Benjamin Franklin has long been viewed as multi-faced; his credits to history include writer, inventor, politician, scientist and philosopher. However, his talent as an American diplomat, particularly in France, has not received much appeal in historiographic circles. Historiography has focused on Franklin's achievements at home and his work on behalf of the United States in Great Britain. The importance of his duties as Minister to France were vital to American Independence, and merits admiration as well.

This paper examines Benjamin Franklin's indispensable role in securing this alliance. The paper provides convincing evidence, through primary materials, that Benjamin Franklin was the necessary American commissioner. Without his assistance, French aid to America's struggling war effort would not have been forthcoming, thus independence would not have occurred. The importance of this paper suggests that American history would have taken a very different course if Franklin had not been a diplomat working for American interests in Paris.

This study includes supporting evidence that America's military victory over the British depended on French intervention, and that the revolution undertaken in the United States would serve as inspiration for the French to pursue their own revolution less than a decade later. This paper strives to contribute to the historiography of American diplomatic history through the examination of Benjamin Franklin's role as an ambassador to France during the Revolutionary War, and to further his contribution as seen in the historiographic discipline.