Papers of John Adams, volume 6

Richard Grinnell to the Commissioners

To William MacCreery

To William Heath, 10 July 1778 JA Heath, William

1778-07-10

To William Heath, 10 July 1778 Adams, John Heath, William
To William Heath

Passy, 10 July 1778. printed: JA, Diary and Autobiography , 4:156–158. Adams reported the arrival on 8 July of the ratified Franco-American treaties, which were seen as fresh evidence of the increasing isolation of Great Britain and of the unlikelihood of the formation of a coalition of powers against America. He predicted that even Spain would soon join Britain's open enemies and declared that the British government had but one wise choice—to make a treaty with the United States on the order of France's with America. Adams believed, however, that Britain would remain blind to the need for a new policy and would decline to a second-rate power.

printed: (JA, Diary and Autobiography , 4:156–158).