Comments on: Rousseau’s suicide?

By: Phill

Phill — Sat, 04 Sep 2004 01:15:00 +0000

The big difference was the context. The US revolution began with a political objective, it was the lack of representation that was the primary issue. The French revolution was largely the result of an economic failure. The Russian revolution the result of a political failure – WWI. What is interesting about the US revolution is that it is rare in that the causes were almost exclusively political. A political problem usually gets resolved within the political process.

By: jrv

jrv — Fri, 03 Sep 2004 21:12:59 +0000

Edmund Burke’s “Reflections on the Revolution in France” focused quite nicely on the differences between the American and French Revolutions, as seen in England and by many in the US who admired Burke. Other perspectives developed in America with the experiences of Thomas Paine, who was rotting in a French prison when Monroe arrived at the Pantheon. Monroe had to lobby the Committee on Public Safety for a stay of his execution. Of course Paine was soon after despised in America with the publication of The Age of Reason, which is reason enough to think Americans had different views of the American and French Revolution without libertarian influence.

By: kevin donoghue

kevin donoghue — Fri, 03 Sep 2004 18:18:07 +0000

It may be true that “people back then didn’t see the two traditions as so sharply divided” but it can’t have been too easy for them to figure out what the hell was going on. Robespierre had just been overthrown when Monroe arrived and the USA was busy negotiating the Jay treaty with Britain. If the French had known about that there probably wouldn’t have been any foreign guests in the Pantheon.

By: John Isbell

John Isbell — Fri, 03 Sep 2004 14:54:34 +0000

Discussion of JJR’s possible suicide was routine after his death. See for instance Mme de Stael’s “Lettres sur Jean-Jacques Rousseau”, 1788.