Benjamin Franklin, in Paris As American Minister to France, Lends His Own Personal Funds to Aid Fellow Treaty Negotiator Silas Deane

In September 1776, the Continental Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee as joint commissioners to negotiate a treaty with France. Franklin was, at that time, the most famous American in the world. His reputation was based on his scientific, literary and political accomplishments, and he was a natural choice for such a crucial mission. He quickly became a celebrated figure in Paris – the toast of the city. Deane was the first American diplomat; in early 1776, he was sent to France by Congress in a semi-official capacity, as a secret agent to induce the French government to lend financial aid to the colonies. He was also to purchase munitions and supplies for Congress with money and credit from selling American commodities, and was to receive a 5% commission for this. Deane, often advancing his own funds, organized shipments of arms and munitions to America, thus helping finance the war, and enlisted the services of a number of Continental officers, among whom were Lafayette, DeKalb and Von Steuben. So he was already familiar with the French, and was well liked by them. Lee was the brother of Richard Henry Lee, who introduced the resolution in the Continental Congress declaring American independence.

The three labored throughout 1777 to secure French recognition and assistance, but made little progress. Then in early December news reached Paris of the American victory at Saratoga, and it was celebrated in Paris as if the French themselves had gained the triumph. The French decided the time was right to enter into serious negotiations, and on February 6, 1778 treaties of alliance and commerce between the United States and France were signed by Alexander Gerard on behalf of the King of France and by all three American commissioners. The Treaty of Alliance required that neither France nor the United States would agree to a separate peace with Great Britain, and that American independence must be a condition of any future peace agreement. These provisions were extraordinary accomplishments for the American negotiators, as they guaranteed that France would be with the United States until the end. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce promoted trade and commercial ties between the two nations, which meant that the Americans would benefit from much-needed funds and munitions of war. French intervention proved to be critical to the success of the American Revolution.

In the interim, however, enmity between Deane and Lee had developed, with Lee charging that Deane had been profiting illegally from the transactions for arms and supplies between France and the U.S. Recalled by Congress as a result of these accusations before the treaties were signed, the news did not reach Paris until the treaties were an accomplished fact. Deane returned to the U.S. in the spring of 1778 expecting to receive reimbursements of monies he had laid out, payments due him from Congress for commissions, and hoping to refute the allegations of misconduct. However, his carelessness in keeping account of his receipts and expenditures complicated both his efforts for payment and exoneration, and his case became a focal point of Congressional bickering in 1778-79. When Congress sought copies of Deane’s receipts and disbursements as a way of establishing facts, France refused to provide them; since France had not officially made an alliance with the U.S. until February 6, 1778, it felt that any such evidence of their prior involvement would be a diplomatic embarrassment. During these troubled times for Deane, his chief defender was John Adams. But despite considerable effort, Deane could not get Congress to settle his accounts nor pay him anything, and his various other schemes to earn money came to naught. In early 1780, frustrated by French lack of cooperation, and personally short of funds, Deane decided he would need to return to France himself to obtain information and settle his accounts as commissioner, expecting this would clear his name and enable him to reverse his desperate financial fortunes.

Deane was not the only object of Lee’s criticism. Lee also fell out with Franklin, of whose lifestyle he much disapproved, and sought to undercut him. But in September 1778, Franklin was named the sole American minister to France, and Lee himself was recalled in 1779. Thus had Lee schemed against both his fellow negotiators.

So Franklin was the sole U.S. envoy in Paris in March 1780 when Deane arrived. Franklin received Deane cordially, gave him his own room at the legation back, and supported his former colleague’s attempts to have his accounts audited and to receive compensation. However, their efforts were not successful. Deane’s friends in France still remembered Deane with affection, and hearing that Deane was broke, sent him funds to live on. But by the end of 1780, Deane’s financial resources were gone. Franklin could provide Deane no official aid; Deane’s biographer, C.H. James writes that Franklin told Deane that he could not advance any U.S. funds to him without authorization from Congress. But the following document proves that Franklin so cared about Deane’s plight that he personally lent Deane money to live on. The money was apparently delivered by Franklin’s grandson, William Temple Franklin, who was with him in France, serving has his secretary.

Autograph document signed in the text by Benjamin Franklin, also signed by Deane, and with an additional autograph note by Deane, Passy district of Paris, December 5, 1780, evidencing a loan from Franklin to Deane. “Borrowed and received of Benjamin Franklin, The Sum of Six Thousand Two Hundred Livres tounois, which I promise to repay on Demand, Witness my hand.” Deane has then signed this I.O.U. in full, “Silas Deane.” To the lower left, he has added a note, “N.B. including the Money receivd. Of W.T. Franklin Esqr. Some time past.” This document is not recorded in “The Papers of Benjamin Franklin” and is the only proof that Franklin lent his own personal funds to Deane. The following year, to avoid any embarrassment to Franklin, Dean moved to Ghent.

Franklin’s trust in Deane was well placed, as Deane was never found guilty of Lee's accusations. However, Deane never did receive the monies due to him. After his death his family pursued his claims, with his granddaughter Philura pressing his case before Congress. Eventually, in 1841, over half a century late, his family was paid $37,000 on the ground that a former audit was "ex parte, erroneous, and a gross injustice to Silas Deane".