Prof. Eliga Gould, 'Union and Disunion: The Turbulent History of the United States' Founding Treaty'

When we think about the founding documents of the United States, two likely come to mind: the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. But perhaps not the third — the Treaty of Paris (1783), the agreement that ended the Revolutionary War and formally recognized American independence.

Our guest this week, Professor Eliga H. Gould, argues that this largely forgotten founding document is essential for understanding how the United States actually came into being. Far from a clean moment of national birth, the treaty emerged from the aftermath of a brutal civil war, triggering mass displacement, contested borders, and fragile diplomatic compromises within and beyond British North America.

Eliga H. Gould is the (2025-26) Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professor of American History at University of Oxford and (for 30+ years) the Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire.

Gould’s new book project, Peace and Independence: The Turbulent History of the United States’ Founding Treaty, examines the social, economic, and constitutional consequences of the 1783 Paris Treaty.

The three themes guiding this research project are the making, unmaking, and remaking of the American Union; the uncertain fate of the “new order” many believed the Revolution had inaugurated; and the enduring theme of partition.

Along the way, we also reflect on what treaties actually do. Gould argues that treaties rarely produce clean independence; instead, they bind nations into global systems of diplomacy, commerce, and compromise — a lesson with enduring implications for American foreign policy.

“Exiting the world has never been a viable option.”

Co-hosts (PhD Candidates)

Shea Hendry's research examines the children of Loyalist refugees who embodied both American citizenship and British subjecthood — concurrently and consecutively — throughout the Early National period.

Megan Renoir looks at the history of U.S. land institutions, nineteenth- and twentieth-century federal Indian policy, and violence against the NCRNT. She aims to expanding our understanding of the relationships between federalism, Western property institutions, and intractable land conflicts.

Production by Daisy Semmler (MPhil 2025).