Hero of Two Worlds by Mike Duncan

Author:Mike Duncan [Duncan, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Published: 2021-08-24T00:00:00+00:00

AFTER THE MOVE to Paris, the marquis de Lafayette personally found himself at a unique political intersection. He now combined the roles of chief of police, royal adviser, National Assembly delegate, quasi–military general, and popular political symbol. He was neither of the far right nor the far left. He was both an advocate of liberty and defender of order. For the next year, this unique position made Lafayette one of the most influential leaders in France. His home became the headquarters of both National Guard operations as well as an informal shadow cabinet directing and guiding government policy. Gouverneur Morris worried Lafayette was doing too much, saying the marquis “cannot possibly act both as minister and soldier, still less minister of every department.”6

Lafayette agreed with Morris, not just because he was overworked and stretched thin, but because he opposed such concentrations of power. Lafayette abhorred the idea of a single person combining political and military authority—even if that person was himself. So one of his top priorities in late 1789 was ensuring these powers did not become entangled. When offered the presidency of the National Assembly he declined, saying, “My present job is to ensure public tranquility, and, in my role as a member of the national assembly, to help strengthen our liberties and to protect the king and queen from all the conspiracies against them.”7 Though he did not resign his seat, it would be terrible precedent for the commander-general of the National Guard to simultaneously preside over the National Assembly. Lafayette also planned to decline any invitation from the king to make Lafayette prime minister, though with wry humor he acknowledged he would probably never have to decline such an offer. “Just between ourselves,” he wrote Simiane, “I think ingratitude will save me from the embarrassment of being rewarded.”8

As Lafayette distanced himself from political power, the comte de Mirabeau approached him about forming a powerful alliance. Mirabeau originally positioned himself as an Orléanist, but when his patron meekly accepted banishment in early October 1789, Mirabeau needed a new angle—and partnership with Lafayette seemed promising. The match made sense on paper. Both men were at the height of their popularity and Mirabeau was happy to assume the powers Lafayette declined. With Mirabeau’s political skills and Lafayette’s unassailable leadership of the National Guard, they would be unstoppable. So Mirabeau pitched himself. “You have a number of friends (though fewer than you think),” he wrote Lafayette, “not one of them but has value and virtue of a certain kind… but they are one and all completely ignorant of human nature and of the real feelings of the country… I am a great deal more necessary to you than all them put together.”9 Mirabeau pursued a political alliance with Lafayette for the better part of a year, but always found the commander-general of the National Guard frustratingly aloof. “I overcame the might of the King of England and the authority of the King of France, the unleashed fury of the people,” Lafayette said, “I shall certainly not surrender to Monsieur de Mirabeau.

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