Franco-American alliance

Alliance between the Kingdom of France and the United States

Left image: Royal Standard of the Kingdom of France.
Right image: Flag of the United States from 1777 to 1795.

Foreign alliances of France

| Frankish–Abbasid alliance | 777–800s

|

Franco-Mongol alliance | 1220–1316
Franco-Scottish alliance | 1295–1560
Franco-Polish alliance | 1524–1526
Franco-Hungarian alliance | 1528–1552
Franco-Ottoman alliance | 1536–1798
Franco-English alliance | 1657–1660
Franco-Indian alliance | 1603–1763
Franco-British alliance | 1716–1731
Franco-Spanish alliance | 1733–1792
Franco-Prussian alliance | 1741–1756
Franco-Austrian alliance | 1756–1792
Franco-Indian Alliances | 1700s
Franco-Vietnamese
alliance | 1777–1820
Franco-American alliance | 1778–1794
Franco-Persian alliance | 1807–1809
Franco-Prussian alliance | 1812–1813
Franco-Austrian alliance | 1812–1813
Franco-Russian alliance | 1892–1917
Entente Cordiale | 1904–present
Franco-Polish alliance | 1921–1940
Franco-Italian alliance | 1935
Franco-Soviet alliance | 1936–1939
Treaty of Dunkirk | 1947–1997
Western Union | 1948–1954
North Atlantic Alliance | 1949–present
Western European Union | 1954–2011
European Defence Union | 1993–present
Regional relations

* Asia
* Americas
* Africa

The Franco-American alliance was the 1778 alliance between the Kingdom of France and the United States during the American Revolutionary War. Formalized in the 1778 Treaty of Alliance, it was a military pact in which the French provided many supplies for the Americans. The Netherlands and Spain later joined as allies of France; Britain had no European allies. The French alliance was possible once the Americans captured a British invasion army at Saratoga in October 1777, demonstrating the viability of the American cause. The alliance became controversial after 1793 when Great Britain and Revolutionary France again went to war and the U.S. declared itself neutral. Relations between France and the United States worsened as the latter became closer to Britain in the Jay Treaty of 1795, leading to an undeclared Quasi War. The alliance was defunct by 1794 and formally ended in 1800.

## Background

[edit]

France had been left deeply alarmed by the British success in the Seven Years' War and believed that the British had been given naval superiority. From 1763, France and its ally, Spain, began to rebuild their navies, prepare for a future war, and construct an alliance to overwhelm and invade Britain. As the troubles in its American colonies intensified during the 1760s and eventually led to open rebellion against the British in 1775, France began to anticipate the American rebels joining such an alliance.

In September 1775, the Continental Congress described foreign assistance as "undoubtedly attainable" and began to seek supplies and assistance from European powers hostile to Britain. The French leadership sought the "humiliation of England" and began giving covert aid to the rebels. The American Declaration of Independence was advocated by some as necessary to secure European support against Britain.[1] Silas Deane, an American envoy in Paris, proposed a major anti-British alliance and French invasions of Hanover and Portugal, both of which were British allies.[2]

Surrender of General Burgoyne by John Trumbull (1821) shows General Daniel Morgan in front of a French de Vallière 4-pounder Benjamin Franklin's reception at the Court of France in 1778 Lafayette wounded at the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777

The alliance was promoted in the United States by Thomas Jefferson, a Francophile.[3] Based on the Model Treaty of 1776, Jefferson encouraged the role of France as an economic and military partner to the United States to weaken British influence.[4]

In 1776, Latouche Tréville transferred ammunition from France to the United States. Numerous French supplies as well as guns of the de Valliere type were used in the American War of Independence, especially the smaller 4-pounder field guns. The guns were shipped from France, and the field carriages provided for in the United States. The guns played an important role in such battles as the Battle of Saratoga,[5] and the Siege of Yorktown. George Washington wrote about the supplies and guns in a letter to General Heath on 2 May 1777:

> I was this morning favored with yours containing the pleasing accounts of the late arrivals at Portsmouth and Boston. That of the French ships of war, with artillery and other military stores, is most valuable. It is my intent to have all the arms that were not immediately wanted by the Eastern States, to be removed to Springfield, as a much safer place than Portsmouth.... I shall also write Congress and press the immediate removal of the artillery, and other military stores from Portsmouth. I would also have you forward the twenty-five chests of arms lately arrived from Martinico to Springfield.

> — George Washington letter to General Heath, 2 May 1777.[5]

Left image: Original Franco-American treaty, signed 6 February 1778 Right image: Text of the 1778 Franco-American treaty, in a 1782 publication.

On 13 June 1777, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, reached America and joined Washington in the Continental Army as a major general. He participated to the Battle of Brandywine, where he was wounded, and he later served at the Battle of Rhode Island. Lafayette would later return to France during the war to advocate more support for the American cause.

## Treaty of Alliance

[edit]

Main articles: Treaty of Alliance (1778) and Franco-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce

The alliance was formally negotiated by Benjamin Franklin, but it progressed slowly until after news of the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga arrived in France. On February 6, 1778, two treaties were signed. The first, the Franco-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce, recognized the independence of the United States and established commercial relations between them; the second treaty, the 1778 Treaty of Alliance was a military alliance and signed immediately thereafter as insurance in case fighting with Britain erupted as a result of signing the commercial treaty.[6] The alliance the gave open support from the French Army, Navy, and Treasury and stated that the United States had to guarantee "from the present time and forever, against all other powers (...) the present Possessions of the Crown of France in America," in exchange for a promise not to increase French possessions anywhere in America.[6][7]

## Operations

[edit]

French Navy ships of the line in the Battle of the Chesapeake, 1781. Surrender of Cornwallis to French troops (left) and American troops (right), at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.

The combined strength of the Americans and the French virtually guaranteed victory against Great Britain.[8] France successfully supported the American War of Independence, managing to expel the British and obtain recognition of American independence through the intervention of Rochambeau, Lafayette, de Grasse, and Suffren.

### European front

[edit]

Naval conflict started in European waters with the First Battle of Ushant in July 1778, and continued with the attempted invasion of Britain by the Armada of 1779.

### 1st American Campaign

[edit]

In the summer of 1778, French Admiral d'Estaing arrived with a fleet and infantry reinforcements for the war with a fleet of twelve ships of the line and fourteen frigates. After declining to attack Richard Howe's inferior British force outside New York, the French fleet sailed to Rhode Island where they were to take part in an attack on Newport.

On 6 July 1779, he successfully fought the Battle of Grenada against Admiral Byron, but failed at the September 1779 Siege of Savannah before returning to France. Actions continued in April 1780 with Guichen against Admiral Rodney in the Battle of Martinique.

### 2nd American Campaign

[edit]

Landing of a French auxiliary army in Newport, Rhode Island on July 11, 1780, under the command of Comte de Rochambeau.

In 1780, Rochambeau arrived with a fleet and 6,000 French troops to join the Continental Army, under George Washington, in the "Expédition Particulière", landing in Newport, Rhode Island, on 10 July.[9] In the Ohio valley, French Americans would also combine with Native American troops, as in the Battle of Kekionga in 1780 under Augustin de La Balme.[10]

The French Navy played a decisive role in supporting the American side, as American forces could hardly resist the powerful British Navy. The French under de Grasse defeated a British fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781, thus ensuring that the Franco-American ground forces would win the ongoing Siege of Yorktown, the last major land battle of the Revolutionary War. The British surrendered to American and French forces at Yorktown in 1781.

France continued to fight against the British in the 1782 Antilles War.

## Campaign in India

[edit]

Suffren with Indian ally Hyder Ali in 1782.

France further supported the war effort against Great Britain by attacking British possessions in India. In 1782, Louis XVI sealed an alliance with the Peshwa Madhu Rao Narayan. Suffren became the ally of Hyder Ali in the Second Anglo-Mysore War against British rule in India, in 1782–1783, fighting the British fleet on the coasts of India and Ceylon.[11][12]

Between February 1782 until June 1783, Suffren fought the English admiral Sir Edward Hughes, and collaborated with the rulers of Mysore.[12][13] Suffren fought in the Battle of Sadras on February 17, 1782, the Battle of Providien on April 12 near Trincomalee, the Battle of Negapatam (1782) on July 6 off Cuddalore, after which Suffren seized upon the anchorage of Trincomalee compelling the small British garrison to surrender. An army of 3,000 French soldiers collaborated with Hyder Ali to capture Cuddalore. Finally the Battle of Trincomalee took place near that port on September 3. These battles can be seen as the last battles of the Franco-British conflict that encompassed the American War of Independence, and would cease in 1783 with the signature of the 1783 peace treaty.

## Aftermath

[edit]

Treaty of Paris, by Benjamin West (1783), portrays the American delegation at the 1783 Treaty of Paris. The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed.

Finally, the Treaty of Paris was signed on 3 September 1783, establishing British recognition of American independence and ending the hostilities.

The 1778 Treaty of Alliance, promising the defense of French territory in the American continent, failed to be observed by the United States as soon as 1793, when France entered in conflict with Great Britain in the Caribbean. All the U.S. could do was to maintain neutrality, but this neutrality was so negative as to forbid the French the right to equip and arm privateers in American ports, or the right to dispose of French prizes in the United States. These reluctances in effect marked the end of the alliance.[7]

Naval encounter during the Quasi-War between USS Constellation and French ship L'Insurgente on 9 February 1799.

As the United States entered into a treaty of commerce with Great Britain in 1794, France started to raid American shipping, seizing 316 ships in 1796.[14] In 1796, the disillusioned Minister Pierre Adet explained: "Jefferson (...) is American, and as such, he cannot sincerely be our friend. An American is the born enemy of all the European peoples", and in 1798, the XYZ Affair considerably worsened Franco-American relations.[15][16]

The events led to the Quasi-War (1798–1800) between France and the United States, with actual naval encounters taking place between the two powers, with the encounter between USS Constellation and French ship L'Insurgente on 9 February 1799 off Nevis Island, and USS Constellation and La Vengeance in February 1800 off Guadeloupe.[14] An agreement followed, in which the United States agreed to pay 20 million dollars in compensation, and France agreed to give up its claims to the 1778 Treaty.[14]

Britain would also attempt to interfere with American trade and shipping, starting with the Orders in Council in 1807, which forbade trade with France by Britain, her allies, and any neutral nation, which meant the United States. The US protested that this act was illegal under international law,[17] and this act was a contributory factor to the enmity between the US and Britain which caused the War of 1812.

## Historical perspectives

[edit]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Many historians originally agreed that the American victory over the British at Saratoga, New York, was the deciding factor in the formation of the alliance. However, in recent decades, historians have begun to rethink the victory's contribution to the formation of the alliance and to see the alliance as an inevitable result of individual governmental interests.

In the wake of the Seven Years' War, the American Revolution began across the Atlantic. Britain's victory against France and its allies in the war made the French feel vulnerable to British power. The French saw the American Revolution as a way to strengthen itself and cripple the British Empire. At the beginning, the French helped fuel the American war effort but did not come out as an official ally on the side of the Americans. American envoys to France, namely Silas Deane, feared so much that the French would never join the war that they thought of telling the French that unless they sufficiently supported the war effort, the Americans would begin peace talks with Britain.

Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, appeared ready to offer official treaty negotiations if the Americans promised to remain independent. Because they had consistently maintained that independence was non-negotiable, Vergennes's demand proved that their strategy to threaten reunion with Britain influenced France's thinking. It also demonstrates that the victory at Saratoga played little role in the calculations of American, French, and British diplomats. Indeed, two more months of diplomacy would pass before the signing of the Franco-American treaty.[18]

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Bemis, Samuel Flagg. The Diplomacy of the American Revolution (1935) online edition
* Brands, H. W. The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin (2002) excerpt and text search
* Brecher, Frank W. Securing American Independence: John Jay and the French Alliance. Praeger Publishers, 2003. pp. xiv, 327 online Archived 2012-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
* Chartrand, René, and Back, Francis. The French Army in the American War of Independence Osprey; 1991.
* Corwin, Edward S. French Policy and the American Alliance of 1778 Archon Books; 1962.
* Dull, Jonathan R. (1975) The French Navy and American Independence: A Study of Arms and Diplomacy, 1774–1787. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691069204.
* Dull, Jonathan R. (1985) A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300034199.
* Kaplan, Lawrence S. "The Diplomacy of the American Revolution: the Perspective from France." Reviews in American History 1976 4(3): 385–390. ISSN 0048-7511 Fulltext in Jstor; review of Dull (1975)
* Ferling, John. "John Adams: Diplomat," William and Mary Quarterly 51 (1994): 227–52.
* Hutson, James H. John Adams and the Diplomacy of the American Revolution (1980).
* Hoffman, Ronald, and Peter J. Albert, eds. Diplomacy and Revolution: The Franco-American Alliance of 1778 (1981)
* Hoffman, Ronald, and Peter J. Albert, eds. Peace and the Peacemakers:The Treaty of Paris of 1783 (1986).
* Hudson, Ruth Strong. The Minister from France: Conrad-Alexandre Gérard, 1729–1790. Lutz, 1994. 279 pp.
* Kaplan, Lawrence S., ed. The American Revolution and "A Candid World (1977)
* Kaplan, Lawrence S. (1987). Entangling Alliances with None: American Foreign Policy in the Age of Jefferson. Kent State University Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780873383479.
* Ketchum, Richard M. Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War. New York: Holt Paperbacks, 1999.
* Kennett, Lee. The French Forces in America, 1780–1783. Greenwood, 1977. 188 pp.
* Lint, Gregg L. "John Adams on the Drafting of the Treaty Plan of 1776," Diplomatic History 2 (1978): 313–20.
* Perkins, James Breck. France in the American Revolution (1911) full text online
* Pritchard, James. "French Strategy and the American Revolution: a Reappraisal." Naval War College Review 1994 47(4): 83–108. ISSN 0028-1484
* Schiff, Stacy. A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America (2005)
* Simms, Brendan. Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire. Penguin Books, 2008.
* Stinchcombe, William E. The American Revolution and the French Alliance (1969)
* Tudda, Chris. "A Messiah that Will Never Come." Diplomatic History, issue 5 (November, 2008): pp. 779–810.
* Unger, Harlow Giles. Lafayette (2002) online Archived 2010-11-20 at the Wayback Machine

## See also

[edit]

* United States portal
* France portal

* Foreign alliances of France
* France in the American Revolutionary War
* France in the Seven Years War
* Franco-Indian alliance
* French weapons in the American Civil War
* List of French units in the American Revolutionary War
* France–United States relations

## French commanders in the alliance

[edit]

* Lafayette

* Orvilliers

* Latouche Tréville

* La Pérouse

* Picquet de la Motte

* Guichen

* Estaing

* Suffren

* Grasse

* Rochambeau

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Simms pp. 600–2
2. ^ Simms pp. 605–6
3. ^ Kaplan (1987), p. 24
4. ^ Kaplan (1987), p. 27
5. ^ a b Springfield, Mailing Address: Springfield Armory National Historic Site One Armory Square Suite 2; Us, MA 01105 Phone:734-8551 Contact. "Mid-18thC French 4-pounder field gun - Springfield Armory National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
6. ^ a b Encyclopedia of Tariffs and Trade in U.S. History: The encyclopedia by Cynthia Clark Northrup p. 149 [1]
7. ^ a b Kaplan (1987), pp. 27-28
8. ^ Encyclopedia of Tariffs and Trade in U.S. History: The encyclopedia by Cynthia Clark Northrup p. 150 [2]
9. ^ Scott, Samuel F. (June 7, 2003). From Yorktown to Valmy: The Transformation of the French Army in an Age of Revolution. University Press of Colorado. ISBN 9780870816383 - via Google Books.
10. ^ The American Revolution in Indian country by Colin G. Calloway p. 41 [3]
11. ^ "The History Project, University of California". Archived from the original on 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2009-06-14.
12. ^ a b Black, Professor Jeremy; Black, Jeremy (January 4, 2002). Britain As A Military Power, 1688-1815. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780203007617 - via Google Books.
13. ^ Cambridge Illustrated Atlas of Warfare, p. 159
14. ^ a b c Randier, p. 217
15. ^ Kaplan (1987), p. 29
16. ^ Full Adet quote on Jefferson in Thomas Jefferson by Richard B. Bernstein p. 140 [4]
17. ^ Caffery, pp. 56–58
18. ^ Tudda, p. 802

## Further reading

[edit]

* Stockley, Andrew (2001). Britain and France at the Birth of America: The European Powers and the Peace Negotiations of 1782–1783. Exeter: University of Exeter Press. ISBN 0859896153.

* v
* t
* e

American Revolutionary War

Origins of the American Revolution

| Philosophy|

* American Enlightenment
* John Locke
* Colonial history
* Liberalism
* Republicanism
* Freedom of religion
* Rights of Englishmen
* No taxation without representation
* Common Sense
* Spirit of '76
* "All men are created equal"
* "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
* "Consent of the governed"
* Expansionism
* Settler colonialism

|

Royalists|

* Pitt–Newcastle ministry
* Bute ministry
* Grenville ministry
* First Rockingham ministry
* Chatham ministry
* Grafton ministry
* North ministry
* Second Rockingham ministry
* Shelburne ministry
* Fox–North coalition
* Loyalists
* Black Loyalist

Related British
Acts of Parliament

* Navigation
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* Royal Proclamation of 1763
* Sugar
* Currency
* Quartering
* Stamp up i.p.o
* Declaratory
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* Quebec
* Intolerable
* Conciliatory Resolution
* Restraining
* Proclamation of Rebellion
* Prohibitory

Colonials|

* Loyal Nine
* Stamp Act Congress
* Declaration of Rights and Grievances
* Virginia Association
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* Patriots
* Black Patriots
* Committees of correspondence
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* Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania
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* Suffolk Resolves
* First Continental Congress
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* United Colonies
* Olive Branch Petition
* Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms
* Committee of Secret Correspondence
* Halifax Resolves
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* Declaration of Independence
* Model Treaty
* Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union
* Confederation Congress

Events|

* French and Indian War
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* Boston Massacre
* British credit crisis of 1772–1773
* Gaspee affair
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* Boston Tea Party
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* Powder Alarm

* Combatants
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* Events
* Colonies

| Combatants|

| United Colonies/Thirteen Colonies|

* Continental Congress
* Army
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|

Kingdom of Great Britain|

* Parliament
* British Army
* Royal Navy
* European allies of King George III

Colonial allies|

* France
* Franco-American Treaty
* Army
* Navy
* Hortalez et Cie
* German supporters of Congress

Campaigns and
theaters

* Boston
* Quebec
* Nova Scotia
* New York and New Jersey
* Saratoga
* Philadelphia
* Northern
* Northern after Saratoga
* Southern
* Western
* Yorktown
* Naval battles

Major battles|

* Lexington and Concord
* Boston
* Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
* Bunker Hill
* Quebec
* Valcour Island
* Long Island
* Harlem Heights
* Fort Washington
* Trenton
* Assunpink Creek
* Princeton
* Siege of Fort Ticonderoga
* Bennington
* Saratoga
* Oriskany
* Brandywine
* Germantown
* Monmouth
* St. Lucia
* Grenada
* Stony Point
* Sullivan Expedition
* Savannah
* Gibraltar
* Cape St. Vincent
* Charleston
* Connecticut Farms
* Springfield
* Camden
* Kings Mountain
* Cowpens
* Pensacola
* Guilford Court House
* Lochry's Defeat
* Chesapeake
* Yorktown
* The Saintes

Other events|

* Staten Island Peace Conference
* "First Salute"
* Washington's crossing of the Delaware River
* Conway Cabal
* Valley Forge
* Entry of France into war
* Carlisle Peace Commission
* Gordon Riots
* Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1781
* Sint Eustatius
* Newburgh Conspiracy
* Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783

Related conflicts|

* Cherokee–American wars
* Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
* Second Anglo-Mysore War

Involvement (by
colony or location)

| Rebel colonies|

* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Georgia
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New York
* North Carolina
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* Virginia

|

Loyal colonies|

* East Florida
* Nova Scotia
* Quebec
* West Florida

Leaders

| British|

| Military|

* Arbuthnot
* Brant
* Burgoyne
* Campbell
* Carleton
* Clinton
* Cornwallis
* Fraser
* Gage
* Graves
* Richard Howe
* William Howe
* Knyphausen
* Rodney

|

Civilian|

* King George III
* Amherst
* Barrington
* Germain
* North
* Rockingham
* Sandwich
* Shelburne

Colonial|

| Military|

* Washington
* Alexander
* Allen
* Arnold
* Barry
* Claghorn
* Clark
* Duportail
* Gates
* Greene
* Hamilton
* Hopkins
* Jones
* de Kalb
* Knox
* Lafayette
* Charles Lee
* Lincoln
* Mercer
* Montgomery
* Nicholson
* Putnam
* Rodney
* St. Clair
* Schuyler
* von Steuben
* Sullivan
* Ward
* Wayne

|

Civilian|

* John Adams
* Samuel Adams
* Carroll
* Dickinson
* Franklin
* Hancock
* Hanson
* Henry
* Huntington
* Jay
* Jefferson
* Laurens
* Richard Henry Lee
* McKean
* Morris
* Revere
* Rush
* Witherspoon

Colonial allies|

| French|

* Louis XVI
* Beaumarchais
* d'Estaing
* de Grasse
* de Guichen
* Luzerne
* de Rochambeau
* Suffren
* Vergennes

|

Aftermath

* Society of the Cincinnati
* Treaty of Paris (1783)
* Evacuation Day (1783)
* Ratification Day (1784)
* Constitutional Convention
* The Federalist Papers
* Constitution
* Bill of Rights
* Shays's Rebellion
* Jay Treaty

* Related topics

| Military|

* Prisoners
* The Turtle

|

Political|

* Founding Fathers
* Diplomacy
* Liberty Tree
* Yankee Doodle

Other topics|

* Timeline of the American Revolution
* African Americans in the Revolutionary War
* Dogs in the American Revolutionary War
* Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War
* Women in the American Revolution
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* Continental currency banknotes
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* Semiquincentennial
* Children of the American Revolution
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* Sons of the Revolution
* Charters of Freedom Rotunda
* Museum of the American Revolution

* v
* t
* e

Thomas Jefferson

* 3rd President of the United States (1801–1809)
* 2nd Vice President of the United States (1797–1801)
* 1st United States Secretary of State (1790–1793)
* U.S. Minister to France (1785–1789)
* Delegate to the Congress of the Confederation (1783–1784)
* 2nd Governor of Virginia (1779–1781)
* Delegate to the Second Continental Congress (1775–1776)
* Delegate, Fifth Virginia Convention (1776)

Founding
documents of
the United States|

* A Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774)
* Olive Branch Petition (1775)
* Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (1775)
* Declaration of Independence (1776)
* Committee of Five
* physical history
* "All men are created equal"
* "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
* "Consent of the governed"
* Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1786)
* Land Ordinance of 1784
* Land Ordinance of 1785

French Revolution|

* Co-author, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)

Presidency|

* Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves
* Louisiana Purchase
* Lewis and Clark Expedition
* Empire of Liberty
* Dunbar and Hunter Expedition
* Red River Expedition
* Pike Expedition
* Cumberland Road
* Embargo Act of 1807
* Chesapeake–Leopard affair
* Non-Intercourse Act
* First Barbary War
* Native American policy
* Burr conspiracy
* Marbury v. Madison
* West Point Military Academy
* State of the Union Addresses
* 1801
* 1802
* 1805
* Cabinet
* Federal judicial appointments

Other noted
accomplishments|

* Early life and career
* Franco-American alliance
* Founder, University of Virginia
* history
* Ratification Day
* Anti-Administration party
* Democratic-Republican Party
* Jeffersonian democracy
* Coinage, Weights, and Measures report (1790)
* State Department Library
* Residence Act
* Compromise of 1790
* Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
* A Manual of Parliamentary Practice (1801)
* Jefferson disk
* Swivel chair
* Megalonyx

Jeffersonian
architecture|

* Barboursville
* Farmington
* Monticello
* gardens
* Poplar Forest
* University of Virginia
* The Rotunda
* The Lawn
* Jefferson Hall
* Virginia State Capitol
* White House Colonnades

Other writings|

* The Papers of Thomas Jefferson
* Notes on the State of Virginia (1785)
* Pyratical states of Barbary proposals (1786)
* European journey memorandums (1787)
* Indian removal letters
* The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth (c. 1819)
* Jefferson manuscript collection
* Founders Online

Related|

* American Enlightenment
* American Philosophical Society
* Founding Fathers of the United States
* Historical reputation
* Jefferson and education
* Religious views
* Jefferson and slavery
* Jefferson and the Library of Congress
* Jefferson Pier
* Pet mockingbird
* National Gazette
* Sally Hemings
* Jefferson–Hemings controversy
* Betty Hemings
* Separation of church and state
* Shadwell plantation
* Tuckahoe plantation
* Tufton Farm
* Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Virginia)
* Virginia dynasty
* Ward republic

Elections|

* Presidential elections
* 1796
* 1800
* 1804

Legacy and
memorials|

* Bibliography
* Jefferson Memorial
* Mount Rushmore
* Birthday
* Thomas Jefferson Building
* Jefferson River
* Jefferson Territory
* Jefferson Lecture
* Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
* Thomas Jefferson Star for Foreign Service
* Statues
* Karl Bitter
* Louisville
* University of Virginia
* David d'Angers
* Jefferson Literary and Debating Society
* Thomas Jefferson Foundation
* Jefferson Lab
* Monticello Association
* Jefferson City, Missouri
* Jefferson College
* Thomas Jefferson University
* Washington and Jefferson National Forests
* Peaks and mountains
* Jefferson Rock
* Other placenames
* Jefferson–Jackson Day
* Currency depictions
* Jefferson nickel
* Two-dollar bill
* Louisiana Purchase Exposition gold dollar
* 250th Anniversary silver dollar
* U.S. postage stamps

Cultural
depictions|

* The Patriots (1946 play)
* 1776
* 1969 musical
* 1972 film
* Jefferson in Paris (1995 film)
* Thomas Jefferson (1997 film)
* John Adams (2008 miniseries)
* Jefferson's Garden (2015 play)
* Hamilton (2015 musical)
* Thomas Jefferson (2025 miniseries)
* Wine bottles controversy
* Cultural depictions of Sally Hemings

Family|

* Martha Jefferson (wife)
* Martha Jefferson Randolph (daughter)
* Mary Jefferson Eppes (daughter)
* Harriet Hemings (daughter)
* Madison Hemings (son)
* Eston Hemings (son)
* Thomas J. Randolph (grandson)
* George W. Randolph (grandson)
* Ellen Randolph Coolidge (granddaughter)
* Cornelia Jefferson Randolph (granddaughter)
* Francis Eppes (grandson)
* John Wayles Jefferson (grandson)
* Sarah N. Randolph (great-granddaughter)
* T. Jefferson Coolidge (great-grandson)
* Frederick Madison Roberts (great-grandson)
* Peter Jefferson (father)
* Jane Randolph Jefferson (mother)
* Lucy Jefferson Lewis (sister)
* Randolph Jefferson (brother)
* Peter Carr (nephew)
* Samuel Carr (nephew)
* Dabney Carr (nephew)
* Dabney S. Carr (grand-nephew)
* Isham Randolph (grandfather)
* William Randolph (great-grandfather)
* Henry Soane (2nd great-grandfather)

* ← John Adams
* James Madison →

* ← John Adams
* Aaron Burr →

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Benjamin Franklin

* President of Pennsylvania (1785–1788)
* Ambassador to France (1779–1785)
* Second Continental Congress (1775–1776)

Founding of the
United States|

* Join, or Die. (1754 political cartoon)
* Albany Plan of Union
* Albany Congress
* Hutchinson letters affair
* Committee of Secret Correspondence
* Committee of Five
* "...to be self-evident"
* Declaration of Independence
* Model Treaty
* Franco-American alliance
* Treaty of Amity and Commerce
* Treaty of Alliance
* Staten Island Peace Conference
* 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution
* Libertas Americana
* Treaty of Paris, 1783
* Delegate, 1787 Constitutional Convention
* Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly
* Postmaster General
* Founding Fathers

Inventions,
other events|

* Franklin's electrostatic machine
* Bifocals
* Franklin stove
* Glass armonica
* Gulf Stream exploration, naming, and chart
* Lightning rod
* Kite experiment
* Pay it forward
* Associators
* 111th Infantry Regiment
* Junto club
* American Philosophical Society
* Library Company of Philadelphia
* Pennsylvania Hospital
* Academy and College of Philadelphia
* University of Pennsylvania
* Philadelphia Contributionship
* Union Fire Company
* Early American currency
* Continental Currency dollar coin
* Fugio cent
* United States Postal Service
* Street lighting
* President, Pennsylvania Abolition Society
* Master, Les Neuf Sœurs
* Gravesite

Writings|

* The Papers of Benjamin Franklin
* Founders Online
* Silence Dogood letters (1722)
* A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain (1725)
* The Busy-Body columns (1729)
* The Pennsylvania Gazette (1729–1790)
* Early American publishers and printers
* Poor Richard's Almanack (1732–1758)
* The Drinker's Dictionary (1737)
* "Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress" (1745)
* "The Speech of Polly Baker" (1747)
* Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind, Peopling of Countries, etc. (1751)
* Experiments and Observations on Electricity (1751)
* Birch letters (1755)
* The Way to Wealth (1758)
* Pennsylvania Chronicle (1767)
* Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One (1773)
* Proposed alliance with the Iroquois (1775)
* A Letter to a Royal Academy (1781)
* Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America (1784)
* "The Morals of Chess" (1786)
* An Address to the Public (1789)
* A Plan for Improving the Condition of the Free Blacks (1789)
* The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1771–1790, pub. 1791)
* Bagatelles and Satires (pub. 1845)
* Franklin as a journalist
* Franklin's phonetic alphabet

Legacy|

* Bibliography
* Franklin Court
* Benjamin Franklin House
* Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology
* Benjamin Franklin Parkway
* Benjamin Franklin National Memorial
* Franklin Institute
* awards
* medal
* Benjamin Franklin Medal
* Royal Society of Arts medal
* Depicted in The Apotheosis of Washington
* Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence
* Treaty of Paris (1783 painting)
* Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity from the Sky (1816 painting)
* Revolutionary War Door
* Boston statue
* Chicago statue
* Columbus, Ohio, statue
* University of Pennsylvania statue
* Portland, Oregon, statue
* San Francisco statue
* Stanford University statue
* Washington D.C. statue
* Jefferson Memorial pediment
* Refunding Certificate
* Franklin half dollar
* One-hundred-dollar bill
* Franklin silver dollar
* Washington–Franklin stamps
* other stamps
* Cities, counties, schools named for Franklin
* Benjamin Franklin College
* Franklin Field
* Mount Franklin
* State of Franklin
* Sons of Ben (Philadelphia Union)
* Ships named USS Franklin
* Ben Franklin effect

In popular culture|

* Ben and Me (1953 short)
* Ben Franklin in Paris (1964 musical play)
* 1776 (1969 musical
* 1972 film)
* Benjamin Franklin (miniseries) (1972)
* A More Perfect Union (1989 film)
* Liberty! (1997 documentary series)
* Liberty's Kids (2002 animated series)
* Benjamin Franklin (2002 documentary series)
* John Adams (2008 miniseries)
* Sons of Liberty (2015 miniseries)
* Benjamin Franklin (2022 documentary)
* Franklin (2024 miniseries)

Related|

* Age of Enlightenment
* American Enlightenment
* The New-England Courant
* The American Museum magazine
* American Revolution
* patriots
* Syng inkstand

Family|

* Deborah Read (wife)
* William Franklin (son)
* Francis Franklin (son)
* Sarah Franklin Bache (daughter)
* William Franklin (grandson)
* Benjamin F. Bache (grandson)
* Louis F. Bache (grandson)
* Richard Bache Jr. (grandson)
* Andrew Harwood (great-grandson)
* Alexander Bache (great-grandson)
* Josiah Franklin (father)
* James Franklin (brother)
* Jane Mecom (sister)
* Mary Morrell Folger (grandmother)
* Peter Folger (grandfather)
* Richard Bache (son-in-law)
* Ann Smith Franklin (sister-in-law)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette

Principal author|

* Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789)

American Revolution|

* French frigate Hermione
* Battle of Brandywine
* Battle of Gloucester
* Valley Forge
* Battle of Barren Hill
* Battle of Rhode Island
* Battle of Monmouth
* Battle of Green Spring
* Siege of Yorktown
* Franco-American alliance

French Revolution|

* Assembly of Notables (1787)
* Estates General of 1789
* National Guard (France)
* Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
* Women's March on Versailles
* Society of 1789
* Fête de la Fédération
* Day of Daggers
* Champ de Mars massacre
* War of the First Coalition
* July Revolution (1830)

Other events|

* 1824–25 Grand Tour of the United States
* New York City parade
* Philadelphia parade
* USS Brandywine

Life|

* Château de Chavaniac (birthplace and home)
* Château de la Grange-Bléneau (home and museum)
* Lafayette Land Grant
* Picpus Cemetery

Honors and
memorials|

* List of places named for the Marquis de Lafayette
* Fayetteville, North Carolina
* Lafayette, Louisiana
* Fort Lafayette
* Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania
* Lafayette College
* New York City statue (1876)
* LaFayette Fountain (1887)
* Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.
* 1891 statue
* Lafayette Square Historic District
* Lafayette dollar (1899)
* Mount Lafayette
* Lafayette Memorial (1917)
* Lafayette College statue (1921)
* Los Angeles statue (1937)
* Lafayette Escadrille
* USS Lafayette

Legacy|

* 1825 Samuel Morse painting
* "Lafayette (We Hear You Calling)" (1918 song)
* La Fayette (1961 film)
* Valley Forge (1975 film)
* La Révolution française (1989 film)
* Jefferson in Paris (1995 film)
* Liberty! (1997 documentary miniseries)
* Liberty's Kids (2002 television series)
* Hamilton (2015 musical, 2020 film)
* Lafayette in the Somewhat United States (2015 book)
* Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution (2021 book)
* Franklin (2024 miniseries)

Family|

* Adrienne de La Fayette (wife)
* Georges Washington de La Fayette (son)
* Michel du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (father)

Related|

* Order of Lafayette
* Honorary U.S. citizenship (2002)

* v
* t
* e

France–United States relations

Diplomatic posts|

* Embassy of France, Washington, D.C.
* Ambassadors of France to the United States
* French ambassador's residence
* Embassy of the United States, Paris
* Ambassadors of the United States to France
* Hôtel de Pontalba
* French Consulate General, Atlanta
* French Consulate General, Miami
* French Consulate General, New York City
* French Consulate General, San Francisco
* Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations
* Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs

Diplomacy|

* Louisiana Purchase
* Mellon–Berenger Agreement
* Treaty of Guarantee
* Conference of Ambassadors
* Blum–Byrnes agreement
* Washington Naval Treaty
* Anglo-French Financial Commission
* United Nations Security Council Resolution 135
* Liberty Enlightening the World statue of Liberty
* Museum
* Safari Club
* Guadeloupe Conference
* Agreement Concerning the Shipwrecked Vessel RMS Titanic
* Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
* 2024 Israel–Lebanon ceasefire agreement

Conflicts|

* Quasi-War
* Convention of 1800

Incidents|

* Little v. Barreme
* Embargo Act of 1807
* The Schooner Exchange v. M'Faddon
* Blackmer v. United States
* Valentine v. United States
* Chicken tax
* French Guantanamo Bay detainees
* Michael Mastro
* Frédéric Pierucci

Military relations|

* American Revolutionary War
* France's role
* Treaty of Alliance (1778)
* Treaty of Amity and Commerce
* Franco-American alliance
* Roderigue Hortalez and Company
* France and the American Civil War
* United States Zouave Cadets
* Supreme War Council
* Liberation of France
* Rape during the liberation of France
* Allied Control Council
* Four-Power Authorities
* Four Power Naval Commission
* Alliance Base
* CIA activities in France
* United States Air Force in France
* Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
* Bulo Marer hostage rescue attempt

Related|

* History of France–United States relations
* Anti-French sentiment in the United States
* Cheese-eating surrender monkeys
* Freedom fries
* French language in the United States
* United States and the Haitian Revolution
* France–Republic of Texas relations
* French Legation
* Texas Legation
* Alliance Française de Chicago
* American Committee for Devastated France
* American Friends Musée d'Orsay
* April in Paris Ball
* CFM International
* Committee of American Students of the School of Beaux-Arts, Paris
* French-American Foundation
* La French Touch Conference
* Friendship Train
* Merci Train
* MICEFA
* Democracy in America
* 112 Gripes About the French
* Deauville American Film Festival
* Sacramento French Film Festival
* Place des États-Unis
* Prix Blumenthal
* Florence Meyer Blumenthal
* Apollo Cable System
* Honotua
* TAT-4
* TAT-6
* TAT-8
* TAT-11
* TAT-12/13

Category:France–United States relations
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