The Spirit of Lafayette

What it is

This is a book by James Mott Hallowell, a former assistant attorney-general of Massachusetts, published in Garden City, New York, by Doubleday, Page and Company in 1918. It is written in English. The book is dedicated to the American soldiers in France who answered the call of Lafayette. Its opening describes a meeting in which a Mohawk chief met a French soldier, the Marquis de Lafayette, who represented the young American republics in making a peace treaty.

Why it matters

The book was written during World War I, when the United States had sent troops to France. Hallowell presents Lafayette, who had fought for the American cause in the Revolution, as a model for Americans who were now fighting in Europe. It is a later essay, so it tells us how people in 1918 remembered Lafayette more than what he did in his own time. Reading it alongside documents from Lafayette's lifetime helps students separate historical events from later interpretation.

Look closer

• Why does the author connect Lafayette to American soldiers of 1918, and what message does that connection carry?
• How does the opening scene shape the reader's view of America, France and the people they met?
• What might this wartime book leave out about Lafayette's life or about the people he dealt with?