The Road to Independence: The Model Treaty

In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress faced a question every new nation must answer: how do you make other countries take you seriously?

Declaring independence was one thing. Convincing France, Spain, or the Netherlands to risk war on your behalf was another.

The Ben Franklin’s World podcast has an exploration of how the Second Continental Congress and its diplomats – including Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, John Adams and Henry Laurens – sought to secure foreign recognition for the new United States.

You can listen here.

Ben Franklin’s World is an award-winning podcast. It’s for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our world. Each episode features an interview with a historian who shares their unique insights into our early American past. It is a production of Clio Digital Media.

Illustration: The final page of the 1783 Treaty of Paris with the signatures of Franklin, Jay, Adams, Laurens and British representative David Hartley (National Archives).

Read more about the history of American Foreign Policy.