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In 1775, the Continental Congress considered whether or not to declare independence
so as to achieve the liberty and opportunity they were denied as British colonies.
Such a declaration would be considered a revolt, for which the punishment was hanging,
and the chances for military success were very slight, since the American colonies
had little money, no arms industry, and only about one-third the population of Great Britain.
A secret committee led by Ben Franklin explored the prospect of getting aid from France, which had three times the population of Great Britain, extensive military and trading resources, and an interest in turning British attention away from North America. France almost immediately sent armaments and experienced senior officers to aid the United States, and after a year of fighting that showed the commitment and strength of U.S. support for independence France signed a trade and military treaty recognizing the United States as an independent nation and exchanged ambassadors with the United States . France sent two expeditionary forces to fight in the United States, with dozens of ships and thousands of troops. French forces sustained several thousand deaths and lost of many ships in U.S. waters, and even greater losses in fighting around the globe. France also gave and loaned to the United States millions of silver livres. Both U.S. merchants and foreign governments valued this "hard cash" much more highly than the United States' paper Continental dollars. |