America in French: From Enlightenment Projection to Political Instrument (1770–1788)

This article examines how François-Jean de Chastellux (1734–1788) constructed and reworked representations of America between the 1770s and 1780s. Drawing on his published writings and previously unpublished archival materials, it traces the evolution of his understanding of America from Enlightenment projection to lived experience and finally to a political reference point in debates about reform in France. Before crossing the Atlantic, Chastellux imagined America through the lens of Enlightenment thought, viewing it as a potential site for the realization of principles such as liberty, commerce, and public happiness. His service as a major general in Rochambeau’s army during the American Revolution and his extensive travels throughout the United States complicated these assumptions, revealing a society marked by both promise and contradiction. After his return to France, America became for Chastellux not merely an object of observation but a tool for reflecting on political and social reform. By following this trajectory, the article argues that “America in French” was not a fixed image but a dynamic and contested construction shaped through transatlantic exchange, experience, and political reflection.