The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution. Almost all future revolutionary movements looked back to the Revolution as their predecessor. Its central phrases and cultural symbols, such as La Marseillaise and Liberté, fraternité, égalité, ou la mort, became the clarion call for other major upheavals in modern history, including the Russian Revolution over a century later.

The values and institutions of the Revolution dominate French politics to this day. The Revolution resulted in the suppression of the feudal system, emancipation of the individual, a greater division of landed property, abolition of the privileges of noble birth, and nominal establishment of equality among men. The French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not only national, for it intended to benefit all humanity.

Contents:

Old Regime in Europe

The Old Regime in France

Beginnings of the Revolution

The Making of the Constitution

The Legislative Assembly

The Convention

The Directory

The Consulate

The Early Years of the Empire

The Empire at Its Height

The Decline and Fall of Napoleon