The visit of Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, to the United States in 1824 and 1825 marked a high point of early American nationalism. Lafayette's triumphal tour of the United States signaled that memories of the Revolutionary War would continue to play a significant role in American culture. It also served as a high-water mark in the on-again, off-again love affair between the United States and France.

The Marquis de Lafayette was just a nineteen-year old wealthy nobleman when he came to the United States in 1777 to lend his support to the cause of American independence, but he soon was commissioned a major-general in the Continental Army and became an important member of George Washington's staff. Lafayette helped persuade the French government to recognize the United States and to send military aid, although he was not close to...