Testing Brinton's Model Across Every Case

Having studied six revolutions, students can test Brinton's model systematically. England in 1688 had a financial and religious crisis, but no radical phase. America had moderates and some radicals, but no reign of terror; some see 1787 as a mild Thermidor. France fits most closely, from moderates through Jacobins to Thermidor and Napoleon. Haiti does not fit well: its revolution moved through slave revolt, colonial politics and independence war, with leaders who concentrated power from the start.

Spanish America varied by region, and Mexico's sequence ran in reverse, with a radical phase first and a conservative independence later. Russia fits the early stages but produced a second radical wave under Stalin. The test suggests that Brinton identified real tendencies, especially the difficulty moderates face, but that his model works best for revolutions that resemble France, its original template.