Headlines!

Tracing the Evolution of the 
French Revolution, along the 
"Crane Brinton" Diagram, through Historical Headlines of the Events

If the events of the French Revolution were made into historical headlines, what would they look like? The French Revolution, although fascinating in detail, can be hard to muddle through. So, to help us deal, we'll use two (2) tacks:

1. Historical Headlines taken from true-to-fact contemporary events
2. The Crane Brinton diagram of the "Anatomy of a Revolution".

When reading through each headline, place these details on your provided Crane Brinton diagram. 

So, who was this Crane Brinton guy? In the 1930s, Crane Brinton, a Harvard professor, wrote his seminal feature, Anatomy of a Revolution that postulated that every revolution has to go through six (6) stages. They are the:

1. Old Regime Stage (the "status quo" of oppression)
2. Early Stage (the "challenge" of authority)
3. Moderate Stage (the "honeymoon" stage)
4. "Extreme Rule" Stage: (the "radicals" rise up)
5. "Terror Rule" Stage: (swift, formulaic change)
6. Thermidor Stage: ("convalescence" and peace)

He traced these evolutionary advancements through the French, British, American and Russian Revolutions.

We've already discussed the Old Regime "status quo" and on your Select-A-Quest Activity, you've already traced the evolution from "civility" to "violence": from the List of Grievances to the Tennis Court Oath to the Storming of the Bastille and eventually to the writing of the Declaration of the Rights of Men. And that's where we'll pick up the story with this "Headlines" activity. 

For each headline, I want you to place the information along your Crane Brinton Diagram. The information is relatively easy to understand, but what's more important is the event's location on the diagram. Simply provide the headline title and perhaps a brief description. 

Headlines!

The Walk of Shame: King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were discovered trying to flee the city.

Trial of the Century: King Louis XVI was put on trial for crimes committed against the country.

The refractory (“stubborn”) Clergy on their metaphorical way to the “Promised Land”. One of the goals of atavistically-noted Reign of Terror was to purge the land of corrupt clergymen.

Bonaparte Watching the Mob in the Tuileries Garden - June 1792. From a painting by Georges Cain.