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Alexandre-Théodore-Victor, comte de Lameth (20 October 176018 March 1829) was a French soldier and
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
.


Life

Alexandre Lameth was born in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
on 20 October 1760 and was the youngest child of Marie Thérèse de Broglie. His mother was the sister of the Maréchal de Broglie and a favourite of Marie Antoinette. His other two brothers were, Théodore Lameth (1756–1854), who served in the American war, sat in the Legislative Assembly as deputy from the department of Jura, and became maréchal-de-camp; and
Charles Malo François Lameth Charles Malo François Lameth (5 October 1757 – 28 December 1832) was a French politician and soldier. Early life Charles Malo François Lameth was born on 5 October 1757 in Paris.
, who was a popular politician and a hero of the American War of Independence. He served in the American War of Independence as a colonel in the Royal Lorraine Regiment under Rochambeau. He was also a Knight of the Order of Malta like his brother
Charles Lameth Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
. Like many other veterans from the American War of Independence, and those among the French Patriot Party, Lameth became friends with
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
. His commitment to moderate constitutional and social reform gathered him respect in the eyes of Jefferson, given his idea for a unicameral, influential legislature. Several American newspapers would publish his speeches of what took place during the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
, and his stances on private property, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, etc. Alexandre-Théodore-Victor was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati from France. Alexandre Lameth, Adrien Duport , and Barnave were brought together on September 1789 for the first time during the first struggles of the Patriot Party. Despite the odds against them, their political ties strengthened and became a profound friendship that lasted through the turmoil. In the
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
they formed a "Triumvirate," which controlled a group of about forty deputies forming the advanced left of the Assembly. He presented a famous report in the
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
on the organization of the army, but is better known by his eloquent speech on 28 February 1791, at the Jacobin Club, against
Honoré Mirabeau Honoré is a name of French origin and may refer to several people or places: Given name Sovereigns of Monaco Lords of Monaco * Honoré I of Monaco Princes of Monaco * Honoré II of Monaco * Honoré III of Monaco * Honoré IV of Monaco * Honorà ...
, whose relations with the court were beginning to be suspected, and who was a personal enemy of Lameth. During the next months, as leaders of the Feuillant club, they established their belief that the flight of the King to Varennes was all because of the faulty revolutionary process that prohibited any manner for compromise. They intended to rule out both the Republicans and Democrats so there would be as much compromise as possible. Their main intention was to end the war as soon as possible while still maintaining the gains of the revolution by passing the Constitution. Their hopes for moderate reform were sullied by the radical turn of the Revolution. He served in the army as ''maréchal-de-camp'' under
Nicolas Luckner Nicolas, Count Luckner (german: Johann Nikolaus, Graf Luckner; 12 January 1722, Cham in der Oberpfalz – 4 January 1794, Paris) was a German officer in French service who rose to become a Marshal of France. Luckner grew up in Cham, in eastern ...
and the
Marquis de la Fayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...
, but was accused of
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
on 12 August 1792 for protesting against the Attack on the Tuileries. Once he fled the country, Lameth as well as Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette,
Bureaux de Pusy Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...
, and Latour-Maubourg, former members of the
Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
, were captured by
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
ns. They were held in dungeons for seven years. After his release, he went into business at
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
with his brother Charles and the
duc d'Aiguillon Duke of Aiguillon ( French: ''duc d'Aiguillon'') was a title of French nobility in the peerage of France, first created in 1599 by Henry IV of France for Henry of Lorraine, son of Charles, Duke of Mayenne. The title takes its name from the town o ...
, and did not return to France until the
Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...
. Under the Empire, he was made prefect successively in several departments, and in 1810 was declared a Baron of the Empire. In 1814, he attached himself to the
Bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * A beer produced by Bras ...
s, and under the Restoration was appointed prefect of Somme, deputy for
Seine-Inférieure Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Infé ...
and finally deputy for
Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris. Endnote: See * F. A. Aulard, ''Les Orateurs de l'Assemblée Constituante'' (Paris, 1905) * M. Tourneux, ''Bibliog. de l'histoire de Paris'' (vol. iv., 1906, s.v. "Lameth"). He wrote various novels and articles, his two most prominent being:
Histoire de l'Assemblée constituante Histoire (French for 'Narrative, story' or 'history') may refer to: * Histoire TV, a French television channel * Historia (TV channel), or Canal Histoire, a Canadian television channel * ''L'Histoire'', a French magazine * , a 1967 novel by Claude ...
and
Mémoires ''Mémoires'' (''Memories'') is an artist's book made by the French social critic Guy Debord in collaboration with the Danish artist Asger Jorn. Its last page mentions that it was printed in 1959, however, it was printed in December 1958. This ...
publiés avec introduction et notes par Eugène Welvert. In Histoire de l'Assemblée constituante, he introduced this work by displaying how he did not wish to write a book of biased anecdotes, nor provide a side of the revolution that states he was a main player, even though he was in a position to recall the most prominent events. He wanted to present an accurate, detailed description of the work of the Constituent Assembly.


References

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External links


Society of the Cincinnati

American Revolution Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lameth, Alexandre-Theodore-Victor, comte de 1760 births 1829 deaths Politicians from Paris Counts of France Barons of the First French Empire Jacobins Feuillants Members of the National Constituent Assembly (France) Members of the Chamber of Peers of the Hundred Days Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration Prefects of France Prefects of Somme (department) Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery French prisoners of war in the 18th century Knights of the Order of Saint Louis Order of Saint Louis recipients French military personnel of the American Revolutionary War