People in France were angry with their
king. The French king, Louis (LEW-EEE)
XVI (the 16th), was extremely, extremely
rich. Part of the reason the king was so
rich was because he charged the people
in France high taxes. In fact, the taxes
were so high that many people didn’t
have enough money to buy food. Some
people in France (especially in the capitol
city of Paris) could not afford to buy
enough food to feed their families. Many
people starved to death. Even though the
Louis XVI
people of France complained and
complained, the king did nothing.
Some people in France started
reading the Declaration of
Independence. They heard how
the Americans rebelled against
their king, George III, and won
their independence from England,
and created a government without
a king where people got to choose
their leaders. The people in France
were inspired by the Americans,
and they too decided it was time
to get rid of their king, Louis XVI.
So, in 1789 the French started a
war against their king. England
Marie Antoinette, the wife of King Louis XVI.
When she was told that people in Paris, France
were starving, she famous said, “Let them eat
cake!” It sounds awesome, but back then cake
was just cheap, flavorless bread, so it wasn’t
really that great. Mmm, cake sounds good right
now, huh?
decided to help out King Louis
XVI and declared war against
the people of France. During
the Revolutionary War, France
helped the United States get
rid of their king by fighting
against the English. In fact, the
United States would not have
won the war if the French
hadn’t helped them. When
England declared war on
France, France asked the
Americans to help them out.
the French celebrating their victory in the
French Revolution. Woohoo! No more king!
Thomas Jefferson encouraged
the President, George
Washington, to help out the French, because he believed that the
United States owed it to France. Alexander Hamilton, though, told
President Washington that the United States should not get involved in
the war. Even though the United States and England had been bitter
enemies only a few years ago, England had become the United States’
most important trading partner. If the U.S. declared a war on England,
many people who sold their products to England would lose a lot of
money. Alexander Hamilton did not want the U.S. to lose their most
important trading partner, so he advised President Washington to not
help France in the war.
In the end, George Washington took the advice of Alexander Hamilton,
and the United States did not help France fight against England (I know,
pretty messed up, right?). The people of France were deeply offended
by President Washington’s decision.
In his Farewell Address
(speech), President
Washington told Americans
to not get involved in wars.
The nation was still young,
and not very powerful, and
they couldn’t afford to get
into a big war and lose.
Americans tried to follow
George Washington’s
the French executing their king, Louis XVI, by cutting
advice on wars for a long
off his head with a guillotine
time, and for a long time
the United States tried to avoid getting involved in wars with other
countries.