Treaty of Alliance (1778)
The Treaty of Alliance (French: traité d'alliance (1778)), also known as the Franco-American Treaty, was a defensive alliance between the Kingdom of France and the United States formed amid the American Revolutionary War with Great Britain. It was signed by delegates of King Louis XVI and the Second Continental Congress in Paris on February 6, 1778, along with the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a secret clause providing for the entry of other European allies;[1] together these instruments are sometimes known as the Franco-American Alliance[2] or the Treaties of Alliance.[3] The agreements marked the official entry of the United States on the world stage, and formalized French recognition and support of U.S. independence that was to be decisive in America's victory.
The Treaty of Alliance was signed immediately after the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, in which France was the first nation to formally recognize the U.S. as a sovereign nation;[4][note 1] this treaty had also established mutual commercial and navigation rights between the two nations, in direct defiance of the British Navigation Acts, which restricted American access to foreign markets. In contemplation that these commercial and diplomatic ties would result in hostilities between France and Britain, the Treaty of Alliance guaranteed French military support in just such an event.[5] It also forbade either nation from making a separate peace with Britain, and was contemplated as a permanent defensive pact.
The successful negotiation of the Treaty of Alliance and its sister agreements is considered the "single most important diplomatic success of the colonists", since it helped secure vital aid in the war with Britain;[6][7] the treaties were immediately followed by substantial material, military, and financial support to the American cause. Some historians consider the signing of the Treaty of Alliance as marking America's de jure recognition as an independent nation.[8] Notwithstanding its significance, subsequent complications with the Treaty of Alliance led to its annulment by the turn of the 19th century, with the United States eschewing formal military alliances until the Second World War.
Background
When the
As a result, Jefferson began drafting conditions for a possible commercial treaty between France and the future independent colonies of the United States, which declined the presence of French troops and any aspect of French authority in colonial affairs.
Despite an original openness to the alliance, after word of the
With the defeat of Britain at the
Terms and provisions
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The Treaty of Alliance was in effect an insurance policy for France, which guaranteed the support of the United States if Britain broke the peace that it had with the French "either by direct hostilities, or by (hindering) her commerce and navigation,"
Articles 1–4: Terms of the alliance
The first articles of the treaty establish a general alliance between the two nations. Articles 1-3 stipulate that in the case that war broke out between France and Britain during the continuing hostilities of the American Revolutionary War, a military alliance would be formed between France and the United States, which would combine each respective military force and efforts for the direct purpose of maintaining the "liberty, Sovereignty, and independence absolute and unlimited of the said united States, as well in Matters of Gouvernment as of commerce." Article 4 further stipulates that the alliance would continue for "any particular enterprise" indefinitely into the future.[14]
Articles 5–9: Terms and conditions of peace treaties with England
This portion of the treaty pre-emptively divides any lands obtained from Great Britain by successful military campaigns or concessions made by Britain in peace treaties to end hostilities with the signing nations. The United States was effectively guaranteed control of any land that it could gain possession of in North America, besides the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which France had retained possession of after the Seven Years' War, and Bermuda since King Louis XVI of France renounced "for ever the possession of the Islands of Bermudas as well as of any part of the continent of North America which before the treaty of Paris in 1763, or in virtue of that Treaty, were acknowledged to belong to the Crown of Great Britain, or to the United States heretofore called British Colonies, or which are at this Time or have lately been under the Power of The King and Crown of Great Britain."[14] In return, the King was guaranteed "any of the Islands situated in the Gulph of Mexico, or near that Gulph" of which France could gain possession. Additional clauses insured that neither France nor the United States would seek to make any additional claims of compensation for their services during the conflict and that neither side would cease fighting or sign a peace treaty with Britain without the consent of the other nation and insurances that the independence of the United States would be recognized by Britain.[14]
Article 10: Open invitation to other nations
Article 10 of the treaty, although largely directed to Spain, invited any other nations "who may have received injuries from England"[14] to negotiate terms and conditions for joining the alliance.
Article 11: Pledge to honor land claims
Article 11 pledged to honor the lands claims of both nations forever into the future, with the United States guaranteeing full support of France's current land claims and any lands it acquired during the war against all other nations and France, in turn, pledged support for the American land claims and guaranteed to help preserve the country's "liberty, Sovereignty, and Independence absolute, and unlimited, as well in Matters of Government as commerce."[14]
Article 12–13: Effective dates of the treaty, ratification, and signing delegates
Article 12 establishes the agreement as a conditional treaty that would take effect only upon a declaration of war between France and Britain, and it made the land, and diplomatic guarantees laid out in the treaty dependent upon the completion of the American Revolutionary War and a peace treaty that formally establishes each nation's land possessions.[14]
Signing and aftermath
On February 6, 1778, Benjamin Franklin and the two other commissioners, Arthur Lee and Silas Deane, signed the treaty on behalf of the United States, and Conrad Alexandre Gérard signed on behalf of France.[15]
On March 13, 1778, France informed Britain of its signing of the treaties and subsequent recognition of the United States as an independent nation; four days later, Britain declared war on France, thereby bringing the French into the American Revolutionary War.[13] Their entry led to a significant escalation, as what would otherwise have been a "lopsided colonial rebellion" became a much larger and more complex geopolitical conflict with one of the world's premier superpowers.[16]
As contemplated by the Treaty of Alliance, Spain allied with France against Britain through the Treaty of Aranjuez on April 12, 1779. The Franco-Spanish siege on Gibraltar, though ultimately unsuccessful, served to sap British manpower and war material from North America. The Dutch Republic joined the conflict the following year, when Britain declared war after seizing a Dutch merchant ship alleged to be carrying contraband to France.[17] Although the Dutch did not formally ally with the United States, their role as co-belligerents with France further occupied British forces, particularly in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. The Dutch Republic also became the second nation to officially recognize U.S. independence, in 1782, and concluded its own commercial and navigation treaty with America.
After the signing of the treaty, an influx of French arms, ammunition, and uniforms proved vital for the Continental Army,
Deteriorating relations
Almost immediately after the signing of the
Although the
The alliance was further attacked in
Notes
- ^ Morocco was the first country to de facto recognize American independence through a 1777 decree by Sultan Mohammad III to provide safe harbor to U.S. commercial vessels. However, relations were not formalized by treaty until 1786.
References
- ^ Preamble to Treaty of Alliance. "particularly in case Great Britain in Resentment of that connection and of the good correspondence which is the object of the [Treaty of Amity and Commerce], should break the Peace with France, either by direct hostilities, or by hindering her commerce and navigation, in a manner contrary to the Rights of Nations, and the Peace subsisting between the two Crowns."
- ^ "Franco-American Alliance | French-United States history [1778]". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ "Treaties of Alliance". National Museum of American History. May 24, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ "What country was the first to recognize the United States? – FAQs – Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ Preamble of the Treaty of Alliance
- ^ "Milestones: 1776–1783 – Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ "Today in History – February 6". Library of Congress. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ David M. Golove and Daniel J. Hulsebosch, A Civilized Nation: The Early American Constitution, The Law Of Nations, And The Pursuit Of International Recognition, New York Law Review, October 2010, 85 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 932, 953.
- ^ Simms, Brendan. Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire. London, 2007. pp. 502–31
- ^ Longmate, Norman. Island Fortress: The Defense of Great Britain, 1604–1945. Pimlico, 1991. pp. 183–85
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j French Alliance, French Assistance, and European diplomacy during the American Revolution, 1778–1782 US Dept of State via archive.org
- ^ a b Model Treaty (1776), US Dept of State, via archive.org
- ^ a b c "Perspective On The French-American Alliance". Xenophongroup.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2009. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Avalon Project: Treaty of Alliance Between The United States and France; February 6, 1778". Avalon.law.yale.edu. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ Miller, David Hunter. "Treaties and other international acts of the United States of America /edited by Hunter Miller". avalon.law.yale.edu. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ^ McGee, Suzanne. "5 Ways the French Helped Win the American Revolution". HISTORY. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
- ISBN 0-89875-269-8.
- ^ a b c d e "French-American Relations in the Age of Revolutions: From Hope to Disappointment (1776–1800)". Xenophongroup.com. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ "The United States Statutes at Large". Memory.loc.gov. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ The XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War with France, 1798–1800 SS Dept of State, via archive.org
- ^ "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875". Memory.loc.gov. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
Further reading
- Hoffman, Ronald; Albert, Peter J., eds. Diplomacy and Revolution : the Franco–American Alliance of 1778 (Charlottesville: Univ. Press of Virginia, 1981); ISBN 978-0-8139-0864-9.
- Ross, Maurice. Louis XVI, Forgotten Founding Father, with a survey of the Franco–American Alliance of the Revolutionary period (New York: Vantage Press, 1976); ISBN 978-0-533-02333-2.
- Corwin, Edward Samuel. French Policy and the American Alliance of 1778 (New York: B. Franklin, 1970).