Thomas Jefferson, serving as chairman of the ratification committee,
was most anxious to get the treaty ratified before the March 3 dead-
line. But the lack of a congressional quorum made this impossible.
On January 13, two tardy delegates from Connecticut reached An-
napolis. On the following day, a missing delegate from South Carolina
finally arrived here. Jefferson had his quorum and on that same day,
January 14, the Congress assembled and in a brief, simple ceremony,
ratified the Treaty of Paris. The great American Revolution was then
officially over and by the terms set forth in Article I of the treaty,
his Britannic majesty, King George III, acknowledged the independence
of the United States. The Congress issued an official proclamation
announcing the ratification, facsimiles of which are available here to-
day. Recognition of the United States by other nations of the world
soon followed.

That, in brief, is the story of the ratification of the Treaty of Paris.
On July 4, 1776, the American colonies had declared themselves in-
dependent. However, the Declaration of Independence was a unilateral
action. Six years of war and the Treaty of Paris were required to
made our freedom an accomplished fact. So, I think it can be said
that the official birth of our nation took place in this very building, on
January 14, 182 years ago today.

Maryland does not have a Bunker Hill, or a Yorktown. But we
do have this shrine of history, the Maryland State House, and the old

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