France Signs Treaty of Alliance with US

On February 6, 1778, France signed a Treaty of Alliance with the United States, a decisive turning point in the American Revolutionary War. The American victory over a British army at Saratoga in October 1777 had persuaded the French government, led by the foreign minister the Comte de Vergennes, that the rebellious colonies could prevail and were worth open support against France's traditional rival, Britain.

Two treaties were concluded simultaneously in Paris, negotiated in part by Benjamin Franklin: a Treaty of Amity and Commerce establishing trade relations, and the Treaty of Alliance, a military pact. France formally recognized the independence of the United States and pledged further aid, while both parties agreed not to make a separate peace with Britain.

The alliance transformed the conflict into a wider international war, bringing French troops, money, and naval power to the American cause. French intervention proved critical, culminating in the combined Franco-American victory at Yorktown in 1781, where a French fleet blockaded the British by sea. The eventual Treaty of Paris in 1783 confirmed American independence.