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Difficulty: EasyThe Revolutionary War: Military and Diplomacy

"If War should break out between France and Great Britain, during the continuance of the present War between the United States and England, his Majesty and the said United States, shall make it a common cause, and aid each other mutually with their good Offices, their Counsels, and their forces... The essential and direct End of the present defensive alliance is to maintain effectually the liberty, Sovereignty, and independence absolute and unlimited of the said United States..."

— Treaty of Alliance between the United States and France, 1778

Which of the following events was the primary catalyst for the diplomatic agreement described in the excerpt?

  1. The American victory at the Battle of SaratogaAnswer
  2. B
    The British surrender at the Battle of Yorktown
  3. C
    The colonial rejection of the Stamp Act
  4. D
    The signing of the Declaration of Independence

Answer

The American victory at the Battle of Saratoga
The correct answer is correct because the American victory at the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777 convinced the French government, led by King Louis XVI, that the Americans had a realistic chance of winning the war. This led directly to the formation of a military alliance in early 1778, which provided critical naval and ground forces to the American cause.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus document to identify the nature of the agreement.
The document is the Treaty of Alliance (1778) between the United States and France, establishing a defensive military alliance against Great Britain.
Understanding the context of the alliance is necessary to identify what event prompted its signing.
2
Recall the key military turning point that prompted French intervention.
The Battle of Saratoga (October 1777) showed France that the American colonists could defeat British forces in the field, making an alliance a viable strategy to weaken Great Britain.
This establishes the causal relationship between military success and diplomatic success.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the event that directly preceded and catalyzed this treaty.
The Battle of Saratoga is the correct option, as Yorktown occurred later (1781), the Stamp Act was much earlier (1765), and the Declaration of Independence (1776) alone did not convince the French of American military viability.
This confirms the correct option while ruling out chronological and conceptual errors.

Key Concept

The French Alliance and the significance of the Battle of Saratoga as the diplomatic turning point of the American Revolution.
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Topics

The Revolutionary War: Military and Diplomacy

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