The Liberty Boys and Lafayette: Helping the Young French General
Follow Captain Dick Slater as he escorts General Lafayette back to France, aiming to secure French army support for America during the Revolutionary War. The plot is filled with action sequences involving historical figures like Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, albeit in a highly fantastical manner. The theme of race portrays French and Spanish characters in a negative light while emphasizing American superiority.
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The Liberty Boys and Lafayette; or, Helping the Young French General by Rob Milhollin and Corey Killough
General Info Cecil Burleigh (Real Name) (Uncredited) Harry Moore (Pseudonym) Part of the series: Liberty Boys of 76 Appeared twice in the series No. 160 and No. 764 Stories about the American Revolution
Plot Summarization Follows the main character, Captain Dick Slater Tasked by General George Washington to escort General Lafayette back to France Meet with his family, and talk about getting a French army to support America The story is wrought with various action sequences, each tying into the next Highly fantastical and unbelievable Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
Theme of Race Three races are portrayed in the story: French, American, and Spanish The French and Spanish are generally painted negatively, but have a few exceptions, those being some of the main characters Frenchmen are described as weak, incompetent, and easily impressed Crowds of French people follow the main character around for weeks after he beats up a kidnapper The French ship crewman are described as never being able to hit a target with cannon fire, and surrender easily Spaniards are described as drunkards, scoundrels, and primitive Amazed by a merchant ship Portrayed as untrustworthy and backstabbers
Theme of Race (continued) Americans are described as proud, natural fighters, brave, tough, savvy, skilled, aloof, and good comrades Liberty Boys talk about how they would rather be captured by the English and be forced to fight, than run They talk about how they wanted to see France, but at the end of the day America is much better They re all very competitive, but happy for each other when their friends are victorious Benjamin Franklin was paraded through Paris for two weeks just for showing up in France
Theme of American Superiority, relating to the story America is viewed as a great, wonderful, new country Everybody except the English loves America and Americans, and people from other countries view them as great heroes The Americans are consistently saving the day, and the story ends with America beating the British in a battle during the American Revolution The main character, Dick Slater, is the quintessential American hero Only 17-19 years old, but is extremely skilled on the fly, smart, unnaturally strong (able to knockout a huge, brutish sailor with one punch), and modest Able to complete ridiculous and impossible feats of skill and strength Everybody loves him
Theme of American Superiority (continued) The author blatantly describes how inferior the other countries and their citizens are, compared to America Benjamin Franklin and George Washington are presented as almost mythical figures Benjamin Franklin describes how the French had pictures of him hanging in every store window when he first arrived in Paris Whereas there is only one character of another race who is even remotely likeable, that being General Lafayette Who actually serves in the American army The French king and queen are not even explicitly named, only described as the king and queen
