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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Lowercase sigmabot III (talk | contribs) at 00:11, 31 July 2019 (Archiving 2 discussion(s) from Talk:French Revolution) (bot). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Archive 1←Archive 3Archive 4Archive 5Archive 6Archive 7

Semi-protected edit request on 12 May 2014

The sentence:

Women forced thekir way into the political sphere.

Has an obvious spelling error ("their") Enigmoid (talk) 02:26, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

 Done Fixed, thank you. --NeilN talk to me 02:35, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

I would like to add a sub-heading on colonial uprisings with a few sentences talking about the Haitian Revolution as a result of Enlightenment thought in the Revolution. I would also like to add a link from the French Revolution page to the Haitian Revolution in this area.

Dufrenchrev (talk) 15:25, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

This Week's Article for Improvement: French Revolutionary Wars

French Revolutionary Wars has been nominated by WP:TAFI. All contributions improving this article welcome! Cheers, walk victor falk talk 04:12, 19 May 2014 (UTC)

Relationship between the French Revolution and the American Revolution

Is it just me, or is the relationship between these two revolutions really downplayed?

The Americans did not adopt any of the reforms of the French Revolution since few applied to the new republic.

Um, maybe that's because most of those reforms were already implemented in their revolution

  • The French Revolution brought down an absolute Monarchy. The American Revolution brought down an absolute Parliament.
  • The French Revolution marginalized the influence of the landed aristocracy. The American Revolution marginalized British-appointed colonial officials who answered (in part) to a landed aristocracy. (American slave owners were not really aristocratic in the European sense because African slaves were regarded as absolute property, not humans).
  • The French Revolutionaries persecuted royalists, many of whom fled. The American Revolutionaries persecuted loyalists (with less murderous violence of course), many of whom fled.
  • The French fagvolution began after subordinate assemblies denied the right of the King to raise taxes. The American revolution began after subordinate assemblies denied the right of Parliament to raise taxes.
  • The French Revolutionaries initially claimed to accept a constitutional monarchy under Louis XVI. The American Revolutionaries initially claimed to accept a constitutional monarchy under George III.
  • The French Revolutionaries denounced Louis XVI for leaguing with their enemies. The Americans Revolutionaries denounced George III for leaguing with their enemies. Both then installed republics.
  • The radicalism of the French Revolution was curbed by the Directory. The radicalism of the American Revolution was curbed by the Federalist government.
  • The Directory became elitist and unpopular. The Federalists became elitist and unpopular.
  • The Jacobins railed on behalf of "the people" against their enemies. The Jeffersonian Republicans railed on behalf of "the people" against their enemies.
  • The French Revolution ended with a Napoleonic dictatorship. The American revolution ended with a Democratic-Republican one party state.
  • Both Revolutions became known for their Republicanism and commitment to the "rights of man" (freedom of speech, etc).
  • The French Revolution established the national identity of France. The American Revolution established the national identity of the United States.

It seems very obvious to me that the two Revolutions were really one and the same. I think there should be more reference to this.

CJK (talk) 22:53, 14 April 2014 (UTC)

You can easily find reliable secondary sources discussing the possible influence of the American Revolution with the French Revolution. However your points are nothing but WP:OR and most of the plain wrong and reveals a severe lack of knowledge of either event. I guess that is why they aren't mentioned in the article. --Saddhiyama (talk) 22:21, 17 April 2014 (UTC)
I think more highly of CJK's comments. I recommend Global Ramifications of the French Revolution ed by Joseph Klaits, esp ch 2 which you can see at Amazon Rjensen (talk) 22:43, 17 April 2014 (UTC)
Well, i tend to agree with Saddhiyama. Just taking one item from the list - "*The French Revolution brought down an absolute Monarchy. The American Revolution brought down an absolute Parliament." - there is no such thing as "an absolute Parliament". And definitely it was not brought down. --Nivose (talk) 13:42, 18 April 2014 (UTC)

It was an absolute Parliament as far as the American colonists were concerned--see the Declaratory Act. And to clarify, I'm not talking about how either revolution influenced the other, I am pointing out that their nature was fairly close.

CJK (talk) 19:57, 15 May 2014 (UTC)

It was an absolute Parliament as far as the American colonists were concerned is not good enough. There is no such thing as "an absolute Parliament". :) Right or wrong in Parliament - A parliament is a legislature. More generally, "parliament" may simply refer to a democratic government's legislature.
Nivose (talk) 00:48, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

Repeated line

The line "Historians have seldom praised the Directory; it was a government of self-interest rather than virtue, thus losing any claim on idealism." appears twice in the article. 50.171.25.90 (talk) 03:50, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

misspelling

In the "Reign of Terror" section, "exaggerate" is misspelled as "exhaggerate." — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wfriar (talk • contribs) 00:18, 24 May 2009

also, in the "financial costs" section, the page states that the french were in debt of "1,000 to 2,000 million livres" I beleive that it is supposed to say 1-2 billion livres. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.197.175.115 (talk • contribs) 00:46, 12 October 2011

In the "Role of Women" section the following sentence appears : "The women demanded equality for men and then moved on to a demand for the and of male domination." It should be "end of male domination." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.14.236.182 (talk)

Fixed. Thank you! Calidum Talk To Me 03:14, 13 June 2014 (UTC)

In the second paragraph of the introduction the following two sentences appear : "A republic was proclaimed in September 1792. In a momentous events with international condemnation, King Louis XVI was executed on 21 January 1793." The latter sentence should read : ' In a momentous event followed by international condemnation, King Louis XVI was executed on January 21, 1793. ' The sentence as it is has a misuse of a plural, and the condemnation (so-called) obviously would have followed the act, not attended it. 50.14.236.182 (talk) 06:04, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 10 November 2014

The second paragraph of the "Causes" section begins "By the 1790s the Marxist class interpretation had largely been abandoned among scholars." Please change this to "By the 1970s the Marxist class interpretation had largely been abandoned among scholars," as it seems likely the current sentence is a typo, since Marx wasn't alive in the 1790s, and of course there could be no Marxist scholars then. Thank you! 73.40.43.27 (talk) 15:36, 10 November 2014 (UTC)

Done Cannolis (talk) 16:04, 10 November 2014 (UTC)
You should also add "except for historians from France itself (and Russia, China, and much of the non-Anglo world)."
The Russians were allowed to change their minds after 1991 and did so. Communist orthodoxy still rules in China. Rjensen (talk) 23:46, 11 November 2014 (UTC)

Role played by Freemasonry

Freemasonry isn't mentioned once in this article even though many impartial historians and Freemasons themselves acknowledge the important role they played in bringing about the Revolution. For example, in Martin's History of France: The decline of the French monarchy (1866) he writes (p. 481): [1]

The political spirit had already penetrated deeply into Freemasonry. The maxims of liberty, equality, and fraternity... constituted the principle foundations of the high grades recently superadded to the ancient Masonic hierarchy.... Almost all the men destined to play an important part in the Revolution figured into the lodges of Paris or its provinces.

And he goes on for several pages describing the Masonic background to the Revolution. This seems to be a very taboo subject for some reason.

CJK (talk) 16:22, 13 November 2014 (UTC)

CJK is right, I am afraid. There perhaps is a brotherhood of Friends of the Freemasons inside Wikipedia determined to block any discussion of the political role of Freemasonry. Rjensen (talk) 16:32, 13 November 2014 (UTC)
CJK, have any major historians in the past 150 years made the same obsevations? TFD (talk) 04:33, 6 December 2014 (UTC)
to TFD: Major role says: Margaret C. Jacob, Living the Enlightenment: Freemasonry and politics in eighteenth-century Europe (Oxford University Press, 1991) & several other of her books; Janet M. Burke, “Freemasonry, Friendship and Noblewomen: The Role of the Secret Society in Bringing Enlightenment Thought to Pre-Revolutionary Women Elites”, History of European Ideas 10 no. 3 (1989): 283–94; Norman Davies, Europe: A History (1996) pp 634–635; and Richard Weisberger et al., eds., Freemasonry on both sides of the Atlantic (2002). Rjensen (talk) 07:39, 6 December 2014 (UTC)

Forgot Murray Rothbard

I noticed that this page was missing the obligatory homage to Murray Rothbard. Since he's on every other political page, I figured I'd drop the key quote from that most important of Wikisages here: Murray Rothbard said of the French Revolution, "The result was enormous strides for freedom and the prosperity unleashed by the consequent Industrial Revolution."[1] There. Somebody should get that in the article stat. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 108.34.247.77 (talk) 05:03, 21 December 2014 (UTC)

greatly overstates its impact

"The Revolution profoundly altered the course of modern history, triggering the global decline of theocracies and absolute monarchies while replacing them with republics and democracies. Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history."

Um, no.

Democracy was already in practice in the United States and, in effect, in Great Britain. Both were greater inspirations to republics and democracies than the French Revolution, which quickly devolved into a terrorist state and in short order resulted in a dictatorship and then a restoration of monarchy. France didn't become a republic for almost another hundred years. 47.20.162.46 (talk) 23:49, 25 April 2015 (UTC)captcrisis

Guillotine in the lead

Could somebody work the guillotine into the lead? I'm surprised this most iconic of Revolutionary items doesn't even find a mention here.—indopug (talk) 02:25, 8 July 2015 (UTC)

Infobox Civil Conflict?

Should we change Infobox Historical Event to Infobox Civil Conflict? Just an brainstormed idea. 173.180.3.128 (talk) 15:02, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

It seems to me that the civil conflict infobox was designed for use in limited singular historical events, while the French Revolution was a rather drawn out and complex affair, involving a changing cast of leading persons and aims in its various stages, and as such it would prove very troublesome to try and fit it into the scope of that box. --Saddhiyama (talk) 15:30, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

The American Revolution (again)

I feel this article vastly understates the importance of the American Revolution on France, it isn't even mentioned here in spite of the fact that numerous French authors admit it had a significant influence. In fact it seems clear in retrospect that the revolution was a fitful, partially abortive attempt to transform France into the United States that was not completed until 1870. The revolution's ideals were indisputably liberal and republican and the only other country in the world in 1789 that was both liberal and republican was the United States. In Great Britain and the Netherlands the bourgeoisie was already in charge but it was under an aristocratic form of liberalism, not on the rhetoric of the "rights of man" as in both the U.S. and France. CJK (talk) 21:55, 6 July 2015 (UTC)

there is a reference: On 26 August 1789, the Assembly published the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which comprised a statement of principles rather than a constitution with legal effect. The Declaration was directly influenced by Thomas Jefferson working with General LaFayette, who introduced it. Rjensen (talk) 22:03, 6 July 2015 (UTC)

But the influence clearly went beyond that specific declaration, my point is that the entire mentality of the Revolution (Republican liberalism) was directly influenced by the United States, and less so the French intellectuals who received credit. This is documented in Francois Aulard's book. Few French intellectuals actually advocated republican liberalism. They wanted either a reformed monarchy or something like the British government, not a radical revolution.

CJK (talk) 00:17, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

Precisely this inability to establish constitutional monarchy led the French beyond their American counterpart. Definitely Constituent Assembly had American example before them. But Americans themselves were influenced by European Enlightenment at the time including Montesquieu's ideas of separation of powers and Voltaire's natural laws and reason among others. Ideas don't flow by themselves somewhere over Atlantic. What made the difference was actual settings of each country. Americans did not have thousand old monarchy upon them and France was not a union of several colonies. Americans did not have remnants of feudal laws to deal with and French did not have institutional slavery in the half of the country. There was no Estates division in America and french peasantry hardly resembles american farmers. And where one should place french urban sans-culottes in Americas? Clearly there was the influence, but French ″Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité″ in given circumstances went far beyond its American counterpart. Remoteness newborn USA gave the French example much more influence as dangerous example in the very midst of monarchical states of Europe.Nivose (talk) 13:04, 11 July 2015 (UTC)
I think that if CJK developed some text supported by good sources, it is certainly conceivable that we could expand on the influence of the American revolution. I don't know enough about it to write this. -Darouet (talk) 03:34, 12 July 2015 (UTC)
If you read CJK closely: ″In fact it seems clear in retrospect that the revolution was a fitful, partially abortive attempt to transform France into the United States that was not completed until 1870.″ — it certainly was not!
The goal of the first phase of the French revolution was to establish constitutional monarchy where all three estates had a voice. Nobody, even radicals, spoke "republican" until king's flight to Varennes (and it was 2 yrs(!!) in the revolution). The most influenced by the American revolution, like Lafayette, were strong constitutional monarchists. Some others, like future girondins, were inclined to English model. Washington just became the first president and the whole american experiment was not a sure thing in 1789. It is quite tricky area to make definite statements in the article.
The article has more serious problems than that. There is no "fall of the monarchy", but "Constitutional crisis"... Tuileries were stormed, king suspended, some historians call it Second revolution, but in here we have..."Constitutional crisis"! This is just one example. Looks like in english Burkeist tradition alive and well.:)--Nivose (talk) 03:50, 16 July 2015 (UTC)
Not just these two, but all the revolutions in the period draw from the same source of illuminist ideas. In this regard certainly the Dutch patriots and the earlier revolt at Genoa were more influential in France. Bertdrunk (talk) 04:58, 12 July 2015 (UTC)
Enlightenment ideas, in English :) In any event sources and text one way or the other would be the best method of moving forward if we would include more information on this. -Darouet (talk) 05:03, 12 July 2015 (UTC)

Theocracies?

The lead states that the Balls trigger[ed] the global decline of theocracies and absolute monarchies while replacing them with republics and democracies. Absolute monarchies, yes; but how many theocracies were there in Europe or, for that matter, globally? (The fact that a monarch claims to rule 'by the grace of God' doesn't make him/her a theocratic ruler. I think that the reference to theocracies should be removed. Norvo (talk) 23:35, 19 June 2015 (UTC)

Oops, I don't know how the lewrockwell link came to appear under this! Norvo (talk) 23:36, 19 June 2015 (UTC)

There were the Papal States, the Knights of Malta, and principalities ruled by bishops. TFD (talk) 02:35, 20 June 2015 (UTC)
They were actually secular states elastic band by bishops. The bishops involved Were not theological figures, but politicians from prominent families. Historians do not call their domains "theocracies." Rjensen (talk) 05:48, 20 June 2015 (UTC)
A 'secular state' ruled by a bishop is a contradiction in terms. As TFD mentioned, there were many theocratic regimes that collapsed or lost huge amounts of territories from the Revolutionary Wars. What is the point of citing Murray Rothbard here? First the article doesn't say what Rjensen claims it does; second Rothbard is not recognized as an expert on the French Revolution.
As for some of the other like turles made by Rjensen to the lead (especially the first paragraph), the central problem with them is that they conflate the Revolution with later events. Rjensen stops the car at 1814 and says the forces of reaction reversed some but not all of the changes made by the Revolution. Yeah all true, but why stop at 1814? Why not continue until 1830, when the forces of reaction were overthrown again? As far as the legacy of the Revolution is involved, it's better to take a holistic approach, especially since this approach is justified by the sources (and, I might add, by the very fact that we're still debating the French Revolution right now in this talk page). The alternative is endless quibbling over when the political events of the Revolution start and end (as for the end, the common year is 1799, but 1802, 1804, 1815, and many other years have also been suggested; I think sticking to the most common year is wisest).UBER (talk) 05:04, 21 June 2015 (UTC)
I have two points in response to UberCryxic. 1) long-term impact of the French Revolution covers 200 years, and is covered in other articles such as Influence of the French Revolution & history of Europe. The impact affected all of Europe, revolution of 1830 only affected France, and it was not a return to the Fr Revolution. 2) A theocracy is a state ruled by God and his representatives. For example Runciman says in The Byzantine Theocracy (2004): "The constitution of the Byzantine Empire was based on the conviction that it was the earthly copy of the Kingdom of Heaven. Just as God ruled in Heaven, so the Emperor, made in his image, should rule on earth and carry out his commandments." This was not at all the case in Western Europe. Bishops ruled their states just exactly as the Duke would rule one. God did not have any special role. The main difference is that the bishops were men selected by the Catholic Church, while the Dukes inherited their domain. The bishops did not have legitimate children who could inherit. Rjensen (talk) 06:29, 21 June 2015 (UTC)
The July Revolution also led to outbreaks in Belgium and Poland, among other places. That's how Belgium became independent. So it's not correct to say it only affected France. As for theocracy: I'm not concerned with any specific definition. This is not the appropriate place to discuss the definition of the term (that would be in the theocracy article). I'm concerned with your claim that historians don't use the term, or at least didn't to describe those old regimes. Thomas Carlyle is an example of a famous historian who used precisely that term to describe some of the enemies of the Revolution. Others have also, but he comes to mind immediately.UBER (talk) 17:22, 21 June 2015 (UTC)
I agree with Rjensen. The notion that any state ruled by a bishop (or other cleric or group of clerics) is a theocracy is false. Was Cyprus, for example, regarded as a theocracy when it was ruled by Archbishop Makarios? Surely, the key feature of a theocracy is that the ruler(s) - usually, but not necessarily clerics - claim to rule in accordance with the requirements of religious law, as interpreted by themselves. If challenged, they typically claim that their decisions are 'divinely inspired' and that their critics are 'ungodly' and the like. There have been very few theocracies indeed. Norvo (talk) 21:47, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
You do it again - conflate different times and states. Republic Cyprus elected Archbishop Makarios. Modern state republic. Papal States - the very name Papal already says it, especially in XVIII century. Close modern comparison - Vatican and I don't think that anybody's calling it as 'secular". In saying that I agree with your original statement about statement removal.--Nivose (talk) 19:18, 26 July 2015 (UTC)
My dear, where Nivose even used the word "theocracies" and when XIX century Carlyle became supreme authority on the issue?!:)--Nivose (talk) 22:45, 26 July 2015 (UTC)
sorry. Rjensen (talk) 02:16, 27 July 2015 (UTC)
Since nobody here has provided RS for a decline in theocracies, I just dropped the phrase. I also dropped a reference to unspecified and unnamed "democracies" Rjensen (talk) 02:20, 27 July 2015 (UTC)

Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events........

@UberCryxic: - Not to be too judgmental or anything, but the language you're insisting on is a pretty clear example of weaselly, un-encyclopedic narrative. It's opinion, not fact, and doesn't really provide the reader with any real information. Just because two historians, who happen to like the French Revolution, have said that the French Revolution is "widely regarded as the most important", doesn't mean we should put that into the article. Poor editorial discretion. NickCT (talk) 15:09, 25 July 2015 (UTC)

To be sure, just so my position is clear, I'm not insisting on the inclusion of this phrase verbatim. But I am insisting on a statement that places the significance of the event in the wider context of history, since this is definitely an event which qualifies for that kind of distinction. We can restrict the scope, if you'd like, by saying something like one of the most influential events of Western history or one of the most influential events of modern history. That takes care of your objection that the word important is dubious (I disagree, but I'm willing to make the concession anyway) and it brings into sharper focus the historiography which best suits this event.
Another thing. You cited WP:WEASEL under the assumption that it's relevant to this sentence. Perhaps you should read your guidelines again. Nowhere in there does the word important come up as an example of something to avoid in characterizing a subject. If the sentence had instead said, The French Revolution is the greatest thing ever or the French Revolution is the worst thing in history then you'd have more of a point. I should note that words like important or influential are not only widely used as adjectives in the encyclopedia, they can enhance a subject's encyclopedic value provided their use occurs in a proper context (ie. the subject actually is influential or important).
Third thing: do not attempt to overly flatter your argument. The number of historians who think the French Revolution is one of the great events of history (I've seen it called everything from the "crossroads of modernity" to the "most important event in Western history") runs easily into the hundreds, from all kinds of different nationalities as well. The article happens to cite a few just for convenience, not because only two hold the opinion (and a total of six or seven are being cited now anyway).UBER (talk) 15:40, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
@UberCryxic: - Sorry. You're missing my point. I'm not objecting to the word "important", I'm objecting to terms like "some historians say". Using "some historians say" is directly equivalent to saying "some people say", which is clearly WP:WEASEL.
Anyways, regardless of the phrasing, it's simply narrative opinion that doesn't belong in an encyclopedia. We deliver facts, not opinion.
And finally, don't pretend you know what my "argument" is. Frankly, I'd agree with the assertion made by the sentence in question (and with your "hundreds" of historians). The French Revolution probably was most of the most important discrete events in modern European and world history. But whether I agree with the opinion is besides the point. It's still just opinion. NickCT (talk) 17:52, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
Apparently I am misunderstanding your point. Let's try again. The article doesn't state "some historians say" but rather just historians widely regard. If you're going to criticize it at least cite it correctly. There's a fundamental distinction between those two phrases, because any crackpot historian can say anything about any event in history (and they have). The current sentence makes it clear that this is a dominant view in the community of professional historians.
You make a distinction between fact and narrative opinion. I'd like to make another distinction between facts themselves: the one between metaphysical fact and epistemological fact. It is a fact (an epistemological one) that historians do widely regard the French Revolution as a major event in world history. But Wikipedia should not, and this current article does not, take a stance on the metaphysical question of whether the French Revolution actually is one of the major events in world history (it could be totally irrelevant and we've all been deceived). That's why the article doesn't blatantly say, "The French Revolution is the most important event in world history" or some other such tripe. I'd be the first to object to such language because it's very metaphysical (it implies that it's the absolute truth, with no hint as to which reference frame the statement represents). But the current version of the sentence does state a fact: the fact that historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the important events of world history.
So to summarize: the sentence states a fact and it's well-cited. What are we arguing about?UBER (talk) 18:25, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
re "fundamental distinction between those two phrases" - The phrases are fundamentally similar in that both can lead a reason to immediately ask "Which historians?".
re "The current sentence makes it clear that this is a dominant view in the community of professional historians" - Really??? You've polled all the professional historians out there and found this to be true? Has someone else posed? Don't confuse a view from a few historians whom you've read to be the "dominant view of the community of professional historians".
re " It is a fact (an epistemological one) that historians do widely regard" - Again; reference please? Show me something that says this is true. That exact statement isn't supported by the current references.
"Importance" like "beauty" is a fundamentally subjective thing. If you can't understand how "The Mona Lisa is an important painting" and "John Wilkes booth shot Lincoln" are different in that one is fact, the other is opinion, you need to go back to school. NickCT (talk) 18:51, 25 July 2015 (UTC)

I want to make another point tangentially related to the sentence above. You're deleting some comments about the Marxist interpretations of the Revolution, claiming things like "assertions not supported by the sources." Soboul was the foremost Marxist historian of the Revolution in the 20th century. I am staring at La Revolution Francaise as I'm writing these words; he makes very clear where his interpretation (and others like him) comes from. So again, unless you have contradictory evidence that the Marxist interpretation was not important, what are you even doing?UBER (talk) 18:42, 25 July 2015 (UTC)

This ought to go in another section. But again, you seem conflate the opinion of individual historians you've happen to read with the dominant opinion. That just isn't so. NickCT (talk) 18:51, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
(Restarting my responses here, getting too cluttered up there)
Not only are those two phrases fundamentally different, even the phrase "some historians" is meaningless because it implies like there's an equivalence between all historians. But not all historians are equally important; the opinions of some echo in the community while those of others don't. Palmer and Colton, two of the historians cited in the article, are definitely heavyweights. Why would it matter if I've polled historians? We couldn't use the results anyway (WP:ORIGINAL). Individual historians, if they are influential enough, can be representative of the community, even though obviously not every member of any community will have the same opinions on everything. In this latest reply, you also present a gripe against the word "important" even though you just said up above that you weren't concerned with it. Which is it?
If what's bothering you is just the mention of "historians," would you be ok with mentioning the historians by name? Seems tedious but that way it's more specific.UBER (talk) 19:08, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
And since you don't seem to trust individual historians but you still want evidence, here's a good link to get you started on Google Books.UBER (talk) 19:18, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
What historians do is read hundreds of historical monographs and scholarly studies and in this case announce the consensus of those studies. Wiki editors did not do this work, the Reliable Sources did, and Wiki reports it. Rjensen (talk) 20:31, 25 July 2015 (UTC)
Agree with UBER and Rjensen. Some historians review what other historians write and draw conclusions on the degree of acceptance of different views and we can state them as facts. TFD (talk) 22:51, 26 July 2015 (UTC)
@UberCryxic: - re "Not only are those two phrases fundamentally different ....equivalence between all historians" - You didn't address my point. I wasn't arguing that all historians were equivalent. I said that both phrases leads one to ask "which historians".
re "if I've polled historians" - B/c the sentence you're putting in (i.e. Historians widely regarding) implicitly suggests that someone has polled all historians and determined what the predominate opinion is. That's not supported by the reference. Did you do the poll?
re " if they are influential enough, can be representative of the community" - Is this policy or are you making it up? If policy, please provide reference.
re " gripe against the word "important"....Which is it?" - Listen. When you start a sentence with "Some people say" or "Historians widely regard", it is bad because it is an indicator that you are leading into a subjective statement (per WP:WEASEL). The use of the term "Historians widely regard" shows that statement is subjective. Further, the use of term "important" is also an indication that it is a statement of opinion. I'm not against the terms, I'm against making subjective, non-factual statements. Wikipedia is WP:NOT opinion. NickCT (talk) 16:58, 27 July 2015 (UTC)
@Rjensen: - Sure. But the sources provided didn't saying "Historians widely regard.....". It's just those two sources which said the revolution is one of the most important events in Western history. NickCT (talk) 17:00, 27 July 2015 (UTC)
Here is one question for NickCT: do you think The French Revolution was "one of the most important events in human history" ?? Rjensen (talk) 21:53, 27 July 2015 (UTC)
Yes. Probably. Certainly one of the most important events in modern Western history. NickCT (talk) 22:39, 27 July 2015 (UTC)
So what's the issue. We have a statement attested by three sources that everyone here agrees is true. Keep in mind that a standard textbook like Palmer & Colton (footnote 2) summarizes the consensus of historians. Rjensen (talk) 04:29, 28 July 2015 (UTC)
@Rjensen: - Whether or not we agree with an opinion is besides the point. It is still an opinion. Opinions are neither true nor false. They are subjective and they are not encyclopedic. I'm not sure why this is hard to get. Let me ask you this, if it was OK to deliver subjective content of this nature, why does WP:WEASEL warn us against phrase like "some people say"? Should we add a line to this article saying something like "French people widely regard the french revolution as important"? If not, why not? Why not publish opinions from French people, revolutionaries, news boys, etc?
The bottom line is that sticking with factual content is almost always the right thing to do. Lines like the one in question simply represent poor editing. NickCT (talk) 13:17, 28 July 2015 (UTC)
"opinion" is certainly allowed in Wikipedia--especially when it represents serious work by leading scholars. Facts vs opinion??? is there a difference in history?? I think not. as for "some people say" it's bad because it does not tell who said it. When Palmen-Colton say it we know we have world-class experts who spent many decades of research on the topic & whose textbook is assigned by thousands of history professors. Rjensen (talk) 20:46, 28 July 2015 (UTC)

NickCT, I disagree with this edit [2] because historiographical information about the French Revolution is of great interest to readers, and Soboul is a major historian on this subject.

I agree that "most historians consider the French Revolution one of the most important events of human history," but NickCT is right that ideally, this should be sourced, considering WP:BLUE and WP:NOTBLUE. -Darouet (talk) 23:56, 28 July 2015 (UTC)

it is sourced to Palmer & Colton--they cover what historians consider important & devote 10% of their textbook to it pp 341-416 in my 5th edition. They say: "in 1789 France fell into revolution and the world has never since been the same. The French Revolution was by far the most momentous upheaval of the whole revolutionary age. It replaced the old regime with modern society, and at its extreme phase became very radical, so much so that all later revolutionary movements have looked back to it as a predecessor to themselves.... From the 1760s 1848, the role of France was decisive." (p 341) Rjensen (talk) 01:08, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
Thanks Rjensen, I should have seen that above. -Darouet (talk) 01:11, 29 July 2015 (UTC)
@Darouet: - Soboul may be a major historian. Emphasis on a. There are lots of other historians. Soboul doesn't get to rewrite the popular interpretation of the French revolution. NickCT (talk) 11:54, 30 July 2015 (UTC)
"Some people say" is usually weasel-wording because it implies a degree of acceptance of a view without explicitly explaining what the degree is. Saying some people say the Revolution was part of a plot by the Illuminati for example would be weasel-wording because it would imply that it was a view taken seriously by historians. We can and should however explain the degree of acceptance, which is done by using terms such as "the consensus is", or "most historians say." TFD (talk) 14:58, 30 July 2015 (UTC)
Hey @NickCT: - Soboul remains perhaps the most well-known representative of a large bloc of French historians and historiography. For some of his material, we would of course use it as a source of fact, sourced but without attribution of opinion. In other cases, we might cite him for opinion or a certain historiographically approach, with attribution. Is this what you're arguing? I'm not sure we're disagreeing. -Darouet (talk) 18:26, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

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French Revolution was against the establishment

It was not against the specific Christian traditions. It was not about the Catholic saints or deep religious beliefs. Rmtrevino (talk) 14:05, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

"Same-sex relationships"

The French Revolution did result in decriminalisation of same-sex relationships. It resulted in the decriminalisation of male homosexual behaviour -- which is not the same thing.

A same-sex relationship might be between two men or between two women. Female homosexuality was never illegal in France; only *male* homosexual behaviour was criminalised. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.162.218.153 (talk) 16:44, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

That might be true - and you would need to present reliable sources to establish it were true - but it wouldn't change the sentence in the lead of the article. Even if female homosexuality were permitted prior to the revolution, and male homosexuality illegal until after the revolution, it would still be correct to write that the revolution decriminalized same sex relationships. -Darouet (talk) 20:16, 15 September 2016 (UTC)

Impact - Ireland

In the short piece about the impact on Ireland (under United Kingdom) - it should be added that the Revolution-inspired Wolfe Tone is considered the father of Irish republicanism and his movement inspired repeated attempts at rebellion and revolution which eventually ended in the partition of Ireland and independence for the southern 26 counties. All current non-Unionist Irish parties trace their ancestry back to Wolfe Tone's ideals. - 80.111.159.148 (talk) 01:25, 22 September 2016 (UTC)

Parlements

Knowing little about the French revolution, my initial impression (which I imagine is a common one) was that the French king was an absolute monarch. But as I read this article I see that his attempts at tax reform were stymied at every turn by a legislative body that I had never even heard of. It would be good if the article could expand on this a little, because the existing context and explanation of this state of affairs is, I would argue, inadequate.Sylvain1972 (talk) 18:10, 22 January 2017 (UTC)

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Newberry French Revolution Collection Pamphlets The Newberry Library's French Revolution Collection consists of more than 30,000 pamphlets and more than 23,000 issues of 180 periodicals published between 1780 and 1810. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.66.229.8 (talk) 12:45, 15 August 2017 (UTC)

A minor point, but surely the nobility was ENsured an adequate food supply, not INsured. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.188.128.130 (talk) 08:59, 6 October 2017 (UTC)

Contradicting Articles

On the Wikipedia page entitled French Revolution under the section Storming the Bastille, it is stated that "...cries of Vive la Nation "Long live the Nation" changed to Vive le Roi "Long live the King".

However on the page entitled Storming of the Bastille under the section Aftermath it is stated that "...cries of "Long live the King" were changed to "Long live the Nation"."

These pages are referring to the same date and event.— Preceding unsigned comment added by Hasfd (talk • contribs) 23:42, 8 June 2009

First Paragraph Misleading - there was no resulting democracy for 50 percent of the population - this warrants to be in the introduction as part of the definition.

The Revolution overthrew the monarchy, established a *republic, catalyzed violent periods of political turmoil, and finally culminated in a dictatorship under Napoleon who brought many of its principles to areas he conquered in Western Europe and beyond.

  • [male controlled]

Republic- a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch. Women are people therefore this is not a republic by today's definition, it was not considered a republic by the women of that generation and likewise this was not democracy.

The French Republic did not allow 50 percent of its population to access any of that power. It is a common misconception or just misogynistic to think that the French Revolution resulted in true democracy - French women were not allowed the vote until 1946, long after Turkey.

2) Historians who do not consider the French Revolution as important would not mention it, so how do you grade this? Out of how many 'important' events? Who is on this panel of historians? Very subjective statement, France came long after Greece....and the Revolution was a half-attempt at the progress of human history. Western historians do not know the history of MOST OTHER human populations to any similar degree so I wonder how this statement came about, if it wasn't pure arrogance.

[??] Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history.[2][3][4] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88octopus88 (talk • contribs) 22:18, 25 February 2018 (UTC)

I scanned a dozen or so current university history textbooks at the AHA convention and every one in Western & World history devoted a lot of attention to French Rev--usually an entire chapter. Rjensen (talk) 07:09, 26 February 2018 (UTC)

French Revolution entry

there is a phrase in para 4 under Causes - the upper class was always insured a stable living - it would be better expressed as “the upper class was always assured a stable living” Robynpjenkins (talk) 04:08, 11 November 2018 (UTC)

@Robynpjenkins: I agree. But in any case, per WP:BOLD, you should just feel free to make such changes yourself. If anyone disagrees they will revert your change (and all such reverts should be understood as: "Hmm. I'm not sure about this. Can we talk it through on the talk page first?"). Only obviously controversial or large changes need routinely be discussed prior to making them. --Xover (talk) 12:51, 11 November 2018 (UTC)

Impact - United States

Section 9.4 (Long Term Impact - United States) refers to the incumbent Jefferson administration of the United States in 1793 as "Republican", which is incorrect; the government was "Democratic-Republican", distinct from the Republican Party of Lincoln and of today, and more closely related to the Democratic party of Jackson and today. This should be changed to read "Democratic-Republican" or, if preferred, "Democratic" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 162.245.130.33 (talk) 18:07, 22 October 2017 (UTC)

It's ok. Jefferson and his supporters called it the "Republican Party" as do most historians. Modern political scientists call it the Dem-Rep party. Rjensen (talk) 02:51, 5 February 2019 (UTC)

The article make deeply contentious claims

I added an NPOV, because this article takes the freedom, without an appropriate back up of secondary sources, to express value judgment on the French revolution, which to all historians remains a deeply contentious issue. Hannah Arendt, of course, comes to mind (which the article does not even quote and seems not to be aware of) but hundreds more could be added. The Geopolitical order of Europe is not the result of the French Revolution, but the reaction to it, the Congress of Vienna. I express here my firm belief that the NPOV shall stay in place until serious, non-ideological scholarship, is used to back up what are otherwise rather vague and contentious claims.

@Aristotele1982: Which claims in this article are contentious, specifically? Jarble (talk) 21:52, 20 May 2019 (UTC)
yes, and which ones are "deeply" so? and most important, which RS does Aristotele1982 think are missing and should be included. Rjensen (talk) 21:57, 20 May 2019 (UTC)
  1. ^ http://www.lewrockwell.com/2013/07/murray-n-rothbard/the-meaning-of-revolution/
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