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The Revolution Around the World series explores the impact of the American Revolution on the globe and the influence of people from other countries on the Revolutionary era. What was happening around the world in 1776? When and why did different countries get involved in the Revolutionary War? What was the impact of the broader American Revolution on those countries? Take a closer look as we examine France's involvement in the American Revolution. What was happening in France in 1776?In 1776, France was one of the great powers of Europe. Though still reeling from the loss of its American colonies at the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763, the country remained a global power with a strong army and navy. Like Great Britain, France had a young king. In 1776, Louis XVI was just 22 years old and had been king for only two years. His reign, which would end during the French Revolution, was only just beginning. He and members of his court looked eagerly towards America for the flourishing of new Enlightenment ideas and for the potential harm it might do to their old nemesis, the British. When did France become involved in the American Revolution?From the outset of the Revolutionary War, French intellectuals followed events in America. Some of the earliest printings of the new American state constitutions (some of which are displayed in the Museum) were in French, a direct attempt to curry favor with European audiences. Benjamin Franklin arrived in Paris in December 1776 as the first official representative of the United States in France. Franklin and others worked to secure secret shipments of French weapons, equipment, and uniforms. In 1778, the relationship between France and the United States was formalized with the Treaty of Alliance. A 19th-century copy of French artist Louis Charles-Auguste Couder’s painting Siege of Yorktown (1781), which features George Washington and French general Comte de Rochambeau. Museum of the American Revolution Which side did France choose, and why?France chose to support the American Revolutionaries for two reasons. First, in global politics, France had been engaged in periodic wars with Great Britain. However, being a colonial power, they did not want to appear to be endorsing rebellious colonies. Two years after the American Revolutionaries declared the independence of the United States, France formalized its alliance with the new country. Second, many people in France, especially the nobility, were deeply engaged in the intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment and were inspired by new ideas about human society, rationalism, science, and progress. They viewed the American states, with their republican forms of government, as the embodiment of some of these new ideas. Who were the key French players in this story?The list of French people involved in the Revolutionary War is impressive. Independent Frenchmen such as the Marquis de Lafayette traveled to America to join the war effort. Later in the Revolutionary War, French soldiers and sailors were instrumental in the victory of the United States. Officers like the Comte de Rochambeau and the Comte de Grasse led the French land and sea forces that made possible Washington’s victory at Yorktown in 1781. Frenchman Pierre Charles L’Enfant, who would go on to design Washington, DC, joined the Revolutionary forces in 1777. On a late summer day in 1782, he sat on a hillside in Verplanck’s Point, New York, and sketched the only known image of Washington’s tent in the field. Pierre Charles L’Enfant painted this detail of George Washington’s marquee tent in his larger panoramic painting of the Continental Army’s encampment at Verplanck’s Point, New York, in 1782. Museum of the American Revolution, Gift of the Landenberger Family Foundation What was the impact of France's involvement?France helped make the victory of the United States possible. Continental soldiers used French weapons and wore French-made uniforms and, by the end of the war, they fought alongside French soldiers. The French army and navy battled the British all over the world, from Asia and Africa to the Caribbean, which stretched the capabilities of the British war effort in America. A number of Revolutionary War battles didn’t even include Americans – the last battle of the war occurred when British and French ships clashed off the coast of India in 1783. But the American Revolution continued long after the Revolutionary War was over. Ideas about liberty and equality helped inspire the French Revolution and independence movements in French colonies, such as Haiti, for generations after 1783. Dive Even Deeper
Learn MoreFrench GorgetThis gorget, displaying the royal arms of the Bourbon kings of France, was a vestigial piece of armor worn by a French officer as a sign of rank. See ObjectThe Perils of PeaceThis excerpt from Thomas Fleming describes the political reaction in Britain immediately after the surrender at Yorktown, Virginia Read MoreLafayette Parade BannerThis silk banner was carried through the streets of Philadelphia in celebration of Marquis de Lafayette returning to the scene of his military service. See ObjectHow did the outcomes of the French Revolution differ from the American Revolution?They started out similarly, but they ended very differently. The American Revolution ended in a newly formed independent government. The French revolution overthrew their government and killed their king. The French Revolution resulted in dictatorship that lasted for years.
How was the outcome of the French Revolution most like that of the American Revolution?How was the outcome of the French Revolution most like that of the American Revolution? It created a new constitution that protected peoples' rights.
Why was the French Revolution more revolutionary than the American Revolution?The French Revolution became far more radical than the American Revolution. In addition to a period of extreme public violence, which became known as the Reign of Terror, the French Revolution also attempted to enhance the rights and power of poor people and women.
What did the American and the French Revolution have in common How were they different?The American and French rebellion both championed for the desire of a republican government and principles of liberty. [3] Americans fought for freedom from high taxations while the French wanted a better government that could rule them equally. Both nations realized that they needed the power to bring democracy back.
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How did the outcome of the French Revolution differ from the outcome of the American Revolution?
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