The plain man at court

The story, from several sources

This account blends Rothbard’s chapter with the other sources listed below and has not yet been separated into Rothbard’s own account and the fuller story. Read Rothbard’s chapter 43 for his account.

For Americans, the great aim was to turn France from a secret supplier into an open ally. Franklin reached Paris at the end of 1776 with Silas Deane and Arthur Lee, and the French, who saw in him reason and the natural man, made him a celebrity. His instructions were libertarian in spirit: a treaty of free trade, neutral rights and friendship, not a military alliance. France hesitated until news of Saratoga reached Paris in December 1777. On 6 February 1778 the two sides signed a treaty of amity and commerce and a defensive alliance, with no compromise of American independence. On 20 March Vergennes led the three commissioners through the corridors of Versailles, past the Oeil-de-Boeuf room, into the King’s Chamber. Louis told Franklin that he wished Congress assured of his friendship. Franklin, dressed like an American farmer among the silks, answered that the king could count on Congress’s gratitude and its faithfulness to its engagements. Arthur Lee found the ceremony disappointingly casual. The French announced the audience the next day. Within three months France and Britain were at war. Rothbard notes that the commerce treaty settled for most-favored-nation terms in place of the unrestricted free trade America had first proposed.