The French Revolution and the creation of American political culture

2009 ◽  
pp. 26-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lloyd S. Kramer
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
American Political Culture ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The French Revolution

The New Regime

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Crook
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Representative Government ◽  
Administrative Framework ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Liberal Perspective ◽  
Constitutional Monarchy ◽  
The French Revolution ◽  
The Revolution

This chapter aims to establish the first years of the French Revolution as a radical experiment in the practice of democracy, and to overturn the ‘moderate’ or ‘liberal’ perspective that many historians have adopted. Following the wholesale destruction of the ancien régime and the principles laid down in 1789 for the creation of a replacement, a new political culture emerged. The administrative framework that was rapidly instituted was by no means decentralized, but it proved incapable of controlling the great explosion of political activity and discussion, which subverted rather than supported the foundation of representative government. The analysis of elections, clubs and newspapers that flourished nationwide demonstrates these unruly dynamics of revolutionary citizenship, which the constitutional monarchy struggled to circumscribe. Despite the concerted efforts made to close this period of upheaval with the inception of the Constitution in the autumn of 1791, the Revolution was far from over.

scholarly journals Culture, Strategy, and State-Centered Explanations of Revolution, 1789 and 1989

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Sharman
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Culture Strategy ◽  
The Way ◽  
The French Revolution

Social scientists studying revolutions have increasingly argued that explanations of revolutions that do not include subjective factors, such as culture, are inadequate. The failure to explain the anti-Communist revolutions of 1989 is forceful testimony to this inadequacy. But the way in which cultural aspects are being added to existing approaches tends to undermine past advances in studying revolutions. Recent historiography of the French Revolution provides an example of a more thorough-going approach to political culture. A productive synthesis that both preserves past advances and better explains the revolutions of 1989 is achieved by analyzing the effects of cultural change on state elites.

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ambrogio Caiani
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Early Phase ◽  
Working Relationship ◽  
Passive Resistance ◽  
Reform Programme ◽  
Marie Antoinette ◽  
Louis Xvi ◽  
Complex Question ◽  
The French Revolution

The important role played by Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in the radicalization of the early phase of the French Revolution has never been in doubt. Most histories continue to focus on the regal couple’s real, and supposed, role in fomenting counter-revolution at home and especially abroad. This chapter engages with the complex question of the dwindling fortunes of Louis XVI’s monarchy from a more domestic angle. It focuses on that neglected, though crucial, year of 1790 which witnessed the failure to erect a viable constitutional settlement. It became impossible to accommodate both Crown and assembly in a viable working relationship. Essentially, the king’s distrust for the deputies, who had little by little arrogated his remaining powers, proved insurmountable. The monarchy’s passive resistance to the revolution’s early reform programme and political culture became increasingly unpopular. This created a radicalized and tension-filled atmosphere which pushed the revolution into hitherto unexpected directions.

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