“Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country.” – Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (I had to copy this from Wikipedia), or simply Lafayette as is known in the States, was a French aristocrat, a military officer, and revolutionary who played a pivotal role in the American Revolutionary War. As an immigrant, he ended up commanding the Continental Army troops in the siege of Yorktown in 1781, which turned the tide of the war in favor of the American colonies.
Lafayette was a man driven by his dreams of liberty, justice, and equality for as many people as the imagination of his time allowed, and perhaps even beyond. While his initial motivations aren’t interesting for me to investigate. He embarked on a journey at the age of 19 that changed the course of history for the better if not the best. Whether it was out of hatred for the British who killed his father, in pursuit of personal ambitions, or because he admired Americans as ‘people fighting for liberty,’ he embarked on a journey that I believe could have only been fueled by a dream.
He embarked on this journey against the will of his father-in-law, and superior officer. This shouldn’t come as a surprise from a man who defied the regimes and empires to defy his father-in-law’s will. Despite the rivalry between the British and French over influence in North America, the initial plans for sending French officers to America were blocked and Lafayette went to London to meet the French ambassador of the time and his uncle by marriage in London. On his return to France, he went into hiding from his father-in-law (and superior officer), writing to him that he was planning to go to America.
Lafayette made a bold bet on the American dream. A bet that was not necessarily based on careful calculation but rather on daring and audacity. This spirit is best reflected in the motto he chose for his coat of arms: “Cur Non” (Why Not?). Filled with the spirit of “Enlightenment” and “Reason” he should have had his reasoning beyond a nonchalant attitude of “Cur Non” toward life. However, a certain amount of audacity and fearlessness are often necessary to challenge the status quo. Fortunately for history and us, Lafayette’s bet on the American dream won tremendously.
Lafayette was ahead of his time; his vision of freedom, equality, and justice was more inclusive than that of his American colleagues. He fought in the wars that led to the Declaration of Independence, the first fruit of the Enlightenment. After the revolution, Lafayette became an international antislavery advocate and championed many other social justice causes, demonstrating his commitment to the Enlightenment’s principles of human rights and equality. He collaborated with Thomas Jefferson to help write the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Men and of the Citizen, marking another significant moment when the ideals of the Enlightenment came to fruition.
Lafayette was relentless. Despite numerous setbacks, he never retired from the career he began at the age of 19: being a revolutionary. He didn’t win every battle he chose. He lost his first battle in the American Revolutionary War at Brandywine. However, our man knew how to lose gracefully—an important lesson anyone would benefit from learning early in life. He lost even more significant battles in his homeland of France, ending up in prison for five years, followed by a long period of political marginalization during Napoleon’s reign. Yet, he managed to become a military figure praised in the United States, France, and in the hearts of anyone who believes in the ideals of Enlightenment. There is as much to learn from Lafayette’s defeats as from his victories, if not more.
It is rare for a military figure to be praised in more than one country, as a nation’s hero is often a symbol of demise for another. However, Lafayette managed to do so. He had a dream and pursued it with a relentlessness that might seem like madness. Yet, that very madness delivered humankind a home for liberty, freeing it from the shackles of feudalism and absolute monarchies. Lafayette brought us a new world where we are not subjects but citizens with equal rights and dignity. A world in which we are entitled to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. For that alone, we owe him a debt of gratitude. His legacy will live on for as long as there are people who dare to dream of a just world, and then get up to build it brick by brick despite all obstacles. That is the spirit of Lafayette to me.
“When the government violates the people’s rights, insurrection is, for the people and for each portion of the people, the most sacred of the rights and the most indispensable of duties.” – Marquis de Lafayette