Which 1778 agreement formally allied France with the United States during the Revolutionary War?

The Treaty of Alliance formally allied France with the United States during the Revolutionary War.

The agreement was signed in Paris on February 6, 1778, alongside the Treaty of Amity and Commerce. France recognized the United States as an independent nation and promised military cooperation against Britain. The alliance followed the American victory at Saratoga, which helped persuade France that the rebellion had a realistic chance of success.

French assistance became decisive. France supplied money, weapons, troops, naval forces, and military expertise. French naval operations helped prevent British relief of Yorktown in 1781, where the combined American and French victory became the war’s decisive final campaign.

The alliance did not mean France controlled the American war effort. The United States remained an independent ally, and the treaty included a commitment that neither party would make a separate peace with Britain. The later Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1783.