Second of two talks by J. R. POLE
Fellow of Churchill College and Reader in American History and Government in the University of Cambridge
One of the most interesting aspects of the interaction between events and ideas in the growth of democratic revolution is the role played by men who were not democrats in any ordinary sense, and even by men who were frankly despotic. Just how democratic was democratic revolution in its beginnings? And how did these somewhat incongruous beginnings give rise to a genuine sense that men ' en masse ' could seize hold of their destinies in a new way?