I was always fascinated by the key role France played in the US victory, which tends to get downplayed by the "Murrica!" crowd.
And, ironically, French support of the US helped establish the conditions that contributed to its own decline including kicking off their own revolution, as well as helping to establish Canada in its present form through the need to abandon New France to its fate.
France's direct help was a major and decisive contribution towards the United States' eventual victory and independence in the war. However, as a cost of participation in the war, France accumulated over 1 billion livres in debt, which significantly strained the nation's finances. The French government's failure to control spending (in combination with other factors) led to unrest in the nation, which eventually culminated in a revolution a few years after the conflict between the US and Great Britain concluded. Relations between France and the United States thereafter deteriorated, leading to the Quasi-War in 1798.
en.wikipedia.org
