History is much more than just a collection of dates and facts. History is the process of interpreting past events. A great deal of what we "know" is based on how professional historians have translated and interpreted what has come before. You are about to do the job of a historian by examining primary source documents and using them to draw your own conclusion.

The next few pages contain documents from the American and French Revolutions. As a historian you will look at these sources and evaluate what they have to tell us. In the end, it will be up to you to provide an answer to the big question. Each of the sources has a few smaller review questions attached to help guide you to your answer to the BIG QUESTION.