Monday, July 25, 2011

Lafayette LA got it's name from......

My son came home from city hall with the following "The Legacy of Lafayette" and I thought it would be nice to share.

Note: During the revolutionary war there was a French man named Marquis De LaFayette who helped America win the war.

THE LEGACY OF LAFAYETTE

When he came to America in 1777, LaFayette was more interested in fighting the English to avenge the death of his father than he was in the ideals of democracy. That soon change when he worked and fought alongside the founding father of our country, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. Lafayette also learned much from two close friends that he made: Alexander Hamilton and John Laurans. They debated topics such as the nature of justice, the role of the government and the responsibilities of the individual. LaFayette came to understand that he was fighting for more than just America's seperation from England; he was fighting for the creation of a new era in world history where people could be governed by a rule of law rather than a tyrant's whim, a world where all people would be considered as equals before the law.

LaFayette came to understand that prejudice based on religion was wrong. When he left France in 1777. France recognized only one religion and persecuted all others. When LaFayette returned to France, he was able to secure state recognition of the Protestant religion. LaFayette also had a complete change of heart about racial prejudice. When he first came to America, he had a plan to buy and sell slaves; when he left America in 1885 he set up and funded an organization in French Guyana to free enslaved Africans.

LaFayette learned another very important lesson: education is not confined only to school-we continue to learn from each other and from our experiences throughout our lives. He discovered that simply winning the Revoluntionary War did not create democracy. Democracy requires the work and committment of all of its citizens, and it needs to constantly evolve to keep up with changes in society technology and circumstances. LaFayette left us a legacy of freedom-it is our job to keep it.

America love LaFayette. More than 600 villages, towns, cities, countries, mountains, lakes, rivers, educational institutions, and other landmarks were named for him, or for his chateau at La Grange. LaFayette loved America. He carried a box of dirt from Bunker Hill, site of the first major battle of the American Revolution, home with him to France. LaFayette left instructions that, when he died, this dirt must be placed in his grave so that he could be buried in American as well as French soil, and an American flag has flown over his grave for over 170 years.

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