Catch Hold Of A Diplomatic History Of The American Revolution Conceived By Jonathan R. Dull In Print

had to read this for a foreign policy class, it was overall pretty informative and provided an indepth look into how the basis of modern american diplomacy was formed, Very interesting overview of the American Revolution from a European perspective, I liked the shorter chapters, it helped me focus in on what was being talked about, A short but dense history of the wars diplomacy, with an emphasis on the European balance of power, Dull does a fine job putting all developments into their international context, He also debunks the more traditional narratives about the American missions supposed “idealism” or the effect of Saratoga, The narrative is clear and wellorganized,

Dulls arguments are judicious, and he emphasizes the realpolitik behind the Frances motives in supporting the colonists, as well as how the eras communications made diplomacy evolve at a relatively slow pace.
Ironically, Americas victory depended heavily on the aid of nations that whose motives had little to do with America and who ultimately reaped few benefits from the outcome of the war.


Dull ably describes Franklins mission in Paris and the many obstacles he faced, as well as his cleverness in manipulating Frances grievances from the last war, Dull describes the role of the European balance of power, the influence of smaller nations, and the Revolutions impact in Europe, Frances alliance with Spain, the reluctance of the Spanish to take a more active role, the diplomatic isolation of Britain, and Britains eventual anxiety for peace, and how the Americans agreed to a separate peace to the chagrin of the French.
Dull concludes that, ironically, Britain gained the most from peace while France gained the least, and that Britains warweariness was the most significant factor in its search for peace.
He also disputes the idea that the revolution in America triggered such movements elsewhere,

Still, the significance of some developments is never explained, and the narrative is rather lifeless, It doesnt add much new, either, His treatment of Shelburne also seems a bit flat, Most Americans of the Cold War generation grew up being educated in modestly sized and modestly funded elementary school classrooms, Almost inevitably, these rooms held a map of the world, one in which the United States lay directly in the center and the Soviet Union was left split in half on the edges.
Not surprisingly, many Americans grew up assuming that their country and their history were central to the global experience, For this reason, American scholars might be surprised to open Jonathan R, Dulls A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution and find not a map of the continental United States, but instead one of eighteenthcentury Europe, But by page four, readers will come to understand Dulls cartographic choice, He contends that “in studying the origins of American diplomacy we as Americans must be carefulto avoid the alltoohuman tendency to believe ourselves the central point around which the world revolves.
” For the entirepages of his text, Dull makes good on this promise,
In A Diplomatic History of the American Revolution, Jonathan Dull examines diplomacys roleand especially European diplomacyin the American Revolution, For this reason, his title is slightly deceiving, Dull focuses on an international perspective over Americas emerging foreign relations, While notable American diplomats such as Benjamin Franklin and John Adams get their due, Dull pays more attention to their French, Spanish, British, Russian, and even Polish counterparts, He uses these oldworld diplomats, and monarchs, to endorse his thesis: namely, that the outcome of the American revolution relied less on American diplomats actions and more on the selfinterested parties of Europe who strained against the threat of an overwhelming English empire.

The book begins with a brief explanation of the “Balance of Power” paradigm, This theory states that “because each state fears for its own security it theoretically will be impossible for any single state to dominate all the others as soon as one state threatens to become too strong, the other will combine forces to prevent its dominance”.
In the mideighteenth century, that state was England, Dull utilizes statistics to show the supremacy of English power, most notably their overwhelming naval superiority, Englands growing power posed a threat to eighteenthcentury Europes delicate balance of treaties and alliances, For this reason, the American Revolution provided European diplomats with an opportunity to reshape the power structure of Europe away from England, Dull concludes that without repeated English diplomatic ineptitude, America might not have achieved liberty, His final message

is one of caution: that “the moral of the American Revolution thus may be the unpredictability, the expense, and the danger of war”,
Dull cites many key diplomatic events that led to Americas victory over the greatest military power in the globe, He describes how sectional disputes hindered interunion consensus and that all states agreed: bythe British naval blockade needed to be broken, This break required foreign intervention, The Continental Congress jumped at a chance to ally with both France and Spain, The former countrya seemingly constant enemy of the Britishoffered their assistance early on, and for this reason Americas nascent alliance with France has become common knowledge, Spain, on the other hand, had more reservations on joining a FrancoAmerican alliance, Dull paints this often overlooked nation as Machiavellian in nature, a true player in global power politics, He even goes so far as to state that “it is almost inconceivable that France and the United States could have defeated Britain without Spanish help”, His arguments on this point comprise, arguably, the most intriguing and valuable section of A Diplomatic History,
During the American revolution Spain hoped to achieve three goals: end the British presence in Gibraltar and Minorca, regain control of Florida, and oust English timbercutters in Central America.
The Spanish had no compunction on which side might better help them attain their goals, Spanish diplomats were so shrewd at the negotiating table that desperate American and Franco forces left room for Spain to join in an alliance at any later date, Early French naval failures made a Spanish alliance even more necessary, Biding its time, Spain finally offered to mediate the conflict between Britain and France “prudently waiting to make any decisions herself until her annual treasure ships had arrived, ” Dull argues that domestic pressures within England made the return of Gibraltar impossible, as it stood as a symbol of British influence, Spain finally sided with France, on the condition that they conduct a joint invasion of England, an invasion that was staged outside Plymouth in,
Historians should find A Diplomatic History a stylistic success, Dulls writing style, with concise sentences and vigorous language, will appeal to graduate students of U, S. Diplomatic history. And the books modest sizepagesmake it an ideal read for undergraduates, His brief character sketches add just enough background to introduce figures, but not enough to dilute his flow, Readers receive brief explanations as to why the Kings and Queens of Europe conspicuously endorsed Englands isolation during the Revolutionary period, Dull makes his arguments logically, following a chronology based on diplomatic records, The bulk of Dulls methodology focuses less on primary sources, however, and more on synthesizing more current monographs and collections of correspondences, For example, he relies heavily on the Labaree and Willcoxs The Papers of Benjamin Franklin as well as his own previous work The French Navy and American Independence, For this reason, A Diplomatic History will appeal most to experts in the field looking for new angles on a much covered topic,
One work that Dull never really delves into is Samuel Flagg Bemiss The Diplomacy of the American Revolution, True, Dull takes Bemiss work into consideration in his introductory chapter by stating that it remained a standard in the field since its publication in, He then states that his own work provides much needed updates in the field, To be fair, other diplomatic historians reviewed thiswork positively, In The Journal of Southern History, Clifford Egan suggests that Dulls book “certainly will become the new standard account of the subject,” while in The American Historical Paul Varg states that Dull should be “complimented for his thoroughness.
” Nevertheless, both of these reviewers assert that Bemiss work still begs attention, But neither reviewer is as scathing as Bradford Perkins, In the Juneedition of s in American History, Perkins takes Dulls work to task, He points out the lack of depth in Dulls latest addition to the field, and comments that while “solid,” this addition to the field is “disappointing, ” Perkins concludes that when it comes to Diplomatic histories of the American Revolution, Bemiss work still reigns supreme,
This book was sorry for the awful pun painstakingly dull, The kind of book that I found myself reading but not understanding, This introduction to the diplomacy of the American Revolution presents a fresh, realistic, and balanced portrait of revolutionary diplomats and diplomacy, "The best singlevolume introduction to the diplomacy of the American Revolution that we have, " H. M. Scott, University of St. Andrews, Scotland"This book certainly will become the new standard account of the subject, The A Diplomatic History of The American Revolution's many footnotes and its annotated bibliography provide a rich survey of research in the field, Specialists as well as students should profit from this work, Highly recommended for public and university libraries, "Library Journal"The book appears to be designed for use by students but most historians will find it thoughtprovoking, "Journal of the Early Republic"This will become the successor to Bemis's The Diplomacy of the American Revolution for at least as many years as that work has been the standard.
Dull's writing is clear and often elegant, the positions are convincing, and the footnotes and bibliography are an important contribution in themselves, "Lawrence Kaplan, Kent State University Read this classic in graduate school at Mississippi State University two times, Jonathan R. Dull is the retired senior associate editor of The Papers of Benjamin Franklin series, .