Selected Bibliography for The Year 1789
The Role of the Press during the French Revolution
Amouroux, Henri. “La Presse sous la révolution.” Revue des Sciences Morales &
Politiques 144, no. 2 (1989): 205-213.
Andress, David. “Press and public in the French Revolution: A Parisian Case-Study from
1791.” European History Quarterly 28, no. 1 (1998): 51.
Burrowes, Carl Patrick. “Property, Power and Press Freedom: Emergence of the Fourth
Estate, 1640-1789.” Journalism & Communication Monographs 13, no. 1 (2011):
2-66.
This article discusses the development of the freedom of the press up until
the time of the French Revolution. It highlights different writings and
sources about how freedom of the press developed even during absolutist
times. This freedom came to completion during the liberal stage of the
Revolution. The article does not reach the radical stage of the Revolution
where the freedom was again lost. DB
Chisick, Harvey. “Pamphlets and Journalism in the Early French Revolution: The Offices
of the Ami du Roi of the Abbé Royou as a Center of Royalist Propaganda.”
French Historical Studies 15, no. 4 (1988): 623.
This article focuses more on group pamphlets or other types of informal
printed communication during the Revolution. This includes propaganda
from the time period both in word and picture. It focuses on the effect the
printed word had on the Old Regime. DB
Desan, Suzanne. “Transatlantic Spaces of Revolution: The French Revolution,
Sciotomanie, and American Lands.” Journal of Early Modern History 12, no. 6
(2008): 467-505.
This article discusses the role that American and British intervention
played in the Revolution and how this became expressed in the French
press. It brings up the issue of emigration. It cites both revolutionary
newspapers and other media sources, as well as American and British
sources. DB
Gough, Hugh. “National Politics and the Provincial Jacobin Press During the Directory.”
History of European Ideas 10, no. 4 (1989): 443-454.
This article discusses the role of various Jacobin groups and the effect they
had on the press in Revolutionary France. It refers to various publications
by groups both in Paris and in the rest of France. The main point of the
article is to measure how the Jacobin ideas spread and the different ways in
which they spread. DB
Gruder, Vivian R. “Can We Hear the Voices of Peasants? France 1788.” History of
European Ideas 17, no. 2/3 (1993): 167-190.
This article concentrates on the peasants of France and how their story was
reported throughout France using periodicals. The study of press
involvement in the peasant world is very important because this represents
a modernizing of the media. Gruder uses actual pamphlets, as well as
scholarly reactions to them, in the article. DB
Popkin, Jeremy D. “The Newspaper Press in French Political Thought, 1789-99.” Studies
in Eighteenth Century Culture 10 (1981): 113-133.
Dechristianization and Enlightenment during the French Revolution
Aston, Nigel. Religion and Revolution in France: 1780-1804. Washington, DC: Catholic
Univ. of America Press, 2000.
This book examines the idea of enlightenment in during the French revolution.
Nigel Aston recognizes the subsistence of religious enlightenment convention
during the revolution process. However, he argues that despite the religious
enlightenment, there were still great numbers of superstitious beliefs among the
citizens. This book is vital since it clarifies a highly significant interrelationship
between the religion and revolution. Aston outlines that the revolution greatly
impacted into religion reform and renewal thus leading to Dechristianization in
the region. He concludes by sympathizing with Catholics who fought to maintain
their practices and avoid Dechristianization. Nigel should be congratulated for his
great research of analyzing the major relationship between religion and the French
revolution. SA
Baker, Keith Michael. Inventing the French Revolution: Essays on French Political
Culture in the Eighteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1990.
Baker focuses on the relationship between the Enlightenment and the French
revolution. The book clarifies that the revolution brought the Enlightenment into
power. The major focus for the Enlightenment was to ensure conformation to the
values and principles of the middle class French people. The author of the book
also highlights changes in various sections of the country’s lifestyle such as
overthrowing the feudal economy and introduction of capitalism. He concludes by
saying that the revolution generally led to the philosophy of enlightenment that
courageously attacked all issues related to socio-economic and socio-cultural
French way of life. SA
Cobb, Richard Charles. The People’s Armies. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987.
This book addresses how the armies formed during the revolution played the most
significant role in influencing Dechristianization and thus the Enlightenment.
Richard clarifies that the army monopolized the crime of forcing all Christians in
the French region to stop the Christianity practices. The content of this book
highly aids my understanding that political leaders highly bought the notion of
stopping the practice of Christianity values. The book argues that Catholic
leaders tried hard to avoid these side effects of the revolution. It concludes that
these activities greatly led to atheism in the army and resulted into the churchmen
praying in hidden areas. SA
Kroen , Sheryl. “Revolutionizing Religious Politics during the Restoration.” French
Historical Studies 21, no. 1 (Winter 1998): 27-53.
This article focuses on how priests and religious Christian men developed
missions of reviving the beliefs of those men who had been affected by
Dechristianization. The author’s main aim is to bring out how Dechristianization
had changed most Frenchmen and the principles employed by the pastors recover
the beliefs of these men. Kroen says that this was a complex task thus the
challenges faced greatly opened their brains on how to conduct the functionality.
This article enlightens my understanding of the historical research based on
revolution experienced in the Europe. It clarifies that Catholic leaders played an
essential role in the development of a well-strategized political system, rights to
worship, and the general notion of nationhood. Kroen concludes that, if Church
leaders did not try hard in enlightening people to a better way of social, cultural,
and political life, then the revolution would have lasted for a very long time. SA
Phillips, Henry. Church and Culture in Seventeenth-Century France. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Phillips highlights the major cultural beliefs preferred by the Frenchmen that
made them force people to stop practicing the Christianity practices. The article
outlines the beliefs of being able to impose political policies under one’s
requirements were the major influential factors to dechristianization. The author
concludes by saying that, since the church was against political practices that
frustrated the middle and lower class people, it made the political heads to enforce
the avoidance of Christianity religious beliefs. SA
Sonenscher, Michael. “Enlightenment and Revolution.” The Journal of Modern History,
70, no. 2 (June 1998): 371-383.
This article focuses on the relationship of enlightenment and revolution via an
account of the French revolution. Sonescher says that enlightenment during the
French revolution, the wide range of political and societal disorder engulfed the
whole life of Frenchmen thus leading to them perceiving advanced ideas on
leading a better way of life. The article agrees with the book (Sutherland, 1986)
that the key influential factors to the revolution were the power struggles and
socio-cultural misunderstandings between the French communities. The article
concludes by clarifying that this Enlightenment led to opening up innovative ways
for the study of the logical way of life. SA
Sutherland, Donald. France 1789-1815: Revolution and Counterrevolution. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1986.
This book focuses on the major factor that influenced the French revolution. The
author critically analyzes the most significant syntheses of the revolution. He
affirms that the central cruise force to the revolution is based on the social
conflicts between Frenchmen. He says that the collapse of the royal power led to
existence of a power vacuum that triggered the revolution. Sutherland concludes
by saying that power struggles and social misunderstandings between the
communities led to the adoption of other religious cults that impacted to
Dechristianization. SA
The Role of Women during the French Revolution
Abray, Jane. “Feminism in the French Revolution.” The American Historical Review 80,
no. 1 (1975): 43-62.
Abray says in her article that the feminist movement in France during the early
part of the French Revolution was focused on gaining equal rights for all sexes
and ages so all could participate in assemblies, debates, and appointments. Abray
cites many instances where feminists campaign for economic, educational, legal,
and political reform. PN
Desan, Suzanne. “The Role of Women in Religious Riots During the French Revolution.”
Eighteenth-Century Studies 22, no. 3 (1989): 451-468.
Desan states in her article that though French women were not usually prone to
starting religious riots, they did take an active role in defending their families and
communities. They felt a duty and right to riot and felt justified in using violence
to accomplish their goals. PN
DiCaprio, Lisa. “Women Workers, State Sponsored Work, and the Right to Subsistence
during the French Revolution.” The Journal of Modern History 71, no. 3 (1999):
519-551.
Garrioch, David. “The Everyday Lives of Parisian Women and the October Days of
1789.” Social History 24, no. 3 (1999): 231-249.
Garrioch’s article shows that women during the French Revolution, specifically
the October Days, had both a sense of independence and of political awareness.
Garrioch stresses the importance of women in the workplace, family life, and
interactions with their male counterparts leading up to and during the October
Days. PN
Hufton, Olwen. “Women in Revolution 1789-1796.” Past & Present, no. 53 (1971): 90108.
Hufton states the importance of understanding the role women in the revolution is
directly related to the role of women in the home and in the French economy.
Hufton also talks about how women fought to keep their families above the line of
destitution in the bread riots. PN
Kale, Steven D. “Women, the Public Sphere, and the Persistence of Salons.” French
Historical Studies, no. 1 (2002): 115-148.
Kindleberger, Elizabeth R. “Charlotte Corday in Text and Image: A Case Study in the
French Revolution and Women’s History.” French Historical Studies 18, no. 4
(1994): 969-999.
Kindleberger focuses on women active in the political spheres of the French
Revolution, specifically Corday, her appeal, and her letters. She also focuses on
Marat and her similarities to Corday. Kindleberger uses iconography to help
explain her finding on Corday and Marat. PN
Scott, Joan Wallach. “French Feminists and the Rights of ‘Man’: Olympe de Gouges's
Declarations.” History Workshop. no. 28 (1989): 1-21.
The Role of the Army in the French Revolution
Aston, Nigel. The French Revolution, 1789-1804. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Aston highlights the differences between the National Guard and Royal Army
during the revolution. He argues that the Nation Guard was often provoked to
react against the Royal Army. He explores the role of the army in years
immediately following the revolution. He relies on primary sources, such as letter
and government documents, to explain his argument. MP
Best, Geoffrey. The Permanent Revolution. London: University of Chicago, 1989.
Clifford, Dale Lothrop. “Can the Uniform Make the Citizen? Paris, 1789-1791.”
Eighteenth-Century Studies 34, no. 3 (2001) 363-382.
Clifford discusses how French citizens came to be a part of the National Guard.
She shows how the uniform of the National Guard played in to the role of
citizenship. She argues that the uniform was available in various ways; it was
largely open to the bourgeoisie but it was open to poor citizens too. Clifford relies
on government archives and secondary sources. MP
Clifford, Dale Lothrop. “The National Guard and the Parisian Community, 1789-1790.”
French Historical Studies 16, no. 4 (1990): 849-878.
Clifford begins by describing the formation of the National Guard. She details
how the National Guard created the division of power and the roles different
people took in the army. She describes the conflicts that arose within the
formation of the Guard. MP
Lynn, John A. The Bayonets of the Republic. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois
Press, 1989.
Lynn details the royal army prior to the revolution and shows the dramatic
changes it underwent through the revolution. He shows how the royal army
reacted to the revolution and how the National Guard grew from the conflict of
July and August, 1789. Lynn then shows the growth and role of the army through
the revolution. MP
Rothenburg, Gunter E. “Soldiers and the Revolution: The Army, Society, and the State,
1788-99.” Historical Journal 32, no. 4 (1989): 981-995.
Scott, Samuel F. “Problems of Law and Order during 1790.” The American Historical
Review 80 no. 4 (1975): 859-888.
Scott highlights the function of the National Guard and the royal army during the
year 1790. He shows how conflicts that occurred between the two existing armies.
Scott explains that the majority of the conflicts that arose during
this, largely peaceful, year involved citizens rather than the opposing armies. MP
Scott, Samuel F. The Response of Royal Army to the French Revolution. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1978.
Scott helps illustrate the role of the National Guard in the French Revolution. He
shows that the royal army existed with the National Guard and shows the conflicts
they both faced. He shows that the armies helped shape the revolution. Scott uses
various primary sources, including letters and personal correspondences,
secondary sources that described the armies' roles, and political cartoons from the
revolution. MP
Wrong, Charles. “The Social Role of the French Army before the Revolution.”
Australian Journal of French Studies 18, no. 3 (September 1981): 212-230.
Doug Brooking, Pete Nevers, Megan Parker, and Scott Amlung prepared this
bibliography.