The 1783 Treaty of Paris formally ended the American Revolution and established the United States as an independent and sovereign nation. In words reminiscent of those in the resolution presented by Richard Henry Lee to Congress in June 1776, and later included in the Declaration of Independence, Article I of the treaty stated that the king now acknowledged the new nation to be free. Negotiations that led to the treaty began two years earlier, and were filled with behind-the-scenes dealings and suspicions; messages in secret code traveled across the Atlantic between the American peace commissioners and Congress. The Definitive Treaty of Peace was organized into three sections: a preface, 10 articles, and finally the signatures. The preface stated the treaty's objective: both Great Britain and the United States wished "to forget all past misunderstandings and differences..." Each of the articles sought to resolve a specific issue. This article describes the rough journal page documenting ratification and final page of the 1783 Treaty of Paris which highlight for students the significance of the Treaty of Paris, not only in ending the Revolutionary War, but also in transforming British North America.