The American victory in October 1777 at Saratoga gave France confidence in the American cause, so they entered the war as an American ally. France, a traditional enemy of England, was all too happy to support the Americans when it looked like they would succeed.
As early as 1774, Vergennes, the French foreign minister, had sent secret emissaries to explore the American colonists' commitment to independence. In the spring of 1776, Congress dispatched Silas Deane to France as a secret commercial agent to see if he could make arrangements for the purchase of military supplies on terms of credit. Deane also made inquiries into possible French political and even military assistance.
Then in 1776, the Americans sent Benjamin Franklin to Europe. He stayed in France with the intent to negotiate with France and England. Two Franco-American treaties were rapidly concluded. The first was a treaty of friendship and commerce, which gave most-favored nation trading privileges to the Americans. The second was a treaty of "conditional and defensive alliance."
Read the information below about the Treaty of Alliance.
A stamp printed in 1952 shows the arrival of French nobleman Marquis de Lafayette in America in 1777.
The victory at Saratoga in October 1777 boosted American spirits. Even more, Saratoga marked a turning point in the war. The European nations, especially France, realized that the United States might just win its war against Great Britain. Now was the time for the Americans to seek support from Great Britain’s rivals. By late 1777, Benjamin Franklin had been in Paris for a year, trying to get the French to support the Americans’ fight for independence. With his skill and charm, Franklin gained many friends for the United States. The French gave the Americans money secretly, but they had not committed to an alliance.
News of the American victory at Saratoga caused a shift in France’s policy. Realizing that the Americans had a chance of defeating Britain, the French announced support for the United States openly. In February 1778, the French and the Americans worked out a trade agreement and an alliance. France declared war on Britain and sent money, equipment, and troops to aid the American Patriots.
Among the hardy soldiers who spent the winter at Valley Forge was a French nobleman, the Marquis de Lafayette. Filled with enthusiasm for the ideas expressed in the Declaration of Independence, Lafayette had bought a ship and set sail for America. He rushed to join the battle for freedom. Upon his arrival in Philadelphia, Lafayette offered his services and those of his followers to Washington. Lafayette became a trusted aide to him. Other Europeans also volunteered to work for the Patriot cause.
This painting shows Bernando de Gálvez during the Battle of Pensacola.
Other European nations also helped the American cause, mostly because they hated the British. When Bernardo de Gálvez became governor of the Spanish territory of Louisiana in January 1777, Spain was neutral. That did not stop Gálvez from helping the colonists. He loaned thousands of dollars to the Americans and opened the port of New Orleans to free trade on the part of the colonists. Gálvez also organized the shipment of tons of supplies and ammunition up the Mississippi River to the army of George Rogers Clark in the Northwest Territory. With this help from Gálvez, Clark was able to capture the key points of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes.
Although Spain did not recognize American independence until after the Revolution, Spain declared war on Britain in Summer 1779. Gálvez raised an army of Spanish soldiers along with Creoles, Native Americans, and African Americans and marched on British posts along the lower Mississippi. Striking quickly, he captured British forts at Baton Rouge and Natchez. Then, in March 1780, Gálvez forced British Mobile to surrender. In May 1781, he took Pensacola, the British capital of West Florida. These victories opened supply lines for military goods from Spain, France, Cuba, and Mexico.
Juan de Miralles arrived in Philadelphia in 1778 as a representative of Spain. At his urging, Spain, Cuba, and Mexico sent financial aid to the colonies. Miralles befriended many Patriot leaders and lent money to the cause.
Two Poles, Thaddeus Kosciusko, an engineer, and Casimir Pulaski, a cavalry office, contributed to the American efforts. Pulaski died in 1779, fighting for the Continental Army. Friedrich von Steuben, a former army officer from Germany, also came to help Washington. Von Steuben drilled the Patriot troops at Valley Forge, teaching them military discipline. He turned the ragged Continental Army into a more effective fighting force.
£3 colonial currency from the Colony of Virginia
Getting money to finance the war was a major problem, though. The Continental Congress had no power to raise money through taxes. Although the Congress received some money from the states and from foreign countries, much more money was needed. To pay for the war, the Congress and the states printed hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of paper money. These bills quickly lost their value, however, because the amount of bills in circulation grew faster than the supply of gold and silver backing them. This led to inflation, which means that it took more and more money to buy the same amount of goods. The Congress stopped issuing the paper money because no one would use it. However, the Americans had no other way to finance the fighting of their war for independence.
