| France and the American Revolution |
France and the American Revolution
In March of 2003, after France opposed a UN invasion of Iraq, two US Republicans
removed all references to French fries from menus affiliated with the US House of
Representatives. In the House cafeteria, potatoes became "freedom fries". In a time of
such Francophobia, some Americans might be surprised by the history of positive
French-American relations. In fact, it's likely that the American colonies would not have
defeated the British without French support.
In the 1770s, French enthusiasm for the American Revolution was high. Intellectually,
French Enlightenment intellectuals were agitating against their own feudal land systems
and class privilege. Emotionally, French leaders had been eager to defeat arch-rival
Britain since their Seven Years War. King Louis XVI had been privately supporting the
colonists for some time. But now, formal support appeared more advantageous. France
saw this as a strategic opportunity to secure North American landholdings and officially
befriend a rising power. Ben Franklin also played a significant role in winning tangible
French support; traveling with his wit and charm, Franklin visited Paris in 1776 to rally
support for the colonists' cause. France first assisted the rogue colonies in May of 1776
by sending 14 ships loaded with gunpowder and other war supplies.
In February of 1778, the colonists and the French signed a Treaty of Amity and
Commerce. This was significant because France not only offered trade concessions, but
also legally recognized the colonies as the United States. Most importantly, Ben Franklin
also secured a Treaty of Alliance with King Louis XVI. This stipulated that if France
entered the war against Britain: 1) neither France nor the US would surrender; 2) neither
would agree to peace with Britain without the other's consent; and 3) each guaranteed the
other's landholdings in America. Within a few months, British ships fired upon the
French, and the two countries were at war. France sent about 12,000 soldiers and 30,000
sailors to support the colonists.
Many Frenchmen were truly committed to the cause of liberty. A former French Navy
captain, Marquis de Lafayette, had such zeal that the French suggested he enlist in the US
forces! He volunteered to become a major general for no pay. Lafayette became an
effective military leader and a lifelong friend of General George Washington. He was
eventually given honorary US citizenship.
When France officially entered the war, Spanish interest was piqued. Motivated by the
possibility of a land grab, Spain entered the war as a French ally against Britain. Holland
followed suit. This combination of European powers was a much greater threat to Britain
than the colonies could produce alone, and the crucial 1781 victory at Yorktown could
not have been won without the French alliance.
Unfortunately for France, following the Battle at Yorktown, Ben Franklin engaged in
secret negotiations with Britain. This was particularly insulting considering the French-
American treaties and France's considerable wartime expenditures. Their hopes of
becoming the main US trade partner were dashed when most American trade was
contracted within the British Empire. Also, expectations of regaining French North
American territories were mostly unmet.
Still, defeating the British brought France a definite taste of revenge. It also restored a
sense of French confidence and esteem alongside other European powers. Furthermore,
in spirit France was now ready for a revolution of its own.
PPPPP
(word count 551)
|
Causes of US Involvement in World War II Following World War I, the United States adopted an isolationist stance. Starting ...
read more
Chinese Immigrants and the Iron Road On a bright May day in 1869, railroad workers, businessmen, and government officials gathered ...
read more
Deep Throat and his Legacy In the pre-dawn hours of June 17, 1972, a security guard called police officers to ...
read more
Economic Causes of the American Revolution What brought about the American Revolution? Like most military conflicts, the Revolution was spurred ...
read more
Equality and the Seneca Falls Convention "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created ...
read more
France and the American Revolution In March of 2003, after France opposed a UN invasion of Iraq, two US Republicans ...
read more
General Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad Araminta Ross, later named Harriet Tubman, was born into slavery circa 1820. She ...
read more
George Washington's Federal Government When a modern US president travels, he or she expects the electorate to cover the cost. ...
read more
Gold Fever and the Growth of California One January day in 1848, a man named James Marshall was inspecting a ...
read more
Jackie Robinson and the Integration of US Baseball In 1945, when Jackie Robinson batted .387 for the Negro League Kansas ...
read more
Japanese Internment Camps in the United States Just off of US Highway 395, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada ...
read more
John O'Sullivan and America's Manifest Destiny When leaders wish to conquer foreign lands, they invariably put forth a list of ...
read more
John Scopes and the Teaching of Evolution In the mid-1920s, many young Americans flaunted long-established Victorian culture. Women were voting, ...
read more
Lowell Factory Girls of the 19th Century During the first half of the 1800s, girls and young women from throughout ...
read more
Navajo Windtalkers: America's Secret Weapon When the United States fought World War II, they ran the constant risk of information ...
read more
Prayer, Persecution, and Portsmouth: A Story of Colonist Anne Hutchinson Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643) is a key figure in the history ...
read more
Prohibition and its Repeal When clocks struck midnight on January 16, 1920, the United States officially went dry. The age ...
read more
The Botched Bay of Pigs Invasion In the wee morning hours of April 17, 1961, nearly fifteen hundred Cuban exiles ...
read more
The Frenzy of Salem Witch Trials Over the summer of 1692, members of the Massachusetts Bay Colony became caught up ...
read more
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere "Listen children and you shall hear/The midnight ride of Paul Revere." So begins a ...
read more
The Rise and Fall of Jamestown In the early 1600s, an English preacher named Alexander Whitaker described a land where ...
read more
The Scandalous Typhoid Mary In 1907, Mary Mallon was working as a household cook when an inspector named George Soper ...
read more
The US Presidency and Tecumseh's Curse In 1840, General William Henry Harrison easily won the US presidency. He was celebrated ...
read more
What Caused the Great Depression? The Great Depression was a global phenomenon that significantly changed the course of history. In ...
read more
Who Was Samuel Adams? Today, the name Sam Adams is associated with the Boston Beer Company. How did a statesman's ...
read more
|
|
|
Disclaimer:
The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in
the creation of this website, notwithstanding the fact that he does not
warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate
due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet.
This site
is a common sense guide to France and the American Revolution. In practical advice websites,
like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of income made.
Readers are cautioned to reply on their own judgment about their
individual circumstances to act accordingly.
This site
is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or
financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent
professionals in legal, business, accounting, and finance field.
Any
perceived slights of specific people or organizations are unintentional.
|