--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The war, like all wars, was proving more…" description: "\"“The war, like all wars, was proving more expensive for the Bourbons than planned. Since the alliance, France had advanced to the Americans over 100 mi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_american-war_the-war-like-all-wars-was-proving-more-e_2061701.jpg" --- # The war, like all wars, was proving more expensive for the… ![“The war, like all wars, was proving more expensive for the Bourbons than planned. Since the alliance, France had advanced to the Americans over 100 million livres, about $25 million, in loans, supplies and gifts, and before it was over the cost of the American war for France would amount, by some…” quote by Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_american-war_the-war-like-all-wars-was-proving-more-e_2061701.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_american-war_the-war-like-all-wars-was-proving-more-e_2061701.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_american-war_the-war-like-all-wars-was-proving-more-e_2061701.jpg) > ““The war, like all wars, was proving more expensive for the Bourbons than planned. Since the alliance, France had advanced to the Americans over 100 million livres, about $25 million, in loans, supplies and gifts, and before it was over the cost of the American war for France would amount, by some estimates, to 1.5 billion livres, a historic sum that was virtually to bankrupt the French national budget and require the summoning of the Estates General in 1789 that led to the arrest of the King and the sequence of eruptions that became the French Revolution.”” [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. France’s financial strain from supporting the American Revolution nearly bankrupted the monarchy, prompting fiscal crisis and political upheaval. **In simple terms:** French war costs caused a fiscal crisis leading to revolution. Key Takeaway Recognize how war expenses can destabilize governments. Themes war economics politics revolution finance Mood anxious reflective historical Type historical analytical educational When to use this quote - budget planning - military aid - tax policy - revolutionary movements Key Concepts Fiscal burden state bankruptcy political instability Questions to Reflect On - How did other factors besides debt contribute to the French Revolution? - Can a nation recover from such massive war expenditures? A Different Perspective The quote may overstate the direct causal link between the war debt and the Estates General summons. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-war/) [Cost American](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost-american-3087526/) [French revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/french-revolution/) [Million Livres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/million-livres-3935699/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-france-1137344/) ## Related quotes > [Chinese economic development has cost many American workers their jobs. That's the price of progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/chinese-economic-development-has-cost-many-american-workers-their/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“So it might be speculated that the British exported their dissidents and so suffered their revolution three thousand miles away from home in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-c-w-blanning/so-it-might-be-speculated-that-the-british-exported-their-dissidents/) [Timothy C.W. Blanning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-c-w-blanning/) > [“They knew all about the war with France from Papa’s magazines. But whenever they tried to imagine what a war was actually like, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/they-knew-all-about-the-war-with-france-from-papa-s-magazines-but/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-schwarzkopf/going-to-war-without-france-is-like-going-hunting-without-an-accordion/) [Norman Schwarzkopf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-schwarzkopf/) > [You know frankly, going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless noisy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-babbin/you-know-frankly-going-to-war-without-france-is-like-going-deer/) [Jed Babbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-babbin/) > [Islamist terrorism has declared war against us, against France, Europe, the entire world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-hollande/islamist-terrorism-has-declared-war-against-us-against-france-europe/) [Francois Hollande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-hollande/) > [Useful as a war against France, undertaken by the Government against the will of the people would be for our revolutionary development, just so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-lassalle/useful-as-a-war-against-france-undertaken-by-the-government-against/) [Ferdinand Lassalle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-lassalle/) > [I studied history at university, so I'm always quite fascinated by the Second World War and France. That's one of my interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-wilson/i-studied-history-at-university-so-i-m-always-quite-fascinated-by-the/) [Ruth Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-wilson/) > [Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gen-h-norman-schwartzkopf/going-to-war-without-france-is-like-going-deer-hunting-without-your/) [Gen H Norman Schwartzkopf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gen-h-norman-schwartzkopf/) > [After World War I, while France and other Allies were building military defenses modeled on trench warfare, German commanders were shaping a nimble fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/after-world-war-i-while-france-and-other-allies-were-building/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [Only in a popular war against France... do I see a misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-lassalle/only-in-a-popular-war-against-france-do-i-see-a-misfortune/) [Ferdinand Lassalle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-lassalle/) > [“She retired early and, consequently, was in ignorance of the receipt of a telegram by Sylvanus Starr announcing the return of Andy P. Symes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lockhart/she-retired-early-and-consequently-was-in-ignorance-of-the-receipt-of/) [Caroline Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lockhart/) > [“She liked a very particular kind of plot: the sort where the pirate kidnaps some virgin damsel, rapes her into loving him, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-peeler/she-liked-a-very-particular-kind-of-plot-the-sort-where-the-pirate/) [Nicole Peeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-peeler/) > [“It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic than the view that political officials should not debate American wars in public, but only express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-more-undemocratic-than-the-view/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/but-what-do-we-mean-by-the-american-revolution-do-we-mean-the/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) ## More by Barbara W. Tuchman > [“The world remembers the battle ever since by the taxis. A hundred of them were already in the service of the Military Government of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/the-world-remembers-the-battle-ever-since-by-the-taxis-a-hundred-of/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“The cutting off of Russia with all its consequences, the vain and sanguinary tragedy of Gallipoli, the diversion of Allied strength in the campaigns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/the-cutting-off-of-russia-with-all-its-consequences-the-vain-and/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“In the Hundred Years’ War that dragged France and England through the 14th century, both sides would have liked to quit but could not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/in-the-hundred-years-war-that-dragged-france-and-england-through-the/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“The occasions when an individual is able to harness a nation are memorable, and Grey’s speech proved to be one of those junctures by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/the-occasions-when-an-individual-is-able-to-harness-a-nation-are/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Wherever the Reformation took hold the Bible replaced the Pope as the final spiritual authority.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/wherever-the-reformation-took-hold-the-bible-replaced-the-pope-as-the/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Inevitably, as hatred of monarchy was added to hatred of episcopacy, they were led to republicanism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/inevitably-as-hatred-of-monarchy-was-added-to-hatred-of-episcopacy/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“This country is indeed in a melancholy situation; sunk in ease, devoted to the pursuits of gain, incumbered with a complicated and perplexed constitution,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/this-country-is-indeed-in-a-melancholy-situation-sunk-in-ease-devoted/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Disaster is rarely as pervasive as it seems from recorded accounts. The fact of being on the record makes it appear continuous and ubiquitous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/disaster-is-rarely-as-pervasive-as-it-seems-from-recorded-accounts/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Persian poet said, the rose blooms reddest where some buried Caesar bled. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/persian-poet-said-the-rose-blooms-reddest-where-some-buried-caesar/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Cromwell. The door was flung open. In stalked the Protector, disgusted once more with the inability of human weaklings to come to the point,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/cromwell-the-door-was-flung-open-in-stalked-the-protector-disgusted/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Not a passing phenomenon nor an external force, the companies had become a way of life, a part of society itself, used and joined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/not-a-passing-phenomenon-nor-an-external-force-the-companies-had/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Guides were Franciscan monks, sole custodians of the holy places after 1230, who recited the history and traditions associated with each town or monument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/guides-were-franciscan-monks-sole-custodians-of-the-holy-places-after/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Although the defects of the Russian Army were notorious, although the Russian winter, not the Russian Army, had turned Napoleon back from Moscow, although…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/although-the-defects-of-the-russian-army-were-notorious-although-the/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Had all the world been a school and Wilson its principal, he would have been the greatest statesman in history.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/had-all-the-world-been-a-school-and-wilson-its-principal-he-would/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) > [“Have we,” he wondered, “conceived a merely human project and then imagined it to be a decree of the Almighty?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/have-we-he-wondered-conceived-a-merely-human-project-and-then/) [Barbara W. Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) [Explore all 82 Barbara W. Tuchman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/) ## More American war quotes > [But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/but-what-do-we-mean-by-the-american-revolution-do-we-mean-the/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [“It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic than the view that political officials should not debate American wars in public, but only express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-more-undemocratic-than-the-view/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“She liked a very particular kind of plot: the sort where the pirate kidnaps some virgin damsel, rapes her into loving him, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-peeler/she-liked-a-very-particular-kind-of-plot-the-sort-where-the-pirate/) [Nicole Peeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-peeler/) > [“She retired early and, consequently, was in ignorance of the receipt of a telegram by Sylvanus Starr announcing the return of Andy P. Symes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-lockhart/she-retired-early-and-consequently-was-in-ignorance-of-the-receipt-of/) [Caroline Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-lockhart/) > [WASHINGTON - Ever since President Obama ordered American warplanes to begin bombing terrorist targets in Iraq and Syria last year, members of Congress have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-baker/washington-ever-since-president-obama-ordered-american-warplanes-to/) [Peter Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-baker/) > [“Southerner Tom Watson, a populist Jeffersonian from Georgia, faced potential prosecution under the law because his newspaper often opposed Wilson’s war aims and policies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brion-t-mcclanahan/southerner-tom-watson-a-populist-jeffersonian-from-georgia-faced/) [Brion T. McClanahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brion-t-mcclanahan/) > [In retrospect, the political and cultural climate in the early '60s seems both a time of innocence and also like a sultry, still summer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/in-retrospect-the-political-and-cultural-climate-in-the-early-60s/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [“It is always a fashion to advise disputants to sit round a table and solve disputes by dialogue and discussion, and not to resort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/v-navaratnam/it-is-always-a-fashion-to-advise-disputants-to-sit-round-a-table-and/) [V. Navaratnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/v-navaratnam/) > [“This giant fleet of American warships – a modern armada – churns across the ocean day and night for a journey of four thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bradley/this-giant-fleet-of-american-warships-a-modern-armada-churns-across/) [James Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bradley/) > [When this war is over, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-halsey/when-this-war-is-over-the-japanese-language-will-be-spoken-only-in/) [William Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-halsey/) > [I have been a gigantic Rolling Stones fan since approximately the Spanish-American War.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/i-have-been-a-gigantic-rolling-stones-fan-since-approximately-the/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt has been described as founder of the Bull Moose Party, the man who led his troops up San Juan Hill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/u-s-president-theodore-roosevelt-has-been-described-as-founder-of-the/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [All of a sudden, making a Spanish-American War joke. I think you sort of had to go to probably to an American high school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mandel/all-of-a-sudden-making-a-spanish-american-war-joke-i-think-you-sort/) [David Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mandel/) > [“Thus, in that inevitable taking of sides which comes from selection and emphasis in history, I prefer to try to tell the story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/thus-in-that-inevitable-taking-of-sides-which-comes-from-selection/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [As always, there was an all-American war hero look to him, coded in his tousled brown hair, his summer-narrowed hazel eyes, the straight nose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/as-always-there-was-an-all-american-war-hero-look-to-him-coded-in-his/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) [Browse all 83 American war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The war, like all wars, was proving more expensive for the Bourbons than planned. Since the alliance, France had advanced to the Americans over 100 million livres, about $25 million, in loans, supplies and gifts, and before it was over the cost of the American war for France would amount, by some estimates, to 1.5 billion livres, a historic sum that was virtually to bankrupt the French national budget and require the summoning of the Estates General in 1789 that led to the arrest of the King and the sequence of eruptions that became the French Revolution.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara W. Tuchman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/the-war-like-all-wars-was-proving-more-expensive-for-the-bourbons/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American war" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/the-war-like-all-wars-was-proving-more-expensive-for-the-bourbons/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_american-war_the-war-like-all-wars-was-proving-more-e_2061701.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_american-war_the-war-like-all-wars-was-proving-more-e_2061701.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7d/barbara-w-tuchman-8258_american-war_the-war-like-all-wars-was-proving-more-e_2061701.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The war, like all wars, was proving more expensive for the Bourbons than planned. Since the alliance, France…” — Barbara W. Tuchman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Barbara W. Tuchman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-w-tuchman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The war, like all wars, was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/the-war-like-all-wars-was-proving-more-expensive-for-the-bourbons/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-w-tuchman/the-war-like-all-wars-was-proving-more-expensive-for-the-bourbons/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```