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In 1824-1825, the Marquis de Lafayette took a farewell tour of all 24 states in the United States. During this trip, his personal secretary, Auguste Levasseur, kept a journal of how Lafayette was greeted by the American people. A translation of his writings was recently published by Boston lawyer, Alan R. Hoffman.
As a part of the College’s 250th birthday celebration for the Marquis, Hoffman’s book, Lafayette in America in 1824 and 1825, will be available for sale in the College bookstore.
Lafayette is planning a yearlong celebration during 2007-08 in recognition of the life and legacy of the man for whom it is named. Major events will include a lecture series, entitled Lives of Liberty, featuring renowned speakers; a historical exhibit at the Williams Center for the Arts, entitled A Son and his Adoptive Father: The Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington, and a birthday party on Sept. 6.
Originally published in French in 1829, Lafayette in America documents how the 67-year-old hero of the American Revolution and apostle of liberty in Europe was welcomed in an adoring frenzy by the American people. Lafayette was the sole surviving major general of the Continental Army. The book provides a panoramic view of a young country — its burgeoning cities and towns, its technological innovations like the Erie Canal, and its industrious people.
Levasseur also chronicled Lafayette’s affectionate visits with his old friends John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams, and his encounter with Senator Andrew Jackson. A keen observer, Levasseur gives the reader a sense of the characters of these men who, with Lafayette’s paternal friend George Washington, led the United States through its first six decades.
“This is an important book in a lot of respects,” says Hoffman. “It describes a marvelous event in our history. Nothing can compare to it. It had an impact on that generation and on future generations. For 13 months, Lafayette was our conquering hero.”
Hoffman also feels that the book provides a realistic description of a country just before its 50th anniversary. “The book describes the wonderful adventures of the elder statesman Lafayette and provides very concrete and specific views on slavery and Lafayette’s opinion that it should be abolished.”
Hoffman began translating Levasseur’s book from French in 2002 as a hobby after work. It was only after beginning to dive deeper into Lafayette’s life and becoming a member of the American Friends of Lafayette that Hoffman began to consider publishing his translation. Once he decided to publish the work, 2007 became his goal because of Lafayette’s 250th birthday.
In a review appearing on the back cover of Hoffman’s book, Diane Shaw, special collections librarian and College archivist, praises Hoffman’s translation, writing:
“Alan R. Hoffman has done a masterful job of reacquainting us with a classic text that deserves wider recognition. Auguste Levasseur’s account of Lafayette’s visit to America in 1824-25 is a ringside seat at one of the great events in American social and cultural history. Through this fine new English translation, we are able to come along as Lafayette travels to all twenty-four states in the Union, accepts the adulation of a nation, and has adventures aplenty, including a harrowing shipwreck. What makes the account all the more valuable as a commentary on America is that it reveals how very fitting was Lafayette’s sobriquet ‘The Nation’s Guest,’ as he insisted on spending time not just with the country’s elite, but also with ordinary citizens, African Americans, and American Indians.”
On Sept. 6, Hoffman will also be giving a private lecture to the American Friends of Lafayette on campus. The American Friends of Lafayette is an organization of Lafayette enthusiasts and collectors who are devoted to the memory of Lafayette. They were founded at Lafayette College and are celebrating their 75th anniversary this year.
Hoffman holds a B.A. degree in history from Yale University and a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School. He lives in southern New Hampshire and practices law in Boston. Passionate about American history and Lafayette, he spent three years working on this first unabridged English translation of Levasseur’s journal and readying it for publication. He is a member of the American Friends of Lafayette, the Massachusetts Lafayette Society, and he lectures on Lafayette.