The key to the Bastille

 When the Bastille fell in 1789, the Marquis de Lafayette sent the key of the notorious prison to George Washington, saying the Americans had started a worldwide revolution against monarchy and tyranny.

The key used to be displayed at Mount Vernon, and perhaps still is, even in the headlong rush to Make America Subservient Again. It’s hard to imagine how people can support the destruction of democratic institutions their ancestors built as a defense against autocratic rule.

I came across the little story of the key of the Bastille in an old interview with the historian Gordon Wood, who also said this:

 

People who read history tend to get a negative view of their past.

 

The group story tends to be all about heroism and noble motives. When you dig into it, a story is about people. And that story is always more nuanced.

• Scott Porch, “The Pamphleteers”; The Los Angeles Review of Books, Sept. 24, 2015. It’s here:

https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-pamphleteers