This program is offered in partnership with The American
Friends of Lafayette.
General Lafayette, born the Marquis de Lafayette in
Auvergne, France, was truly an American Idol in the 19th century. The proof is
that 80 counties, cities and towns were named after him as well as streets and
roads everywhere. In this program, the translator of Lafayette in
America in 1824 and 1825, a first-hand account of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour
of America, will describe the full extent of his reputation and explore its
origins. Lafayette’s extraordinary reputation was based on his military record
in the Revolution, his friendship with Washington, his continued support of
American interests, his story-book life and, perhaps most importantly, his
Farewell Tour of America when he visited all 24 states and Washington City as
the last surviving major general of the Continental Army. Lafayette’s visits to
places associated with the venue of the talk are discussed to illustrate the
grand reception that the American people gave him on his Farewell Tour.
Alan R. Hoffman obtained his BA in history from Yale
where he studied under Professor Edmund Morgan, before earning a JD at Harvard
Law School. He practiced law in Boston for 50 years. An avid reader of early
American history, he “discovered” Lafayette in 2002 and spent two years – 2003
to 2005 – translating Auguste Levasseur’s Lafayette in America in 1824
and 1825, the first-hand account of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour of America
written by his private secretary. This translation was published in 2006 and is
in its third printing.