America's Favorite Fighting Frenchman

Art appreciation

​Analyze the paintings shown here (below and right).  Check out the details.

• What do you notice?
• What do you think is happening?
• What caused the scene in the painting?
• What might happen after the scene shown?
• What does this piece make you wonder?

Word Wise

Define some words:

marquis

rendezvous

retreat
​
​sacrifice

Music Appreciation

Liberty's Kids

Post-Revolution

Lafayette was some kind of rock star to the people who appreciated his part in the American and French Revolutions.  Indeed, at such a young age, we continue to be amazed at his resolve and his accomplishments.  He has been honored in many ways through the ages, including on American postal stamps.

Bastille

When Lafayette returned to France, he played a significant role in fighting for French Independence. He ordered the destruction of the Bastille, a foreboding prison in the heart of Paris where a person could be incarcerated without the right of appeal.

Lafayette sent a key to the Bastille to his adopted father figure, George Washington, and Washington proudly displayed the key in his mansion at Mount Vernon (where it can be seen in the central passage today).

Watch the video below and read the article on the Mount Vernon website while answering the following questions on a piece of paper.

1. On what date was the Bastille stormed at the order of the Marquis de Lafayette?
2. What is the key made of?
3. How much does the key weigh?
4. During what year did Lafayette make his year-long tour of the United States?
5. Lafayette's son accompanied him on a pilgrimage to Mount Vernon to pay respects to George Washington's.  What was Lafayette's son's name?

On tour

Lafayette intended to visit the original 13 colonies (now states) on his year-long tour; he ended up doing much more than he planned.  Check out the timeline of activity listed on a Wikipedia page.  While you're there, make a list of prominent people and places he visited.

French 101

You, too, may be able to learn a few French words.  Put them together and make some sense of them to display on our bulletin board.

While We're On the Subject

We have lots of Wonders to choose from to satisfy our curiosities about French history and French culture.  Try some of these on for size.

More about the Bastille's fall:
What Is Bastille Day?

French Cuisine:
​Do French Fries Really Come from France?
What Are Hors D'Oeuvres?
Where Does French Toast Come From?

French Lingo:
Have You Experienced Déjà Vu?
​What Is Parkour?

Positive Behavior Conversation

Here is an account of another battle in another war in United States history:  "Fix Bayonets!"