To best understand what it was like to be a part of your revolution, we will be using both primary and secondary sources. Eventually, I'll walk you through several questions to consider when trying to understand a primary source. But first we'll work to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources, and some of the pros and cons of each.
Before you check out books, you'll fill out a short exit slip to show me what you learned about primary and secondary sources.
The Haitian Revolution (1794-1804)
Secondary Sources:
- Student Resource Center: Haiti Gains Its Independence, 1804
- PBS: The Haitian Revolution
- BlackPast.org: The Haitian Revolution
- History.com: Haitian Independence Proclaimed
- Britannica Middle: Haiti History
- Britannica High School: Haiti History (scroll down for a section on the Revolution - it will be challenging but has a lot more details)
- U.S. Department of State: The U.S. and the Haitian Revolution
- Haitian Declaration of Independence (1804)
- Digital History: Letter from Thomas Jefferson
- Digital History: Letter from General Charles Victor Emmanuel LeClerc
- Toussaint dialogue with Léger Félicité Sonthonax (1797)
- Sonthonax Broadside (1793) (like a poster)
The French Revolution (1789-1799)
Secondary Sources:
- Britannica Middle: French Revolution
- Student Resource Center: French Revolution
- History.com: French Revolution
- U.S. Department of State: The U.S. and the French Revolution
- Internet Modern History Sourcebook: French Revolution
- Excerpts from What Is the Third Estate?
- A Royalist Account of the Causes of the Revolution
- George Washington’s views on the French Revolution (1789)
- Duquesnoy on the changes brought by revolution (1790)
- Cordelier Club petition for the abolition of the monarchy (1791)
- The Law of Suspects (1793)
Secondary Sources:
- Britannica Middle: Philippine Revolution (harder reading level)
- Student Resource Center: Republic of the Philippines
- PBS: Revolt in the Philippines
- NCCA.gov: History of the Philippine Revolution
The Russian Revolution (1917)
Secondary Sources:
- Britannica Middle: Russian Revolution
- Student Resource Center: Russian Revolution
- History.com: Russian Revolution
- Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Russian Revolution
- Spartacus Educational: Russian Revolution Primary Sources
- Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II (1917)
- Lenin Call to Power (1917)
The Cuban Revolution (1956-1959)
Secondary Sources:
- Student Resource Center: Castro Seizes Power in Cuba
- Britannica Middle: Fidel Castro
- Britannica Middle: Cuba History
- PBS: Fidel Castro
- History.com: Batista Forced Out Castro-Led Revolution
- New York Times: Cuban Rebel Is Visited in Hideout (1957) (see explanation note here)
- The Economist: Young Revolutionaries in Cuba (1957)
- Castro Speech: Castro Warns Against Complacency (1959)
- Castro Speech: When the People Rule (1959)
The Iranian Revolution (1978-1979)
Secondary Sources:
- Student Resource Center: The Iranian Revolution, 1978-1979
- Britannica Middle: Iran: Islamic Republic (you may need to scroll up and look in the previous section as well to understand causes)
- Britannica High School: Iranian Revolution of 1978-79
- BBC In Pictures: The Iranian Revolution
- TIME: The Rise and Fall the the Shah of Iran
- Speech by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1979)
- NPR: Remembering Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution (oral history)
- BBC News Report: The Islamic Dream (1979)
The Nicaraguan Revolution (1979)
Secondary Sources:
- Student Resource Center: Somoza is Forced Out of Power in Nicaragua, July 17, 1979
- Britannica Middle: Nicaragua History
- Britannica Middle: Sandinista (higher reading level)
- Country Studies: The Sandinista Revolution