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On January 14, 1784, at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, the Continental Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris. The document, negotiated in part by future president John Adams, contained terms for the ending of the Revolutionary War and established the United States as a sovereign nation. The treaty outlines America’s fishing rights off the coast of Canada, defined territorial boundaries in parts of North America formerly held by the British, and forced an end to reprisals against British loyalists. Two other future presidents, Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, were among the delegates that ratified the document. Adams’s experience and skill in diplomacy prompted Congress to authorize him to act as the United States’ representative in negotiating treaty terms with the British. Following his role in ending the Revolutionary War and his participation in drafting the Declaration of Independence, Adams succeeded George Washington in 1797 as president of the United States.