The French Revolution Era, 1792. - A chained member of the Third Estate rises against the clergy and nobility.


How does the source depict the identity and character of individuals during this era?



What perspective do you think the cartoonist had? How might the cartoon have been drawn differently if they had the opposite perspective?


Had France remained at peace, her peaceful citizens and her idle warriors would have observed the [emperor], judged him, and communicated their judgments to him. Truth would have passed through the ranks of the people. Usurpation* would not have long withstood the influence of truth. Thus [Napoleon] Bonaparte was compelled to distract public attention by [war]. War flung onto distant shores that part of the French nation that still had some real energy. It prompted the police harassment of the timid, whom it could not force abroad. It struck terror into men's hearts and left a certain hope that chance would take responsibility for their deliverance: a hope agreeable to fear and convenient to [the current government]. How many times have I heard men pressed to resist tyranny postponing this, during wartime till the coming of peace, and in peacetime until war commences!

*Note that in this context, “usurpation” means “wrongfully taking power”
The Napoleonic Era, Benjamin Constant, excerpt from The Spirit of Conquest and Usurpation, 4th ed. (1814)


How does the source depict the identity and character of individuals during this era?