The US was born at the muzzle of a gun. There was no orderly political transition, it was a revolt, rebellion, or whatever you want to call it. The Citizen Soldier took up arms and took on the superpower of it's day.
Hey Bobby, when modern Americans recount their history, which of course starts with the Revolutionary War, why do they always forget to give France any credit?
It appears to me that while the Citizen Soldier was the "Grunt" of the day, France's involvement, both politically and militarily, was what really stopped Britain, the world's then biggest superpower, from crushing the revolution. (which they were more than capable of doing) Here's some history to refresh everyone's memory:
"In the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), France fought alongside the United States, against Britain, from 1778. French money, munitions, soldiers and naval forces proved essential to America's victory over the Crown, but France gained little except large debts.
Benjamin Franklin served as the American ambassador to France from 1776 to 1783. He met with many leading diplomats, aristocrats, intellectuals, scientists and financiers. Franklin's image and writings caught the French imagination – there were many images of him sold on the market – and he became the image of the archetypal new American and even a hero for aspirations for a new order inside France. The French goal was to weaken Britain, both to keep it from getting too powerful and to exact revenge for the defeat in the Seven Years' War. After the American capture of the British invasion army at Saratoga in 1777, and after the French navy had been built up, France was ready. In 1778 France recognized the United States of America as a sovereign nation, signed a military alliance, went to war with Britain, built coalitions with the Netherlands and Spain that kept Britain without a significant ally of its own, provided the Americans with grants, arms and loans, sent a combat army to serve under George Washington, and sent a navy that prevented the second British army from escaping from Yorktown in 1781. In all, the French spent about 1.3 billion livres (in modern currency, approximately thirteen billion U.S. dollars) to support the Americans directly, not including the money it spent fighting Britain on land and sea outside the U.S.[1]
French aid proved vital in the victory of the Americans seeking independence from Britain. The U.S. gained much territory at the 1783 Treaty of Paris, but France – after losing some naval battles – fared poorly there. It did get its revenge and made a new ally and trading partner. However the high debt France accumulated was a major cause of the French Revolution in 1789."
It often makes me wonder why Americans disparage the French, not that I'm French, of course. The last line is the saddest thing for me though, France's involvement in helping America win against the British lead to the French Revolution in 1789, which isn't a problem in itself, except for that damn musical, "Les Miserables".
God I hate that fcuking show, especially the film version with Russell Crowe torturing me with his pathetic attempts at singing, he's not a bad actor, but he's no fcuking Dean Martin.............
