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Model Treaty
23
Transcript
If the "Model Treaty" that John Adams
authored had been the basis for the American alliance with France, would the results of the Revolution have been the same? Do you agree that Benjamin Franklin's French alliance is an example of "practical self-interest trumping idealism", as the authors state? In what other situations during the Revolutionary War does practical self-interest trump idealism?
- The Model Treaty had three basic principles
1) no political connections
2) no military connections
3) only commercial connections
- It's likely that the outcome of the war would have been very different if it had been in accordance with the Model Treaty
- If the Americans had fostered a commercial only connection with France, Britain, etc, they might not have been a need for a revolution.
Ben Franklin's statement was
right because without the aid of the French, the Americans probably would not have won.
They needed the help and it was in the best interest to accept the treaty. Even though the alliance wasn't perfect, it constituted an official recognition of America's independence and lent powerful military strength to the Patriot cause.
An example of self-interest
trumping idealism is when Benedict Arnold turned traitor.
He wanted to be appreciated and was greedy for the money
the British offered him. Ideally he would have continued
fighting for the Patriots, but because of his self-interest, he chose the side that boosted his ego and wallet.
Outside Sources
They represented a school of thought that deemed history to have reached a momentous turning point when military conflict would be abandoned and the bonds of mutual commercial interest would guarantee peaceful relations among states
What was a theory like this called by critics?
Do you agree with Ben Franklin's
statement? If not, why?
Video
http://www.history.com/videos/battle-of-saratoga-turns-the-tide-of-the-american-revolution#battle-of-saratoga-turns-the-tide-of-the-american-revolution
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/alliance.html
http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution
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