The Diplomat Who Built Leverage from Nothing

Quick answer: How did Benjamin Franklin win French support during the American Revolution?

Franklin arrived in France in December 1776 with no army, money, or recognition to bargain with, only his reputation. Over seven years he built relationships one dinner, letter, and bagatelle at a time from his house at Passy, so that when the peace moment came in 1783, he had influence to spend.

Benjamin Franklin arrived in France in December 1776 with nothing a diplomat normally brings to a negotiation. Washington's army was retreating across New Jersey, Congress was printing money that lost value monthly, and no nation recognized the eleven-month-old United States. Franklin was seventy, troubled by gout, and estranged from a son who had chosen the British side. What he carried was a reputation. Paris crowds gathered for his carriage, shops sold medallions of his face, and fashionable women copied his fur cap. For seven years he built relationships, one dinner, one letter, one bagatelle at a time, without knowing exactly what they were for. When the decisive moment came, he had something to spend, and he spent it, then wrote the letter that preserved the friendship, asking for six million livres in the same breath as the apology. In 1783 he signed the treaty that carried America's western boundary to the Mississippi. What looked like patience was construction the whole time.

Why it matters for leaders: The person in the room with the relationships carries more weight than the person with the arguments, so build them before you need them.

Q: What did Jefferson say when asked if he replaced Franklin?

A: “No one can replace him, sir. I am only his successor.”

Q: What did the 1783 Treaty of Paris secure?

A: Among other things, a western boundary for the United States running to the Mississippi River.

Read the full essay on Substack → https://heroespath.substack.com/p/the-diplomat-who-built-leverage-from

By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation