America First? History Says Otherwise.

The United States did not fight, finance, or win the Revolution alone. As modern alliances come under strain, the nation’s founding story deserves a fuller—and humbler—telling.

President Trump has made abundantly clear his attitude towards alliances, especially NATO. At best, his approach is transactional. More often, it is dismissive or even contemptuous. Leaving NATO would require Congressional action; “quiet quitting” seems to be his workaround.

Recently, he has cancelled scheduled troop deployments to Europe and drastically scaled back the forces earmarked for NATO in the event of a crisis. Often such cuts are described by the administration as pressure on NATO countries to increase their own defense commitments, certainly a reasonable goal. More obviously, however, they are consistent with the President’s autocratic instinct for retribution against those who offend him. They are not the result of reasoned and deliberate assessment. The deployment of an Army brigade, for example, was cancelled after troop movement was already underway. The inability of Defense Department and Army officials to explain the cancellation leaves no doubt as to who made the decision and how much thought was behind it. In recent weeks, the proximate cause of the President’s retribution has been the reluctance of NATO countries to support the dog’s breakfast that is his war against Iran.

But President Trump is also deeply interested in celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States in grand style, including a triumphal arch, a sculpture garden, and a religious rally, among other ideas, again in accordance with his “America First” autocratic handbook. As he pursues his goal of a grand celebration, he would do well to reflect on where we might be without the support of Europeans 250 years ago.

Colonists alone did not win the American Revolution. In particular, three extraordinary Europeans made vital contributions. The Marquis de Lafayette, Baron Friedrich von Steuben, and Thaddeus Kościuszko each brought irreplaceable skills to the Continental Army at moments of desperate need. Without them, the experiment in liberty that became the United States might well have collapsed before it could take root.

The Marquis de Lafayette offered youth, passion, political weight, and personal courage. He arrived in 1777 at just nineteen years old, having spent his own fortune to fund his passage. George Washington, initially skeptical of yet another foreign volunteer seeking a prestigious rank, quickly recognized in Lafayette something rare: a man who genuinely wanted to serve rather than to be honored. Lafayette proved himself at the Battle of Brandywine, where he was wounded but rallied, retreating troops before an injury forced him from the field. His value extended far beyond individual battles. As a French nobleman, his advocacy in Paris was a significant factor in France’s decision to formally ally with the United States in 1778, a partnership that ultimately tipped the scales of the entire war. Absent French naval power and financial support, the decisive siege of Yorktown in 1781 would not have been possible. Without Lafayette, we might not be having a 250th birthday celebration.

Baron Friedrich Von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge in February 1778 and found an army on the verge of disintegration. Soldiers lacked proper equipment and had never been drilled with any consistency. Basic battlefield maneuvers were performed, if at all, in a chaotic patchwork of styles. Von Steuben, a highly experienced Prussian officer, recognized the problem immediately and set about solving it with remarkable creativity. He wrote a drill manual that standardized training across the entire army. By spring, the Continental Army could execute complex tactical maneuvers under fire. Von Steuben did not merely train soldiers; he built a professional fighting force from near ruin. The announcer at West Point still invokes Von Steuben’s name and example at every parade.

Thaddeus Kościuszko, a Polish officer, brought yet another essential expertise: military engineering. His first major contribution came at Saratoga in 1777, where he selected and fortified high ground that forced British General Burgoyne into a catastrophic tactical position. The resulting American victory was arguably the turning point of the Revolution, persuading France to enter the war as a formal ally. Kościuszko later fortified West Point so effectively that it became the most strategically secure position in North America and denied the use of the Hudson River to the British. During the Southern Campaign, he guided the Continental Army’s famous retreat across North Carolina, choosing river crossings and routes that kept the army intact and ultimately exhausted British pursuit. He was a quiet, methodical genius whose gift for using terrain as a weapon repeatedly saved American forces.

Together, these three men represent an often-underappreciated truth about the American Revolution: it was an international achievement. Lafayette gave it alliance and leadership, Von Steuben gave its army discipline, and Kościuszko gave it the fortifications and strategy to survive its darkest moments. They came from different nations, spoke different languages, and brought different skills — but they shared a belief in the cause of liberty. The United States owes its founding, in no small measure, to the men who were not yet Americans.

Of course, strategic decisions today are not made because of sentimentality or gratitude for services rendered 250 years ago. But European support has been vital in almost every US conflict since the Revolution (Vietnam excepted). As he prepares to celebrate America’s birthday, President Trump might do well to consider that it has not come to pass because of America Alone.

Michael Eiland is a retired Army officer. He is a member of The Steady State

Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 400 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines, including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs, and law, we advocate for constitutional democracy, the rule of law, and the preservation of America’s national security institutions.