Marquis de Lafayette

1
Marquis de Lafayette

• By age 19, the Marquis de Lafayette was one
  of the wealthiest nobles in France. Lafayette
  sailed to America with his own small army to help
  America. He won the affection of George
  Washington, and eventually became a hero of the
  Revolution. Here he describes his decision to go
  to America.

• Never before had such a glorious cause
  attracted the attention of mankind it was the
  final struggle of liberty. . .either that great
  work would be accomplished, or the rights of
  humanity would be lost beneath its ruins. . . At
  the same time the destinies of France and her
  rival were both to be decided. . .What if she
  reunited herself with those thirteen colonies?
  That would have been the end of our Antilles, our
  possessions in Africa and Asia, of our maritime
  commerce, and consequently or our navy, and
  ultimately of our political existence. When I
  first learned of that quarrel, my heart was
  enlisted.

2
Benjamin Franklin in France

• No American played a greater role in
  convincing the French court to help the Americans
  than Benjamin Franklin. Even before he arrived,
  Franklins scientific discoveries, like the
  lighting pole, qualified him as a philosophe of
  the Enlightenment. Franklin understood that the
  French imagined America as a land of simplicity,
  a place free of aristocratic pretensions. Notice
  what he wears that impresses the French writer
  who met him at court.

• He appeared at the court of Versailles in the
  clothing of an American farmer. His unpowdered
  hair, his round fur hat, and the simple brown
  cloth of his outfit contrasted with the sequins
  and embroidery, the powdered wigs, and the heavy
  perfume of the courtiers. . . . He was a novelty
  who charmed all the French ladies at court. They
  gave elegant parties in honor of the renowned . .
  apostle of liberty. I attended one of these
  parties, where the most beautiful of 300 ladies
  were assigned the role of placing a crown of
  laurels on the head of the American philosopher.
  In front of the kings own eyes, people were
  wearing medallions that said He charmed from the
  sky the lightening, and the scepter from the
  tyrants.

3
America An ideal society

• In a letter to his wife, Lafayette wrote
  Simplicity of manners, patriotism, and a love of
  liberty - a gentle equality exists here among
  everyone. What enchants me about America is that
  all citizens are brothers. There are no poor
  people in America. All the citizens have equal
  rights.

• Some of the French who arrived in America
  were charmed by the Americans. Here is what some
  of them said. What do these impressions say
  about the writers opinion of its own society?

• A French soldier taken to a dance with New
  England girls wrote The simple innocence of the
  Garden of Eden prevailed.