Non-Violence and the French Revolution
Political Demonstrations in Paris, 1787–1795

Challenging scholarly emphasis on French Revolutionary violence, this book instead examines the prevalence of peaceful, democratic methods in Parisian protest.

Micah Alpaugh (Author)

9781107082793, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 October 2014

302 pages, 4 tables
23.7 x 15.5 x 2.3 cm, 0.55 kg

'Alpaugh has offered yet another empirical rebuttal to a thesis that has received disproportionate attention … [he] is to be commended for reminding us of the nonviolent nature and focused purposes of most Parisian political demonstrations during the Revolution.' Michael P. Fitzsimmons, The Journal of Modern History

Historians of the French Revolution have traditionally emphasised the centrality of violence to revolutionary protest. However, Micah Alpaugh reveals instead the surprising prevalence of non-violent tactics to demonstrate that much of the popular action taken in revolutionary Paris was not in fact violent. Tracing the origins of the political demonstration to the French Revolutionary period, he reveals how Parisian protesters typically tried to avoid violence, conducting campaigns predominantly through peaceful marches, petitions, banquets and mass-meetings, which only rarely escalated to physical force in their stand-offs with authorities. Out of over 750 events, no more than twelve percent appear to have resulted in physical violence at any stage. Rewriting the political history of the people of Paris, Non-Violence and the French Revolution sheds new light on our understanding of Revolutionary France to show that revolutionary sans-culottes played a pivotal role in developing the democratically oriented protest techniques still used today.

Introduction
1. Marching in Paris, from the Old Regime to the Revolution
2. Political demonstrations and the politics of escalation in 1789
3. From rapprochement to radicalism, 1790–1
4. War, collaborative protest, and the 1792 Republican movement
5. Fraternal protest in a time of terror, August 1792–September 1793
6. Reasserting collective action: 1794–5
7. Moderate and conservative marches in Revolutionary Paris
Conclusion
Appendix: Parisian protests, 1787–95
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], European history [HBJD]