History Channel: The French Revolution

History Channel

[Borges]

Did anyone catch this the other night? The common attempt to link the American revolution and the French was certainly not present here. The differences couldn't be more blunt. Robespierre, Marat and the rest of their gang were nothing less then brutal totalitarian mass murderers.

[siunevada]

It's like in the 90's when soviet communists suddenly became "Conservatives", remember?

Hey, the bad guys are always conservatives. Just ask a journalist.

[KC_Conspirator]

I agree with you on that point. The challenge of royalty/aristocracy was a very similar. In fact, much of intellectual and aristocratic France was enthralled with the idea of our revolution. Ben Frankling was somewhat of a rock star in Paris a decade earlier.

Some of the speakers on the show made collegiate type of comments such as (paraphrase) "In revolutions you need to kill the king" or "Revolutions need blood". Although America's revolution did spill blood, we did not feel we had to kill King George III. History shows that the less bloddy the revolution, the easier the transition.

[Borges]

Although I wonder what would have happened if the King was in proximity to us? If the British had won the Founding Fathers would have been hanged for sure.

[Rummyfan]

The results of the Fench Revolution? A pile of headless corpses and a tyrant!

[mountainlyons]

He also invented terrorism. I thought Arifat did that!

[bfree]

The French revolution is the LAST war the french won.

[massgopguy]

Hey, Count De Money!

[KC_Conspirator]

I am not so sure. By all accounts, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis should have been hanged after the Civil War, and nothing happened to them. Americans are pretty forgiving people.

[MacArthur]

May I suggest three other books which I think you would find most interesting? "Marie Antoinette" and "Danton,A Study" both by Hillaire Belloc. Another book is "French Revolution" by Nester H. Webster. Regards,

[SMARTY]

It IS too bad that lots of people get all and their only information from the tube. The information on the tube has undergone so much 'handling' before air time that I always say getting information from TV is like eating food someone ELSE masticated. I would as soon get my ideas and reach conclusions from TV as I would let someone else chew my food for me. Unfortunately, public education being what it is and people more or less out of the habit of reading, the TV has taken the place of academic rigor. And even worse, most people are totally gullible and believe, 'well it was on TV, must be true!'

[massgopguy]

I remember the attempt to adopt the Metric System back in the 70's but NFL wouldn't hear of it.

[Strategerist]

Yeah, part of the problem is that your average public school is doing an even worse job than the History Channel....

[Borges]

I'd bet dollars to doghnuts that your average 18 year old High school graduate doesn't have a clue who Marat or Robspierre were.

[SMARTY]

It will be repeated all right. That's the other reason I gave up on History Chanel...too much repetition.

[yankeedame]

Providing the first major nation in Europe with a written constitution and a code of political behavior--this was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen--the revolutionaries, in the summer of the year 1789, had already converted the king's subject into the nation's citizen." Hummm...but I thought there was some paperwork -- like a constitution, of sorts -- involving the ascension of William of Orange* who, by invitation, replaced James II of the Glorious Revolution of the late 17th century England. *Via his mousie little wife Mary Stewart, daughter of the disposed James II.

[Mark in the Old South]

Re: "Don't you think these people could be extended a little courtesy and respect ?"

Ummm excuse me but the topic is the French Revolution not WWII. I recommend reading "Citizens", an excellent book on the French Revolution. It will remove your illusions about this shameful war. As to the Royals writing to their foreign counterparts, I can not say I blame them, their lives were in danger. The crown tried to reform the country and was opposed by the same frog turds that then participated in the revolution.

For heavens sake you had titled nobility accusing a gardener of being an aristocrat. The fact is he most likely was more noble than his accuser. It is a damnable shame France was not beaten early in the war and freed the King and his family. Bastille Day is a disgrace.

[stuck_in_new_orleans]

when does it come on again?

[Ditto]

..."they kept giving the french so much credit for this first revolution in the world that gave people the power over the monarchy...

Which they promptly used to create a new monarchy worse than the old.

[siunevada]

May I suggest...

Thank you. The books I have read by Belloc have all been very enjoyable, I will look for these.

[Aquinasfan]

The common attempt to link the American revolution and the French was certainly not present here. The differences couldn't be more blunt.

How did this slip through?

I was going to watch this last night, but I fell asleep. Doh! When's part deux?