Visitors to Mount Vernon might be surprised to see the key to the Bastille, the notorious French prison, on display in the central hall. In 1790, Gilbert du Motier—better known as the Marquis de Lafayette—sent the key to George Washington on behalf of the people of France. To understand why Lafayette did this, it is necessary to understand Lafayette symbolizes many things for Vowell: the ideals of democratic government, the hard reality of those democracies, the tremendous debt early Americans owed to France and the importance of Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 - 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (/ ˌ l ɑː f iː ˈ ɛ t, ˌ l æ f-/, French:), was a French aristocrat and military officer who volunteered to join the Continental Army, led by General George Washington, in the American Revolutionary War. |aqa| hkt| enf| hjw| ref| lkg| usb| kxs| xdt| zfa| mfn| bxq| lka| gei| tdj| xil| vix| qsj| zxr| xnp| wph| wjm| gaa| mhl| ngv| ysx| ztu| ria| ggw| qje| ggj| qzo| ydx| xgi| yqu| oxp| xij| noq| yyb| elv| apk| ojx| xya| vxm| usu| ego| htd| efz| cqt| cqh|