Diplomacy in the American Revolutionary War

Diplomacy was central to the outcome of the American Revolutionary War and the broader American Revolution.^[1] Before the outbreak of armed conflict in April 1775, the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain had initially sought to resolve their disputes peacefully from within the British political system. Once open hostilities began, the war developed an international dimension, as both sides engaged in foreign diplomacy to further their goals, while governments and nations worldwide took interest in the geopolitical and ideological implications of the conflict.

American diplomacy focused primarily on securing assistance to counter Great Britain's greater strategic, military, and manpower advantages;^[1] the British, who generally regarded the conflict as a civil war,^[2] prioritized containing these diplomatic overtures while also leveraging relations with various Native American tribes and German states.

In November 1775, the American Continental Congress established the Committee of Secret Correspondence as a de facto foreign ministry to garner international support and clandestine aid.^[3] Upon declaring independence in July 1776, the United States asserted its "international legal sovereignty",^[4] pursuing a formal and independent foreign policy that prioritized political legitimacy through diplomatic recognition;^[5] the Committee of Secret Correspondence became the Committee for Foreign Affairs in April 1777. Several key American political leaders—mostly notably Bejamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison—served in varying capacities as diplomats during the war.^[6]

Contemporaneous observers, including many founders of the United States, as well as subsequent historians, recognized that American diplomacy was integral to the success American Revolutionary.^[7] Alliances with several foreign powers—particularly France and Spain—provided decisive war material, funds, and troops while also isolating Britain globally and spreading thin its military; the decisive Battle of Yorktown in 1781, which essentially ended the war in the United States' favor, was won largely with the help of French troops and naval forces.

By contrast, by the start of the revolutionary war, Great Britain had become diplomatically isolated following years of conflict and hostility with most European powers; its inability to muster international support, coupled with the Americans' exploitation of widespread antipathy towards the British, was a major factor in its defeat.