"We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America…solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States…and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do."

In this episode, we explore the complex relationship between the new United States and its major patron, France.

Topics include the following:

-the bloody historical competition between the French and British Empires

-the differing aims of powerful interest groups in France who drove French economic and imperial policies, such as the Physiocrats who saw French power expanding through liberal trade with their colonies and a potentially independent United States

-reasons why France and Spain were conflicted in their support for a victorious United States, namely the dangerous precedent it would set for other colonies who might also fight for their own independence

-the traditional hatred of France in the British Colonies, which was based on anti-Catholic prejudice, fear of authoritarianism, and centuries of war

-the slow process from 1763-1776 that led the 13 Colonies to regard the old enemy France as a potential friend and ally

-The Quebec Act of 1774 and the evolution of French Canada which had become British after the Seven Years' War

-An exploration of France's decision to support the rebellion

-The reaction to the Declaration of Independence in France

-Ramifications of the French-American alliance for Native Americans

-The types of support, both overt and covert, that France supplied to the Patriots

-The Treaty of Friendship (Amity) and Commerce between France and the USA in 1778

-Effects of the American Revolution on the French Revolution in 1789

Prof. Furstenberg's books can be found here:

In the Name of the Father: Washington's Legacy, Slavery And the Making of a Nation

When the United States Spoke French