History 490C

The French Revolution

Prof. Schechter
Fall 2017
Primary Source Analysis Paper

Choose a document from the Baker anthology (The Old Regime and the French Revolution).
Alternatively, you may find a document elsewhere. After reading it carefully write an analysis of 1500 to
2000 words by answering the following questions. Be sure to answer all the questions and in the order in
which they are listed.

Who was the author? Do not restrict yourself to providing the authors name. Try to derive something
about the authors biography, particularly the authors social class, profession, and (if applicable) political
status. Make use of Bakers headnotes. Also, in some cases the document itself will provide information
about the author. Do not use outside sources for this question.

Who was the intended audience? Was the document intended for a general audience, for specialists in a
particular field, for posterity? (Keep in mind the possibility of multiple audiences.) Does the document
consist of material that was not originally meant to be published (e.g. private correspondence)? As with
the first question, the headnote might be helpful. Also, the document itself may give some indication of
its intended audience.

What is the story or argument that the document is relating? You should answer this question in
some depth. This is your opportunity to present the substance of the document to your reader. Though
you dont have to give all the details in the document, be generous with your description. Also, if the
document is making an argument, explain how the author goes about persuading the reader. What
evidence does the author use? What kind of reasoning does the author use? Do appeals to emotion figure
into the argument?

What is the purpose of the document? Why did the author write it? Was he or she trying to persuade,
entertain, inform, commemorate, honor, warn, or instruct? (This is not an exhaustive list of the possible
goals, and it is possible that the author had more than one goal.)

What assumptions are made in the document? This question involves reading between the lines.
Assumptions are rarely stated because they are so widely shared and because they are considered
natural by the people who have them. For example, I do not have to say, Read a document and answer
questions about it because this will contribute to your education, and education is valuable, since we all
agree that education is valuable. When reading your document try to find assumptions about what was
considered valuable, moral, praiseworthy, fair, natural, etc.

What does the document tell me about the society that produced it? This question is related to the
previous one in that assumptions reveal knowledge about a society, but there is more to a society than its
assumptions. When answering this question discuss such things as social conflict, economic conditions,
political contests, prevalent ideas and emotions (e.g. fear, anger, optimism), the state of scientific
knowledge, or some other feature of the society that produced the document. Be careful not to assume the
authors point of view. For example, if the author argued that French society was in decline, do not write
that the document tells me that French society was in decline.
To what extent can I believe what I am reading? Insofar as the document is a claim or set of claims
about facts, i.e., what happened on October 5, 1789 in Versailles, I can ask myself to what extent I am
convinced and why I might be skeptical. Here I might think about why an author would lie, exaggerate,
or simply misunderstand or misperceive certain facts. Insofar as a document makes a claim (such as: our
society is in decline), consider why an author might have made such a claim and why it might not be
true. To help you answer this question, consider how the authors opponents might have responded.

What did I find surprising or intriguing about this document and why? This question is (hopefully)
self-evident. It is also highly subjective.

What did I find confusing about the document? What unfamiliar names, events, or terms appear
in the document. What statements did I not get?

If I were to write a longer paper that took this document as my point of departure, what would I
want/need to know more about?

Why does this document matter today? What larger issues in todays society does it prompt me to
think about?
These questions are not an attempt to uncover your political opinions. I am not asking you to say whether
(for example) you believe in large government or small government, high taxes on the rich or low taxes
for everyone (though you are very welcome to do so if you like, and whether I agree or disagree will be of
no consequence). But if your document deals with such political issues, its enough to say: this document
reveals that current discussions of [fill in the blank] are not new.

Note: This paper does not require an introduction or a conclusion. It does not require a thesis or a
statement that ties it all together. Think of it simply as a set of questions that youre answering. In the
process of answering them you will have constructed an analysis of the document. No outside research is
required (unless reading the headnote is considered outside research). If you quote from the document,
simply provide the page number of the quote in parentheses after the sentence. You do not need footnotes
or a works cited page, since it will be clear that you are working from the Baker anthology.

When you are finished with your analysis, post it as a Word document to the Blackboard page for our
course.