James Cole Dennis | Summer Intern 2025
Published September 24, 2025
In 1781, the Continental Army and their French allies emerged victorious from the Siege of Yorktown, a month-long campaign to surround and overpower British troops along the Chesapeake Bay. The British surrender at Yorktown marked the last major battle of the American Revolution. When American and British delegates convened in Paris nearly two years later, the American War of Independence came to its ceremonious, if protracted, conclusion. The former colonies won their freedom, in no small part due to the contributions of the peace treaty’s host: the Kingdom of France. Yet the victory that secured American liberty would soon foreshadow a far more tumultuous upheaval on French soil. Unbeknownst to King Louis XVI of France, the Treaty of Paris would inspire his own subjects to revolt against him. In less than a decade, the French Revolution would cost Louis his crown and, ultimately, his head.
Americans built their Temple of Democracy in the wake of that bloody French insurrection. Throughout the walls of the Capitol, traces of the French Revolution’s story are still visible, from its French neoclassical-inspired design—characterized by grandeur of scale, straight lines, and strong horizontal elements with vertical supports—to the portraits and busts of influential Frenchmen on both sides of the fight for self-governance. But while the Capitol preserves the memory of the French Revolution of 1789, it also reveals the young American republic’s caution toward the violence it unleashed. The architecture and artwork of the Capitol reflect the United States’ complicated and selective relationship with the French Revolution—simultaneously honoring the contributions of Louis XVI, embracing the Enlightenment ideals of the French struggle for liberty, and keeping a cautious distance from the Revolution’s dangerous radicalism.
A popular example of French Neoclassical architecture in Paris
Some of the earliest architects of the American republic were French or French-inspired. Of these, perhaps the most famous was military engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant. The Frenchman was born in 1754 and studied at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris before serving in the American War of Independence as a foreign volunteer.1 After the Revolutionary War, L’Enfant remained in the United States, showing his commitment to the republican experiment. His first architectural project in the United States honored the French monarchy—he designed a hall in Philadelphia to host a celebration for the birth of the French prince, Louis Joseph.2 Thus, while his immigration celebrated his commitment to the American republic and its break from monarchy, his first major commission honored the continuation of the French royal line. This celebration of the Dauphin demonstrated America’s contradictory affinity for the French monarchy because of Louis XVI’s support during the war.
After the celebration, President George Washington tasked L’Enfant with planning the United States’ new capital city in 1790.3 L’Enfant’s design for the district evidences his admiration for both the French monarchy and the ideals that would lead to its downfall. While he designed the United States capital with the royal city of Versailles as his inspiration, L’Enfant’s vision for the city embodied the very concept of republicanism—a city for “all Ranks of People.”4 He furnished the city with broad avenues, walkways, and parks, to welcome visitors from all over the world.5
The Capitol Building at the radial center of several key avenues.
Yet, L’Enfant’s apprehension toward the French Revolution guided his design just as much as his admiration for its values, especially when it came to his placement of the Capitol building. He laid out Washington’s principal roads like the spokes of a wheel, with the Capitol at the center, allowing access to the building from every angle. This, he hoped, would eliminate the threat of street barricades, which had proved effective for revolutionaries in the uprisings of the French Revolution.6 Thus, while L’Enfant fought in one revolution on American soil, even he was wary of the revolution in Paris.
After submitting his plan for the capital city, with the Capitol building at its center, Pierre L’Enfant was George Washington’s first choice for Capitol architect. The process moved slowly, however, because L’Enfant clashed with the city commissioners over even minor decisions. L’Enfant did not fully understand that he was commissioned by the city of Washington and not George Washington himself and therefore refused to acknowledge the commissioners’ input in the design process. While Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson tried to convince L’Enfant to comply when he wrote, “I am charged by the President to say that your continuance would be desirable to him; and at the same time to add that the law requires it should be in subordination to the Commissioners.”7 In response, though, L’Enfant deflected his responsibility: “the fault cannot be mine,” he claimed, “as my every exertion to accomplish it, was impeded by the Commissioners.”8 At that point, George Washington was forced to relieve L’Enfant of his duties. He kept the central location of the Capitol building from L’Enfant’s city plan but held an open competition in 1792 to determine the Capitol’s new primary architect.
Stephen Hallet. [Elevation of First Design of Capitol] "Plan B 2.", c. 1791. Ink and Watercolor on paper. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (51).
Another Frenchman, Étienne “Stephen” Hallet, was the only professionally trained architect to submit a plan to Washington’s competition. Born in Paris in 1755, Hallet immigrated to the United States around 1790 at the onset of the French Revolution.9 Although his formal education is unknown, Hallet gained experience serving as L’Enfant’s draftsman in Philadelphia prior to his work on the Capitol.10 Hallet showed his first blueprint, the “Fancy Piece,” to Thomas Jefferson in 1791, so-called because of its elaborate nature. Hallet’s style reflected the French neoclassical movement, also known as the Louis XVI style, which became dominant during the king’s reign. Due to its association with the Bourbon monarchy, French neoclassicism furniture and architecture was often more ornate and ceremonious than their American counterparts.11 Hallet’s pre-competition design was the first to introduce the Capitol’s basic form—a center dome flanked by two wings for the House and Senate chambers—setting the precedent for future blueprints. Jefferson and Washington were impressed with the plan. Although they did not accept Hallet’s pre-competition blueprint, they encouraged him to submit a design to the competition. Over the next four years, Hallet worked closely with Jefferson, Washington, and the city commissioners, submitting five blueprints in total.12
The dome from Hallet’s first design was influenced by the Collège des Quatre Nations in Paris. The college was founded during the rule of the ancien régime (the pre-Revolution monarchial system) to educate privileged youth from the border territories of France and instill in them a sense of national pride.13 Hallet’s choice to use the college as architectural inspiration demonstrates his French patriotism. A letter sent on January 4, 1793, by Hallet and the Washington city commissioners to French city officials illustrates both Hallet’s national pride and the United States’ close relationship with early Revolutionary France. In the letter, the commissioners and Hallet express the desire for more French architects, or “Assistance… from the only nation who think and act as America on the End of Government and the rights of man.”14 Their request for architects specifically from France shows Americans’ initial positive regard for the French Revolution.
1793. Ink and Watercolor on paper. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress.
Copy print from silver-gelatin print. Courtesy of Don Alexander Hawkins.
1793. Ink on paper. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress (68).
Copy print from silver-gelatin print. Courtesy of Don Alexander Hawkins
On January 21, 1793, only weeks after Hallet and the commissioners sent the letter, the National Convention (the republican governing body of France) publicly executed King Louis XVI. From September 1793 to July 1794, the revolutionary tribunals condemned thousands of perceived enemies of the Republic to the guillotine.15 Hallet’s decision to leave France at the beginning of the French Revolution and remain in the United States until his death in 1825 suggests that he preferred the stability of the American government—particularly in contrast to the instability of Revolutionary France.16 The United States chose to distance itself from France as well, preferring William Thornton’s design for the Capitol its “simple” beauty compared Hallet’s overly ornate, French-inspired fourth plan. His architectural style reflected both the Bourbon monarchy and France as a whole, both of which grew increasingly unpopular after 1793. Because of Hallet’s contributions, though, the commissioners awarded him the same premium as Thornton, £100, and the announced first prize money, $500. They also hired Hallet as the Capitol’s superintending architect to revise and oversee the construction of Thornton’s design. Hallet and Thornton collaborated to produce the version of the Capitol that was ultimately constructed—a striking combination of French neoclassical architecture and American simplicity.17
While architects drew up the first designs for the Capitol in the midst of the French Revolution, most of the current Capitol artwork did not begin adorning the walls until several decades later. Among the earliest pieces to adorn its walls—painted before the French Revolution broke out—were portraits of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. American delegates requested the portraits during the American War of Independence in recognition of the French monarchs’ aid, and the king granted that the portraits be gifted to the United States after the signing of the Treaty of Paris. However, the paintings went missing after the British invasion of the Capitol in 1814, during the War of 1812. To this day, historians do not know for certain what became of them.18 The thought of two absolute monarchs being displayed prominently in the Capitol is baffling to the modern American, but the fact demonstrates the intense sentiments of gratitude that Americans felt toward Louis XVI and France after the Revolutionary War.
Hans Axel de Fersen is 8th person from the left side of the painting. The Marquis de Lafayette is the 2nd figure to the right of the American flagpole.
While the portraits of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are long gone, other artwork in the Capitol continue to reflect America’s historic ties to the French Revolution. John Trumbull’s famous 1820 painting, The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis, displayed in the Capitol Rotunda, shows the American support for and from the ancien régime before the French Revolution. The painting captures the scene of the British surrender at the siege of Yorktown, what became known as the American’s decisive victory in the War of Independence. The painting prominently features fifteen French soldiers. All the soldiers portrayed not only represented King Louis XVI, but were nobles in their own rights, with titles of their own.19 Two such figures, the Count de Fersen and the Marquis de Lafayette represent opposite sides of the French political conflict to come. As such, Trumbull depicted the figures on opposite sides of the painting. Trumbull symbolically placed de Fersen near the French Bourbon flag while he painted Lafayette close to the American flag, representing de Fersen’s allegiance to the monarchy and Lafayette’s allegiance to republicanism. These two men—both celebrated in Trumbull’s depiction of Yorktown—embodied the opposing legacies of the French Revolution that Americans wrestled with: loyalty to Louis XVI or devotion to the republican experiment. In the end, their lives revealed that the extreme turn of the French Revolution in 1793 alienated individuals on both sides of the divide.
Dated approx. 1800, Carl Fredric von Bredaoil; photo by Jens Mohr, Östergötlands museum, Sweden
Hans Axel, known in France as de Fersen, was a Swedish aristocrat and a close friend of Marie Antoinnette. Though not of French nationality, he was an ardent supporter of the French crown. Because of his close relationship with the monarchs, he served as a soldier for Louis XVI in the American Revolutionary War alongside Lafayette. After the war, he returned to France, where he remained loyal to the king and queen during the French Revolution. He even arranged the royal family’s attempted escape from France in 1791 but failed in getting them past the border. When Marie Antoinette was executed in 1793, de Fersen wrote, “I have lost everything I had in this world… The one I loved so much, for whom I would have given my life a thousand times over, is no more.”20 His love for Marie Antoinette was so deep, and his connection to the monarchy so strong, that de Fersen remained loyal to the royal family even after the king and queen’s executions in 1793, serving as a Swedish diplomat to France to attempt to restore the Bourbon line. Rejected in his lifetime, de Fersen never lived to see a Bourbon restored to the throne, dying at the hands of a Swedish mob in 1810.21 His vision came to pass just four years later, when Louis XVIII ascended the throne after Napoleon I’s abdication in 1814.22
By contrast, another of the French soldiers in Trumbull’s painting, Gilbert du Motier, best known as the Marquis de Lafayette, vehemently opposed absolutism. Working together with his friend, Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette penned a draft of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which he presented to the French National Assembly on July 11, 1789, only three days before the storming of the Bastille, which marked the start of the French Revolution. In the draft, Lafayette claimed that “no individual can have Authority which does not expressly emanate from the Nation.”23 While not in favor of abolishing monarchy altogether, he was a firm believer that even kings needed checks and balances.
Lafayette kisses Marie Antoinette's hand to calm the October 6 mob and, consequently, save her life
The day after the storming of the Bastille, the newly created municipal government appointed Lafayette commander of the National Guard, contrary to the king’s wishes. Despite the king’s distrust, he saved the queen’s life a few months later, on October 6, when a mob stormed the palace at Versailles.24 Unfortunately for Lafayette, his republican values made him untrustworthy to the monarchy while his commitment to protect the monarchs’ lives made him untrustworthy to his revolutionary contemporaries—he did not fit in anywhere. When the Jacobins took control of the government, they forced Lafayette into exile and eventually imprisoned him for five years, from 1792 until his liberation by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1797.25 Following his time in jail, Lafayette spent years laying low, recovering in his château in Auvergne.
By portraying de Fersen and Lafayette—men with starkly different views on the monarchy—Trumbull’s painting shows that some of America’s favorite Frenchmen held conflicted feelings about the French Revolution, mirroring the conflicted attitudes Americans themselves held toward the upheaval in France. Despite their opposing loyalties, both de Fersen and Lafayette sought to prevent bloodshed, with Lafayette going as far as to risk his life to protect the Queen. For this, they were rejected by Revolutionary France. Trumbull’s painting The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis foreshadows Lafayette’s alienation by displaying him far away from his French compatriots. His proximity to the American flag shows the United States’ enduring respect for him in contrast to the rejection he faced in France. That rejection ultimately revealed the extremes of the French Revolution that gradually drove away American support.
"Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette," Ary Scheffer, 1823, Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives.
In 1824, Lafayette returned to the United States on a celebratory tour, to reminisce on his contributions to the American Revolution. On December 6, 1824, Speaker of the House Henry Clay invited Lafayette to make a speech before the House of Representatives. Thus, Lafayette became the first foreign dignitary to address Congress, demonstrating the love that Americans had for the Revolutionary War veteran.26 After spending years in exile from his home country for not being republican enough, Americans celebrated Lafayette as a republican hero. To accompany Lafayette during his voyage and commemorate his historic speech, Dutch-French painter Ary Scheffer sent a replica of his 1819 painting, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, as a gift to the United States Congress.27 Scheffer’s painting portrays Lafayette in a noble light, standing straight and possessing a distinguished gaze. With the sun setting behind him, the painting depicts Gilbert du Motier as a historic figure well into the second half of his life. His removed hat communicates a sense of relief—his hair free in the breeze after a long day of struggle. Scheffer’s painting, which today hangs on the wall of the House Chamber, just beyond the rostrum, perfectly exemplifies the Capitol’s story of the French Revolution.28 It honors Lafayette for his republican ideals while including a stark reminder of the suffering that he underwent at the hands of the Revolution’s extremists.
Replica cast by Louis Noël
The Marquis de Lafayette’s tour of the American Republic in 1824 and 1825 reignited the flame of patriotism in the United States by evoking memories of the American Revolution, and reminded Americans of their love of France.29 Inspired by his visit, Congress introduced several more portrayals of Lafayette in the Capitol. In 1828, President John Quincy Adams presented a bust of Lafayette to Congress from French sculptor, Pierre-Jean David d’Angers. Pierre-Jean was a renowned sculptor in Paris and an avid republican. To Victor Pavie, his close friend and a fellow republican, d’Angers wrote, “The republican sentiment is too noble, too sacred for one to not vow his entire soul to it.”30 True to his word, d’Angers dedicated his entire life to republican ideals—his political career as mayor of Paris, his artwork, and even his personal relationships were all centered on his love of liberty.
Figure 15: General Lafayette by David d'Angers, replica cast by David d’Angers.
"What better pledge can be given of a persevering National Love of Liberty, when those blessings are evidently the result of A virtuous resistance of oppression, and Institutions founded on The Rights of Man, and the Republican principle of Self-Government." 32
Poetically, d’Angers requested of President Adams that the bust “might be set up in the Hall of Congress, near the monument erected to WASHINGTON; the son by the side of the father, or, rather, that the two brothers in arms… should not be separated in our admiration than they were in their wishes and in their perils.”33
(Translation): "George Washington / by David d'Angers / Bronze/ Offered by France / to the United States / replacing the / marble / destroyed by the fire / in 1852"
Sadly, both busts were destroyed in the Library of Congress fire of 1851. In 1903 and 1904, however, Congress acquired replicas of the busts to display in the Capitol. The first, a replacement of Lafayette, was made by the same artist, d’Angers, from the same mold. Charles Manigault of Charleston, South Carolina, after meeting General Lafayette and seeing the original bust, requested that d’Angers make him a replica. The replica was passed down to his posterity, who agreed to sell Congress the bust for $2,000.34 The replica of George Washington’s bust was also made from d’Angers’ original Washington mold but cast by French sculptor Louis Noël. It was commissioned by several French citizens as a gift to the United States.35 These busts were displayed in the Rotunda, flanking the eastern door, throughout the twentieth century.36 They now reside outside of the main House Chamber Doors. Congress’ devotion to these busts emphasizes the continued importance of not only the Franco-American alliance, but the very ideals that started the French Revolution.
Despite all the strife that the French Revolution brought Lafayette, he never abandoned his values. And, true to his word, d’Angers devoted his entire life to the cause of the republican sentiment. The Capitol does not ignore the faults of the French Revolution; it acknowledges the dangers of violent radicalism—from the mass executions of the Reign of Terror to the instability that left the Republic vulnerable to coups like Napoléon’s. Even with the faults of the Revolution, though, the Capitol honors its principles through its representation of figures like Lafayette and d’Angers.
Relief Portrait by Paul C. Jennewein
While the Capitol commends several French republicans like Lafayette and d’Angers, it also pays homage to the man who brought the French Revolution to its end. In 1950, more than 150 years after the storming of the Bastille, the Reign of Terror, and Napoléon’s coup d’état, artist C. Paul Jennewein made a relief portrait of Napoléon I that today hangs in the House Chamber at the Press Gallery level. The relief portrait was made, as part of a series honoring notable lawgivers, to commemorate Napoléon’s role in commissioning the Code Civil, a codified system of law that Napoléon enacted on March 21, 1804, several years after overthrowing France’s government but a few months prior to crowning himself as emperor. The code heavily influenced legal systems around the world throughout the nineteenth century.37 Though Napoléon came to be recognized as a tyrant, his code brought much needed order to French society after the destructive effects of the Revolution’s radical turn. Congress’ decision to memorialize the leader who brought the First Republic to its end highlights again the United States’ complicated stance on both the monarchy and revolution in France.
The United States Capitol stands as a monument to liberty in this nation and around the world. As the Temple of Democracy, the Capitol pays tribute to the essential role France played in our nation’s founding and reflects the influence of the French Revolution in its architecture and artwork. All the while, the Capitol highlights the French people’s noble pursuit of republicanism but simultaneously warns against the violence and instability that accompanied the Revolution of 1789.
The conjoined architectural design of Etienne Hallet and William Thornton is reminiscent of the French neoclassical style favored by Louis XVI but maintains distance from the ornate extravagance of Versailles. The artwork in the building honors French individuals on both sides of the Revolution—loyalists like King Louis XVI and Axel Hans von Fersen, and republicans like the Marquis de Lafayette and David d’Angers. The story of the French Revolution and its aftermath told by the Capitol is a selective tale, picking the best parts to memorialize—the nobility of Louis XVI, the ideals of Lafayette, and the order of Napoleon—while purposely refusing to endorse any side of the Revolution in its entirety. In this way, the Capitol becomes more than a repository of art and architecture; it displays a careful balancing act—drawing inspiration from French ideals while charting its own, more measured course. Through its portrayal of the French Revolution, the Capitol celebrates freedom while discouraging chaos; it emphasizes liberty as well as the peaceful order needed to preserve it. In doing so, it demands of its visitors the same charge: fight for liberty and equality, resist tyranny in all its forms, and avoid the extreme violence that can undo those very freedoms.
We believe that every student deserves an education about our nation’s history, that inspires them to be the best citizens they can be, no matter their background. Our “We the People” Constitution Tours™ provide immersive educational experiences for eighth-grade students from D.C. Title I schools, ensuring that students from historically underserved communities can explore the foundations of our democracy firsthand. During the program, students visit important sites related to the Constitution including the George Mason Memorial, the National Archives, the U.S. Capitol Building, and The People’s House: A White House Experience. As the cost of providing these tours continues to rise, your donation will help cover essential expenses, including transportation, lunches, knowledgeable tour guides, and educational materials.
“We the People,” speaks to the freedoms and responsibilities inherent in the Constitution of the United States of America. For Jim and me, it has been of the greatest importance that all citizens have an understanding of the democratic process and rule of law in order to be active participants in the form of self-governance laid out by the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I believe that my support in Jim’s name of the “We the People” tours is essential for the future of our country.
– Mrs. Penny Morrill on why she supports the “We the People” Constitution Tours
Help preserve and share the history of democracy with a year-end donation! Join as a member today and enjoy unique benefits—all while contributing to our mission of preserving history and promoting civic education.
Donations received by midnight tonight or checks postmarked on or before December 31, 2024, will be applied to the 2024 tax year.
