The Key to American Independence : Quantifying Foreign Assistance to the American Revolution (Paperback)

"Bill Wenger has now measured the immeasurable, detailing for the first time the monetary and substantive contributions of France and Spain to the American Revolution. A truly groundbreaking study."

Larrie D. Ferreiro, Ph.D., is the author of the 2017 Pulitzer finalist book, "Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It."

The objective of this unusual history is the quantification of the critical aid provided by France and her allies Spain, the Netherlands, and to a lesser extent, other European nations to the Americans for the successful prosecution of their Revolutionary War. This study addresses the direct aid provided to the Americans and not the significant cost of the prosecution of the larger world war of which the American Revolution was only one theater of war against Great Britain by France and her allies. The quantification is presented in chronological order of the period after the Seven Years' War to and through the American Revolution, as well as an epilogue of the impact of the provision of foreign aid on the Europeans after the war. With this quantification of foreign aid, a more comprehensive understanding can be achieved of the magnitude and impact this substantive assistance had for the success of the Revolutionary War, and the founding of the United States of America, beyond what has been previously presented. This study is thoroughly documented, with substantiated calculations of the quantifiable foreign aid provided to the Americans, the sources of that aid, and the impact on the American War effort and on those foreign powers who provided the indispensable foreign aid.