Thomas Jefferson considered the French Revolution a sequel to the United States’ struggle for liberty, and thanks to the five years he spent in Paris in the 1780s, he had a front-row seat on the coming of this watershed moment in French history. Indeed, Jefferson was in Paris for the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789.
Bastille Day, July 14, 2020, Thomas Jefferson, interpreted by our own Bill Barker, and the Marquis de Lafayette, interpreted by Colonial Williamsburg’s Mark Schneider, discussed their lifelong friendship, experiences during the American and French Revolutions, and differing views and actions concerning slavery.
In November 1824, as the 50th anniversary of the American Revolution approached, the famous Revolutionary War hero Lafayette returned to America from France. Join us for a day of reenactments, food, wine, children's activities, and more, to remember the reunion of Jefferson and Lafayette at Monticello.
The Marquis de Lafayette visited Thomas Jefferson at Monticello on November 4-15, 1824. The following selections are accounts of this visit.
On July 3, 1789, just before the storming of the Bastille and two months before he returned to America, Jefferson purchased a number of busts from Jean-Antoine Houdon. Among these was a terracotta-patinated plaster of Jefferson's trusted friend, the marquis de Lafayette.
This livestream was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
