A teenage noble joins the American cause
Lafayette sailed to America as a young aristocrat to fight for independence and became Washington's protégé. His volunteer service made him a transatlantic hero.
Lafayette
4 ideas
Liberty as a lifelong cause
He championed the same Enlightenment ideals of liberty in America and later in France. His politics were an application of one consistent principle.
The bridge between two revolutions
Lafayette personally embodied the transatlantic spread of revolutionary liberty. His life links the American and French upheavals into one story.
Moderate idealism amid turbulence
His moderate liberalism made him a hero in America but a target in radical revolutionary France. Principled centrism proved dangerous in extreme times.