John Adams Presents His Credentials to George III
1785-06-01
The American War of Independence had also drawn in France, Spain, and the Netherlands. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay negotiated the American peace in Paris, securing British recognition and an agreed territorial boundary in 1783. [1]
John Adams stood before George III on 1 June 1785 with a letter establishing him as the first American minister to Great Britain. The former revolutionary now addressed the king as a diplomat, struggling to contain his emotion, according to his own account. [3] [2]
Britain had recognized American independence in the Treaty of Paris less than two years earlier, and Adams hoped the two peoples could recover confidence in one another after the war. He recalled the king acknowledging that he had been among the last to accept separation, then saying he would welcome friendship with the United States as an independent power. [3] [2]
Britain’s military posts on American soil and the terms of postwar relations remained in dispute as the governments established diplomatic representation. Britain took another six years to send a minister to the United States: George Hammond arrived in 1791. [3] [2]
Related Diplomats
Sources
- Anne-César de La Luzerne — mission record (1779–1784)
Introduction and treaty Article I
- U.S. relations with the United Kingdom — Office of the Historian
Recognition; establishment of American and British legations
- Adams’s account of his audience with George III — University of Houston, Digital History
Transcribed audience account and editorial introduction
- Adams to Jefferson on his reception by George III — Library of Congress
Legacy manuscript record, MCC.025
Related Reading
Cite This Article
John Adams Presents His Credentials to George III. Chanceries Diplopedia. Record 8ad3c27d5c4682ccde5e. https://chanceries.org/research/history/uk-adams-ad06a31176/