Lesson #12 - The French Revolution

• Are you ready to present? (1 point)
• Are you speaking on the correct side and obeying the time guidelines? (1 point)
• Is you thesis (or overall position) clear? (1 point)
• Do you make and support a first relevant claim/argument? (1 point)
• Do you make and support a second relevant claim/argument? (1 point)

• Resolved: The British were justified in expecting American colonists to pay for a greater share of Britain's North American war debts.
• Resolved: The American Revolution would not have happened without the Enlightenment.
• Resolved: The causes of the American Revolution were more economic than political.
• Resolved: Thomas Jefferson and the Americans were justified in declaring independence from the British and King George III.
• Resolved: John Locke would have supported the actions of the American colonists throughout the American Revolution.
• Resolved: The conflict between the colonists and the British was a "war for independence," not a true revolution.
• Resolved: The colonists' victory in the American Revolution was a remarkable upset of a much stronger opponent.
• Resolved: The Articles of Confederation were a sound basis for the American governmental system.
• Resolved: The United States would have benefited more had the Anti-Federalists won control.
• Resolved: The "Founding Fathers" are hypocrites for not ending slavery in the Constitution.
• Resolved: The Constitution failed to fulfill the Declaration of Independence's statement that "all men are created equal."
• Resolved: The Bill of Rights is a document of greater historical significance than the Declaration of Independence.
  

The French Revolution: Throughout the 18th century, France was generally considered the most advanced country in Europe. Through a combination of factors, they found themselves in the midst of a revolution and "reign of terror" as the century came to a close. We'll look at these events, as well as the rule of Napoleon which follows, from a variety of perspectives. Initially, we'll introduce a "model" for revolution and see how well it fits here.

Crane Brinton - The Anatomy of Revolution In his 1938 book, Harvard historian Crane Brinton argued that a revolution was a process where power was overthrown and which passed through particular phases. He likened it to the process of a fever, leading some to call it a "fever chart" for revolution. In his book, he analyzed the English Civil War, American Revolution, French Revolution and Russian Revolution.

You can download a description of the Brinton model for revolutions. I'll give you a handout with this description, as well as another, slightly different description of Brinton's stages of revolution. I'm also going to give you a larger sheet of paper. Working in a pair or on your own, I want you to test the model's value in analyzing the French Revolution.

• Read through the "phases and symptoms" on the handout.
• Sketch out a fever chart on the paper provided for you.
• Decide where you think the "phases" should fall along the fever chart.
• Label you chart with at least fifteen (or more) specific events from Chapter 23's first two sections. (NOTE: You probably won't be all the way to the far, right end of your fever chart. The events from the time of Napoleon are yet to come.)

HOMEWORK for tomorrow - Thursday, September 17th