Pastor Tracy Reads | Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution By Simon Schama

March 17, 2025 | Pastor Tracy Troxel

One of the reasons to read history is to help us place our present situation in context. In the late 1780’s, France, a dominant kingdom in Europe, is beset by waves of significant problems. There is a severe economic crisis in France. The debt is becoming more and more difficult to finance. Bread prices, among other important commodities, are rising and more and more people are finding it difficult to purchase necessities. Crop failures and serious weather events put even more pressure on food prices. At the same time, there is significant growth in ‘tabloid journalism’ as various pamphleteers publish all kinds of rumor, innuendo, and sometimes libel that erodes people’s trust in authority.

What is needed, according to many, is a revolution. And, from 1789-1794 France experiences not just one revolution but in some sense a series of revolutions that change France in a myriad of ways. One of the solutions is to eradicate monarchy and invest power and authority in representatives of the people. This representative group morphs throughout the revolution. Unfortunately,  the representative bodies that are put in authority cannot solve the major problems in France. This reminds me of the biblical injunction not to put our trust in kings and princes (or representative bodies). What is also fascinating about the French Revolution is that the main leaders of the revolution in 1789, when the Bastille was overrun, nearly all perish in the subsequent revolutions just a few years later. The rebels who rebelled find themselves the target of later rebellions. The other interesting aspect of the French Revolution is the anti-religious nature of the revolution in many quarters.

I think you will find it sobering to read about the fragility of democratic governance. I think you will see the hubris of human beings as they attempt to bring freedom, equality, and justice to a broken world. You may just be a little more thankful for the ‘relative’ peace we have enjoyed here in America, and yet be reminded how fragile that peace is for today and tomorrow.