The Kingdom of France was the first country to have diplomatic ties with the United States, with the 1778 Treaty of Alliance and subsequent French aid proving decisive in American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War.

French–United States relations have remained peaceful since, with the exceptions of the Quasi-War and American combat against Vichy France (while supporting Free France) during World War II. In 1803, the United States purchased the territory of Louisiana from France to acquire a total of and expand westwards. Tensions, however, rose during the American Civil War, as France intervened militarily in Mexico and entertained the possibility of recognizing the separatist Confederate States of America, the defeat of which was followed by the United States sending a large army to the Mexican border and forcing the withdrawal of French forces from Mexico.

Since 2000, the United States and France have continued to work together on a range of issues, such as counterterrorism, climate change, and trade. However, there was sharp disagreement over the Iraq War in 2003. Relations improved again starting in 2010.

History

Early history

New France () was the area colonized by France beginning with exploration in 1534 and ending with cession in 1763.W. J. Eccles, The Canadian Frontier, 1534–1760 (1969) onlineFor historiography see Allan Greer, "National, Transnational, and hypernational historiographies: New France meets early American history." Canadian Historical Review 91#4 (2010) pp 695–724 doi=10.3138/chr.91.4.695 The vast territory of New France consisted of five colonies at its peak in 1712, and it extended from Newfoundland to the Canadian Prairies and from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico, including all the Great Lakes of North America. Great Britain, having won the French and Indian Wars, finally removed the French from continental North America in 1763,Max Savelle, The Origins of American Diplomacy: The International History of Angloamerica, 1492–1763 (1967) onlineBetsey Maestro, Struggle for a Continent: The French and Indian Wars: 1689-1763 (Harper Collins, 2000). with almost all of New France ceded to Britain and Spain through the Treaty of Paris.William R. Nester, The first global war: Britain, France, and the fate of North America, 1756-1775 (Greenwood, 2000). Within a decade, the Thirteen Colonies revolted openly. In retaliation, France secretly provided troops and war materials to the American independence movement.Cazorla, Frank, G. Baena, Rose, Polo, David, Reder Gadow, Marion (2019). The governor Louis de Unzaga (1717-1793) Pioneer in the birth of the United States of America and in the Liberalism. Foundation. Malaga After the Second Continental Congress declared independence in July 1776, its representatives in Paris recruited officers for the Continental Army, most notably the Marquis de Lafayette, who served with distinction as a major general. After the U.S. victory at the Battle of Saratoga in October 1777, the French concluded treaties of commerce and alliance on February 6, 1778, committing themselves to fight Britain until the independence of the United States was secured.C. H. Van Tyne, "Influences which Determined the French Government to Make the Treaty with America, 1778," American Historical Review (1916) 21#3 pp. 528–541 in JSTORJonathan R. Dull, A Diplomatic History of American Revolution (1985)

Six years after the 1783 Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War, the French Revolution overthrew the Bourbon regime. In the beginning, the United States was supportive of the changes in France, where the absolute hereditary monarchy was replaced by a constitutional republic. However, as the situation in France deteriorated, with the revolutionary government becoming more authoritarian and brutal, the United States' sympathy waned. Catherine Hebert reports that French visitors before 1790 made highly favorable reports of American culture, influenced perhaps by the ideals of the noble savage and the American acceptance of the Enlightenment. However the Royalist exiles who came in the 1790s responded in a highly negative fashion to republicanism.Catherine Hebert, "Demise of the American Dream: The French Experience of American Life in the Age of the French Revolution," Social History/Histoire Sociale (1990) 23#46 pp 219-248.

In 1800, Spain returned its portion of Louisiana to France, which then sold it all to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, permanently ending French colonial efforts on the American mainland, following the French defeat in Saint Domingue to the Haitian Revolution that led to create the world's first black-led republic, known as Haiti. In the United States, the legacy of New France includes numerous place names as well as pockets of French-speaking communities.William R. Nester, The first global war: Britain, France, and the fate of North America, 1756-1775 (Greenwood, 2000).

During the American Civil War, 1861–65, French leader Napoleon III favored the Confederate States of America, hoping to weaken the United States, gain a new ally in the Confederacy, safeguard the cotton trade and protect his large investment in controlling the Second Mexican Empire.Stève Sainlaude, France and the American Civil War: a diplomatic history (2019). Napoleon III took advantage of the war in 1863, when he installed Austrian archduke Maximilian of Habsburg on the Mexican throne. Washington protested and refused to recognize the new government.Lynn M. Case, and Warren E. Spencer, The United States and France: Civil War Diplomacy (1970) Seeking to avoid war with France, Secretary of State William Seward cautiously limited aid to the Mexican rebels until the Confederacy was near defeat.Gary Moreno, "Rage Against the Monarchy American Reaction to the French Intervention in Mexico." Journal of the West 47#3 (2008): 48-55. By 1865, United States diplomatic pressure coupled with the massing of US soldiers on the border with Mexico persuaded Napoleon III to withdraw French troops and support. The democratic Mexican government was soon restored and Maximilian executed.Paul H. Reuter, "United States-French Relations Regarding French Intervention in Mexico: From the Tripartite Treaty to Queretaro," Southern Quarterly (1965) 6#4 pp 469–489

The removal of Napoleon III in 1870 after the Franco-Prussian War helped improve Franco–American relations. In subsequent years the balance of power in the relationship shifted as the United States, with its very rapid growth in wealth, industry and population, came to overshadow the old powers. Trade was at a low level, France minimized the activity of American banks and insurance companies, tariffs were high, and mutual investments were uncommon.Henry Blumenthal, France and the United States: Their Diplomatic Relations, 1789–1914 (1970) pp 167–180. All during this period, the relationship remained friendly—as symbolized by the Statue of Liberty, presented in 1884 as a gift to the United States from the French people. From 1870 until 1918, France was the only major republic in a Europe of monarchies, which endeared it to the United States.Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin, Hating America: A History (2005) p 133.

World Wars Though initially neutral in World War I, Washington provided much-needed money—as loans to be repaid—that purchased American food, oil and chemicals for the French effort throughout the conflict. The first wave of initial American soldiers used French artillery, airplanes and tanks in combat, having brought no heavy equipment (so that the ships could carry more soldiers). In 1918 the United States sent over two million combat troops; they gave the Allies a decisive edge, as the Germans virtually collapsed by September 1918.Robert Bowman Bruce, A Fraternity of Arms: America and France in the Great War (UP of Kansas, 2003).Martin Marix-Evans, Retreat, Hell! We Just Got Here!: The American Expeditionary Force in France, 1917-1918 (Osprey Military, 1998).

During the interwar years, the two nations remained friendly. Beginning in the 1920s, U.S. intellectuals, painters, writers, and tourists were drawn to visit because of their interest in French culture.Brooke L. Blower, Becoming Americans in Paris: Transatlantic politics and culture between the World Wars (Oxford University Press, 2011). However, anti-Americanism came of age in the 1920s, as many French traditionalists were alarmed at the power of Hollywood and warned that America represented a modernity that would overpower French traditions.David Strauss, "The Rise of Anti-Americanism In France: French Intellectuals and the American Film Industry, 1927–1932," Journal of Popular Culture (177) 10#4 pp 752–759

In the approach to the Second World War the United States helped France arm its air force against the Nazi threat. However, fewer than 200 U.S. warplanes could be delivered before France surrendered in 1940.Robert Dallek, Franklin D. Roosevelt and American foreign policy, 1932-1945 (1979) pp 172–175. Between 1940 and 1942, the US maintained diplomatic relations with the Vichy France, which were severed after the allied landing in Africa. The US stance towards De Gaulle was hesitant, as the US preferred to support his rivals, admiral Francois Darlan and general Henri Giraud, until De Gaulle took over the control over the French Resistance by 1944.

In 1944, the U.S. Third Army under General Patton pushed the German Army from the country, first sweeping across northern France before going on to liberate Lorraine.

Cold War In the postwar years, both cooperation and discord persisted. In 1949 the two again became formal allies through the North Atlantic Treaty, which set up the NATO military alliance. Although the United States openly disapproved of French efforts to regain control of colonies in Africa and Southeast Asia, it supported the French government in fighting the Communist uprising in French Indochina. France somewhat reluctantly joined the American leadership in the Cold War to contain the Soviet Union, despite a large Communist presence in French politics.Charles G. Cogan, Forced to Choose: France, the Atlantic Alliance and NATO – Then and Now (Praeger, 1997). U.S. Treasury loans and cash grants were given in 1945–47, and especially the Marshall Plan gave large sums (1948–51). The total of all American grants and credits to France from 1946 to 1953 amounted to $4.9 billion.U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1954 (1955) table 1075 p 899 online edition file 1954-08.pdf Some French businesses resisted Americanization, but the most profitable, especially chemicals, oil, electronics, and instrumentation, seized upon the opportunity to attract American investments and build a larger market.Laureen Kuo, "Improving French Competitiveness through American Investment following World War II." Business History Review 91#1 (2017): 129-155. For example, the U.S. insisted on opportunities for Hollywood films, and the French film industry responded with new life.Laurent Le Forestier, "L'accueil en France des films américains de réalisateurs français à l'époque des accords Blum-Byrnes." ["The reception in France of American films by French directors during the Blum-Byrnes agreements"] Revue d'histoire moderne et contemporaine 4 (2004): 78-97.