Political Connection Quotes
Beaumarchais had loaned the Americans ½ million French Livres. However, Beaumarchais served the French King Louis XVI as a spy and advisor on foreign affairs. The money had been secretly provided by the French government to help the American cause while still being able to officially deny to England that they were in any way involved in the rebellion. The American agent, Silas Dean, who arranged for the money saw through the ruse. See {624187} regarding the transaction. It was the first material aid that the French provided. Much more followed without which the American Revolution might never have been successful.
This is an important quotation because it shows that slavery was the principle reason that the South succeeded and began their rebellion. In the early 20th century, there was a movement to make the Confederacy and the rebellion more noble by promoting the idea that the Civil War was fought by the South for more lofty reasons such as States Rights, Original Construction, different economic philosophies and the like. This was a more noble cause then the right to deny other human beings their rights, to own other human beings who they could beat, torture, sexually use and even murder them was a pretty selfish and demeaning reason to have started a rebellion that would then cost more Americans their lives than any other American conflict. The succession documents and others of the Southern States and the Confederacy make it clear that slavery was THE issue and fleeting references to any of the others were only made to complain about the potential effect on abolition and the refusal of the abolitionist states to cease aiding and protecting fugitive slaves.
