental Congress then meeting at Annapolis. "Having now finished the work assigned me," he told the delegates, "I reture from the great theatre of action; and bidding an affectionate farewell to this august body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take leave of all employments of public life." And then after nine years of service to his country, nine years filled with heartbreak and triumph, he returned to Mount Vernon. It was Christmas Eve.
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The American Revolution was over.
A new nation was born.
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