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Shop now. This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories. George Washington didn't have any biological children, but he did have adopted sons and spoke very highly of a particular Frenchman who helped America win its independence. Just take his own words for it. Quote, Marquis de Lafayette is a young man of great worth and abilities.
I love him as if he were my own son. End quote. The odd thing is, it took years for this man Washington regarded in such high esteem to return to the country he shed blood for. Here's Ryan Cole, author of The Last Ado, with the story of General Lafayette's triumphant return to the United States. Mm-hmm.
On a warm spring day in 1817, James Monroe took the oath of office, and for the last time in America's history, one of its revolutionary generation became president. Thus began the era of good feelings. The moniker is not entirely accurate. Since independence, The size of America had doubled. The number of its people had tripled.
Thirteen colonies clustered around the Atlantic were now 24 states reaching the Mississippi River with designs on the Pacific coast. The steam engine, Thomas Gilpin's papermaking machine, the publication of over 600 newspapers, and the federal government's expansive postal system. Reduce distances, sped the flow of goods, and the dissemination of information. But a financial downturn in 1819 leveled the American economy and spread misery far and wide across the landscape. The westward drift of slavery provoked a sectional crisis.
In the presidential election of 1824, a contest between four candidates, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, William Crawford, And Andrew Jackson. It was fought so bitterly among partisans and litigated with such venom in the press, some commentators wondered if it might lead to the Union's demise. In the middle of this change and worry, the American people Found comfort. In a stalter. They look backwards to their revolution.
The approach of the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1826 was accompanied by fresh curiosity in the era from which it had originated. New histories were published, engraved copies of the Declaration were marketed. In recently established states, communities were named for heroes of the revolution long gone. while a national veneration rose for those who still lived. Only five men who had signed the Declaration remain.
John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, William Floyd, and Charles Thompson, who had signed the first printing of the document. When Floyd died in August of 1821, A national mourning followed. And thus another patriot of the revolution is gone. Read the headline of one obituary. Revolutionary veterans remained, but their numbers thinned regularly.
With the passing of each old soldier, headlines cried. Another hero gone. One great hero who was in a sense gone still lived. He had not set foot on American soil in forty years. Cruelly, He had never seen the nation his sacrifices had helped create transformed.
His name was Gilbert de Montier, the Marquis de Lafayette, or as Americans called him, with great affection, General Lafayette. Lafayette had his own reasons to look back longingly on America's war for independence. As an inexperienced soldier, he had grown into a major general. It helped a people he had never met and a country he had never seen win its freedom. His service began with a bullet through the leg at the Battle of Brandywine.
concluded with the siege of Yorktown. In between, he had become dear to the Commander-in-Chief, George Washington, Earn the trust of the American people. and helped win crucial French support for the rebels' war effort. After Cornwallis's surrender, Lafayette reached home at the beginning of 1782 a hero. A decade later, he was burned in effigy in Paris.
and then languished in an Austrian prison with his wife and daughters. a hero turned casualty of France's tumultuous revolution. When he was at last freed in seventeen ninety seven, and returned home to his native country two years later. It was with the condition stipulated by Napoleon Bonaparte that it remain away from Paris and out of public life. When a national memorial service was held in Paris for George Washington, Lafayette was not invited.
With the second restoration of the Bourbon monarchy, Lafayette re-emerged. Want a seat in the lower house of parliament, the chamber of deputies. and fought to reestablish the rights won during the Revolution. Progress met with reaction when old revolutionaries were elected to office. and violent Carbonari plots to overthrow the government in which Lafayette took part were foiled.
In February of 1825, he was voted out of the chamber. There he sat at Lagrange. in poor health, in debt. politically despondent. seeking comfort in thoughts of America.
And as it turned out, he was on Americans' minds too. Tender letters which she exchanged with fellow veterans of the Revolution. She expressed hope to one day return to the U. S. in order to embrace them again.
were shared with newspapers and printed widely. Rumors spreading Excitement grew. General Lafayette wished to make one last voyage across the Atlantic. Congress took the initiative and passed a resolution of invitation for Lafayette to visit America and offer the use of a national ship to bring him here. He accepted the invitation, but refused the ship.
Like he had done in seventeen seventy seven, he would find his own way to America. Of course, now he had no money to buy an outfit or vessel.
So instead, on July 13th, 1824, He gathered up his son, George Washington Lafayette. A newly hired secretary named Auguste Lavasseur, as well as his valet. and set sail on the packet ship Kapnis, the use of which was offered by its captain free of charge. After a month at sea, on July 15th, the ship appeared off of Staten Island. where Loffi was received by the Vice President, Daniel Tompkins.
Standing on the portico of Tompkins' house, as crowds gathered around, Lafayette took note of a brilliant rainbow. A sign, he said, of happy omens.
Now Lafayette's energetic optimism was well known. Here it was well placed.
So the 15th was a Sunday, and many states and localities forbid travel on the Sabbath.
So it was not until the following Monday that Lafayette, the center of a flotilla of steamboats, reached Manhattan. When he disembarked at Castle Garden on the battery, The greatest tour in American history was underway. and thirteen of the happiest months you would ever know began. On the way to City Hall, bells rang, flags fluttered, women waved and tossed handkerchiefs, while men shouted themselves hoarse.
So overcome with the sight of the old hero, some men rushed to His carriage and attempted to unhook its horses so they could transport Lafayette the rest of the way to City Hall themselves. Once he reached City Hall, citizens, affluent, impoverished, black, white, young, old, waited to shake his hand, all agreed with the sentiments of one American who said to the general, I am one of the ten million individuals who owe you the happiness of liberty. From New York, it was on to Boston. On the road which led along Long Island Sound and into Rhode Island, businesses were closed in anticipation of Lafayette's arrival. If his route did not run through their communities, New Englanders rushed to ones where it did.
If he departed before they arrived, those travelers embarked for the next town in hot pursuit. The line of admirers following it grew so large The cloud of dust it kicked up into the air could be seen for miles on the horizon and choked everyone in its wake. Even the horses pulling Lafayette were reminded of the weight and honor of their task. While a new carriage was being equipped in a Connecticut town, its driver admonished one of his horses. Behave pretty now, Charlie.
You're going to carry the greatest man in the world. It consumed the country.
so much so it inspired a flowering of entrepreneurialism. Capitalists created an American spot: boots, Lafayette boots, badges, umbrellas, hats, sashes, watch chains, gloves, pitchers, plates. Even in Lexington, Kentucky, a Lafayette jacket. For men. That Taylor claimed was dust resistant.
I can't confirm that. Mm-hmm. And indeed, the excitement over Lafayette's return quickly eclipsed the bitter presidential election that was underway when he arrived. Sure, newspaper editors and the readers were far more interested in Lafayette than Adams, Clay, Crawford, and Jackson. but Lafayette himself observed a national reconciliation of sorts.
and the grand celebration of the past. He wrote that. I have the satisfaction of thinking that my presence has had a great reconciliatory effect between the two parties. Men who have not spoken to each other for over 20 years are brought together and mutually invited to celebrate us. All because, in his words, memories of the revolution have come back to life.
And you've been listening to Ryan Cole, author of The Last to Do. Tracing the story of General Lafayette's return to the United States as we were embarked on the celebration of our 50th. Anniversary, that one citizen said it best. I am one of the ten million citizens. who owes you my liberty.
When we come back, more of the story of General Lafayette's triumphant return to the United States. Here on Our American Stories. People And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show. Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this?
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This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. All right, two truths and a lie. Here we go. I went to college with college football coach Jim McElwain. I began my broadcasting career doing play-by-play for the Las Vegas Stars, and I've been a Verizon customer for 15 years.
Okay, I lied. All three are true. A Verizon isn't as expensive as you think. In fact, if you bring in your ATT or T-Mobile bill, To a Verizon store, they'll give you a better deal. That's right, a better deal on the best network with the most ways to save on plans, streaming, and phone deals.
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Their drawings sparked a wild idea. Brought to life by a Hollywood director, a stunt team, and the SUV that makes the unthinkable unforgettable. No tricks, just V6 power, practical effects, and the rugged new Pathfinder. Watch how it all came together and discover why JD Power ranks Nissan number one in new vehicle quality among mainstream brands. For JD Power 2025 U.S.
Initial Quality Study Award information, visit jdpower.com slash awards. Awards based on 2025 model year. Newer models may be shown. And we continue with our American stories and the story of General Lafayette's triumphant return to the United States. Telling the story is Ryan Cole.
Author of The Last to Do. Let's return to the story. May America grow old and Europe young. A toast offered days later when Lafayette visited Harvard. But the first generation of Americans, like Lafayette, had grown old.
In the fall he traveled to Monticello. When Lafayette's carriage reached the summit of Carter's Mountain and he stepped down, Jefferson stepped off his porch, and the old men walked shakily towards each other, embracing and crying. Lafayette made his return to Mount Vernon. We stepped into the crypt. and reappeared with tears running down his face.
Journalists, taking perhaps a touch of poetic license, claim that a bald eagle hovered overhead during the visit. During his stay in Boston, Lafayette traveled to Quincy to dine with John Adams, who shrugged off his decrepitude. and was temporarily revived by the reunion. and their common recollections of the revolutionary past. It was not only Adams who was seemingly invigorated.
Going on three hours of sleep a night. Traveling constantly, Lafayette's companions, his son, a secretary, We're exhausted and sick. He was standing up to everything as though, his secretary observed, he were a young twenty. They went west to Philadelphia, where Lafayette entered the city, the center of a procession modeled on the Roman triumphus, in which the returning general was paraded victoriously to the Temple of Jupiter on Capiline Hill. But his destination was a temple of a different sort.
In the weeks preceding his visit to Philadelphia, The room in which the Declaration of Independence was signed, which had sat purposeless, and barely evading demolition for years, was refurbished to receive the nation's guests, as Americans took to calling him. When the transformation began in the summer of 1824, the city's planning committee's minutes referred to the building as the old statehouse. By the time Lafayette arrived, it had taken on a new name. The Hall of Independence. What we call today Independence Hall.
As Lafayette traveled to eastern states, invitations were extended by their southern and western sisters. and he was determined to accept them all. He traveled by stagecoach and steamboat on primitive roads and dangerous waterways. He rode through the Carolina pine forest by the light of bonfires in the dead of night. He was pulled onto the shores of the Chattahoochee River by a band of Creek warriors.
One of the Alabama militiamen who watched from the Alabama side claimed it was the greatest show of a river crossing he'd ever seen. He steamed up the Mississippi into the American frontier and reached St. Louis, crossed into the Ohio Valley into western New York. Long the Erie Canal, back to Boston in time, of course, to participate. And the laying of a cornerstone at the monument at Bunker Hill on the 50th anniversary of that battle.
Thrilled as he was by the progress he beheld, Lafayette did not ignore areas where the revolution was incomplete. He was heartsick at the sight of slavery. There is only one issue for which I am less resigned than ever, and that is slavery and anti-black prejudice, he wrote from New Orleans. In private, he nudged his friends, Jefferson and Madison. but he would not publicly scold his hopes or denigrate their achievements.
Instead, Lafayette, who had long opposed slavery, searched for ways to end it, spoke by gesture. In New York, he visited the city's free school for black children. In the South, he met in playing view with black men who had served in the Revolution. He asked purposely to meet with a battalion of free black men who had fought in the Battle of New Orleans. And he reminded them all, and everyone else in earshot.
of the valuable contributions black soldiers had made during the American Revolution. One of my favorites, he told the people of Gallipolis many of them French expatriates in Ohio, how lucky they were to live on the northern banks of the Ohio River, where slavery could not breathe. Lafayette could take incredible joy in the pride and progress he had beheld across America, but signaled to its citizens where great work remained. Consecrating the memory of the Revolution as a representative of its army, was not the conclusion of his visit, but it was the culmination, in my opinion. When he returned to France after farewell at the President's house on September 7, 1825, It was on board a 44-gun frigate, quickly outfitted and manned by sailors from many of the 24 states, summoned.
From the Navy Yard by President John Quincy Adams as a demonstration of American maritime might. It was christened the brandy wine. Brandy wine brought Lafayette into Americans' hearts. It took him away from their shores forever. The mention of hearts speaks to the magnitude of this event.
The visit and Americans' admiration for Lafayette left behind a sizable physical legacy. It's difficult to say with certainty. But some historians say there are 80 towns and cities in the country named for Lafayette, as well as counties, townships, streets, parks. Many other things named for him. during or after the tour.
I'm out in New Hampshire. A charity for widows in Delaware. a professorship in Nashville. Babies, songs. Even a 500-pound cheese in Georgetown, Kentucky.
But Lafayette's farewell cannot be reduced simply to a phenomenon of popular culture. It was time for Americans to reflect on their past and dream about their future. And it was a prelude to the 50th anniversary of the country. It was a celebration of liberty. The countless number of banquets held for Lafayette usually ended with a round of toasts.
To him, to his son, to his adopted father, other heroes of the revolution. but also to the freedoms won by it. to a form of government created to preserve them. During Lafayette's visit, Americans were reaffirming the singularity of their rights and showing off to the kings and queens of Europe the superiority of representative government. and Lafayette was happily witnessing the growth and progress made possible by it.
Americans were even contemplating their values when it came to Lafayette himself.
Some men and women were wrestling with the compatibility of their republicanism. with the frenzied reaction their fellow citizens were having the site of the nation's guest.
Some thought it was a form of idolatry and inconsistent with the spirit of a revolution fought against a king. A woman named Elizabeth Crosbie wrote a beautiful letter to a friend describing Lafayette's reception in Boston. All the spectacle, she observed, was quite ridiculous. But then she could not help but be moved, not just by Lafayette. But by the old veterans of the Revolution on their crutches, The widows of those who had gone to their grave.
How could one look on this scene without feeling a pull at their heart or a sense of incredible gratitude? If there was a time for hysteria hysteria, it was now. That's because this event It was not just about Lafayette. It was about. all the other old veterans of the Revolution.
They hobbled forward from the crowds they were lifted on the platform to shake his hand and remind him of their service together. or just proudly say the words, Brandywine. Yorktown. In Natchez, Mississippi, one old man even ripped open his shirt to show Lafayette the scars he still bore from that former battle. Others donned the very coats they had worn into battle half a century prior, with bullet holes still visible.
For many of them, it was the last great day of their lives. even if they had nothing. They were recognized by General Lafayette and the roaring crowds. Recall that it was only in 1818 that the federal government offered lifelong pensions to impoverished veterans. Two years later, this was amended, requiring the documentation of financial need.
which prohibited some men and their families from receiving assistance and threw others off the rolls. In December 1824, Congress voted to give Lafayette $200,000 in a township of land. as compensation for his service in our revolution. A handful of legislators took considerable political risk and voted against giving Lafayette the $200,000. They could not do so when so many other veterans of the Revolution were regularly begging them for assistance.
Now, after Congress had voted, Lafayette himself wrote that he would have sided with the minority. On reflection? It's not difficult to believe that Lafayette would contend today that the world is better off because of America. He might also admit that America has some shortcomings. But then he might add that the framers left behind the means for future generations of Americans to address those imperfections and continue on the work of their revolution.
What a great way to look at the history of this country over the last two and a half centuries. Indeed, what a great way to think about almost everything as we think and talk about. Our nation's history. A special thanks to author Ryan Cole. The book The Last Ado, get it at Amazon or wherever you get your books.
And a special thanks to the U.S. Library of Congress for hosting this lecture, The Story of General Lafayette's Return to the United States after 40 years away. That journey here on Our American Stories. Think Verizon is expensive? Think again.
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I've had the privilege of working closely with Robert Kraft for a long time. And one thing I've always respected is how seriously he takes up standing up to hate. As a Jewish athlete my identity is something I am proud of. But I also know what it feels like to be singled out for it. That's why this new commercial for the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate that aired during the big game really hit home.
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