Education for Change, 1773–1792
Of humble background Alexandre received a first-class education thanks to a long-term relationship between his mother and a noble army officer. At Paris’ Collège d’Harcourt, he gained the tools to interact with and serve alongside France’s elite. He attached himself to a young lawyer, Camille Desmoulins, who played an important role in whipping up popular enthusiasm in the Palais Royale during the crisis of July 1789 and emerged as an important journalist. Rousselin became his confidential secretary but then switched over to Georges-Jacques Danton, an orator and politician of growing influence. Intimately engaged in the work of both men, Rousselin watched and participated in the growth of Paris’ popular movement as Louis XVI’s intransigence and foreign war led toward the overthrow of the monarchy on 10 August 1792.