After the United States declared its independence from Great Britain in 1776, this nation sent diplomats to France—seeking an alliance with a country then led by King Louis XVI.
One of these diplomats was Benjamin Franklin.
In 1778, France signed a treaty of alliance with the United States and Franklin would later write a letter to Congress, arguing it was in America’s interest to express gratitude to the French king for his support.
“The King, a young and virtuous prince, has, I am persuaded, a pleasure in reflecting on the generous benevolence of the action in assisting an oppressed people, and proposes it as a part of the glory of his reign,” he wrote in the letter quoted in Walter Isaacson’s “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life.” “I think it right to increase this pleasure by our thankful acknowledgments, and that such expression of gratitude is not…
