Student Resources

• Primary Source Analysis 
• Maximilien Robespierre and Injustice Narrative

Teacher Resources

• Analysis Questions 
• Virtue in Action  
• Journal Activity
• Sources for Further Reading  
• Virtue Across the Curriculum 

• Injustice: To harm others by applying unequal rules and damaging another’s inalienable rights and dignity. 
• Justice: Upholding of what is fair and right. Respecting the rights and dignity of all. 
• Incorruptible: Someone or an institution that cannot be caused to be dishonest or act immorally. It is the opposite of corruptible, which is used to describe those who can be corrupted, often easily.  

Procedures

• The following lesson asks students to consider the vice of injustice to gain a deeper understanding of the civic virtue of justice.  
• Students will engage with the story of Maximilien Robespierre as a warning against injustice as they consider the question: When does working toward justice turn into injustice and harm others? 
• The main activity in this lesson requires students to read and analyze a narrative that explores how Maximilien Robespierre’s decisions led to injustice. Students may work individually, in pairs, or small groups as best fits your classroom. The analysis questions provided can be used to help students comprehend and think critically about the content. As the teacher, you can decide which questions best fit your students’ needs and time restraints.   
• Additionally, students will analyze primary sources related to the French Revolution to understand why citizens were fighting for a more just government.  
• Lastly, the lesson includes sources used in this lesson for further reading and suggestions for cross-curricular connections.  

Anticipate

• To prepare for the lesson, have students respond to the following questions: 
  • How would you define an unjust government? 
  • What, if anything, would lead you to take part in a violent revolution? 
  • Scaffolding note: Students can share answers with a shoulder partner or in small groups. 
• After sharing their own hypothetical answers, guide students to consider the historical example of the American Revolution by asking: 
  • Why did some of the colonists believe the King and Parliament to be unjust?  
  • Why did the colonists take up arms against Great Britain?

Engage

• Transition to the Primary Source Analysis handout and answer the questions that accompany the sources. 
• Notes for Educator: Below are some specific details when analyzing the Tennis Court Oath with students. 
  • The arms raised to show taking of an oath.  
  • A clergyman, a noble, and an ordinary man are in the center to show the collaboration across sections of society. 
  • Wind and light rushing in through the windows.  
  • People clamoring to come in and join the group.  
  • Energy of wind, commotion, noise, indicates the artist’s belief that something better is coming for France. 
  • The artist, Jacques Louis David, was a member of the Third Estate and present at this event.  

Explore

• Transition to the Maximilien Robespierre and Injustice Narrative. Students will read and analyze the story of Robespierre and the French Revolution to understand when justice turns into injustice.  
• Scaffolding Note: It may be helpful to instruct students to do a close reading of the text. Close reading asks students to read and reread a text purposefully to ensure students understand and make connections. For more detailed instructions on how to use close reading in your classroom, use these directions. Additional reading strategies are provided for other options that may meet your students’ needs. 
• Essential Vocabulary: 
  • Injustice: To harm others by applying unequal rules and damaging another’s inalienable rights and dignity. 
  • Justice: Upholding of what is fair and right. Respecting the rights and dignity of all. 
  • Incorruptible: Someone or an institution that cannot be caused to be dishonest or act immorally. It is the opposite of corruptible, which is used to describe those who can be corrupted, often easily.  
• Transition to the analysis questions. Have students work individually, with partners, or as a whole class to answer the questions. 
• Scaffolding Note: If there are questions that are not necessary to your students’ learning or time restraints, then you can remove those questions. 
• Analysis Questions 
  • What was the situation in France in 1792 that led to the execution of Louis XVI? 
  • What stance against the old regime drove Robespierre’s support for executing Louis XVI? How would you compare Robespierre to the leaders of the American Revolution and their view of the society that preceded the American Revolution? 
  • How did the Committee of Public Safety determine whether an individual was an “enemy” of the revolution? What is dangerous about this method? Who was susceptible to being declared an “enemy” of the revolution? What impact did it have on the health of the political culture and civil society of France? 
  • How did the actions of the Committee of Public Safety contradict their stated beliefs in the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity? How did it fail to uphold justice? 
  • Did the Terror contradict the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen? Or, can the roots of the Terror be found in the national sovereignty and “general will” of the document? Defend your answer using evidence from the declaration as well as the narrative.  
  • How did Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety seek to silence their opponents? Why is it important not to silence your opponents? 
  • How was the French Revolution unjust? 
  • Think back to the beginning of this lesson and your thoughts on the American Revolution. What comparisons can you draw between the American Revolution and the French Revolution? Consider the causes of each and the actions and effects of each revolution’s leaders, such as Robespierre and the National Assembly and George Washington and the Continental Congress.  

Assess & Reflect

Virtue in Action  

• Robespierre’s refusal to tolerate disagreement led him to pursue a radical path of injustice. Though the stakes may not seem as high as they were under Robespierre’s Reign of Terror in the French Revolution, it is important to be open-minded and fair when conversing with others, especially when you disagree with them. Disagreement is a natural part of civil discourse. It’s easier said than done.  
• With partners or small groups, ask students to list out specific ways they can respectfully engage with those they disagree with. 
  • Ask students: What tactics can you use to ensure everyone’s opinions are able to be stated and listened to? How can you ensure that public discussions are open and civil?  
• After this initial brainstorming, ask students to share their top tactics with the class and make a list. You can post this list prominently in your classroom as a reminder to work justly with one another. 

AND/OR

Injustice Journal Activity  

• Have students self-reflect and answer the following prompt in their journal: 
  • Think of an example either from current events or in your own life when an injustice was committed. Specifically, explain why it was an injustice. How could you have acted as an upstander who worked towards justice and upholding equal rights and dignity for all?

Extend

Sources & Further Reading  

• Explore the following list for additional sources and further reading on Maximilien Robespierre.  
  • Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France. London: Penguin Classics, 1982. 
  • William Doyle, The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. 
  • William Doyle, The Oxford History of the French Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. 
  • Christopher Hibbert, The Days of the French Revolution. New York: William Morrow, 1999. 
  • Peter McPhee, Robespierre: A Revolutionary Life. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013. RR Palmer, Twelve who Ruled: The Year of Terror in the French Revolution. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1941. 
  • Simon Schama, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution. New York: Knopf, 1991. 
  • Ruth Scurr, Fatal Purity: Robespierre and the French Revolution. New York: Holt, 2007. 

Virtue Across the Curriculum  

• Below are corresponding literature suggestions to help you teach about justice and injustice across the curriculum. Sample prompts are provided for the key corresponding works. For the other suggested works, or others that are already part of your curriculum, create your own similar prompts.    
  • Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 
    • This classic novel by Charles Dickens takes place in England and France during the French Revolution. How does the injustice of the Reign of Terror affect the lives of Sydney Carton? The Manette family? 
      Note: The 1935 film version of the novel is not rated.  
  • Art of Jacques by Louis David 
    • The painter Jacques Louis David captured key moments in the French Revolution in his art. Research each of the following works to determine the context and symbolism in each painting. Can you tell what David’s intended message was about these events in the French Revolution? Were they constant, or did they change over time? Explain.  
      • The Tennis Court Oath, 1791 
      • The Death of Marat, 1793 
      • Napoleon Crossing the Alps or Bonaparte at the St Bernard Pass, 1800–01 
      • The Coronation of Napoleon, 1807 
      • The Emperor Napoleon in His Study in the Tuileries, 1812 
  • Reflections on the Revolution in France, by Edmund Burke. London: Penguin Classics, 1982. 
    • A statesman and observer of the French Revolution, Edmund Burke wrote this famous pamphlet in 1790. How does Burke react to the injustices in the French Revolution?