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[[File:Surrender_of_General_Burgoyne.jpg|thumbnail|left|500px300px|The surrender of the British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga, on October 17, 1777 convinced France to side with American Colonies against Britain]]
During the American Revolution, the American colonies faced the significant challenge of conducting international diplomacy and seeking the international support it needed to fight against the British. The single most important diplomatic success of the colonists during the War for Independence was the critical link they forged with France.
====Franklin negotiates an Alliance with France====
[[File:ergennesVergennes,_Charles_Gravier_comte_de.jpg|thumbnail|left|250px|Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, French Foreign Minister]]
Benjamin Franklin’s popularity in France bolstered French support for the American cause. The French public viewed Franklin as a representative of republican simplicity and honesty, an image Franklin cultivated. A rage for all things Franklin and American swept France, assisting American diplomats and Vergennes in pushing for an alliance. In the meantime, Vergennes agreed to provide the United States with a secret loan.
