History& Past Winners
The Lafayette Debates has a nearly two hundred year history highlighting the longstanding relationship between the United States and France and our countries shared intellectual traditions of political dissent and democratic debate.
During General Lafayette's 1824 “hero’s tour” of the United States celebrating his role and the role of France in the American Revolutionary War, General Lafayette and his son George Washington Lafayette were received by the debate and literary society of the Columbian College (later renamed, The George Washington University).and G.W. Lafayette took the floor for a debate with society members. Afterwards, the two Lafayettes accepted honorary membership into the Society and the occasion was commemorated by a debate series entitled, "The Lafayette Debates" in their honor.
In 2013, the Embassies of France and Germany and The George Washington University collaborated to create a unique civic debate event, The Elysee Treaty Debates. The event was an enormous and popular success and the French Embassy and The George Washington University resolved to revive The Lafayette Debates as an international platform for student dialogue and debate in the belief that now, more than ever, a vigorous and respectful transatlantic dialogue is of the utmost importance not only to the citizens of the French Republic and the United States, but also the world.
2016 LAFAYETTE DEBATES
2016 Champions
Stanford University
2016 Military Academy Champions
Ecole de Guerre
Finalists
The George Washington University
Semifinalists
James Madison University
Ecole de Guerre
2015-16 Topic
Resolved: Democracies should respond to the threat of terrorist attack by substantially increasing domestic surveillance.
2015-16 Topic Statement
In the wake of the 2015 Paris attacks many have raised the question of whether liberal democracies can secure themselves from the threat of terrorist attack without sacrificing the civil liberties that define their political and cultural values and heritages. The 2015-16 Lafayette Debates Topic asks elite college debaters from France, Canada and the United States to scrutinize this question and its implications for global democracies in general and the citizens of France, Canada and the United States in particular. While the topic raises questions relevant to all liberal democracies, debaters are asked to focus their topic analysis and topic examples on the unique challenges facing these three countries and other similarly situated countries. In addition debaters are asked to broadly focus on the core questions raised by the topic rather than isolated or atypical examples: i.e., the topic asks affirmatives to broadly defend the proposition that granting substantial domestic surveillance powers to national security agencies is desirable and asks negatives to rebut this general proposition.
2016 Exhibition Debates
U.S. and Canadian schools were invited to participate in exhibition debates on the 2015-16 Lafayette Debates topic. Last spring exhibition debates were hosted at the French Consulate in San Francisco between the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University and at the Millennium Gate Museum in Atlanta between Emory University and Morehouse College.
The Lafayette Debates
2015-16 Opening Round
The opening round of the 2015-16 Lafayette Debates was held at the Hart House Invitational at the University of Toronto in Fall 2015. Two hundred and twenty six students from over thirty different U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities participated in the event. Congratulations to the tournament champions from McGill University for being the first team to qualify for the 2016 Young Ambassadors Program & Study Tour!
The Lafayette Debates
Early Bird
The 2015-16Lafayette Debates Early Bird was held at The George Washington University Intervarsity in Fall 2015. Over 100 students from over fifteen different U.S. colleges and universities participated in the event. Congratulations to the tournament champions from Patrick Henry College!
2015 LAFAYETTE DEBATES
2015 Champions
University of Michigan
2015 Military Academy Champions
Ecole de Guerre
Finalists
University of Toronto
Semifinalists
University of Houston
Ecole de Guerre
2014 LAFAYETTE DEBATES
2014 Champions
Emory University
Finalists
University of Houston
Semifinalists
Mary Washington University
University of Southern California
2013 Elysee Treaty Debates
2013 Champions
Loyola Marymount University
Finalists
University of Pittsburgh
Semifinalists
Mary Washington University
The George Washington University
