European History Essay
Don't obsess about the citation style for the final essay; parenthetical citations are acceptable. The main thing to keep in mind is that I want to be able find what you cite,
so follow the citation instructions provided in the first take-home essay instructions.
Please note further that you may only use the course textbook (Western Civilizations),
The Gods Will Have Blood, The Bürgermeister's Daughter, online readings, course handouts, and lecture notes to write the final essay. For all readings, using the author's name and page number is sufficient (Coffin & Stacey, 356; Ozment, 44; France, 177;
Barker, 712; and etc.). Remember to use evidence and examples drawn from the assigned readings and lecture to support your arguments. Write historically-informed essays!
Wikipedia, encyclopedias, and websites are banned and essays that use them will receive an "F." Late essays-those turned in either on or after 4:01 pm on December 20
-will not be accepted and will receive zero points. Format your essay in the same manner as the first take-home essay; hence, refer to those instructions for the first takehome essay. Incorrectly formatted essays will not be accepted!
Write a full four-page (not counting the cover page), approximately 1,100 word essay that
responds to one of the questions that follow below:
1. Defend or refute this argument: The Reign of Terror that lasted from September 1793 to July 1794 resulted entirely from the paranoia of Robespierre and his fervent supporters like the fictional Gamelin. The terror was implemented to respond to counter-revolutionary phantoms rather than real anti-republican threats.
2. Defend or refute this argument: Revolutionary politicians like Robespierre and the fictional Gamelin violated every article of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen when they helped construct a French regime that made "terror the order of the day" from approximately September 1793 to July 1794.
3. Defend or refute this argument: As soon as French revolutionaries drastically reduced the power of the aristocracy, the French Church, and the Bourbon monarchy, both counter-revolutionary violence and revolutionary terror became inevitable.
4. Defend or refute this argument: While bloody and brutal, the Reign of Terror was entirely justified because it saved the revolutionary democratic republic. From September 1793 to July 1794, Robespierre and men like the fictional Gamelin were selfless patriots who saved France from chaos and devastation.
15. 5. Defend or refute this argument: From roughly 1620 to 1815, the increasing application of reason and rationality to European governing practices created a safer, more prosperous, and peaceful Europe.
Keep in mind that your final essay must be at least four pages of text long (not counting the cover page). Late take-home essays will not be accepted.