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Treaty of Alliance (1778)
Encyclopedia
The Treaty of Alliance, also called The Treaty of Alliance with France, was a defensive alliance between France and the United States of America, formed in the midst of the American Revolutionary War
, which promised military support in case of attack by British forces indefinitely into the future. Delegates of King Louis XVI of France
and the Second Continental Congress
, who represented the United States government at this time, signed the treaty along with The Franco-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce at the Hôtel de Crillon
in Paris
on February 6, 1778 formalizing a Franco-American alliance that would technically remain in effect until 1800, and the signing of the Treaty of Mortefontaine, despite being annulled by the United States Congress in 1798 and the execution of King Louis XVI during the French Revolution
.
in America declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776, their most obvious potential ally was France, a long-time enemy of Britain and a colonial rival who had lost much of their lands in the Americas after the French and Indian War
. France's leadership had been alarmed by Britain's victory in the Seven Years War
which had shifted the European Balance of Power
and had been planning for a war of revenge since the Treaty of Paris
that had ended the conflict in 1763. The French foreign minister Choiseul
had envisaged this taking place in alliance with Spain and involving a Franco-Spanish invasion of Britain
. Choiseul had been ready go to war in 1770 during the Falklands Crisis
, but Louis XV had been alarmed by the British naval mobilization and instead dismissed Choiseul and backed down.
As a result John Adams
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. On September 25 the Continental congress ordered commissioners, led by Benjamin Franklin
, to seek a treaty with France based upon Adams draft treaty that had later been formalized into a Model Treaty
which sought the establishment of reciprocal trade relations with France but declined to mention any possible military assistance from the French government. Despite orders to seek no direct military assistance from France, the American commissioners were instructed to work to acquire most favored nation trading relations with France, along with additional military aid, and also encouraged to reassure any Spanish delegates at that the United States had no desire to acquire Spanish lands in the Americas in the hopes that Spain would in turn enter a possible Franco-American alliance.
Despite an original openness to the alliance, after word of the Declaration of Independence
and a British evacuation of Boston
reached France, the French Foreign Minister, Comte de Vergennes, put off signing a formal alliance with the United States after receiving news of British victories over General George Washington
in New York. With the help of the Committee of Secret Correspondence
, established by the U.S. Continental Congress to promote the American cause in France, and his standing as a model of republican simplicity
within French society, Benjamin Franklin was able to gain a secret loan and clandestine
military assistance from the Foreign Minister but was forced to put off negotiations on a formal alliance while the French government negotiated a possible alliance with Spain.
With the defeat of Britain at the Battle of Saratoga and growing rumors of secret British peace offers to Franklin, France sought to seize an opportunity to take advantage of the rebellion and abandoned negotiations with Spain to begin discussions with the United States on a formal alliance. With official approval to begin negotiations on a formal alliance given by King Louis XVI, the colonies turned down a British proposal for reconciliation in January 1778 and began negotiations that would result in the signing of The Treaty of Amity and Commerce and The Treaty of Alliance.
The United States is effectively guaranteed control of any land it is able to gain possession of in North America, besides the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon which France had retained possession of after the Seven Years War, and of the Islands of Bermuda due to King Louis XVI of France, renouncing "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." In return the King is guaranteed " any of the Islands situated in the (Gulf) of Mexico, or near that (Gulf)" which France is able to gain possession of.
Additional clauses insure that neither France nor the United States will seek to make any additional claims of compensation for their services during the conflict, and that neither side will cease fighting, nor sign a peace treaty with Britain, without the consent of the other nation and insurances that the independence of the United States will be recognized by Britain.
On March 17, 1778, four days after a French ambassador informed the British government that they had officially recognized the United States as an independent nation with the signing of The Treaty of Alliance and The Treaty of Amity and Commerce, England declared war on France directly engaging them in the American Revolutionary War
. French entry into the war would lead to further escalation of the war when Spain entered the fight against England as France's ally, after the signing of the Treaty of Aranjuez
on April 12, 1779, and again in December 1780 when England declared war on the Dutch Republic
after seizing a Dutch merchant ship they claimed was carrying contraband
to France during the Affair of Fielding and Bylandt
. After the signing of the treaty French supplies of arms, ammunition, and uniforms proved vital for the Continental Army, while their increased presence in the West Indies forced Britain to redeploy troops and naval units away from the North American colonies to secure their holdings in the Caribbean. French involvement in the war would prove to be exceedingly important during the Siege of Yorktown
when 10,800 French regulars and 29 French warships, under the command of the Comte de Rochambeau and Comte de Grasse respectively, joined forces with Gen.George Washington
and the Marquis de Lafayette to obtain the surrender of Lord Cornwallis's Southern army, and effectively bringing an end fighting on the North American mainland for the remainder of the war. Despite efforts by Britain to negotiate separate treaties with their opponents in the American Revolutionary War, Spain, France, and the United States held together during their negotiations with England and concluded hostilities by signing the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
and his supporters in the Federalist Party, seized on the French Revolution
as a chance to officially nullify the treaty. Despite a consensus of European monarchs who considered the treaty nullified by the execution of King Louis XVI
during the French Revolution, President George Washington
sided with his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson
and declared the treaty would remain in effect, despite the regime change
in France.
Although the Washington Administration had declared that the treaty remained valid, President Washington's formal Proclamation of Neutrality
, and the subsequent Neutrality Act of 1794
, effectively invalidated the military provisions of the treaty and touched off a period of increasingly deteriorated relations between the two nations. The efforts of the new French Minister Edmond-Charles Genet
to raise militias and privateers to attack Spanish lands and British warships, during the Citizen Genet Affair, despite Washington's pledge of neutrality turned public opinion against the French and led to the resignation of Thomas Jefferson, a longtime supporter of the French cause, as Secretary of State. In turn, the signing of Treaty of London of 1794, or Jay's Treaty, convinced many of the French people that the United States were traitors who had surrendered to British demands and abandoned them, despite the assistance they had provided the United States in their own fight for independence during the American Revolutionary War.
The alliance was further attacked in President Washington's Farewell Address, in which he declared that the United States was not obligated to honor the military provisions of the treaty, and furthermore warned Americans of the dangers of the same kind of permanent alliances that the United States was currently engaged in with France, as a result of the Treaty of Alliance. The growing public sentiment against the treaty culminated during the Presidency of John Adams
, in the official annulment
of the treaty by the United States Congress
on July 7, 1798. after the refusal of France to receive American envoys, and normalize relations, during the XYZ Affair
. The waging of an undeclared war against France, known as the Quasi-War
, by the Adam's Administration in retaliation for French seizures of American naval vessels during the French Revolutionary Wars
, effectively made the Treaty of Alliance a mockery, as it represented an official declaration of military alliance, maintained solely by the French government, between two nations who were unofficially at war with each other.
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, which promised military support in case of attack by British forces indefinitely into the future. Delegates of King Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
and the Second Continental Congress
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
, who represented the United States government at this time, signed the treaty along with The Franco-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce at the Hôtel de Crillon
Hôtel de Crillon
The Hôtel de Crillon in Paris is one of the oldest luxury hotels in the world. The hotel is located at the foot of the Champs-Élysées and is one of two identical stone palaces on the Place de la Concorde. The Crillon has 103 guest rooms and 44 suites...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on February 6, 1778 formalizing a Franco-American alliance that would technically remain in effect until 1800, and the signing of the Treaty of Mortefontaine, despite being annulled by the United States Congress in 1798 and the execution of King Louis XVI during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
Background
When the thirteen British coloniesThirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
in America declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776, their most obvious potential ally was France, a long-time enemy of Britain and a colonial rival who had lost much of their lands in the Americas after the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
. France's leadership had been alarmed by Britain's victory in the Seven Years War
Great Britain in the Seven Years War
The Kingdom of Great Britain was one of the major participants in the Seven Years' War which lasted between 1756 and 1763. Britain emerged from the war as the world's leading colonial power having gained a number of new territories at the Treaty of Paris in 1763 and established itself as the...
which had shifted the European Balance of Power
European balance of power
The Balance of Power in Europe is an international relations concept that applies historically and currently to the nations of Europe...
and had been planning for a war of revenge since the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1763)
The Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
that had ended the conflict in 1763. The French foreign minister Choiseul
Étienne François, duc de Choiseul
Étienne-François, comte de Stainville, duc de Choiseul was a French military officer, diplomat and statesman. Between 1758 and 1761, and 1766 and 1770, he was Foreign Minister of France and had a strong influence on France's global strategy throughout the period...
had envisaged this taking place in alliance with Spain and involving a Franco-Spanish invasion of Britain
Armada of 1779
The Armada of 1779 was an exceptionally large joint French and Spanish fleet intended, with the aid of a feint by the American Continental Navy, to facilitate an invasion of Britain, as part of the wider American War of Independence, and in application of the Franco-American alliance...
. Choiseul had been ready go to war in 1770 during the Falklands Crisis
Falklands Crisis (1770)
The Falklands Crisis of 1770 was a diplomatic standoff between Britain and Spain over possession of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. These events were nearly the cause of a war between France, Spain and Britain — the countries poised to dispatch armed fleets to contest the barren...
, but Louis XV had been alarmed by the British naval mobilization and instead dismissed Choiseul and backed down.
As a result John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
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. On September 25 the Continental congress ordered commissioners, led by Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, to seek a treaty with France based upon Adams draft treaty that had later been formalized into a Model Treaty
Model Treaty
The Model Treaty, or the Plan of 1776, was created during the American Revolution and was an idealistic guide for foreign relations and future treaties between the new American government and other nations.-Creation:...
which sought the establishment of reciprocal trade relations with France but declined to mention any possible military assistance from the French government. Despite orders to seek no direct military assistance from France, the American commissioners were instructed to work to acquire most favored nation trading relations with France, along with additional military aid, and also encouraged to reassure any Spanish delegates at that the United States had no desire to acquire Spanish lands in the Americas in the hopes that Spain would in turn enter a possible Franco-American alliance.
Despite an original openness to the alliance, after word of the Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
and a British evacuation of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
reached France, the French Foreign Minister, Comte de Vergennes, put off signing a formal alliance with the United States after receiving news of British victories over General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
in New York. With the help of the Committee of Secret Correspondence
Committee of Secret Correspondence
The Committee of Secret Correspondence was a Revolutionary American council dedicated to attaining European support for the war for independence. The CSC's most notable success was convincing the French government to support the colonials' cause. The organization was formed on November 29, 1775 by...
, established by the U.S. Continental Congress to promote the American cause in France, and his standing as a model of republican simplicity
Republicanism in the United States
Republicanism is the political value system that has been a major part of American civic thought since the American Revolution. It stresses liberty and inalienable rights as central values, makes the people as a whole sovereign, supports activist government to promote the common good, rejects...
within French society, Benjamin Franklin was able to gain a secret loan and clandestine
Clandestine operation
A clandestine operation is an intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed.The United States Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms defines "clandestine operation" as "An operation sponsored or conducted by governmental...
military assistance from the Foreign Minister but was forced to put off negotiations on a formal alliance while the French government negotiated a possible alliance with Spain.
The agreement
The Treaty of Alliance was in effect an insurance policy for France which guaranteed the support of the United States if Britain were to break the current peace they had with the French, "either by direct hostilities, or by (hindering) her commerce and navigation," as a result of the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce. The treaty lays out the terms and conditions of this military alliance, establishes requirements for the signing of future peace treaties to end hostilities with the British, and provides a secret clause which leaves open the possibly of Spain and other European nations, "who may have received injuries from England," to join the alliance.Articles 1 – 4: Terms of the defensive alliance
The first articles of the treaty establish that in the case that war were to break 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 forces, 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 (Government) as of commerce."Articles 5 – 9: Terms and conditions of peace treaties with England
This portion of the treaty is used to preemptively divide up any lands obtained from England due to successful military campaigns or concessions made by Britain in peace treaties to end hostilities with the signing nations.The United States is effectively guaranteed control of any land it is able to gain possession of in North America, besides the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon which France had retained possession of after the Seven Years War, and of the Islands of Bermuda due to King Louis XVI of France, renouncing "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." In return the King is guaranteed " any of the Islands situated in the (Gulf) of Mexico, or near that (Gulf)" which France is able to gain possession of.
Additional clauses insure that neither France nor the United States will seek to make any additional claims of compensation for their services during the conflict, and that neither side will cease fighting, nor sign a peace treaty with Britain, without the consent of the other nation and insurances that the independence of the United States will be recognized by Britain.
Article 10: Open invitation to other nations
Article 10 of the treaty, although largely directed to Spain, invites any other nations "who may have received injuries from England" to negotiate terms and conditions for joining the alliance.Article 11: Pledge to honor land claims
Article 11 pledges 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 they may acquire during the war, against all other nations, and France in turn pledging support for the United States land claims and guaranteeing to help preserve the country's "liberty, Sovereignty, and Independence absolute, and unlimited, as well in Matters of Government as commerce."Article 12 – 13: Effective dates of the treaty, ratification, and signing delegates
Article 12 establishes the agreement as a conditional treaty which will only take effect upon a declaration of war between France and Britain, and further makes the land, and diplomatic guarantees laid out in the treaty dependent upon the completion of The American Revolutionary War and a peace treaty which formally establishes each nations land possessions.Aftermath
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. French entry into the war would lead to further escalation of the war when Spain entered the fight against England as France's ally, after the signing of the Treaty of Aranjuez
Treaty of Aranjuez (1779)
The Treaty of Aranjuez was signed on April 12, 1779 between France and Spain. France agreed to aid in the capture of Gibraltar, the Floridas, and the island of Minorca. In return, the Spanish agreed to join in France’s war against Great Britain. Based on the terms of the treaty, Spain joined the...
on April 12, 1779, and again in December 1780 when England declared war on the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
after seizing a Dutch merchant ship they claimed was carrying contraband
Contraband
The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
to France during the Affair of Fielding and Bylandt
Affair of Fielding and Bylandt
The Affair of Fielding and Bylandt refers to a brief naval engagement off the Isle of Wight on 31 December 1779 between a Royal Navy squadron, commanded by Commodore Charles Fielding, and a naval squadron of the Dutch Republic, commanded by rear-admiral Lodewijk van Bylandt, escorting a Dutch convoy...
. After the signing of the treaty French supplies of arms, ammunition, and uniforms proved vital for the Continental Army, while their increased presence in the West Indies forced Britain to redeploy troops and naval units away from the North American colonies to secure their holdings in the Caribbean. French involvement in the war would prove to be exceedingly important during the Siege of Yorktown
Siege of Yorktown
The Siege of Yorktown, Battle of Yorktown, or Surrender of Yorktown in 1781 was a decisive victory by a combined assault of American forces led by General George Washington and French forces led by the Comte de Rochambeau over a British Army commanded by Lieutenant General Lord Cornwallis...
when 10,800 French regulars and 29 French warships, under the command of the Comte de Rochambeau and Comte de Grasse respectively, joined forces with Gen.George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and the Marquis de Lafayette to obtain the surrender of Lord Cornwallis's Southern army, and effectively bringing an end fighting on the North American mainland for the remainder of the war. Despite efforts by Britain to negotiate separate treaties with their opponents in the American Revolutionary War, Spain, France, and the United States held together during their negotiations with England and concluded hostilities by signing the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
Deteriorating relations
Almost immediately after the signing of the 1783 Treaty of Paris, Americans began to question whether the failure of the treaty to note an end date of the military alliance meant that the treaty continued indefinitely into the future, and in effect created a perpetual alliance between the United States and France. Those Americans who disliked the proposition of being eternally tied to France, most notably the Secretary of the Treasury Alexander HamiltonAlexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
and his supporters in the Federalist Party, seized on the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
as a chance to officially nullify the treaty. Despite a consensus of European monarchs who considered the treaty nullified by the execution of King Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
during the French Revolution, President George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
sided with his Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and declared the treaty would remain in effect, despite the regime change
Regime change
"Regime change" is the replacement of one regime with another. Use of the term dates to at least 1925.Regime change can occur through conquest by a foreign power, revolution, coup d'état or reconstruction following the failure of a state...
in France.
Although the Washington Administration had declared that the treaty remained valid, President Washington's formal Proclamation of Neutrality
Proclamation of Neutrality
The Proclamation of Neutrality was a formal announcement issued by United States President George Washington on April 22, 1793, declaring the nation neutral in the conflict between France and Great Britain. It threatened legal proceedings against any American providing assistance to any country at...
, and the subsequent Neutrality Act of 1794
Neutrality Act of 1794
The Neutrality Act of 1794 made it illegal for an American to wage war against any country at peace with the United States.The Act declared in part:...
, effectively invalidated the military provisions of the treaty and touched off a period of increasingly deteriorated relations between the two nations. The efforts of the new French Minister Edmond-Charles Genet
Edmond-Charles Genêt
Edmond-Charles Genêt , also known as Citizen Genêt, was a French ambassador to the United States during the French Revolution.-Early life:Genêt was born in Versailles in 1763...
to raise militias and privateers to attack Spanish lands and British warships, during the Citizen Genet Affair, despite Washington's pledge of neutrality turned public opinion against the French and led to the resignation of Thomas Jefferson, a longtime supporter of the French cause, as Secretary of State. In turn, the signing of Treaty of London of 1794, or Jay's Treaty, convinced many of the French people that the United States were traitors who had surrendered to British demands and abandoned them, despite the assistance they had provided the United States in their own fight for independence during the American Revolutionary War.
The alliance was further attacked in President Washington's Farewell Address, in which he declared that the United States was not obligated to honor the military provisions of the treaty, and furthermore warned Americans of the dangers of the same kind of permanent alliances that the United States was currently engaged in with France, as a result of the Treaty of Alliance. The growing public sentiment against the treaty culminated during the Presidency of John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, in the official annulment
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
of the treaty by the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
on July 7, 1798. after the refusal of France to receive American envoys, and normalize relations, during the XYZ Affair
XYZ Affair
The XYZ Affair was a 1798 diplomatic episode during the administration of John Adams that Americans interpreted as an insult from France. It led to an undeclared naval war called the Quasi-War, which raged at sea from 1798 to 1800...
. The waging of an undeclared war against France, known as the Quasi-War
Quasi-War
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...
, by the Adam's Administration in retaliation for French seizures of American naval vessels during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, effectively made the Treaty of Alliance a mockery, as it represented an official declaration of military alliance, maintained solely by the French government, between two nations who were unofficially at war with each other.
The end of the Treaty of Alliance
Despite the deteriorated relations, and the previously stated official and mutual public sentiment against the alliance, it would not be until September 30, 1800, that the treaty would officially be absolved by both signing parties with the signing of the Treaty of Mortefontaine, or Convention of 1800, and the Franco-American Alliance that began in 1778 was ended.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).