And now there arose difficulties between the United States and
their old friends, the French. For, while the Americans had been
hammering away at their Constitution, and making a new nation out
of raw material, the French had risen against the tyranny of their
king, and had declared France a Republic. And when many of the
European countries joined together to fight France, and force them
to take back their king, the French people looked to the sister
Republic across the Atlantic for help. They had helped the Americans
in their struggle, surely now the Americans would help them. But
the French went too far. They seemed to lose all sense of right
and wrong, they put hundreds of people to death without cause and
drowned France in blood.
So, many people who had wished them well at the beginning, turned
from them, and although many people in America were ready to fight
for the French, Washington determined to keep peace. He was not
ungrateful to the French for their help in the American Revolution.
But he felt that their wild orgy of blood was wrong, and he saw
too, that America was too young a nation to plunge again into war.
So he proclaimed the United States to be neutral, that is, that
they would take part on neither side in the European War.
When the French heard that America refused to help them, they were
greatly hurt.
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