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| | Europe in Retropsect: The French Revolution - Phases of the Revolution |
 | | Indeed, when the French historian Georges Lefebvre stated in 1939 that the "ideas of the French Revolution toured the globe," he meant that in ideology and example the actions of 1789 altered the political outlook and inspired new secular hope among the peoples of the world. |
 | | The French Revolution was, in fact, a series of upheavals, perhaps most aptly described as a major revolution followed by a series of coups d'état. |
 | | The new secular state, which the Revolution defined, created a community ambivalent in purpose: first, the state was in theory designed to serve the individual, to assure his rights; second, the individual was to serve the state, to defend it, uphold its ideals. |
| www.britannia.com /history/euro/1/2_1.html (1514 words) |
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