Why France Backed the American Revolution (And Got Nothing in Return)

The featured image brings together images of Dr. Rafe Blaufarb and Adel Aali from the interview, superimposed on the Betsy Ross flag, alongside John Trumbull's iconic painting titled Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, which now hangs in the rotunda of the U.S. Congress. Click here to learn about Trumbull's life, the painting's backstory, and an important person who is surprisingly missing from this painting.

In this interview: “And the United States, North America becomes a sideshow.” The American Revolution? Only one theater in a global war—and far from the main event. Geopolitical rivalry and revenge drove France to rally other powers against Britain. That transformed what started as a colonial rebellion in the Americas into a globe-spanning military conflict—a […]