History

    1. The well-known historian Simon Schama once quipped that “1794 was just 1789 with a higher body count.” By this he meant that something about the French Revolutionary was inherently bloody and radical from its beginnings. By his account the Reign of Terror was neither a corruption of the original Revolutionary vision nor the outcome of events such as civil and foreign war, but rather the inevitable outcome of events. Using Sieyes’s 1789 pamphlet “What is the Third Estate?” and Robespierre’s 1794 speech “Principles of Political Morality” speech, examine whether there is any truth in what Schama has said. After first explaining Seiyes and Robespierre’s different historical and ideological contexts, consider their areas of difference and/or similarity. Questions you may want to consider include: What similarities and differences do we see in terms of how the nation is conceived and the policies necessary to defend it? Who are the enemies and what must be done with them?

                                                                                                                                      Order Now