French Revolution and the Concept of Nation and Liberty

Many historians have argued that the French Revolution introduced the world to the concept of “nationhood” Two of the central ideas of the French Revolution (1789-1799) were that France was a “nation” and that the national government must protect the liberties of citizens. Exactly what these concepts (the nation and liberty) meant in practice, however, changed as the revolution developed. Using the primary source documents on the French Revolution section of the LibGuide, explain what the concepts “the nation” and “liberty” seem to have meant in 1789. Explain how the meanings of these two concepts seem to have changed (if you think that they did change) during the radical stage of the French Revolution (1792-1794). Requirements You need to use the following primary source documents: What is the Third Estate? By Abbé Sieyes http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/sieyes.asp Tennis Court Oath http://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/tennis-court-oath/ Declaration of the Rights of Man, 1789 http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rightsof.asp Levée en Masse http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1793levee.asp The Law of the Suspects http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/417/ The National Convention http://history.hanover.edu/texts/natcon.html