François Victor Alphonse Aulard

Who was François Victor Alphonse Aulard?

François Victor Alphonse Aulard was the first professional French historian of the French Revolution and of Napoleon. He argued:

From the social point of view, the Revolution consisted in the suppression of what was called the feudal system, in the emancipation of the individual, in greater division of landed property, the abolition of the privileges of noble birth, the establishment of equality, the simplification of life.... The French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national, for it aimed at benefiting all humanity."

Aulard's historiography was based on positivism. The assumption was that methodology was all-important and the historian duty was to present in chronological order the duly verified facts, to analyze relations between facts, and provide the most likely interpretation. Full documentation based on research in the primary sources was essential. He took the lead and publication very important documents, and in training advanced students in the proper use and analysis of primary sources. Aulard's famous four volume history of the Revolution focused on parliamentary debates, not action in the street; in institutions, not insurrections.