Transcript The Phases of the National Assembly Chapter 18 Sections 3-4 Four Phases (Periods) of the French Revolution National Assembly (1789-1791) Legislative Assembly (1791-1792) Convention (1792-1795) Directory (1795-1799)

The Phases of the
National Assembly
Chapter 18 Sections 3-4
Four Phases (Periods) of the French
Revolution
National Assembly (1789-1791)
Legislative Assembly (1791-1792)
Convention (1792-1795)
Directory (1795-1799)
National Assembly
(1789-1791)
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Louis XVI did not
actually want a
written constitution
When news of his
plan to use military
force against the
National Assembly
reached Paris on
July 14, 1789,
people stormed the
Bastille
Uprising in Paris
People of Paris seized
weapons from the Bastille
Uprising spread throughout
France
• July 14, 1789
• Parisians organized their
own government which
they called the Commune
• Small groups – factions –
competed to control the
city of Paris
• Nobles were attacked
• Records of feudal dues
and owed taxes were
destroyed
• Many nobles fled the
country – became known
as émigrés
• Louis XVI was forced to fly
the new tricolor flag of
France
Goodbye, Versailles! Adieu, Versailles!
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Parisian Commune feared that Louis XVI
would have foreign troops invade France to
put down the rebellion
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Louis XVI’s wife, Marie Antoinette, was the sister
of the Austrian emperor
A group of women attacked Versailles on
October 5, 1789
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Forced royal family to relocate to Paris along with
National Assembly
Royal family spent next several years in the
Tuileries Palace as virtual prisoners
Tuileries Palace (Paris, France)
Changes under the National Assembly
Abolishment of
guilds and labor
unions
Declaration of the
Rights of Man
Abolition of
special privileges
Constitution of
1791
Equality before
the law (for men)
Many nobles left
France and
became known as
émigrés
Reforms in local
government
Taxes levied
based on the
ability to pay
Declaration of the Rights of Man
Freedom of
religion
Freedom of
speech
Freedom of
the press
Guaranteed
property
rights
“Liberty,
equality,
fraternity!”
Right of the
people to
create laws
Right to a
fair trial
Declaration of the Rights
of Woman
Journalist Olympe de
Gouges argued in her
Declaration of the
Rights of Woman that
women are equal
citizens and should
benefit from
governmental reforms
just as men did.
Women did gain some
rights during the French
Revolution, but these
were designed for
Madame Jeanne
purposes other than
Roland also served as liberating women.
a leader in the women’s
• Women could inherit
rights movement, and
property, but only because
was able to heavily
doing so weakened feudalism
and reduced wealth among
influence her husband
(a government official). the upper classes.
• Divorce became easier, but
only to weaken the Church’s
control over marriage.
End of Special Privileges
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Church lands were seized, divided, and sold
to peasants
Civil Constitution of the Clergy required
that Church officials be elected by the
people, with salaries paid by the government
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2/3 of Church officials fled the country rather
than swear allegiance to this
All feudal dues and tithes were eradicated
All special privileges of the First and Second
Estates were abolished
Reforms in Local Government

The 30 provinces and their “petty tyrants”
(Intendants) were replaced with 83 new
departments
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Ruled by elected governors
New courts, with judges elected by the
people, were established
Constitution of 1791

Democratic features

France became a limited monarchy
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All laws were created by the Legislative
Assembly
Feudalism was abolished
Undemocratic features
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King became merely the head of state
Voting was limited to taxpayers
Offices were reserved for property owners
This new government became known as the
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly (1791-1792)
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Royal family sought help from Austria
 In June, 1791, they were caught trying to escape to
Austria
Nobles who fled the revolution lived abroad as émigrés
 They hoped that, with foreign help, the Old Regime
could be restored in France
Church officials wanted Church lands, rights, and
privileges restored
 Some devout Catholic peasants also supported the
Church
Political parties, representing different interests,
emerged
 Girondists
 Jacobins
Opposition to the New Government

European monarchs feared that revolution would
spread to their own countries
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In the uproar, the Commune took control of Paris
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France was invaded by Austrian and Prussian troops
Commune was led by Danton, a member of the
Jacobin political party
Voters began electing representatives for a new
convention which would write a republican
constitution for France
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A republic is a government in which the people elect
representatives who will create laws and rule on their
behalf
Meanwhile, thousands of nobles were executed under
the suspicion that they were conspirators in the
foreign invasion
Convention (1792-1795)
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On September 22, 1792, the Convention
met for the first time
Established the First French Republic
Faced domestic opposition and strife
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Girondists were moderates who represented the
rich middle class of the provinces
Jacobins (led by Marat, Danton, and
Robespierre) represented workers
Faced opposition from abroad

Austria, England, Holland, Prussia, Sardinia, and
Spain formed a Coalition invading France
The “Second” French Revolution
 The National Convention:
 Girondin Rule: 1792-1793
 Jacobin Rule: 1793-1794
[“Reign of Terror”]
 Thermidorian Reaction:
 The Directory  1795-1799
1794-1795
Attitudes
& actions
of
monarchy
& court
Fear of
CounterRevolution
Religious
divisions
The Causes of
Instability in France
1792 - 1795
Economi
c
Crises
War
Political
divisions
The Jacobins
Jacobin Meeting House
 They held their meetings in the
library of a former Jacobin
monastery in Paris.
 Started as a debating society.
 Membership mostly middle class.
 Created a vast network of clubs.
The Sans-Culottes:
The Parisian Working Class
 Small shopkeepers.
 Tradesmen.
 Artisans.
They shared many of the
ideals of their middle
class representatives in
government!
The Sans-Culottes
Depicted as Savages by a British Cartoonist.
The Storming of the Tuilieres:
August 9-10, 1792
This was triggered in part by the publication in
Paris of the August 3 Brunswick Manifesto,
which confirmed popular suspicions concerning
the king’s treason.
The September Massacres, 1792
(The dark side of the Revolution!)
 Rumors that the anti-revolutionary political prisoners
were plotting to break out & attack from the rear the
armies defending France, while the Prussians attacked
from the front.
 Buveurs de sang [“drinkers of blood.”] over 1000 killed!
 It discredited the Revolution among its remaining
sympathizers abroad.
The National Convention
(September, 1792)
 Its first act was the formal
abolition of the monarchy on
September 22, 1792.
 The Year I of the French Republic.
 The Decree of Fraternity
 it offered French assistance to any
subject peoples who wished to
overthrow their governments.
When France sneezes,
all of Europe catches cold!
The Political Spectrum
TODAY:
1790s:
Montagnards
The Plain
(swing votes)
Girondists
(“The Mountain”)
Monarchíen
(Royalists)
Jacobins
The Politics of the
National Convention (1792-1795)
Montagnards
 Power base in Paris.
 Main support from the
sans-culottes.
 Would adopt extreme
measures to achieve their
goals.
 Saw Paris as the center of the
Revolution.
 More centralized [in Paris]
approach to government.
Girondists
 Power base in the
provinces.
 Feared the influence
of the sans-culottes.
 Feared the dominance
of Paris in national
politics.
 Supported more
national government
centralization
[federalism].
The “Purifying” Pot of the Jacobin
Louis XVI as a Pig
c
c
For the Montagnards, the king was a traitor.
The Girondins felt that the Revolution had
gone far enough and didn’t want to execute
the king [maybe exile him].
Louis XVI’s Head (January 21, 1793)
c
c
c
The trial of the king
was hastened by the
discovery in a secret
cupboard in the
Tuilieres of a cache of
documents.
They proved
conclusively Louis’
knowledge and
encouragement of
foreign intervention.
The National
Convention voted
387 to 334 to
execute the monarchs.
The Death of “Citizen” Louis Capet
Matter for reflection
for the crowned
jugglers.
So impure blood
doesn’t soil our land!
Marie Antoinette as a Serpent
The “Widow Capet”
Marie Antoinette
on the Way to the Guillotine
Marie Antoinette Died in October, 1793
Attempts to Control
the Growing Crisis
1. Revolutionary Tribunal in Paris  try
suspected counter-revolutionaries.
A. Representatives-on-Mission
sent to the provinces & to the army.
had wide powers to oversee
conscription.
B. Watch Committees [comité de
surveillance]
keep an eye on foreigners & suspects.
C. Sanctioned the trial & execution of
rebels and émigrés, should they ever
return to France.
Attempts to Control
the Growing Crisis
2. The printing of more assignats to
pay for the war.
3. Committee of Public Safety [CPS]
 to oversee and speed up the work of the
government during this crisis.
4. Committee of General Security [CGS]
 responsible for the pursuit of
counter-revolutionaries, the
treatment of suspects, & other
internal security matters.
Legislation Passed by the
National Convention
1. Law of General Maximum
 September 5, 1793.
 Limited prices of grain & other essentials to 1/3
above the 1790 prices & wages to ½ of 1790
figures.
 Prices would be strictly enforced.
 Hoarders rooted out and punished.
 Food supplies would be secured by the army!
2. Law of Suspects
September 17, 1793.
This law was so widely drawn that almost anyone
not expressing enthusiastic support for the
republic could be placed under arrest!
The Reign of Terror
Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible. -Robespierre
Let terror be the order of
the day!
c
c
The Revolutionary
Tribunal of Paris alone
executed 2,639 victims
in 15 months.
The total number of
victims nationwide was
over 20,000!
What Happened?
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Despite military successes, the Convention
continued to face problems domestically
Danton and his Jacobin political party came
to dominate French politics
Committee of Public Safety
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Headed by Danton (and later Robespierre)
Those accused of treason were tried by the
Committee’s Revolutionary Tribunal
Approximately 15,000 people died on the
guillotine
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Guillotine became known as the “National Razor”
Including innovative thinkers like Olympe de Gouges
and Madame Jeanne Roland
Committee of Public Safety
End of the Reign of Terror
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Members of the Girondist political party tried to end the Reign
of Terror initiated by the Jacobin political party
 This opposition to the Committee of Public Safety caused
many Girondists to be tried and executed for treason
Eventually, even Georges Danton wanted to end the
executions
 This resulted in Danton being tried and executed for treason
Maximilien Robespierre became leader of the Committee of
Public Safety
 He continued the executions
 Convention came to blame Robespierre for the Reign of
Terror
Thermidorean Reaction
 July 27, 1794 – ended the Reign of Terror
 Convention sent Robespierre and other members of the
Committee of Public Safety to the guillotine
 Robespierre was guillotined on July 28, 1794
The Guillotine:
An “Enlightenment Tool”?
Oh, thou charming guillotine,
You shorten kings and queens;
By your influence divine,
We have re-conquered our rights.
Come to aid of the Country
And let your superb instrument
Become forever permanent
To destroy the impious sect.
Sharpen your razor for Pitt and his agents
Fill your divine sack with heads of tyrants.
Different Social Classes Executed
8%
7%
28%
25%
31%
The “Monster” Guillotine
The last guillotine execution in France was in 1939!
Constitution of the Year III of the
Republic (1795)
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With the foreign invaders vanquished and
the Reign of Terror at an end, the
Convention was finally able to inaugurate
its new constitution
Constitution of the Year III of the Republic
(1795) created the Directory
Government under the Directory
Executive
Legislature
Qualifications
• 5 directors appointed by the Legislature
• Lower house (500 members) proposed laws
• Upper house (250 members) voted on these laws
• 2/3 of the Legislature would initially be filled by
members of the Convention
• Girondists (middle-class party) had defeated the Jacobins
(working- and peasant-class party)
• Girondists’ constitution stated that suffrage (the right to
vote), as well as the right to hold office, were limited to
property owners
Other Parting Reforms
Passed by the Convention
Adopted the metric
system
Dealt the final blow to
feudalism by abolishing
primogeniture (the
system whereby the
oldest son inherited all of
his father’s estate)
Drew up a
comprehensive system of
laws
Ended debt
imprisonment
Ended slavery in France’s
colonies
Established a nationwide
system of public
education
Directory (1795-1799)
The Directory suffered from corruption and poor
administration.
The people of France grew poorer and more
frustrated with their government.
Despite, or perhaps because of, these struggles, the French
developed a strong feeling of nationalism – they were proud of
their country and devoted to it.
National pride was fueled by military successes.
It would be a military leader – Napoleon Bonaparte, coming to
power through a coup d’état – who would end the ten-year period
(1789-1799) known as the French Revolution.
A Republican Calendar
The New Republican Calendar
New Name
Meaning
Time Period
Vendemaire
Vintage
September 22 – October 21
Brumaire
Fog
October 22 – November 20
Frimaire
Frost
November 21 – December 20
Nivose
Snow
December 21 – January 19
Pluviose
Rain
January 20 – February 18
Ventose
Wind
February 19 – March 20
Germinal
Budding
March 21 – April 19
Floreal
Flowers
April 20 – May 19
Prairial
Meadow
May 20 – June 18
Messidor
Harvest
June 19 – July 18
Thermidor
Heat
July 19 – August 17
Fructidor
Fruit
August 18 – September 21
A New Republican Calendar Year
I
1792 – 1793
II
1793 – 1794
III
1794 – 1795
IV
1795 – 1796
V
1796 – 1797
VI
1797 – 1798
VII
1798 – 1799
VIII
1799 – 1800
IX
1800 – 1801
X
1801 – 1802
XI
1802 – 1803
XII
1803 – 1804
XIII
1804 – 1805
XIV
1805
The Gregorian System returned in 1806.
The De-Christianization Program
2. The public exercise of religion was
banned.
3. The Paris Commune supported the:
destruction of religious & royal statues.
ban on clerical dress.
encouragement of the clergy to give up
their vocations.
4. The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris
was turned into the “Temple of Reason.”
5. The deportation of priests denounced by
six citizens.
The “Temple of Reason”
Come, holy Liberty, inhabit this temple,
Become the goddess of the French people.
The Festival of Supreme Being
A new secular holiday
Backlash to the
De-Christianization Program
 It alienated most of the population
(especially in the rural areas).
 Robespierre never supported it.
 he persuaded the Convention to
reaffirm the principle of religious
toleration.
 Decree on the “Liberty of Cults”
was passed
 December 6, 1793.
 BUT, it had little practical effect!
The Radical’s
Arms:
No God!
No Religion!
No King!
No Constitution!
The Terror Intensified:
March to July, 1794
Jacques
Hébert & the
Hérbetists
Danton & the
“Indulgents”
Executed in March, 1794
Executed in April, 1794
 Law of 22 Prairial [June 10, 1794].
 Trials were now limited to deciding only on liberty
OR death, with defendants having no rights.
 Were you an “enemy of the people?” (the law was
so broadly written that almost anyone could fall
within its definition!)
 1,500 executed between June & July.
The Arrest of Robespierre
The Revolution Consumes
Its Own Children!
Danton Awaits
Execution, 1793
Robespierre Lies Wounded
Before the Revolutionary
Tribunal that will order him
to be guillotined, 1794.
Review Questions
1. What Paris building
was stormed on July
14, 1789?
2. What human rights
were established in
France by the
Declaration of the
Rights of Man?
3. How did Olympe
de Gouges fight for
women’s rights?
4. What were émigrés,
and why did French
revolutionaries view
them as a threat?
5. Name and describe
the two political
parties that competed
for power in
revolutionary France.
6. What was the
Committee of Public
Safety?
7. Describe the Reign
of Terror and explain
how it eventually
came to an end.
8. Were the
“excesses” of the
French Revolution
justified? Why or why
not?
9. Looking back at
the first half of 1789,
could the French
Revolution have been
avoided? If so, how?
More Review Questions
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1. What is a Republic?
2. What group did the Jacobins Represent?
3. What are the causes of instability in France?
4. What were the September Massacres?
5. What does it mean when they say “When
France sneezes; all of Europe gets a cold.”
6. What is the National Razor?