H 701

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
  SESSION 2025
 H  1
  HOUSE BILL 701
 Short Title:   Adopt Lafayette Day.  (Public)
 Sponsors:      Representatives Charles Smith, Blackwell, Wheatley, and Colvin (Primary
  Sponsors).
  For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
 Referred to:   State and Local Government, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the
  House
  April 3, 2025
1A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT ADOPTING THE SEVENTEENTH DAY OF MAY OF EACH YEAR AS
3     LAFAYETTE DAY.
4Whereas, North Carolina cities and towns from the Virginia line down to the South
5 Carolina line – including Murfreesboro, Jackson, Halifax, Enfield, Rocky Mount, Raleigh, and
6 Fayetteville – held festive bicentennial commemorations from February 26 through March 5,
7 2025; and
8Whereas, the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence Chapter of the National
9 Society Daughters of the American Revolution is celebrating the Bicentennial of Lafayette's
10 Farewell Tour of America in 2024-2025; and
11Whereas, Lafayette is known as the Hero of Two Worlds, America and France, and
12 this celebration honors the visit to America of the last of the surviving Major Generals of the
13 American Revolution; and
14Whereas, in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War, the young Marquis de
15 Lafayette first rendered service to America by traveling from France to give aid to the colonies
16 fighting for their independence, becoming one of George Washington's most trusted major
17 generals and considered by many to be his "adopted son"; and
18Whereas, during Lafayette's service, undertaken at his own expense, he proved to be
19 indispensable to the cause of American independence in both his military and diplomatic roles;
20 and
21Whereas, during the American Revolutionary War, the 2nd North Carolina Regiment
22 fought at Brandywine (1777) and Monmouth Courthouse (1778), two of the numerous battles in
23 which Lafayette led other American troops; and
24Whereas, General Lafayette commanded an American infantry division during the
25 Battle of Yorktown, in which his actions were key to the defeat and surrender of British General
26 Cornwallis, a decisive American victory that caused England to recognize the United States of
27 America as a sovereign Nation; and
28Whereas, Lafayette was a lifelong advocate for human rights, religious liberty, racial
29 equality, and civil rights, relinquishing his own noble title during the French Revolution and
30 co-authoring with Thomas Jefferson France's Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen;
31 and
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 General Assembly Of North Carolina  Session 2025
1Whereas, Lafayette was an early and consistent voice against slavery in France and
2 in America, where he sought to persuade American friends, including George Washington,
3 Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, to eradicate this evil; and
4Whereas, Lafayette supported women's rights in matters of education and divorce,
5 endorsing and promoting the views of activists like Frances (Fanny) Wright; and
6Whereas, during Lafayette's Farewell Tour of America in 1824-1825, he visited the
7 then-24 states, including North Carolina, and addressed the ideals of liberty, justice, and
8 democracy; and
9Whereas, the State Assembly of North Carolina changed the name of the area known
10 as "Campellton" to "Fayetteville" in honor of Lafayette on May 17, 1783, thus becoming the first
11 state in America to do so; and
12Whereas, the State of North Carolina should adopt an official North Carolina
13 Lafayette Day; Now, therefore,
14 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
15SECTION 1. Chapter 103 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new
16 section to read:
17 "§ 103-19. Lafayette Day.
18     The seventeenth day of May of each year is designated as Lafayette Day in the State of North
19 Carolina."
20SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law.
 Page 2  House Bill 701-First Edition