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Revolutionary Ideas

An Intellectual History of the French Revolution from The Rights of Man to Robespierre
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Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2014

About this book

How the Radical Enlightenment inspired and shaped the French Revolution

Historians of the French Revolution used to take for granted what was also obvious to its contemporary observers—that the Revolution was shaped by the radical ideas of the Enlightenment. Yet in recent decades, scholars have argued that the Revolution was brought about by social forces, politics, economics, or culture—almost anything but abstract notions like liberty or equality. In Revolutionary Ideas, one of the world's leading historians of the Enlightenment restores the Revolution’s intellectual history to its rightful central role. Drawing widely on primary sources, Jonathan Israel shows how the Revolution was set in motion by radical eighteenth-century doctrines, how these ideas divided revolutionary leaders into vehemently opposed ideological blocs, and how these clashes drove the turning points of the Revolution.

In this compelling account, the French Revolution stands once again as a culmination of the emancipatory and democratic ideals of the Enlightenment. That it ended in the Terror represented a betrayal of those ideas—not their fulfillment.

Author / Editor information

Jonathan Israel is professor of modern history at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. He is the author of A Revolution of the Mind: Radical Enlightenment and the Intellectual Origins of Modern Democracy (Princeton).

Reviews

"Amazingly well-researched. . . . To describe it as a very, very worthy read, would be an understatement of colossal, consequentialist design." --- "A remarkable book. . . . An enormously rich and engaging work that invites us to think and to challenge received wisdom."---Mark Curran, European History Quarterly --- "A racy account of the concepts that shaped the French Revolution and its people. . . . The book leaves the reader with a strong impression of the power of ideas that unlock political energy and the strength of leadership needed to withstand fickle popular opinion."---Tom Watson, New Statesman --- "Israel, author of the pathbreaking studies on the Dutch Republic, European Jews, and more recently the radical Enlightenment, now turns his attention to the French Revolution, arguing that the underlying cause was ideological--namely, the impact of the radical Enlightenment resulting from the work of philosophers Denis Diderot, Claude Adrien Helvetius, and Paul-Henry Thiry, Baron d'Holbach. . . . Israel takes them at their word, painstakingly poring through voluminous revolutionary newspapers and the archives parlementaires, records of the revolutionary national assemblies. . . . This significant and nuanced study is a major reinterpretation." --- "Israel, a professor of modern European history at Princeton, is a world authority on the 18th-century Enlightenment. Here he constructs a bold and brilliantly argued case that the 1789 French Revolution was propelled by the clash of innovative political doctrines that supported or contested Enlightenment values."---Tony Barber, Financial Times --- "[M]ajestic."---Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe, Trinidad and Tobago News --- "[P]acked with details . . . [Revolutionary Ideas] is part of Israel's major project to give the Enlightenment, especially the Radical Enlightenment as he calls it, new luster."---NRC Handelsblad --- "Overwhelmingly impressive."---Peter Watson, Times --- "[W]ith typical boldness Israel invites us to reconceptualise our very idea of the Revolution."---Jeremy Jennings, Standpoint --- "[C]losely argued. . . . Israel can be understood as a historian in the long liberal tradition stretching back to Madame de Stael, who herself witnessed the revolution and saw it as a story of the betrayal of liberty."---Ruth Scurr, Wall Street Journal --- "[A]dvances an erudite and persuasive argument. . . . Israel's categorization of the various revolutionary factions offers fascinating new insights, and his knack for uncovering interesting but neglected individuals and texts is second to none . . . rich and thought provoking book. It is remarkable and significant."---Rachel Hammersley, Times Literary Supplement --- "Winner of the 2015 PROSE Award in European & World History, Association of American Publishers"

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    Frontmatter

    i
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    Contents

    v
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    Figures

    vii
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    Acknowledgments

    ix
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    Prologue

    1
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    Chapter 1. Introduction

    6
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    Chapter 2. Revolution of the Press (1788–90)

    30
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    Chapter 3. From Estates-General to National Assembly (April–June 1789)

    53
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    Chapter 4. The Rights of Man: Summer and Autumn 1789

    72
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    Chapter 5. Democratizing the Revolution

    103
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    Chapter 6. Deadlock (November 1790–July 1791)

    141
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    Chapter 7. War with the Church (1788–92)

    180
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    Chapter 8. The Feuillant Revolution ( July 1791–April 1792)

    204
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    Chapter 9. The “General Revolution” Begins (1791–92)

    231
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    Chapter 10. The Revolutionary Summer of 1792

    246
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    Chapter 11. Republicans Divided (September 1792–March 1793)

    278
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    Chapter 12. The “General Revolution” from Valmy to the Fall of Mainz (1792–93)

    316
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    Chapter 13. The World’s First Democratic Constitution (1793)

    345
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    Chapter 14. Education: Securing the Revolution

    374
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    Chapter 15. Black Emancipation

    396
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    Chapter 16. Robespierre’s Putsch ( June 1793)

    420
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    Chapter 17. The Summer of 1793: Overturning the Revolution’s Core Values

    450
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    Chapter 18. De-Christianization (1793–94)

    479
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    Chapter 19. “The Terror” (September 1793–March 1794)

    503
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    Chapter 20. The Terror’s Last Months (March–July 1794)

    545
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    Chapter 21. Thermidor

    574
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    Chapter 22. Post-Thermidor (1795–97)

    593
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    Chapter 23. The “General Revolution” (1795–1800): Holland, Italy, and the Levant

    635
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    Chapter 24. The Failed Revolution (1797–99)

    670
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    Chapter 25. Conclusion: The Revolution as the Outcome of the Radical Enlightenment

    695
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    Cast of Main Participants

    709
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    Notes

    733
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    Bibliography

    803
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    Index

    833
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
July 28, 2015
eBook ISBN:
9781400849994
Edition:
Course Book
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
View content
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400849994
eBook ISBN: 9781400849994
Keywords for this book
Jacobin; Legislature; Republicanism; Girondins; Aristocracy; Cordeliers; Populism; Despotism; Counter-revolutionary; Monarchism; Dictatorship; Popular sovereignty; Montesquieu; Nobility; Politics; Parlement; Ideology; Subversion; Politique; Revolution; Democracy; Pamphlet; Philosophy; Authoritarianism; Atheism; Feuillant (political group); Slavery; Monarchy; Sovereignty; Direct democracy; Sans-culottes; Representative democracy; Theocracy; Edict; Decree; Writing; September Massacres; Persecution; 10 August (French Revolution); Protestantism; Paris Commune; Ultra-royalist; Legislation; Democratic republic; Insurgency; Clergy; Helen Maria Williams; Sedition; Camille Desmoulins; Radicalism (historical); Prussia; Unrest; Prejudice; Nantes; Constitutional monarchy; Defection; Counter-Enlightenment; Napoleon; Thomas Paine; Manifesto; Oligarchy; Committee of Public Safety; Maximilien Robespierre; Thermidorians; Constitutionalism; Freedom of speech; Jacobin (politics); Rhetoric; Voting; Election
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
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