NY State Curriculum Notes  

Students should focus on the impact of the Enlightenment on American political thought and, in turn, the impact of the American Revolution on subsequent revolutions. Students should not engage in an in depth analysis of the battles and phases of the American Revolution. The American, French, and Latin American revolutions were turning points in global history. Students should be able to identify the forces that brought about these changes and their long-term effects . 

 Each of these revolutions, both political and economic, provides students with multiple opportunities for examination of issues from multiple perspectives.

• In what ways did the French Revolution overturn the balance of power that had existed in Europe?

• To what extent are the stages of the American, French, and Latin American revolutions similar? dissimilar?

American Revolution

1. Impact of the Enlightenment on the American Revolution

2. Impact of the American Revolution on other revolutions

Suggested Documents:

• Thomas Paine, Common Sense

• The Declaration of Independence

• The Bill of Rights

Other Websites

• From Revolution to Reconstruction: A Hypertext on American History from the colonial period until Modern Times

• American Revolution: This site was created by H-Net, Humanities & Social Sciences OnLine  to serve as a complement to the official companion site to PBS's Liberty! documentary series. 

• Benjamin Franklin: The Art of Virtue

• Patrick Henry: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death

French Revolution

Suggested Documents: 

• The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens

• Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

General Links

• Internet Modern History Sourcebook

• French Revolution Timeline

• Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution

• French Revolution @ History Wiz

• French Revolution Multimedia Exhibit

• Links on the French Revolution

• Over 300 Primary Sources

• The Guillotine Headquarters

• Crib Sheet

• Images of the French Revolution

• McDougal Littell NetActivities: The French Revolution

• Chateau de Versailles The official site of the Palace at Versailles with extensive information and historical and current images shown.
  

Causes

• Cahier of 1789, The Third Estate of Versailles.

• The Civil Constitution of the Clergy, July 12, 1790

• Tennis Court Oath

• Abbé Sieyes: What is the Third Estate?

• Arthur Young: Travels in France (1792)

• Memorandum to Her Majesty the Queen Concerning the Diamond Necklace Affair (1786)

• "Petition of Women of the Third Estate to the King" (1 January 1789)

• British Newspaper Coverage of the French Revolution

• Marat Attacks the Nobility

Key Individuals (Robespierre and Louis XVI)

• Louis XVI, King of France Included in a Royal Genealogies site, read biographical information about Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

• Eyewitness to History: The Execution of Louis XVI

• Marie Antoinette: Letter to Her Mother, 1773

• Memoirs of the Private Life of Marie Antoinette

• Edmund Burke: The Death of Marie Antoinette

• Olympe de Gouge: Declaration of the Rights of Women, 1791

• Jacques-Louis David: Stage Manager of the Revolution

• Maximilien Robespierre: On the Principles of Political Morality

• Maximilien Robespierre - On the Festival of the Supreme Being Robespierre's speech given in 1794; includes biographical information.

• Maximilien Robespierre: Justification of the Use of Terror and Reading Guide

• Jean-Paul Marat: His Life This site includes a number of quotes and information about the revolutionary Marat and his death.

Impact on France and other Nations

• The Impact of the French Revolution in Britain

• The Impact Of The French Revolution On The Church

• Reaction on the French Revolution Spain

• The Impact of the French Revolution on Women's Rights

• The French Revolution:  The Terror

Rise to power of Napoleon and his impact (Napoleonic Code)

• Napoleon and the French Revolution

• Napoleon Multimedia Exhibit

• Companion Site to PBS Napoleon Program

• Napoleon.org

• Napoleon Bonaparte Internet Guide

• "The Coronation of Napoleon" - painting by Jacques-Louis David

• The Napoleonic Civil Code

• Napoleon Exiled to St. Helena, 1815 The French Emperor is banished to a desolate, rock-crusted island in the South Atlantic.

• Map of Napoleonic Europe 1992-1815

 

Independence movements in Latin America

Case studies: Simon Bolivar, Toussaint L’Ouverture, José de San Martín

1. Causes

2. Impacts

Suggested Documents: 

Simon Bolivar:  Message to the Congress of Angostura

• Internet Modern History Sourcebook

• Latin American Independence Movements
• ¡Liberación!: Independence in Latin America A Unit Plan
• IN PLURIMIS ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO XIII ON THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY
• Simón Bolívar, 1783-1830 Resources for the Study of the Liberator of South America
• Toussaint L’Ouverture: The Slave Who Defeated Napoleon
• The history of Pierre Toussaint L'Ouverture
• San Martin´s home page