Which 1778 treaty made France and the United States military allies against Great Britain?

The Treaty of Alliance (1778) made France and the United States military allies against Great Britain. France and the American commissioners signed it in Paris on February 6, 1778.

The agreement followed the American victory at Saratoga in 1777. France had secretly supplied weapons, money, and other aid, but the treaty turned that assistance into a formal alliance. A separate Treaty of Amity and Commerce, signed on the same day, established commercial relations and French recognition of the United States.

France promised to support American independence and agreed that neither country would make peace with Britain without the other’s consent. The alliance brought French troops, naval forces, supplies, and financial support into the Revolutionary War. French naval operations were especially important during the Yorktown campaign in 1781.

The treaty was not simply a friendship agreement. It was a defensive military pact shaped by France’s rivalry with Britain. The alliance helped the Americans, but it also imposed obligations and tied the young nation’s diplomacy to a major European power. The later Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1783.