Getting support from any foreign country was very important for the colonists during the Revolutionary War. We wanted to get support from both France and Spain. The colonists had many disadvantages in the Revolutionary War. One of those disadvantages was the lack of supplies. If we got support from France and other countries, this would help our military in the fight against Great Britain.

Another disadvantage the colonists faced was a lack of military training. France was more experienced at fighting than we were. The French and their generals could help train our soldiers.

We also didn’t have much of a navy. The French navy could be an asset to us if they helped us. With over 10,000 French soldiers and over 30,000 French sailors on our side, the help of the French was very important to our military. For example, the French navy played an important role in the Battle of Yorktown.

Becoming allied with France would also help with our trade. We received most-favored nation trading status with France. This helped improve our trade with France.

When France began to help us, it also opened the door for other countries to assist us. There were many benefits to having help from France during the Revolutionary War.

The support of France was important because France was a major power in the world, one that could help the colonies to have enough supplies and enough military power to defeat the British.  Let us look at two examples of why French help was needed.

First, there was the fact that the colonies were not really able to manufacture enough guns or gunpowder to get through the war.  The French sold these and other things to the Americans, allowing them to have the wherewithal to fight.

Second, the colonists essentially had no navy.  This allowed the British to control the sea.  At the end of the war in the colonies, the French navy defeated the British and sealed Cornwallis's troops in at Yorktown.  Since they could not escape by sea, they had to surrender.

These two instances show how important French help was to the American colonists.