2/14 【歷史上的今天】發表了獨立宣言還不能算，還得看別的國家承認不承認

每天一篇《美國歷史上的今天》，提煉和總結歷史在今天發生的重要事件：誰，在哪裡，什麼時候，做了什麼，這件事為什麼重要、以及在寫關於什麼主題的論文的時候可以作為潛在論據引用。每天半分鐘，輕鬆積累史實，為AP歷史拿5分打下堅實基礎！

When: Feb 14, 1778

What: The U.S. flag was formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when a French Admiral rendered a nine gun salute to USS Ranger.

Why significant: France was the first foreign government to recognize the U.S. as a sovereign power.

The 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain by issuing the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. The Declaration summarized the colonists』 motivations for seeking independence. But the Declaration』s most important diplomatic effect was to allow for recognition of the United States by friendly foreign governments. By declaring themselves an independent nation, the American colonists were able to confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance in the war against Great Britain. France was the most obvious potential ally, which was a long-time enemy of Britain and a colonial rival who had lost much of their lands in the Americas after the French and Indian War. Britains victory in the Seven Years War had shifted the European balance of power and so France had been planning for a war of revenge since the Treaty of Paris that had ended the conflict in 1763. But Congress had to wait until the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France for a formal recognition of U.S. independence.

On March 17, 1778, four days after a French ambassador informed the British government that France had officially recognized the U.S. as an independent nation, Great Britain declared war on France, thereby engaging France in the American Revolutionary War. French entry into the war would lead to further escalation of the war when Spain entered the fight against Britain as Frances ally.

Tags: Treaty of Alliance with France (1778), American Independence, the Declaration of Independence, French and Indian War

• 為什麼法國會是第一個承認美國獨立的國家？看看前因： French and Indian War
• 又是哪一條條約讓英國正式承認美國獨立？可不是《獨立宣言》。看這裡。

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