When the United States Spoke French, Francois Furstenberg
When the United States Spoke French, Francois Furstenberg
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When the United States Spoke French
Five Refugees Who Shaped a Nation

Author: Francois Furstenberg

Narrator: Suzanne Toren

Unabridged: 17 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 08/08/2014


Synopsis

In 1789, as the French Revolution shook Europe to the core, the new United States was struggling for survival in the face of financial insolvency and bitter political and regional divisions. When the United States Spoke French explores the republic' s formative years from the viewpoint of a distinguished circle of five Frenchmen taking refuge in America. When the French Revolution broke out, these men had been among its leaders. They were liberal aristocrats and ardent Anglophiles, convinced of the superiority of the British system of monarchy and constitution. They also idealized the new American republic, which seemed to them an embodiment of the Enlightenment ideals they celebrated. But soon the Revolutionary movement got ahead of them, and they found themselves chased across the Atlantic. Francois Furstenberg follows these five men-- Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-PErigord, Napoleon' s future foreign minister; theoristreformer Rochefoucauld, the duc de Liancourt; Louis-Marie Vicomte de Noailles; Moreau de Saint-MEry; and Constantin-Francois Chasseboeuf, Comte Volney-- as they left their homes and families in France, crossed the Atlantic, and landed in Philadelphia-- then America' s capital, its principal port, and by far its most cosmopolitan city and the home of the wealthiest merchants and financiers. The book vividly reconstructs their American adventures, following along as they integrated themselves into the city and its elite social networks, began speculating on backcountry lands, and eventually became enmeshed in Franco-American diplomacy. Through their stories, we see some of the most famous events of early American history in a new light, from the diplomatic struggles of the 1790s to the Haitian Revolution to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. By the end of this period, the United States was on its way to becoming a major global power. Through this small circle of men, we find new ways to understand the connections between U.S. and world history, and gain fresh insight into American history' s most critical era. Beautifully written and brilliantly argued, When the United States Spoke French offers a fresh perspective on the tumultuous years of the young nation, when the first great republican experiments were put to the test.

About Francois Furstenberg

François Furstenberg was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington. After graduating with a BA from Columbia University, he worked for several years in Paris before pursuing his graduate studies in history at The Johns Hopkins University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 2003. He was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in U.S. history at Cambridge University, England, for one year, after which he moved to Montreal, Canada, where he is an assistant professor of history at the Université de Montréal.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Michael on March 16, 2025

I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. Sure I’m a sucker for French and American history. But the author correctly summarizes American history through a unique lense of the French. Typically I’m bored by the monotonous tendency to list names of people and spout their relationship or cr......more

Goodreads review by Bob on December 04, 2014

This is the story of five French refugees from the 1790s revolution – Talleyrand, Liancourt, Naoilles, Moreau and Volney – and their influence on Philadelphia society. Philadelphia was, in Washington’s presidency, the US capital city and the center of its commerce and culture. The French émigrés wou......more

Goodreads review by John on January 24, 2017

This is a very attractive book and pretty close to my area of specialization. I felt like I really had to read it. And it was good! I have to say I did fade a bit past about the 3/4 mark. The book is called "When the United States Spoke French," but it could also be called "When a bunch of French gu......more

Goodreads review by Meredith on September 07, 2014

As someone deeply interested in this period of western history, I found this book perfectly readable and informative (connections between the slave revolt in Haiti and the Louisiana Purchase were entirely new to me). I also appreciated all the facsimiles of period advertisements, as well as the weal......more

Goodreads review by Carol on September 18, 2014

I blame Blackadder, but it is hard for me to read about American colonial times without picturing two bewigged actors slapping each other and Hugh Laurie prancing around like a silly ass. Also, the narrative has no focusing event but rather tries to weave together many themes, and there's not much d......more