The Treaty of Paris

On September 3, 1783, representatives of the United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris at the Hotel d'York – now 56 Rue Jacob -- in Paris, ending the American War of Independence. Not only did the treaty eventually pave the way for an independent United States to create the office of the president under the Constitution six years later, the document was signed by one of those future presidents: John Adams. (Benjamin Franklin and John Jay also signed on behalf of the U.S.)

Benjamin West, painter at the Court of St. James's and close friend of Franklin, tried to capture the signing on canvas, but the British delegation refused to pose. Adams is second on the left.