Correspondence of French Revolutionary Deputies, 1789-1791

FAIN: FB-10498-70

Dougald T. Calhoun
University of Oklahoma, Norman (Norman, OK 73019-3003)

Study using the correspondence of the deputies of the First French National Assembly, 1789-1791, to determine what the deputies and their consituents perceived as the reality of the situation in the years of the French Revolution. These letters have long been neglected and constitute a major untapped historical source, reflecting the manifold interrelationships between individuals, between sections of the country, and between local and national concerns, which in turn determine the shape and course of the French Revolution. Study goes behind legislative facade, committe reports, speeches, to attain better understanding of the sociological functions of a revolutionary situation. Lays foundations for comparative studies of revolution and, eventually, for more comprehensive analysis of the social phenomenon of revolution itself.