Institutional Resources
Follow The Frenchmen is a YouTube-based documentary series produced by The Lafayette Trail, Inc. (lafayette2024.org) exploring the significance of General Lafayette's visit to the U.S. in 1824-1825. It combines filmmaking, history, and geography to tell the story of Lafayette's Farewell Tour and how it intersects with key themes of early American nationalism. Throughout the episodes, viewers can see for themselves how Americans still cultivate a genuine attachment to Lafayette and his legacy 200 years after his last visit to his adopted land. What does this lasting affection for the Frenchman say about the country and the potential of Lafayette's legacy as a symbol of national unity? Follow The Frenchmen and find out now!
Follow The Frenchmen provides free educational resources to:
-
Educate the general public about Lafayette's 1824-1825 visit to the U.S. and the extensive geography of the tour;
-
Democratize access to the story of Lafayette's Farewell Tour;
-
Provide free content for public programs across the U.S. to celebrate the bicentennial of Lafayette's Farewell Tour (2024-2025);
-
Raise awareness among Americans of the pivotal role that Lafayette and France played during the Revolutionary War in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Independence in 2026.
New England episodes
The Green Mountain State is home to a rich nature cherished and celebrated widely across the state. More than merely being the catalyst for scenic views, the nature of Vermont is also central to the fabric of the state and the lives of many Vermonters today. It was no different in 1825.
In this episode, find out what Lafayette's two-day visit to Vermont on June 28-29, 1825, meant in 1825 and what it can possibly mean now. As both a Frenchman and a Major General of the Continental Army, Lafayette was in a unique position to be a nexus between France and the U.S.. The Frenchman's visit to Vermont rekindled the French background of the state. At the same time, it spurred a celebratory fervor that transformed Vermont's iconic natural features, the Green Mountains, into revered patriotic monuments.
Lafayette's visit is strongly indicative of how Vermonters saw themselves then. It also contains clues about how they still see themselves today. In order to sustain a narrative of patriotism, Vermont Governor Cornelius Van Ness made an analogy between the nature of the bravery displayed by Vermonters during the American Revolution and the geography of Vermont, a state dominated by mountains.
​
​250 years after the Declaration of Independence, find out what has become of Vermont's visceral attachment to nature. In addition to being a Revolutionary War icon, Lafayette was also an outspoken abolitionist. On its own, Vermont was quick in abolishing slavery. The Frenchman's views on slavery and the state's early constitutional rejection of slavery intersected to produce a powerful message in June of 1825. From the quaint Cornish Bridge to the iconic Lake Champlain, Follow the Frenchmen to Vermont will integrate some of the state's natural features with elements of cultural history contained in Lafayette's short time in the Green Mountain State.
New Hampshire
Julien travels to the Granite State to hike Mount Lafayette and dedicate three Lafayette Trail historical markers in Derry, Greenland, and Hopkinton, NH. How does New Hampshire use Lafayette to cultivate its affinity with the Union? What is the origin of New Hampshire's Granite State nickname and its connection with Lafayette? How does Lafayette's tour reveal New Hampshire's contributions to advancing the conversation on slavery at the national level? Find out now in installment #7 of #FollowTheFrenchmen.
West Point, NY
The tradition of military cooperation between France and the United States has been the bedrock of the bilateral relationship between our two nations for more than 240 years.
​
Lafayette, a French-born Revolutionary War hero, served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American War of Independence. In 1824, he conducted a triumphal tour of the U.S. at the invitation of Congress. His final journey across the young republic lasted 13 months.
He was welcomed as a veteran, witnessing throughout the country the ubiquitous affection of his fellow soldiers of the American Army, their families, and friends.
​
On September 15, 1824, Lafayette was welcomed at the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. He returned on July 2, 1825, for a second visit to the academy. What did the Frenchman's visits mean for the community? What was West Point like 200 years ago as opposed to what we can see now? How does the Army celebrate Lafayette and its historical friendship with France? Follow The Frenchmen and find out now!
Lexington, MA
A third episode has been produced in Lexington, MA, and will be released sometime next year in time for the bicentennial anniversary of Lafayette's visit to Lexington on September 2, 1824.
To watch Follow The Frenchmen, please visit The Lafayette Trail, Inc.'s YouTube channel or visit: lafayette2024.org/ftf
This Digital collection highlights of Franco-American Ties in Works on View at the Harvard Art Museums in works on view at the Harvard Art Museums. It was created by Camran Mani, Manager of Student Programs, as a resource for the 2024 French American Friendship Contest, sponsored by the French General Consulate of Boston. The collection contains works made by American artists in France or representing scenes of life in France (e.g. Cassatt, Morse, Sargent, and Whistler), work by the French-American artist Louise Bourgeois, and works that mark historic moments of Franco-American cooperation (e.g. Peale's portrait of George Washington at Yorktown and Copley's portrait of John Adams after the Treaty of Paris). Significantly, one also finds works that establish Franco-American ties through practices of gift-giving. The American painter John Singer Sargent gave his painting "The Breakfast Table" to the French artist Albert Besnard. (It is inscribed at lower right: "à mon cher ami Besnard".) And the French sculptor Auguste Rodin gave the Harvard Art Museums' cast of "The Walking Man" to Sargent. It is inscribed on the pedestal, "[à] J. Sargent/affectueux admirateur/A Rodin".
The Franco-American Collection, today located at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston campus, was started as a school project at Saint Dominic’s school, a local Catholic high school, in 1972. The Collection became part of the University of Southern Maine in 1989. From 1990-1996 the Collection was managed by Madeleine Giguère, a retired USM sociology professor known as the “godmother” of Maine’s Franco-Americans. Madeleine Giguère, who passed away in 2004, was an internationally recognized sociologist with a distinguished academic career specializing in ethnic and women’s issues. The Collection contains many different types of items, including letters, photographs, textiles, clothing, sheet music, oral histories, and more. There are also many topics covered including: local history, language, music, sports, immigration, and business.
What resources do we have?
At the Collection, we have many resources available through our Digital Commons website, mobile app, and podcast.
​
The USM Digital Commons can be reached via the Franco-American Collection website: FRANCO-AMERICAN COLLECTION This is where you can find all items from the Collection that have been digitized. On our Mobile app, you can find historical walking tours of Lewiston and online exhibits featuring historical family businesses and a local woman who became an Olympian. Our podcast, Franco-American Pathways, can be found at Franco-American Pathways or wherever you get your podcasts. We create 6-8 episodes every year, featuring interviews, objects from the Collection, and tours of towns throughout the state of Maine. The podcast is a good way to get some background information about the collection, and the pilot episode is great for this in particular!
How can you use them?
To search on the Digital Commons: To search using keywords, you type your keywords into the search box at the top left of the screen. The keyword search will look for matches in title, author, subject, funding organization, date range, and format, rather than similar keywords, as a Google search would. You can also select which repository, or collection, you want to search. Underneath the search box, you can select “Advanced Search.” The advanced search allows you to search by title, author, subject, funding organization, date range, and format. “Advanced Search” also allows you to limit your search only to special collections.
​
How to read a finding aid: Finding aids are archival catalog records. Finding aids contain a number of standard elements: administrative information, rights and usage information, biographical/historical note, scope/content note, and a box and folder list. The administrative information, biographical/historical and scope/content notes provide a general overview of the collection; the box and folder list provides a detailed description of the contents of the collection to the folder level. You can search through our finding aids on the USM Digital Commons using FINDING AIDS. Each finding aid is optimized for keyword searching using “Ctrl F.”
If you have any questions about the Collection, or how to search online, feel free to email us with questions: anna.faherty@maine.edu.
Suggestions from the Franco-American Collection:
Here are some larger collections that may help you out on the topic of French and American friendship:
​
Louis Phillippe Gagne, Lewiston politician and newspaper editor: LOUIS-PHILIPPE GAGNÉ PAPERS
​
Charlotte Michaud, Lewiston journalist: CHARLOTTE MICHAUD PAPERS
Saints Peter and Paul Basilica: STS PETER AND PAUL (SS PIERRE ET PAUL, SSPP) PARISH, LEWISTON, MAINE
Established in 1961 by Lucien Paye, Minister of Education, following initiatives by associations of former members of the Resistance and Deportation, the CNRD is a school competition based on the teaching of history, the history of memories, the Resistance and the Deportation. Each year, a theme is defined, which can be the subject of genuine interdisciplinary work. The competition is thus part of an approach to citizenship education, and an essential component of students' civic education. The theme of the 2022-2023 edition is "Schools and the Resistance: From the dark days to the day after the Liberation (1940-1945)". For 2023-2024, the theme will be: "Resisting the Deportation in France and Europe".
​
You can find educational documents, put together each year for the competition, on the page Eduscol for your research in preparation of the art project you wish to carry out.