University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1974 American historians and the diplomacy of the American Revolution| An historiographical study Laurie Joy Wood The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Wood, Laurie Joy, "American historians and the diplomacy of the American Revolution| An historiographical study" (1974). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 1510. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/1510 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AMERICAN HISTORIANS AND THE DIPLOMACY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: AN HISTORIOGRAPHICAL STUDY By Laurie Joy Wood B.A., Principia College, 1972 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1974 Approved by: Chairman, Board of Examiners Djg^an"^ Gi>^duate School /y/ H7X. Date UMI Number; EP36207 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT UMI EP36207 Published by ProQuest LLC (2012). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I INTRODUCTION 1 II SILAS DEANE IN PARIS 12 III WILLIAM AND ARTHUR LEE AS DIPLOMATS .... 48 IV BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S CAREER IN EUROPE .... 73 V THE DIPLOMACY OF JOHN ADAMS IN EUROPE ... 113 VI THE MISSIONS OF JOHN JAY 143 VII FRANCIS DANA IN RUSSIA 173 VIII CONCLUSION . 18 9 BIBLIOGRAPHY 200 ii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The struggle against Great Britain by the original thirteen colonies in North America arrested the dominance of the world by the British Empire and simultaneously in­ troduced the new United States into world politics. The Revolution produced an immediate need for competent men to negotiate with European countries in order to secure the various forms of aid and the alliances that were essential for the survival of this venture in republicanism. Hence the study of American foreign policy essentially begins / with revolutionary diplomacy and an awareness of its suc­ cess and^airixires^. The men and events involved in this initial era of American diplomacy have been the subject of niunerous mono­ graphs, biographies and articles. This thesis will confine itself to a study of American writings, with the exception of Bernard Fay's well'^accepted volume on Franklin. (Fay's books, which Include Louis XVI of The End of the World and The Revolutionary Spirit in France and America: A Study of Moral and Intellectual Relations between France and America at the End of the 18th Century, are well received on both sides of the Atlantic for their content and scholarship.) 1 2 This thesis will concentrate on historical evaluations of the American diplomats and their political and private activities in Europe» It will point out the prevailing scholarly opinions on these subjects, and then discuss the authors who present new approaches. The representatives of the United States were plunged into the intricacies of European politics. Certain problems almost invariably confronted these first diplomats from the United States, Their instructions from Congress usually proved unrealistic during the actual negotiations with Eu­ ropean foreign ministers. The men dispatched from the United States discovered the difficulty in following the congres­ sional instructions while trying to ingratiate themselves and their country with a particular European nation. Then, among the original Paris commission, there were serious dis­ agreements and, even with John Adams as a replacement for Silas Deane, the quarrels continued. The contradictions between official and personal goals often contributed towards the confusion and disagreements among the Americans and Eu­ ropeans. Defining the goals of the United States if inde­ pendence were achieved often presented problems, especially as the discussions of the terms of a peace treaty progressed. Basically, historians who wrote in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are quite enamored of the ef­ forts of the American diplomats to secure recognition of Amer­ ican independence, while more recent historians recognize the 3 conflicts of allegiance^ and priorities experienced by some of the American envoys. Great Britain was determined to retain control of the colonies, both to enhance her economic structure and to sustain her strong position on the Conti­ nent. In addition, France and Spain were forced to make adjustments in receiving representatives from a rebellious United States, because the American envoys insisted that European governments recognize the independence of the United States before negotiations for alliances or treaties could begin. This required great flexibility on the part of the European statesmen, since at least several realized that an independent United States could possibly present a geograph­ ical and political threat to any kind of power balance Europe could try to maintain. The American commissioners had to adjust to the instinct of self-preservation that per­ vaded the courts of Europe and Great Britain. Four nineteenth-century historians have written or edited books about Arthur Lee, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams which emphasize their invaluable roles in American diplomacy. The two-volume work on Franklin by Edward Hale and Edward Hale, Jr., is comprised of Franklin's writings, and the editorial comments praise Franklin's contributions to the revolutionary effort. As controversial as Arthur Lee's diplomatic and political career was, his grand- nephew, Richard Henry Lee, endeavors to characterize him as the epitome of wisdom in his decisions and a martyr for having withstood personal attacks from Deane and Franklin. 4 For authors who study Arthur Lee, this biography is the only primary text available. Because of the bias in these two volumes, subsequent authors must attempt to substantiate or discredit the opinions of this first writer. The account of John Adams's life by John T. Morse is another nineteenth- century biographical study which praises the abilities of Adams and rarely alludes to any of the problems which re­ sulted from his recalcitrance and pride. In the nineteenth century, Francis Wharton compiled six volumes of the diplomatic correspondence of the Amer­ ican Revolution which provide material for a study of the men of the Revolution and their diplomacy, their attitudes and activities. These volumes do not contain editorial re­ marks attempting to shape the reader*s viewpoint, however. The transition made by twentieth-century historians in writing about the diplomacy of the American Revolution points towards more objective analyses of the men and the situations they encountered. Although J. C. Hildt is writ­ ing about a time period that extends beyond the Revolution, he does attempt to present a realistic view of the problems Francis Dana encountered in Russia. In contrast, George Clark seems to belong in the nineteenth-century tradition as he praises all the efforts that Silas Deane made towards securing the independence of the United States and condemns those men who criticized Deane's activities in Europe. His flagrant disregard for the canons of historical research and writing is exemplified by the absence of docu­ 5 mentation and the obvious bias in favor of Deane. E. S. Corwin's book on the alliance with France critically eval­ uates American policy in France, as he avoids a laudatory interpretation of the negotiations surrounding the Franco- American alliance. W. P. Cresson and Frank Monaghan, two biographers of early American political leaders, have written useful accounts of the efforts of Francis Dana and John Jay in American diplomacy. Cresson carefully examines Dana's career in Russia and attributes the failure of his mission to the difficulty of fulfilling the congressional instructions and coping with the unexpected turmoil in Catherine's court. Monaghan emphasizes the adverse circum­ stances that John Jay faced in Spain and then extols his achievements on the peace commission in Paris. Moreover, both these accounts are useful not only for the information they provide about the lives and activities of these men in the European courts but also for the material concerning the machinations of European diplomacy. Thomas Perkins Abernethy has written two articles discussing the quarrels that de­ veloped among the original representatives to Paris, Frank­ lin, Lee and Deane. In contrast to the eulogistic approach of the nineteenth'Century authors and the rather one-sided treatments by Cresson and Monaghan, Abernethy demonstrates that there were legitimate reasons for Lee to doubt the propriety of the activities of Deane and Franklin