France Recognizes the United States
On February 6, 1778, France officially recognized the United States by signing a formal treaty of alliance in Paris, which marked a significant turning point in the American Revolution. This alliance emerged from a long-standing desire by France to undermine British power following its defeat in the Seven Years War and to re-establish its influence in European affairs. French foreign minister Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, viewed the American struggle as an opportunity to achieve these goals and facilitate trade that had been restricted by British laws. The American colonists actively sought French support, recognizing the potential benefits of aligning with Britain's historical rival.
After the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga in late 1777, France shifted from a stance of limited support to a full military alliance, recognizing the independence of the United States to prevent a British reconciliation with the colonies. The alliance consisted of two key treaties: the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, which established favorable trade relations, and the Treaty of Alliance, which committed France to military assistance in the war against Great Britain. This partnership not only bolstered American efforts in the Revolution but also prompted Spain to join the alliance, broadening the conflict's implications for European power dynamics. Overall, France's recognition of the United States played a crucial role in shaping the course of the American Revolution and altering the geopolitical landscape of the time.
France Recognizes the United States
France Recognizes the United States
On February 6, 1778, a formal treaty of alliance between France and the United States was signed in Paris. It was the result of intricate negotiations that had been conducted secretly since 1775.
Ever since its defeat at the hands of Great Britain in the Seven Years War (1756–1763), the French government had awaited an opportune moment for revenge. Its goal was to recapture its previous dominance in European affairs. The American Revolution presented an ideal opportunity to undermine the British and redress the balance of power in France's favor. The French minister of foreign affairs, Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, fully realized the possibilities offered by the colonial revolt. He wrote in 1778: “Providence has marked this era for the humiliation of a proud and greedy power…glory and inestimable advantages will result.”
French manufacturers hoped for trade opportunities with the United States, which up until then had been cut off by the restrictive British Acts of Trade. In fact, after the Revolution ended, Vergennes commented to his minister of finance: “always keep in mind that in separating the United States from Great Britain it was above all their commerce which we wanted.” There were other reasons that influenced the French to sympathize with the American cause, however. French intellectuals, including Voltaire, tended to idealize the Americans as a simple, unpretentious people with all the virtues of self-made “natural men.” To them, America represented a utopia, which would eventually guide the Old World toward an improved way of life.
The American colonists, in turn, realized the logic of seeking aid from Britain's age-old enemy. Soon after the outbreak of the American Revolution in April 1775, they began wooing France. In November 1775, the Continental Congress appointed a committee on foreign relations. Less than half a year later Silas Deane, an American lawyer and merchant, was dispatched to Paris. Although ostensibly a business agent, Deane had in reality been entrusted with the task of securing arms, supplies, and clothing for the American troops. With the knowledge and protection of King Louis XVI and the French government, a bogus company, Roderigue Hortalez et Cie., was set up. It provided vital military assistance to the hard-pressed revolutionaries. In addition to this unneutral help, American ships, including privateers preying on British vessels, were welcomed at French seaports.
Once the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress decided that other European states, including Spain, Prussia, and Austria, should also be solicited for aid and that the existing ties with France should be tightened. Benjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee were appointed commissioners to France to assist Silas Deane. In December 1776 the two newcomers arrived in Paris with proposals for a treaty of friendship and commerce. When the American forces came close to defeat during the winter of 1776-1777, Congress, eager to persuade France to become an ally, authorized Franklin to draw up a military alliance. The American agents were able to secure more war supplies, but they were unsuccessful in persuading the absolutist French monarchy to intervene openly on behalf of the anti-monarchical American Revolution.
The French government reversed its decision, however, and abandoned its policy of all aid “short of war” in the late fall of 1777 after the Americans defeated the British at Saratoga. Vergennes was concerned that the British might make a settlement with the Americans, thereby thwarting his ambition to undermine British supremacy. Indeed, upon receiving news of the British defeat at Saratoga, British prime minister Lord North advocated an end to the war. King George III, although ready to concede almost complete autonomy to the colonists, still demanded that they acknowledge his sovereignty. The French government moved quickly to recognize American independence in order to prevent a British-American reconciliation, and initiated preparations for a formal alliance.
Thus, two treaties were signed on February 6, 1778. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce provided that France and the independent United States would grant each other favorable trade terms, while the Treaty of Alliance secured French assistance for the American war effort against Great Britain. Eleven days later, the British Parliament considered a conciliatory bill authorizing a special peace commission to offer the colonists extensive concessions to be guaranteed by treaty, and the bill was passed. Lord North hoped that the new measures would prevent the Continental Congress from ratifying the French alliance. The peace commission, headed by the Earl of Carlisle, did not reach Philadelphia until June 6, 1778. On March 20, meanwhile, King Louis XVI of France had already formally received the American commissioners and shortly thereafter had named Conrad Gerard as the first French minister to the United States. Congress, learning of the Franco-American alliance on May 2, 1778, unanimously ratified the two treaties two days later. On September 11, 1778, it resolved to appoint a minister to France and three days later named Benjamin Franklin to the post.
French military and naval assistance helped the Americans turn the tide against the British. Further, in April 1779 the French government persuaded the Spanish Empire to become a French ally and help the Americans. The Spanish, who hoped to win Gibraltar from Great Britain, allowed American privateers to use New Orleans (then held by the Spanish) as a base and seized some British outposts in West Florida. The French-American alliance of February 6, 1778, thus became the first major step in turning the American Revolution into a war with important implications for Europe.