Treaty of Alliance with France
The
Treaty of Alliance with France was signed on February
6, 1778, creating a military alliance between the United States
and France against Great Britain. Negotiated by the American
diplomats Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee,
the Treaty of Alliance required that neither France nor the
United States agree to a separate peace with Great Britain,
and that American independence be a condition of any future
peace agreement. In addition to the Treaty of Alliance, the
Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France was signed on February
6, 1778, promoting trade and commercial ties between the two
countries.
Library of Congress Web Site | External
Web Sites | Selected Bibliography
A
Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
As reported in the Journals
of the Continental Congress, Simeon Deane, brother
of Silas Deane, delivered the Treaty of Alliance and the
Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France to Congress on
May
2, 1778. Congress ratified
both treaties on May 4, 1778.
The United
States Statutes at Large contains the full-text
of the of the Treaty
of Alliance and the Treaty
of Amity and Commerce with France. Twenty years after
they were signed, Congress
annulled both of these treaties on July 7, 1798, during
the height of the so-called Quasi-War with France. All
foreign treaties from 1778-1845 can be located in volume
8 of the Statutes at Large.
The
Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence of the United
States, a six-volume set, contains a wide variety
of documents concerning the diplomatic relations between
the United States and France during the American Revolution,
including a chapter entitled "Attitude
of France to the United States."
The Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence
of the United States also contains a large collection
of letters sent by the American diplomatic team that negotiated
the Treaty of Alliance with France, Benjamin
Franklin, Silas
Deane, and Arthur
Lee. For example, Franklin and Deane sent a letter
to Congress on February 8, 1778, announcing
the signing of the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty
of Amity and Commerce.
Search
the Journals of the Continental Congress
and The Revolutionary Diplomatic
Correspondence of the United States to locate additional
information on the negotiations and ratification of the
Treaty of Alliance.
George
Washington Papers at the Library of Congress
After being informed about the Treaty of Alliance with
France, George
Washington wrote to the Continental Congress in a
letter dated May 1, 1778, that "no event was ever
received with a more heart felt joy." A few days
later, Washington celebrated the new alliance with France
by issuing a General
Order to the Continental Army that stated, "Upon
a signal given, the whole Army will Huzza! 'Long Live
the King of France.'
The
Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress
In a letter dated May 3, 1778, Richard
Henry Lee informed Thomas Jefferson that the Treaty
of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce had been
signed with France early that year. On May
11, Lee wrote to Jefferson that both treaties had
been ratified and published.
Touring
Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs from the Detroit
Publishing Company, 1880-1920
The signing of the Treaty
of Amity and Commerce and of Alliance between France
and the United States is captured in a photograph of a
painting by Charles E. Mills.
Jump
Back in Time: France Allied with American Colonies, February
6, 1778
France
in America
Conceived in partnership with France’s national
library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France,
France in America is a bilingual digital library. It explores
the history of the French presence in North America from
the first decades of the sixteenth century to the end
of the nineteenth century, including French
participation in the American War of Independence.
American
Memory Timeline: Revolutionary War: The Turning Point, 1777-1778
Discusses the Revolutionary War during the years 1777
to 1778 and links to related documents, including the
Treaty of Alliance with France.
February
6, 1778
On February 6, 1778, France and the fledgling United
States of America signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce
and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris, France.
French
Assistance to the American Cause, Department of State
Our
Documents, Treaty of Alliance with France (1778), National
Archives and Records Administration
Treaties
of 1778 with France and Related Documents, Avalon Project
at Yale Law School
Bemis, Samuel F. The Diplomacy of
the American Revolution. Bloomington: Indiana University
Press, 1957. [Catalog Record]
Dull, Jonathan R. A Diplomatic History
of the American Revolution. New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1985. [Catalog Record]
-----. The French Navy and American
Independence: A Study of Arms and Diplomacy, 1774-1787.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1975. [Catalog Record]
Hoffman, Ronald, and Peter J. Albert, eds. Diplomacy
and Revolution: The Franco-American Alliance of 1778.
Charlottesville: Published for the United States Capitol
Historical Society by the University Press of Virginia,
1981. [Catalog Record]
Schiff, Stacy, A Great Improvisation:
Franklin, France, and the Birth of America. New York:
Henry Holt, 2005. [Catalog Record]
Stinchcombe, William C. The American
Revolution and the French Alliance. Syracuse: Syracuse
University Press, 1969. [Catalog Record]
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