Was La Fayette A Success Or A Failure
LaFayette returned to France in February 1779. He was placed under house arrest for eight days for disobeying the King Louis XVI. LaFayette tried to beat the British and convince France that invading them was the best solution. When it was tried, this failed as the British fleet is strong leaving France to abandon its efforts. But LaFayette continued to persevere. “Washington, aware of Lafayette's popularity, had him write to state officials to urge them to provide more troops and provisions to the Continental Army” (Unger, 2002, p.16). Lafayette secured 6,000 soldiers to be sent to America, commanded by Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau. Once again we see LaFayette try very hard to help the American cause that he was willing to come back to France
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He was asked to represent the Nobles in the Assembly of Notables, but refused and wanted all citizens of every class to be represented; La Fayette openly opposed a States-General meeting that would include all notables and demanded representation by election (Madelin, 1929, p.11-12), “and he was the first to pronounce the word “National Assembly” (Madelin, 1929, p.12). We see here that LaFayette was all for the same ideal he fought for in America. He wanted equality and liberty for all and was willing to go against his class of people. Madelin (1929) went as far as to suggest that LaFayette was full of sense of romanticism after his vitory with the Americans; “Gilbert de La Fayatte was in the habit of thinking, but not widely or deeply; by which I mean that throughout his long life he followed only those ideas which had their roots in romanticism” (Madelin, 1929, p.4). What French historian Madelin (1929) seems to imply continuously in his chapter on LaFayette is that LaFayette is too wrapped up in his success in America and he being dubbed as a “Hero” for him to take the same pathway he did in the American Revolution; his chapter on LaFayette is after called “LaFayette and his …show more content…
On that day, the National Constituent Assembly issued a decree that the king, Louis XVI, would remain king under a constitutional monarchy. Later that day, leaders of the republicans in Francerallied against this decision.
The larger crowd was also more determined than the first. Lafayette again tried to disperse it. In retaliation, the crowd threw stones at the National Guard. After firing unsuccessful warning shots, the National Guard opened fire directly on the crowd. The exact numbers of dead and wounded are unknown; estimates range from a dozen to fifty dead.[1][2]
“The field of the federation . . . is a vast plain, at the center of which the altar of the fatherland is located, and where the slopes surrounding the plain are cut at intervals to facilitate entry and exit. One section of the troops entered at the far side of the military school, another came through the entrance somewhat lower down, and a third by the gate that opens on to the Grande Rue de Chaillot, where the red flag[3] was placed. The people at the altar, more than fifteen thousand strong, had hardly noticed the flag when shots were heard. "Do not move, they are firing blanks. They must come here to post the law." The troops advanced a second time. The composure of the faces of those who surrounded the altar did not change. But when a third volley mowed many of them down, the
He was asked to represent the Nobles in the Assembly of Notables, but refused and wanted all citizens of every class to be represented; La Fayette openly opposed a States-General meeting that would include all notables and demanded representation by election (Madelin, 1929, p.11-12), “and he was the first to pronounce the word “National Assembly” (Madelin, 1929, p.12). We see here that LaFayette was all for the same ideal he fought for in America. He wanted equality and liberty for all and was willing to go against his class of people. Madelin (1929) went as far as to suggest that LaFayette was full of sense of romanticism after his vitory with the Americans; “Gilbert de La Fayatte was in the habit of thinking, but not widely or deeply; by which I mean that throughout his long life he followed only those ideas which had their roots in romanticism” (Madelin, 1929, p.4). What French historian Madelin (1929) seems to imply continuously in his chapter on LaFayette is that LaFayette is too wrapped up in his success in America and he being dubbed as a “Hero” for him to take the same pathway he did in the American Revolution; his chapter on LaFayette is after called “LaFayette and his …show more content…
On that day, the National Constituent Assembly issued a decree that the king, Louis XVI, would remain king under a constitutional monarchy. Later that day, leaders of the republicans in Francerallied against this decision.
The larger crowd was also more determined than the first. Lafayette again tried to disperse it. In retaliation, the crowd threw stones at the National Guard. After firing unsuccessful warning shots, the National Guard opened fire directly on the crowd. The exact numbers of dead and wounded are unknown; estimates range from a dozen to fifty dead.[1][2]
“The field of the federation . . . is a vast plain, at the center of which the altar of the fatherland is located, and where the slopes surrounding the plain are cut at intervals to facilitate entry and exit. One section of the troops entered at the far side of the military school, another came through the entrance somewhat lower down, and a third by the gate that opens on to the Grande Rue de Chaillot, where the red flag[3] was placed. The people at the altar, more than fifteen thousand strong, had hardly noticed the flag when shots were heard. "Do not move, they are firing blanks. They must come here to post the law." The troops advanced a second time. The composure of the faces of those who surrounded the altar did not change. But when a third volley mowed many of them down, the