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 It's Bastille Day!


On this day in 1789, Parisian revolutionaries and mutinous troops stormed and dismantled the Bastille, a royal fortress and prison that had come to symbolize the tyranny of the Bourbon monarchs.

Americans debated whether to support this revolution. After all, France gave us essential aid during our own revolution, and there was even a treaty of alliance. However, that treaty was with the monarchy which had been overthrown, plus we could not afford a foreign war. As the excesses of the Reign of Terror became known, Washington's policy of non-intervention received more support. (Except for Jefferson and his followers.)

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