Beschreibung:

ADAMS, John (1735-1826), President . Letter signed ("J. Adams") as Commissioner to the peace negotiations in Paris, to Charles Dumas, Paris, 19 January 1783. 1½ pages, 4to (6¼ x 7 5/16 in.), some staining, repaired, seal hole affects some letters of text. ADAMS REPORTS FROM THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS THAT "THE GREAT POINTS OF INDEPENDENCE, THE FISHERIES, THE MISSISSIPPI AND THE BOUNDARIES ARE SETTLED TO OUR SATISFACTION" A remarkable letter in which Adams reports, well before the public announcement was made, that the American negotiators have successfuly concluded a treaty ending the American Revolution and recognizing the new nation's independence. Writing to Charles Dumas, a Dutch radical and intellectual, Adams expresses uncertainty about the final official stages of another treaty, with the Dutch: "I can giv[e you] no Information concerning Peace. It is given out that the Point will be decided today or tomorrow. Others say that the Duke de la Vauguyon [French Ambassador in Amsterdam] is to make the Peace at the Hague." Then, Adams informs Dumas that he is sending a copy of the preliminary articles of the Treaty of Paris: "Inclosed is a Copy of our Preliminaries. But I must entreat you not to permit them to be published or copied , without further Information from me. You may communicate them in Confidence to our Friends. But it is thought best to let the British Ministry say them first before Parliament, & take their own time for it." Adams assures Dumas that they have achieved almost complete success: "The great Point of Independence, the Fisheries, the Mississippi and the Boundaries are settled to our Satisfaction." The Americans had endeavored to obtain compensation for slaves seized by the British Army and other reparations, but he admits their failure in that matter: "But in Point of Compensation for Damages, We must put our Hands in our own Pockets." In the aftermath of the American victory at Saratoga and the alliance with France, the Continental Congress began to consider the possibility of a negotiated settlement with the British, even though the military outcome of the war was still very much in doubt. In August 1779 Congress had accepted the report of an internal committee which had specified that peace terms should include full recognition of independence, the right to valuable fisheries in the North Atlantic, free navigation of the Mississippi and complete British withdrawal from Amnerican soil. Initially, Adams was charged with the task of negotiating with the British representatives, but in December 1780 was also named minister to the Netherlands. In June 1781 Congress had decided the task of negotiating a peace treaty was better suited to a committee. John Jay (then in Spain), Thomas Jefferson Henry Laurens and Franklin (already in France), were added to the peace commission. Moreover, they were instructed to be guided by the French minister Vergennes in their negotiations and were only to insist on recognition of independence and sovereignty; any other points were to be left to their discretion. After the dramatic surrender of Lord Cornwallis and his army to a combined French and American force at Yorktown in October 1781, Parliament and the British ministry had come under increasing pressure to negotiate an end to the prolonged and expensive American war. When proceedings began in Paris, however, only Franklin and Jay were present to meet the British delegate, Richard Oswald. Adams remained in the Netherlands. In late September, Jay sent a dispatch to Adams, asking that he join their negotiations. Adams feared that the negotiations would be difficult, informing his wife Abigail that it would be "troublesome business," but he set out from Amsterdam by carriage, arriving in Paris on October 27. In Paris, Adams learned from Jay that the negotiations were at an impasse. The French Government had insisted they negotiate with the British together, and urged that the Americans not insist on territory beyond t