The Fathers of the Constitution | Page 5

involved; to avoid this Great
Britain seems to have been willing to make any other concessions that
were necessary. The mother country sought to avoid disruption at all
costs. But the time had passed when any such adjustment might have
been possible. The Americans now flatly refused to treat of peace upon
any footing except that of independent equality. The British, being in
no position to continue the struggle, were obliged to yield and to
declare in the first article of the treaty of peace that "His Britannic
Majesty acknowledges the said United States . . . to be free, sovereign,
and independent states."
With France the relationship of the United States was clear and friendly
enough at the time. The American War of Independence had been
brought to a successful issue with the aid of France. In the treaty of
alliance which had been signed in 1781 had been agreed that neither
France nor the United States should, without the consent of the other,
make peace with Great Britain. More than that, in 1781, partly out of
gratitude but largely as a result of clever manipulation of factions in

Congress by the French Minister in Philadelphia, the Chevalier de la
Luzerne, the American peace commissioners had been instructed "to
make the most candid and confidential communications upon all
subjects to the ministers of our generous ally, the King of France; to
undertake nothing in the negotiations for peace or truce without their
knowledge and concurrence; and ultimately to govern yourselves by
their advice and opinion."* If France had been actuated only by
unselfish motives in supporting the colonies in their revolt against
Great Britain, these instructions might have been acceptable and even
advisable. But such was not the case. France was working not so much
with philanthropic purposes or for sentimental reasons as for the
restoration to her former position of supremacy in Europe. Revenge
upon England was only a part of a larger plan of national
aggrandizement.
* "Secret Journals of Congress." June 15, 1781.
The treaty with France in 1778 had declared that war should be
continued until the independence of the United States had been
established, and it appeared as if that were the main purpose of the
alliance. For her own good reasons France had dragged Spain into the
struggle. Spain, of course, fought to cripple Great Britain and not to
help the United States. In return for this support France was pledged to
assist Spain in obtaining certain additions to her territory. In so far as
these additions related to North America, the interests of Spain and
those of the United States were far from being identical; in fact, they
were frequently in direct opposition. Spain was already in possession of
Louisiana and, by prompt action on her entry into the war in 1780, she
had succeeded in getting control of eastern Louisiana and of practically
all the Floridas except St. Augustine. To consolidate these holdings and
round out her American empire, Spain would have liked to obtain the
title to all the land between the Alleghany Mountains and the
Mississippi. Failing this, however, she seemed to prefer that the region
northwest of the Ohio River should belong to the British rather than to
the United States.
Under these circumstances it was fortunate for the United States that
the American Peace Commissioners were broad-minded enough to
appreciate the situation and to act on their own responsibility.
Benjamin Franklin, although he was not the first to be appointed, was

generally considered to be the chief of the Commission by reason of his
age, experience, and reputation. Over seventy-five years old, he was
more universally known and admired than probably any man of his
time. This many-sided American--printer, almanac maker, writer,
scientist, and philosopher--by the variety of his abilities as well as by
the charm of his manner seemed to have found his real mission in the
diplomatic field, where he could serve his country and at the same time,
with credit to himself, preach his own doctrines.
When Franklin was sent to Europe at the outbreak of the Revolution, it
was as if destiny had intended him for that particular task. His
achievements had already attracted attention; in his fur cap and
eccentric dress "he fulfilled admirably the Parisian ideal of the forest
philosopher"; and with his facility in conversation, as well as by the
attractiveness of his personality, he won both young and old. But, with
his undoubted zeal for liberty and his unquestioned love of country,
Franklin never departed from the Quaker principles he affected and
always tried to avoid a fight. In these efforts, owing to his shrewdness
and his willingness to compromise, he was generally successful.
John Adams, being then the American representative at The Hague,
was the first Commissioner to be appointed.