Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation And Trump’s Ukrainian Proclamation
During the American Revolutionary War, France made the strategic decision to assist the fledgling United States. A primary, if not motivating factor, was that France sought to weaken its adversary Great Britain. In effect, the American Revolutionary War became something of a proxy conflict between Great Britain and France. I’m not sure the French monarch had much of an abstract interest to support an uprising by a ragtag bunch of colonists against another colonial superpower. Still France’s support of the Continental Army was pivotal. But for this support, we might still be paying taxes on our tea.
France benefited from the American victory. It is no coincidence that the treaty of peace between Great Britain and the United States was signed in Paris. France became the United State’s greatest supporter. America sent its top diplomats, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, to Versailles.
Yet, the French Monarch’s support of American war efforts may have had an unintended consequence–as military intervention often does. The American Revolution set the fuse of revolutionary efforts around the world. The French revolution was a byproduct of the American Revolution.
Imagine the counterfactual. What if the French monarch decided to not assist the Americans, and Great Britain put down the domestic violence. (That would be an actual insurrection!) Would the French Revolution have ever succeeded? Who could ever know for sure. But reality is known, and the French monarch’s support of revolution in America contributed to the end of the monarchy. And heads rolled.
Fast-forward to April 1793. War broke out between Great Britain and France. What does the United States do? At the time, many Americans felt a strong sense of loyalty towards France, especially in light of their support for the Continental Army. Likewise, many American
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