To Speak for the People: Public Opinion and the Problem of Legitimacy in the French Revolution

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Although historians frequently invoke "public opinion" as a significant force, very few have engaged it in a critical and systematic fashion. And none has given serious treatment to the crucial role it played in the French Revolution, perhaps the most important moment in the development of modern political culture. To Speak for the People is a lucid and innovative study that fills this gap. Historian Jon Cowans adds a genuinely original voice to the debate over the problem of legitimacy during the Revolution, drawing on the works of Jurgen Habermas, Keith Baker, and Francois Furet. He carefully analyzes the use of terms like "public opinion", "the public", and "the people" in political debates, and tracks their changing meanings over the course of revolutionary events.Although there is now a great deal of literature on the concept of public opinion in the 18th century France, it is almost entirely devoted to the pre-revolutionary years. No book has tackled the concept of public opinion in the French Revolution itself. "To Speak" "for the People" is a lucid and innovative study that finally fills this gap. Historian Jon Cowans adds a strong and genuinely original voice to the historical debate over the problem of legitimacy during the Revolution drawing on the works of such luminaries as Jurgen Habermas, Keith Baker, Francois Furet, and Nancy Fraser. He then examines the uses of terms such as "public opinion," 'the public," and "the people" in political debates during the Revolution and analyzes those terms' changing meaning and the role they played in attempts to secure political authority. While shedding new light on the Revolution itself, the book raises broader issues by addressing the problem of legitimacy that has haunted all revolutionary and democratic governments throughout the modern period. Jon Cowans is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. He received his Ph.D. in History at Stanford University. He has published articles on French political culture, cultural politics, and memory in "French Historical Studies," the "Journal of Contemporary History," and "History and Memory." He teaches in the History Department of Rutgers University and lives in Brooklyn, New York.