In 1869, President Grant nominated his old friend Elihu Washburne as secretary of state and then as minister to France. Washburne presented his credentials to Napoleon III and was present in 1870 for the Franco-German War. Following the war with the Germans, the people of Paris rose up in revolt and proclaimed a leftist commune. The poor response of the French government to feed the people of Paris after the peace treaty contributed to the political turmoil. This sixth volume explores the life of the American minister to France, Elihu Washburne, during the years following the Franco-German War and Paris Commune as the French government and people tried to rebuild their country following those dramatic events.