France and its relationship to the United States - Research Paper Example

?Running head: France and its relationship to the United s France and its relationship to the United s Introduction The relationship between France and the United States is one of the long lasting international relations in the world. The relationship dates back to the 16th century. This was the time when French explorers discovered the American land and they collaborated with the early American explorers to discover the landmarks in the continent. America was later colonized by the British and after a series of rivalry disputes with the French, Britain and the French army engaged in a war that led to the defeat of the French. The French were pushed away from North America and they retaliated by providing the American’s army with weapons to fight for their independence. The two nations have been involved in close ties ever since. Just like any other international relationship, the relationship between France and the United States has been challenged by tension and suspicion. Historically, the United States was the one at the receiving end of the relationship. The benefits that France brought to the United States were vast in the initial period of the international relations. As time passed, the relationship became symbiotic and it has been this way to date. In this paper, I will focus on the history of France and its relationship to the United States. France relationship to the US Since early in the 16th century, the French businessmen were interested in the United States since it was a viable export region for raw materials and food stuff. French explorers in the western hemisphere of North America provided information on the best settling areas for the French people and they formed a colonial empire in this region. The French settlements in the United States were in Detroit, St. Louis, Biloxi, New Orleans, Green Bay, Baton Rouge and Mobile. During the colonial period, the French’s main rival in the region was the Great Britain. The two colonial powers engaged in a series of wars against each other to secure land. In the 18th Century, after the defeat of France by the Great Britain in North America, France opted to form an alliance with the United States freedom fighters. France provided the US army with heavy ammunition to fight against the British colonial army. This marked the beginning of the common interests between the two nations. Together they managed to push Great Britain out of North America. The French later sold Louisiana to the US and this strengthened the US economy (Davidson, 2003). During the seven years war between Britain and France, the French coveted the fertile Canadian land, which was controlled by the British. In helping the US defeat Britain, France was hoping that Britain would be weakened to leave Canada too. After the US gained independence on 4th July 1776, France continued supporting the new nation to grow into an economic giant in the region. During this time, France had already undergone an industrial revolution and it mentored the US to undergo a revolution in industrializing. The two nations became close business partners with the US exporting most of its raw materials to France in exchange for machinery that was needed for industrialization. The two nations’ relations were strengthened when the French gave their US counterparts with the statue of liberty. It symbolized their friendship and it gave the French a gate pass to freely migrate to the US. The relationship between the two nations has grown over the years and they have become influential on each other’s economy, politics and culture (Lionel, 2004). In the 20th century, the relationship between the two nations maintained its positive growth. The US helped France to defeat the Nazis who were determined to take over the nation. The two nations were in the pioneering group of nations in many international diplomatic unions like the United Nations, WHO and NATO. As the US gained more power and influence in the world, France began to feel threatened and it formed the European Union, which was aimed at giving France extra power to balance the US influence (Belkin, 2009). In recent happenings, the relation between the two states has faced many challenges. France for instance, declined to give support to the US in its war in Iraq; however, through diplomatic efforts, the two nations are still holding a strong international relationship (Porter, 2012). France Constitution Currently, the constitution in France was approved in 1958 and it was dabbed the Constitution of the Fifth Republic. France Constitution has gone through eight amendments since its adoption (Rogoff, 2010). The constitution provides a comprehensive clause bearing the Declaration of human rights and the rights of French citizens. The constitution states that the nation is led by a president who must form a parliament. It also grants the leaders in the nation special powers. The president is the most powerful person in France since the constitution puts him above the law. The constitution in France has been one of the most politicized and contested document in the nation since the first constitution was drafted. Since 1791, France was ruled under eight different constitutions. This is attributed to the political instability in the nation. Each political dispute that arose led to the drafting of a new constitution until 1875. The different constitutions were developed to change the structure of the government and the values of the social and civic laws in the nation (Rogoff, 1997). The third republic constitution was adopted in 1875 and the Fourth Republic constitution replaced it in 1946 (Hanson, 2010). The current constitution, adopted in 1958, has been one of the longest serving constitutions in France. The current constitution was drafted after the French people felt that the previous constitution was not effective enough since it granted the parliament a central role in decision making in the nation. This led to the formation of numerous coalition governments in the nation that produced dissatisfactory results in economic growth, especially after the post-war decolonization, which drained France its resources. During this period of political instability, the US, which was one of the closest international business partners to France, had gained complete political stability. France felt challenged that its colony was doing better than itself and this influenced the drafting of a new effective Fifth Republic constitution (Rogoff, 1997). One of the greatest strengths of the current constitution in France is that it has produced a strong president who is the final decision maker. Initially, the president was elected indirectly by the members of parliament who had been vested with a lot of power. This fueled a political environment full of ideological crisis. The Fifth Republic Constitution was later amended and the president is directly elected and the power vested in him is above the law. The Fifth Republic Constitution clearly spells out and limits the power of the parliament. The executive is in charge of making the laws in France. The constitution is effectively balanced in a mixed form of government that incorporates a very strong president and a working legislature (Rogoff, 1997). The incorporation of the legislature in the government ensures that the views of the French people are adequately represented in the government’s decision making. Following the stabilization of the political environment by the Fifth Republic Constitution, the nation’s international relations with the US have become tighter. Political stability is one of the requirements led to an increase in foreign investment from investors in the US. Political History The political arena in France was filled with dramatic crisis since the 19th century. The political parties that have been in existence were constantly arguing with their rivals about national decisions and development ideas. This was particularly fueled by the lack of a comprehensively effective constitution (Forbes, 2008). France has had many constitutions in the past, whose main aim was to change the structure of the government and the power in the various arms of the government. Traditionally, France has been ruled by an all powerful parliament which played a major role in decision making in the Nation. In the 20th century, the political scene in France was divided into three categories, the Anarchists in the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the Revolutionaries in the French Section of the Workers’ International (SFIO) and the Reformists in the Republican Party and the Radical Parties. After 1918, the anarchist in the French political scene lost popularity and most of the members of the CGT defected to other parties. The rest of the political players kept shifting from one party to the other as they disagreed with their parties’ ideas. The multi party nature of France allowed the formation of many political parties, which would gain popularity depending on their influence in national decision making. Due to the constitutional provisions in the history of France politics, the nation has been mostly ruled by coalition parties. The parties in power have to corporate in the running of the government to ensure that they deliver economic growth for the nation. In the 19th and 20th century, France coalition government had been involved in endless struggles as partnering parties usually disagreed on important ideas. The effect of this was the drafting of many different constitutions that would not last. It is quite astonishing that France had colonies in America and it helped the US gain its independence from the Great Britain, but it has been left behind by the US in terms of economic performance and political stability. This is solely attributed to political foul play among the leaders in government over the years. Their constant disagreements have acted as discouraging factors for investors since the different coalition governments kept changing the foreign investment policies. In the 1960s, France was still struggling to recover from the Socio-economic crisis that was caused by the World War II and the Cold War, while the US was growing fast (Footitt, 2011). France found itself depending on its friendship with the US for industrial raw materials supply. As France went on struggling with political scandals, the US economy was surging forward; consequently, the relations between the two nations was overturned from symbiosis to dependence whereby France economy was dependent on trade with the US. Contemporary political events During the World War II, PCF, the communist party in France was very influential in the fight against the Nazis and the party gained popularity among the French people. The party formed a coalition with Charles de Gaulle’s government but it was later kicked out of the government when the U.S. dictated that they did not want to be associated with a communist government. Gaulle’s government had no choice but to oblige with the US demands since it needed support in the Marshall Plan. The communists later won the elections and they took over the government till late in the 1960s when their influence died off and the socialists took over. The supporters of the PCF party shifted to the Socialists party and this killed the communist party. The US was particularly happy about this since the US government was a strong advocate for the end of Communism. Some political analysts attribute the end of communism in France to the defeat of the Soviet Union but in real sense, communism was killed by the failure of the PCF party to create influence among the people and the development of the exciting Socialist Party (Evans & Godin, 2005). Conclusion France has had a very rough political history that has hindered quick economic growth for several centuries. While the nation had colonized parts of the US, it was later overtaken by the US both politically and economically in terms of stability. The political crisis that the French government has suffered over the years can be attributed to the numerous ineffective constitutions that were previously in action. The relations between the two nations have been in the international business and in diplomacy matters. It all started with France assisting the US in the fight for independence then France sold out the Louisiana territory to the US. France influenced the US revolution in industrialization. US has exercised a strong influence in the contemporary political events like the elimination of the communist movement in France during the World War II. Despite the many challenges that the relations between the two nations have undergone, they still hold strong ties between them. References Belkin, P. (2009). France: Factors Shaping Foreign Policy, and Issues in U.S.-French Relations: RL32464. Congressional Research Service, 1(1), 1- 27. Davidson, R. (2003). France has changed, but American Influence Still evident. The Business Journal. Retrieved from: http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2003/11/17/editorial2.html?page=all Evans, M. & Godin, E. (2005). The Great Fear Of 1947: Could France Have Gone Communist? History today, 55(1), 21-27. Footitt, H. (2011). American forces in France: Communist representations of US deployment. Cold War History, 11(1), 85-98. Forbes, A.W. (2008). The Lithographic Conspiracy: How Satire Framed Liberal Political Debate in Nineteenth-Century France. French Politics, Culture and Society, 26(2), 16-50. Hanson, S.E. (2010). The Founding of the French Third Republic. Comparative Political Studies, 43(8), 1023-1058. Lionel, J. (2004). The Relationship between France and the United States: Reflections for an American Audience. French Politics, Culture and Society, 22(2), 118-126. Porter, K. (2012). The relationship of the United States with France. About.com. Retrieved from: http://usforeignpolicy.about.com/od/countryprofil2/p/usfrance.htm Rogoff, M.A. (1997). A Comparison of Constitutionalism in France and the United States. Maine Law Review, 49(29), 22-83. Rogoff, M.A. (2010). French Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials. Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press. Read More