In Recognition of the 200th Anniversary of Lafayette's Farewell Tour

In Recognition Of

The 200^th Anniversary Of Lafayette’s Farewell Tour

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is celebrating the Bicentennial of the Marquis de Lafayette’s Farewell Tour of America in 2024-2025, and

Whereas, Lafayette is known as the Hero of Two Worlds, America and France, and this celebration honors the visit to America of the last of the surviving Major Generals of the American Revolution, and

Whereas, in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War, the young Marquis de Lafayette first rendered service to America by traveling from France to give aid to the colonies fighting for their independence, becoming one of George Washington’s most trusted major generals and considered by many to be his “adopted son”; and

Whereas, during Lafayette’s service, undertaken at his own expense, he proved to be indispensable to the cause of American independence in both his military and diplomatic roles; and

Whereas, the Battle of Yorktown ended with Cornwallis’ surrender and a decisive American victory that caused the British government to acknowledge the United States of America as a sovereign Nation; and

Whereas, Lafayette was a lifelong evangelist for human rights, advocating for religious liberty, racial equality, and civil rights, relinquishing his own noble title during the French Revolution and co-authoring with Thomas Jefferson France’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen; and

Whereas, Lafayette was an early and consistent voice against slavery in France and in America, where he sought to persuade American friends, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, to eradicate this evil; and

Whereas, Lafayette supported women’s rights in matters of education and divorce, endorsing and promoting the views of activists like Frances (Fanny) Wright; and

Whereas, during Lafayette’s Farewell Tour of America in 1824-1825, he visited the then-24 states, including Fayetteville, North Carolina, and addressed the ideals of liberty, justice and democracy;

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim February 1, 2025, as “In Recognition Of The 200^th Anniversary Of Lafayette’s Farwell Tour” in North Carolina, and commend its observance to all citizens.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this third day of February in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.