Men are very apt to run into extremes. Hatred of England may carry some into an excess of confidence in France, especially when motives of gratitude are thrown into the scale. Men of this description would be unwilling to suppose France capable of acting so ungenerous a part. I am heartily disposed to entertain the most favorable sentiments of our new ally and to cherish them in others to a reasonable degree. But it is a maxim founded on the universal experience of mankind that no nation is to be trusted further than it is bound by its own interest; and no prudent states man or politician will venture to depart from it. — george washington. Could the Americans have achieved their independence Single-handed? Fortunately, Great Britain had aroused the jealousy and the opposition of the three great powers of western Europe: France, Spain, and the Netherlands. France came to the aid of the Americans directly and the other two indirectly. All three assisted, however, not so much because of sympathy for the rebels in the English colonies as because of their united hatred of England.