United States has always shared a bond with France. Author Sarah Vowell says the story of American independence can’t be told without recognizing the aid provided to the revolutionaries from France.
“We basically owe them our country,” says Vowell, who has written a book about the Marquis de Lafayette, who aided the patriots and helped arrange “money, soldiers, sailors… gunpowder.”
The Marquis de Lafayette also crossed the Atlantic and volunteered to assist the plucky revolutionaries in their cause of seeking independence from the British. His motivations, Vowell suggests, were many.
“He was a 19 year-old boy,” Vowell says of her subject. “And you know how squirrely they are.”
Vowell takes a humorous and nontraditional look at history in her book “Lafayette in the Somewhat United States.” The author tells Steve Fast that she included different perspectives on Revolutionary War history in the book, including some Quakers protesters who took a dim eye on the celebration of the Battle of Brandywine.
“People who have a bone to pick with history are often the most educational,” Vowell says.
Listen to the interview: Sarah Vowell on The Steve Fast Show
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