There were ten major provisions, among them a generous grant of territory and a promise by the British to return confiscated property (including slaves). Critical, too, was article 10, concerning process: The treaty had to be ratified within six months of its signing, which had occurred in Paris on Wednesday, September 3, 1783. Though Jefferson’s committee moved the ratification of the treaty, there was still no quorum in the Congress.15 No quorum, no action. Jefferson hated the feeling of powerlessness.
