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On This Day 12/17/1777
1/4/2011 8:58:04 PM

France formally recognizes the United States

The French Foreign Minister, Charles Gravier, Count of Vergennes officially acknowledges the United States as an independent nation. News of the Continental Army's overwhelming victory against the British General John Burgoyne at the "Battle of Saratoga" gave Benjamin Franklin new leverage in his efforts to rally French support for the American cause.

Although the victory occurred in October, news did not reach France until December 4, 1777. Benjamin Franklin had quickly mustered French support upon his arrival in December 1776. France's humiliating loss of North America to the British in the "Seven Years War" made the French eager to see an American victory.

However, the French King, Louis XVI, was reluctant to back the American Patriots openly. Instead, in May 1776, King Louis XVI sent unofficial aid to the Continental troops and the playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais helped Benjamin Franklin organize private assistance for the American cause.

Benjamin Franklin, who often wore a fur cap, captured the imagination of Parisians as an American "Man of Nature" and his well-known social charms stirred French passions for all things American. Benjamin Franklin was the toast of Parisian society, enchanting salons with his wide-ranging knowledge, social graces and witty repartee.

Nevertheless, Benjamin Franklin was not allowed to appear at court. It took the impressive and long-awaited victory at the "Battle of Saratoga" to convince King Louis XVI that the American Patritos had some hope of defeating the British empire.

Benjamin Franklin's enthusiasm for the victory paried with the Foreign Minister's concern that the loss of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the British would lead Congress to surrender, gave Benjamin Franklin two influential allies with two powerful, if opposing, reasons for officially backing the American cause. A formal treaty of alliance followed on February 6, 1778.

(K) (HST)

Charles Gravier
Count of Vergennes French Foreign Minister
Benjain Franklin American Patriot
Pierre-Augustin Caron
de Beaumarchais French playwright

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