Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuffyyff
Thanks to them, as General Washington frequently credited, we were able to become a country. The French financed us, they conducted a naval blockade, and many civilians and military personnel joined the Continental Army. Our founding documents' thinking was built upon French Enlightenment thinking.
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All true, but one must not forget that Britain was the principal fly in Napoleon’s conquering ointment and that the fledgling USA was then the principal thorn in Britain’s side. While French help was nice, it was borne of self-interest -- an interest that wasn't all that laudable. General Washington spoke well of the French, but I suspect had no illusions re their motives.
In any case, whatever debt was ever owed to France or its people, it was paid in full and then some when they fled from the Nazi's like quail flee from a hound and were restored to their country by lots of American boys, lots of whom didn't get to come home.