The French Revolution is another required revolution for Modern World History, and began in May 1789 at the Estates General meeting. King Louis XVI was nearing bankruptcy, which was exacerbated by France’s financial support for the American colonists for their own revolution. The King called on the three estates, or representatives for the three main social classes in pre-revolutionary France, to vote on a solution. The first estate consisted of the clergy, who were the most privileged in terms of wealth and land. The second estate was the nobility, who owned a disproportionate amount of land and rented land to members of the third estate, who were common folk ranging from poor peasants to rich business owners without royal title. The third estate was the most heavily taxed. The Estates General, alongside rising food prices, socio-economic inequality, etc., was one of the major causes of the revolution. Despite consisting of the majority of the population, the third estate only had one vote along with the other two privileged classes, who resisted paying more in taxes.
In order to have a basic understanding of the early days of the French Revolution, students should have exposure to a few of the significant events in the revolution’s first stages, such as the creation of the National Assembly, the Storming of the Bastille, and the Women’s March on Versailles. When the Estates General could not come to an agreement, the Third Estate representatives signed the Tennis Court Oath on June 20, and declared themselves “the true representatives of the people,” formally creating the National Assembly.10 Soon after the Estates General, the revolution became more violent. The storming of the Bastille was significant in that it was one the first violent revolutionary acts. On July 14, a mob stormed the Bastille, a prison notorious for its harsh conditions, and liberated the prisoners, seized the weapons, and killed guards, as well as the governor himself. The role of women in the French Revolution was also notable, including the famous Women’s March on Versailles.
The Revolutionary Tribunal was established to persecute anyone suspected of being counterrevolutionary, and eventually sentenced the guilty to the infamous guillotine. The inclusion of the guillotine in the unit serves as a hook to engage students. This part of the unit will be titled “Contradictions of the French Revolution.” In addition to the study of objects, the unit will include a comparison of the Law of Suspects with the earlier Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which emphasized freedom and equality as universal rights of men. This fundamental document contrasted greatly with the Reign of Terror, as well as the reality that on the island of Saint Domingue, hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans were working in horrific conditions under the label of a French colony.
The Haitian Revolution, on the other hand, began with flames. The island of Saint Domingue was what is known as a slave society, a society in which slave labor consists of the basis of its economic and political system. There were five-hundred thousand enslaved Africans on the island, in comparison to the small white minority of enslavers and common people, who endured harsh working and living conditions. It is estimated that up to a third of new arrivals died within their first year on the island, and the average enslaved person could be expected to live up to a maximum of seven to ten years.11 When the authorities discovered that the enslaved Africans had organized to burn the plantations and kill all of the white colonists, they immediately dismissed the idea.12 Shortly after, enslaved Africans organized uprisings, destroyed plantations and equipment, killed white colonists, and fought in conjunction with freed people of color, who previously petitioned for their rights as French citizens under the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, but were denied by the white colonists in Saint Domingue. These racial conflicts were fueled by the island’s racial caste system, which included enslaved Africans at the bottom of society, followed by freed people of color, poor whites, and rich planters respectively. Leaders like Toussaint L’Ouverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines led military efforts not only against the French, but also the British and Spanish.
The Haitian Revolution was the revolution of revolutions. It included the complete transformation of life on Saint Domingue and an upheaval of the racial hierarchy imposed by Europeans and white Americans who benefited from slave labor. The successful revolution, led by enslaved Africans, disproved the white supremacist ideology that enslavers constructed to justify their exploitation. Since then, there has been an effort within the history discipline to minimize the revolution or erase it completely from history. History teachers should be aware of this conscious effort to erase powerful histories of people of color, especially within the context of the present-day United States, and commit to teaching the revolution as long as it takes to teach the revolution of their enslavers and with as much due diligence. Additionally, history teachers, especially modern world history teachers, should review the horrifying truths about the institution of slavery, as well as its significance and impact on global cultures. Concepts like the Triangular Trade should be reviewed, as well as the Middle Passage, chattel slavery, the genocide of indigenous people after Columbus, etc.
A Word on Slavery and Objects
Before immersing scholars in an introduction and analysis of the Haitian Revolution and its objects, educators should emphasize resistance when teaching about the history of people of color. Formerly enslaved writers like Frederick Douglass have mentioned the myth of the happy slave in their writings, which suggests that people of color were passive receivers of their oppression.13 This myth continues today and is present when students ask the question: “Why didn’t they fight back?” This question highlights the importance of emphasizing that resistance to slavery existed since the beginning of slavery. New Haven educators can mention resistance on slave ships, preferably before taking a field trip to the New Haven Museum to visit its exhibits on the Amistad revolt. At the museum, students can participate in their own studies of historical artifacts of interest to them relating to slavery. Gender is also an important component to understanding enslaved resistance. Dr. Rebecca Hall, in her book Wake! The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts, states that the more women there were on a slave ship, the more likely there was to be a revolt.14 This correlation is due to the fact that enslaved women were commonly brought to the slave decks in close proximity to the weapons of their enslavers.15 As a result, Black women were active participants and organizers of slave revolts, which challenges the myth that Black women were passive followers of male leaders. Conversations about everyday resistance and a gender analysis could spark meaningful discussions, especially in comparison to larger and highly organized acts of resistance such as a revolution.
This unit will include discussions that emphasize the significance of events when enslaved people destroyed objects related to their oppression. Students should have background knowledge on objects related to slavery from in-person or virtual field trips. Using this prior knowledge, students can analyze the impact of the destruction of these objects related to slavery. How might enslaved people have felt when destroying plantation equipment or property? What was the impact of destroying these objects?
Lessons for the French Revolution
Day 1: Causes of the French Revolution
- Do Now/Writing Prompt: What would make you join a revolution?
- Discuss pre-revolutionary France and causes of the French Revolution
- Discussion Idea: Compare and contrast the wealth distribution of pre-revolutionary France to that experienced today in the United States
- Exit Ticket: Write three sentences explaining the causes of the French Revolution.
Activity Ideas
- Gallery walk of the events of the French Revolution
- Printing and posting descriptions of the events around the room for students to walk around and answer questions.
- Design political posters that the women would have made in preparation for their March on Versailles
- Reading/Class Analysis of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen
Day 2: Revolutionary Events and Symbols
- Are you familiar with any political symbols or slogans?
- Alternative: Identify a modern-day political symbol and analyze it with the class.
- Recap the events of the French Revolution.
- Object analysis of the liberty cap, guillotine, cockade, liberty tree, tri-colored flag, etc. in pairs
- Enrichment activity: Compare the liberty cap with modern day revolutionary clothing/symbols
- Exit Ticket: Worksheet with notes on the object analysis
Optional Day 3: Reign of Terror
- Do Now: Read an excerpt from the Law of Suspects
- How does this law compare to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen? Is this law still revolutionary?
- History Channel: Reign of Terror Documentary
- Exit Ticket: Documentary Questions Worksheet
Object Analysis: The liberty cap
Figure 2: The image consists of a French liberty cap.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Public Domain)16
- Description:
- Materials: The object is made with “wool, cotton, [and] linen.”17
- Size/Shape: The object is relatively small, although an unusual length for what appears to be a hat.
- Colors: The object’s major three colors are red, white, and blue with different shades of blue.
- Parts/Condition: There is a red puff on the top of the object. There is a white hand-stitched line that runs down along two-thirds of the object and stops at a red base. The bottom of the object features decorations with what appears to be white and blue tree leaves, with hints of lighter red, a solid plank made up of individual rods or sticks that are bound together by the white and blue lines, and a blue and white hat.
- Deduction: Given the material of the object, one can imagine that it is soft to the touch. Upon opening, there seems to be an empty space; however, its function may not include the storage of smaller objects. It is impossible to wear as a personal bag. Upon further examination, the shape of an object somewhat resembles the image of the blue and white hat. Given its unusual length for a hat, it may provoke laughter if worn. One can imagine the top of that drooping similar to the hat in the image due to its length. The decoration on the hat suggests that it is meant to be put on for display.
- Speculation:
- Best Guess: The object is a hat meant to demonstrate revolutionary spirit.
- Approximate Date: 1790
- Users: Revolutionaries
- Other images, hats, and written sources may need to be studied to determine if this was a hat that was worn by common people or those of higher status.
Object Analysis: The Haitian Flag
Figure 3: This is a flag of the Republic of Haiti.
Source: Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture18
- Description:
- Materials: The object consists of linen.
- Size/Shape: The flag measures 36 x 60 inches in height and width respectively. The object has a rectangle shape. 19
- Colors/Texture: It is bicolored, and split between blue and red. Linen is a soft material.
- Parts/Condition: There is a center white square with a design that includes many images. The white is no longer a bright white, which is indicative of aging. The image consists of a tree in the very center that resembles a palm tree, with various weapons that are presented symmetrically on both sides of the tree. The image includes what appears to be three flags with the same blue and red colors as the object of this study, cannons, as well as guns. The tree is crowned with a red hat that has similarities with the liberty cap. At the base of the tree there is a drum on green grass. The flag has yellow words that say “REPUBLIQUE D’HAYTI.”20
- Deduction: If one were to handle the flag, it would probably be soft to touch. It would most likely move freely, depending on the ventilation in the room, if a student were to hold the object in the air. The elaborate image in the center of the object indicates that the object is meant for display, perhaps as a piece of art. The small holes prompt one to question what their functions would be, and what was intended to go through them? A student could experiment carefully with string and tie the object to a structure that could help to support it in the air. The words that are in yellow seem to be in French, and one could guess that it translates to “The Republic of Haiti”. The incorporation of various symbols, such as flags, musical instruments, native trees, and weapons inspires a sense of patriotism, as if Haiti itself is being represented in the object. This feeling may provoke viewers to be respectful towards the object, or else risk the appearance of showing disrespect to the entire island nation.
- Speculation:
- Best Guess: The object resembles a flag due to its colors and its declaration of the Republic of Haiti.
- Approximate Date: Early 1900s
- Location Used: Its good condition suggests that it was used indoors and rarely outdoors.
- Further research could provide clarity as to the choice of colors, language, and the liberty that is associated with the French Revolution.
The various symbols on this flag can help educators develop many conversation topics. In their object analysis, students will work in groups to formulate questions regarding the flag and its origins. In order to answer their questions, they will ultimately investigate the item’s catalogue description and other sources to learn about the choices that were made in making the flag. They must encounter the often-repeated story about when General Dessalines cut the tricolor French flag in half with a sword, and a skilled woman named Catherine Flon sewed the flag back together.21 This story implies that it was an intentional choice to remove the white strip of the flag, symbolizing the removal of racist power structures that white colonists once benefitted from. The symbols in the center of the flag undoubtedly reference French iconography, which students should already be familiar with. The Phrygian Cap has also been appropriated by the Haitians in order to represent their own liberty from their French enslavers. From this analysis, classes can learn more about how the concept of liberty can be represented in objects, and how Haitians claimed liberty for themselves when it was denied to them by the French.
Lessons for the Haitian Revolution
Day 1: Slavery in the Americas and Resistance Review
- Do Now: What do you already know about slavery? Have you discussed this topic in previous classes?
- Discussion of slavery in the Americas to ensure that all students are familiar with the topic before being taught about the Haitian Revolution.
- Reading of an excerpt of Rebecca Hall’s Wake! The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts and a discussion of other forms of slave resistance.
- Exit Ticket: What are three things that you learned about slavery and resistance?
Day 2: Digital Trip to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture
- Students will be tasked with finding an object related to slavery located in the museum’s digital collections and analyzing it using Prown’s method.
- Exit Ticket: Identification of Object and Notes
Day 3: Object Research and Peer Presentations
- Students will confirm their findings through outside research and present their conclusions in pairs as practice for the final project.
- Lecture/Videos will inform students that the enslaved people destroyed plantations, including the slave quarters, enslaver’s homes, crops, and equipment.
- Discussion Questions: What do you think would be the impact on enslaved people in places where they violently resisted and destroyed these objects? How did breaking or removing these objects help enslaved people stand up to their enslavers and show resistance?
- Exit Ticket: Written conclusions of their findings
Day 4: Introduction to Saint Domingue and the Causes of the Revolution
- Do Now: Students will have the option to read or watch a video regarding life on Saint Domingue
- Reading will emphasize the harsh working conditions and the fact that enslaved people outnumbered whites.
- Question: Based on your previous understanding of revolutions and this new information on life in Saint Domingue, what do you think eventually happened?
- Lectures on the racial/social hierarchy on the island
- Primary Source Analysis
- Excerpts on a white planter’s perspective prior to the revolution and during the initial rebellions will be analyzed and discussed
- Exit Ticket: Primary Source Question Worksheet
Day 5: Object Analysis of the Haitian Flag
- Students will work in pairs to go through Prown's method of analysis in their object study of the Haitian flag.
- Exit Ticket: Students will submit their conclusions on a Google slides presentation.
