THE GATE OCTOBER 10, 2015

Georgia and the Franco – American Treaty of Alliance

The inaugural Middelthon-Candler Gala was held when the

Millennium Gate Museum (The Gate) opened in 2008.

Matthew Middelthon, a descendant of Coca-Cola founder Asa

G. Candler, established the Middelthon-Candler Peace, Justice,

and Millennium Gate Prizes to continue the family’s

stewardship of the state of Georgia. All proceeds from the gala

are used to further the mission of The Gate.

The theme of the 2015 Gala commemorates the 240th

anniversary of the American Revolution, the Franco-American

Treaty of Alliance, and its significance to the Colony of

Georgia. The treaty, first enacted at the Second Siege of

Savannah ultimately assured American independence from

Great Britain.

2015 Middelthon-Candler Prize Categories

Peace Prize

Honors leadership in the promotion of fraternity between peoples

and nations.

Justice Prize

Honors leadership in effecting positive social change.

Millennium Gate Prize

Honors excellence in the arts, sciences, or business.

“The Millennium Gate Museum is a vital non-profit to our

community. What it does for the State of Georgia should be

exemplified around the world.”

- Honorable Ambassador Andrew Young

Front Cover: King Louis XVI assists General George Washington and the American people to form a new nation.

Mission

The Millennium Gate Museum’s (The Gate) mission is to

preserve and interpret Georgia history, art, culture and

philanthropic heritage as well as highlight Georgia’s historical

and aesthetic relevance to the United States and to the world.

The Gate is a classically styled monumental arch located in

Atlanta, historically called “The Gate City.” It is designed in

the tradition of classical Roman triumphal arches that have

been built around the world over the past 2,500 years, and

houses a 12,000 square foot museum that narrates Georgia’s

history through sophisticated interactive technology, film,

period rooms, and exhibitions. The museum is a 501(c)3 non-profit and the winner of the Palladio Award for design of a

public space.

Gamification - A new kind of museum

The museum’s mission extends beyond the physical confines of

a 100 foot triumphal arch. The museum virtualizes and

gamifies museums and historic sites. Gamification is the

process of engaging, entertaining, and teaching students

through game-like mediums. The video gaming industry is one

of the largest emerging fields for educators. Beginning with the

exhibition The Art of Diplomacy: Winston Churchill and the

Pursuit of Painting, the museum will present this new kind of

digital museum to the world.

Spoke and Wheel

As the most comprehensive museum of Georgia history The

Gate acts as the facilitator for world-class art and history

exhibitions to travel to venues across Georgia. The museum

recently organized an exclusive eight city tour of The Art of

Diplomacy: Winston Churchill and the Pursuit of Painting to

LaGrange, Sea Island, Columbus, Macon, Atlanta, Rome,

Athens, and Savannah. The museum continues its mission of

showcasing world-class art across Georgia by connecting the

state’s art and history museums, sharing exhibitions, and

enabling all the people of Georgia to enjoy exhibitions not

found anywhere else in the world.

Georgia and the Franco-American Treaty of Alliance

On February 6, 1778, France signed both a treaty of amity and commerce, and a

treaty of defensive alliance with the newly established United States. The alliance

was negotiated by Benjamin Franklin, whom Franklin College was named for, the

predecessor to the University of Georgia. UGA is the first state-chartered

university in America. The Franklin College of Arts and Science still remains at UGA.

French King Louis XVI ordered Admiral d'Estaing, a senior officer in the French

navy, to take command of the Toulon (Mediterranean) Squadron and sail for

North America. For the first time in French naval history, a French squadron

crossed the Atlantic Ocean with the primary mission of combat. The first action

of America’s new treaty with France was the Battle of Savanah.

On the night of October 8, 1778 d'Estaing ordered the assault on British held

Savannah. The attack was the bloodiest since Bunker Hill and was a stalemate,

resulting in Georgia being the only state that returned to its royal status.

Alexander Lawrence wrote in Storm Over Savannah, “The battle possessed the

qualities of drama and color unmatched elsewhere in American history…” Pierre-Charles L’Enfant, future designer of Washington D.C., would almost be left for

dead on the field before Savannah’s defenses.

Admiral Charles Henri d'Estaing

Georgia and the Franco-American Treaty of Alliance

Alexis de Tocqueville

In 1831, six years before the founding of Atlanta, French political

theorist Alexis de Tocqueville began a nine-month tour across the

country, traveling extensively in Georgia in early 1832. He made

insightful observations about the American spirit and the citizens’

unusual commitment to philanthropy. In his record of the voyage,

Democracy in America, he writes, “Americans group together to

hold fêtes, found seminaries, build inns, construct churches,

distribute books, dispatch missionaries to the antipodes. They

establish hospitals, prisons, schools by the same methods.”

Tocqueville had never encountered a culture like the one he found

in America, and his writings reflect the astonishment he showed

in this great new world experiment.

The Marquis de Lafayette was a key figure in the

American Revolution and toured Georgia extensively.

The most poignant moments of his stay in Savannah

came when he laid the cornerstones for monuments

honoring two other Revolutionary War heroes, Count

Casimir Pulaski and General Nathanael Greene.

Several cities and counties in Georgia are named after

French cities including Beaulieu, Berrien County,

Decatur, Fannin County, Fayette County, LaGrange

(“The Farm” named for the French Estate of Marquis de

Lafayette), Lanier County, Macon, and Valdosta.

Marquis de Lafayette Lafayette at the Owens-Thomas House, Savannah, Georgia, 1825

Lafayette Square, LaGrange, Georgia

General George Washington and family with the Marquis de Lafayette on the piazza at Mount Vernon.

King Louis XVI and family in the gardens at the Palace of Versailles.

Ambassador Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson at the court of King Louis XVI.

Franklin College is the founding college of the University of Georgia. The college was named in

honor of Benjamin Franklin.

Mayor Kasim Reed Justice Prize

Monica Pearson Peace Prize

Jeff Sprecher & Kelly Loeffler Millennium Gate Prize

Mayor Shirley Franklin Peace Prize

Ben, Valery, and Bill Voyles Millennium Gate Prize

Joel Katz Millennium Gate Prize

Susan Eisenhower Peace Prize

GA Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears Justice Prize

Two Tables (16 tickets) Recognition & Publicity All the benefits of Bronze and Silver, additionally… Sponsor logo prominently displayed during gala, silent auction, and VIP reception Recognition on all marketing materials Benefits to Employees All the benefits of Bronze and Silver, additionally… Right to host 2 events for up to 250 people at the Millennium Gate Museum (catering for dinner & cocktails

is the responsibility of the patron) Private behind the scenes tour of the Millennium Gate Museum and Historic Mims Park with Rodney Cook 15 (fifteen total) memberships to the Millennium Gate Museum (a $15,000 value) Use of roof conservatory (patron lounge) during normal museum hours

One Table (8 tickets) Recognition & Publicity All the benefits of Bronze Benefits to Employees All the benefits of Bronze, additionally… VIP Reception invitations Right to host 1 event for up to 250 people at the Millennium Gate Museum (catering for dinner & cocktails is

the responsibility of the patron) 10 (ten total) memberships to the Millennium Gate Museum (a $10,000 value)

One Table (8 tickets) Recognition & Publicity Sponsor logo displayed during gala, silent auction, and VIP reception Verbal recognition from the podium the night of the gala Recognition on the Millennium Gate Museum’s “Wall of Funders” Recognition on thenmf.org and thegateatlanta.com Advertising space in the quarterly NMF Magazine that reaches 58,670 people across Georgia Benefits to Employees Invitations to the Georgia history lecture series 5 (five total) memberships to the Millennium Gate Museum (a $5,000 value)

One Table (8 tickets) Recognition & Publicity Recognition on the Millennium Gate Museum’s “Wall of Funders” Recognition on thenmf.org and thegateatlanta.com One Table (8 tickets) to the gala

(2 tickets)

(1 ticket)

Purchase Online

Name: Valery Voyles

Email: vvoyles@edvoyles.com

Name: Rebecca Flick

Email: rebeccaisbellflick@yahoo.com

Name: Lisa Joublanc

Email: lisa@lisajoublancinteriors.com

Name: Jeff Otto

Office: (404) 446-4307

Mobile: (857) 222-7171

Email: jotto@thegateatlanta.com

Jordan Amadio

Colin Brady

Caleb Clark

John Coleman

Johnson Cook

Rodney Cook, Jr.

Pat Daniel

Bob Harris

Robert Hultslander

Joe Lonsdale

Layton Roberts

Pam Rollins

Irene Thomas

Mary Hardin Thornton

Arol Wolford

Millennium Gate Museum - 395 17th St NW Atlanta, GA 30363 - (404) 881-0900 - www.thegateatlanta.com

Printed Courtesy