Difference between revisions of "French Revolution"

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The French Revolution is one of the most famous revolutions in all of history. It started out with hope and promise, but then there was a "Reign of Terror", a chaos wherein anyone could be killed at any time. At least 18,000 people were executed on the Guillotine.

Before the Revolution, France had three levels in its social system: The First, Second, and Third Estates. The First Estate was about 1% of the population, but it controlled 10% of the land. The First Estate consisted of the clergy, and they did not pay any taxes. The Second Estate was about 2% of the population and they controlled 20% of the land. These were the nobility, and they too payed very little taxes. The Third Estate was everyone else, and they were badly overtaxed by the monarch. This overtaxing was a major cause of the French Revolution. Interestingly, taxes also helped to spark the American Revolution.

The leaders of the Third Estate were the middle class, called the bourgeoisie. They were educated in the ideas of the Enlightenment, most importantly Jean Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau's book, "The Social Contract" supported a direct democracy, rather that the republican government that had been adopted in America. The social contract spoke against titles for nobility and demanded complete equality for all people. These ideas later inspired communist writers like Karl Marx.

Chronology of the French Revolution

In 1785 a drought led to the poorest harvest in France for many years. Realizing the need to increase taxes, the King imposed measures such as building a wall around Paris to act as a customs post. In 1787 he called a meeting of 144 leading nobles to attempt to persuade them to pay tax in return for increased powers. The nobles refused his requests and were supported by the local assembly; the Parlement de Paris.

The King withdrew his demands at this challenge to his authority, which was greeted by thousands taking to the street to celebrate. When troops were ordered to "Get some lead into the bastards' backsides", they fired into the air instead. In hindsight this can be seen as the start of dissent. It is notable that the initiators of this unrest were the upper classes, who had little reason to think there was any thirst for revolution. In April 1787, Calonne resigned in disgrace and the middle classes, strengthened by the protests, began to demand an Estates-Generale, a Parliament in which they would be represented.

1789 - Year of Revolution

With growing unrest and France was near bankruptcy, the King agreed to call the Estates-Generale in May 1789. The Estate-Generale was divided into the three estates, with the first two estates (nobility and clergy) electing their representatives. The third estate representation required a series of elections in which all property owners over the age of twenty-five were eligible to take part. The elected a group of electors, who in turn chose delegates. The delegates themselves were overwhelmingly middle class, including the young lawyer Maximilien Robespierre. Furthermore, the Third Estate was required to produce a list of grievances.

Between 25,000 and 60,000 documents were filed with grievances. Thousands demanded a constitution, reorganization of the clergy, lessening of the tax burden and an end to Royal waste. Few of these demands could be resolved without challenging the basis of Absolute Monarchy. However, not one of these document has been found to advocate abolition of the monarchy, with the large majority requesting moderate reform and many including expression of adoration towards the King.

The Estates-General had not met in 175 years and retain many of the former characteristics. Each Estate had one vote in the Assembly, such that the First and Second Estates could always outvote the Third Estate. That was acceptable in the early 1600s, but the Third Estate would not allow this in 1789 after learning the Enlightenment ideas. By this time the alliance between the nobility and the third estate has broken down, the nobles may have called a march, but they drew the line at burning down tax offices. The Third Estate wanted a system of one vote per delegate, which would have given the Third Estate the same number of votes as the First and Second Estate combined.

The opening of the Esates-Generale did not bode well. The opening session was in an open coach house, which meant that the Third Estate struggled to hear the proceedings as they were on wooden benches at the far end of the room. Upon the entry of the King, the first and second estates were expected to remove their hats and sit down after the King, before replacing their hats. The Third Estate were expected to remain standing until after the first and second estates had replaced their hats, however, they chose to sit at the same time as the first and second estates. The First Estate were to ear glittering robes, the second estate were to ear silk coats, whilst the third estate were required to wear black coats. There was no question at this point of rudeness towards the King himself, and at this point none of the delegates (including Robespierre) was a republican in their beliefs. There then followed a speech by Necker on possible solutions to the economic crisis, that was of such length and dullness that Necker had to pass it on to a delegate to complete.

The Third Estate began to win votes in the Estates-Generale by attracting poorer clergy to their side. In an attempt to reassert his control, announced on 14 June that Estates-Generale was postponed. However, new of the postponement did not reach the delegates of the Third Estate, who arrived on the 20 June to find the room locked.

Following a period of confusion, Dr Guillotin (one of the Third Estate delegates) suggested it might be possible to convene at a nearby indoor tennis court and the group of over 500 delegate proceeded to meet at the court. The session was chaired by Bailly (a celebrity astronomer) and Mirabeau proposed that the delegation should not break up until a constitution was passed, which was opposed by only one delegate (Martin d'Auch). In effect the delegates had declared themselves the Government of France, pending a constitution to be organized by Mirabeau.

The National Assembly approved the “Declaration of the Rights of Man,” which combined ideas of the American Declaration of Independence with some Enlightenment concepts. The result of this combination had many debatable claims. The entire document is short and worth reading in full: [1] .

The King responded by ordering the delegate to disperse, however this had little effect. The following week the King sent a messenger, the Marquis de Breze, to order the finishing of the session. Mirabeau ordered the messenger to leave.

In the last week of June the royal Government ordered 20,000 troops to march on Paris. It became apparent that compromise was not. This was emphasized with the replacement of Necker by the hard line Baron de Breteuil. Thousands took to the street to demand the reinstatement of Necker, possibly one of the most boring men in history to have ever prompted such a reaction. Mirabeau spoke to the assembly, invoking the oath taken at the tennis court. Camille Desmoulins had ridden to Versailles to report on events and galloped back to Paris to report on the replacement of Necker.

Crowds marched to Abbaye prison to demand the release the soldiers who had been arrested for not firing on crowds. Troops were offered drinks by the crowd if they shouted 'Viva le tiers-etat'. Dummies of Necker and Duc d'Orleans were stolen to be paraded as heroes.

The deputies were now faced with a dilemma, requiring a mass movement for defence of the National Assembly, but fearing crowds getting out of control. Militia were therefore established, that excluded all unemployed and vagrants, and many districts demanded employers' references before admission. Admission varied enormously across districts, with 1,200 being recruited in Le Petit-St-Antoine, but Les Minimes mustering four.

Storming of the Bastille

With the militia formed to repel the royal troops, there was an urgent need for weapons. The royalist Swiss Guards had stored 30,000 pounds to the Bastille, to be used against the National Assembly. On the morning of July 14, 1789 (“Bastille Day”), a crowd of about a thousand people made up predominantly of small tradesmen arrived at the prison to demand the gun powder be handed over. The prison Governor invited a delegation in for breakfast, which proceeded for three and a half hours. Meanwhile, rumours circulated that royalist troops were committing atrocities across Paris.

A demonstrator outside the Bastille realized he would be able to get to the chains of the drawbridge by climbing from a nearby perfume shop. At this point the prison Governor, De Launay, broke off negotiations and late in the afternoon cannon shots were aimed at the crowd. Two companies of French Guards were persuaded to the Bastille to the defend protesters being killed by cannon fire.

A Swiss Guard handed over the keys to the second drawbridge, leading to a moat. A clerk from a pawn office visited a carpenter and returned with eleven pieces of wood, one of which was able to span the moat. Once inside, seven prisoners were freed, though contrary to what is widely though, this did not include the Marquis de Sade (he had been moved as he had shouting at passers by through a pipe he had been given to urinate through. This took time however, as the keys to release the cells were the same as the keys to open the first draw bridge and the man with the keys had gone home.

In total six defenders of the Bastille were killed, including De launay, and ninety protestors.

The aftermath was one of euphoria throughout much of Paris. Much of the nobility proclaimed support for the act, realizing that it was not healthy to oppose public opinion on the matter. Louis XVI recalled Necker to his job and agreed to recognise the National Assembly, which included the Third Estate delegates, poorer clergy and nobility sympathetic to the Third Estate cause. Lafayette was appointed head of the police and the army, which was to be known as the National Guard. Bailly became the Mayor of Paris.

The King agreed to come to Paris and accept the gift of a cockade that had become a symbol of the revolution, which the king fastened to his hat, whilst the crowd cheered "Vive le Roi!". Whilst the significance of the day was evident, that it would produce a republic was far from clear. The plan of the King to take Paris with 20,000 troops had failed, but he was able to satisfy the populace that it was not intended and a peaceful resolution was reached. The changes that had so far occurred in a brief period of time were so dramatic that the thought that things could change further was difficult to conceive.

The Great Fear

During the week following the storming of the Bastille, news of events spread to the rest of France. This led to a panic as to what the response of the nobility would be to the events, The Great Fear or panic resulted. Many villages defended themselves against imaginary threats by forming peasants militias riots occurred and peasants proceeded to burn wealthy homes.

The rural uprising prompted the National Assembly to pass a motion to 'destroy the feudal regime entirely', on the 4th August. However, in order to release himself a peasant would have to pay twenty times his annual rent to the landlord, making the measure ineffectual.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

The Assembly also passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen on the 4th August. This annulled the right of nobles to demand taxes, tithes and labor from peasants working on their family land. The declaration was inspired by the American Revolution and was partially written by LaFayette.

Unlike the American declaration that “all men are created equal,” the French version declared that “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.”

Whilst the American declaration that all men have inalienable rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” the French version declared that all men have natural rights of “liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.”

Some declarations were troublesome; “Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law” left questions of definition. Also, the rights of French people to rebel were enshrined in the very constitution itself.

The water wheel was abolished as the method of execution in place of the more humane guillotine. It is notable that the only delegate to vote for the abolition of the death penalty Robespierre.

A New Government

France remained a republic. Although a republic has been established in North America at this time and a previous English republic, a European republic was still alien to the thoughts of most French people, including revolutionaries. Negotiations over the new constitution continued, with Mirabeau and Lafayette appealing for calm less the King withdraw from negotiation. Jean Paul Marat took a less moderate line. Marat argued for universal suffrage and for the King to retain only an advisory role, a constitutional monarchy such as those seen in the United Kingdom or Sweden to this day.

Royal Faux Pas

On 1st October, 1789, a party was thrown at the Palace of Versailles. Louis XVI took the cap he had been presented with following the storming of the Bastille and trampled it underfoot. The king later denied this, however several witnesses recalled the incident and news of the incident spread to Paris. A contingent of women raided the Town Hall was raided for weapons and set off from Paris to Versailles, becoming a crowd of 10,000, who were later joined by the National Guard to ensure good order.

Upon the arrival for the group at the palace two guards opened fire, but were interrupted by decapitation. A small delegation of women were permitted to meet the Queen, however one fainted upon witnessing the beauty of the Palace of Versailles. The crowd became impatient by six o'clock the following morning and a militant group of fishwives broke in with a cry of "We are going to cut off her head, tear out her heart, fry her liver and that will not be the end of it"(Documents of the French Revolution, page 62). It was a forceful enough argument to force the Royal family back to Paris, where it was felt it would be possible to keep closer watch. It was also clear by now that the King was in no position to demand a veto.

Antoinette is reputed to have responded unsympathetically to the lack of bread for the peasants by declaring, “Let them eat cake!” Historians doubt she ever actually said that.

Anniversary Pledge

On the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille a large ceremony was held in Paris at which members of the Government and the King pledges themselves to uphold the 'law, the nation and the King'. This represents a compromise in that the King was still seen as central, however all pledges had previously been to the King alone, and the King was required to make no pledge.

1791 - The King Strikes Back

In the two years following the storming of the Bastille French society had been transformed. There were an estimated 133 political journals in Paris, Parish priests had been dismissed and replaced by elected Priests. Robespierre had advanced plans for the emancipation of Jews and Protestants, equal treatment of all military ranks and the abolition of the property qualification for the National Guard. Robespierre remained incorruptible at this point, refusing to be the Duc d'Orleans let the luxury affect his judgement.

This situation was intolerable for the Royal Family, who began to organize a foreign force to invade France and restore their power. In December 1790 Louis wrote a secret note to the King of Prussia requesting a European army invade France. Furthermore, the King and Queen (herself Austrian) decided to flee Paris to help organise the invasion force from without France, let their presence in Paris compromise the invasion.

The royal couple decided to disguise themselves and flee across the border, which they did at night setting off at at a seven miles in part due to the weight requirements for the Queen to travel in the least luxury that she expected. The next morning the Kings letter to the National Assembly was found condemning all the measure which he had claimed to support for the previous two years.

The royal party reached Ste-Menehould, where the papers of the party were checked by Drouet, who had been a staunch supporter of the revolution. Despite having seen the servant in the corner and 'struck by the resemblance of his face to the likeness of the King printed on the bank note', in disbelief he allowed the party to continue. Having discussed the incident with his colleague, Guillaume, the two raced to catch up with the party and spread word through the surrounding villages that the Royal family were attempting to flee. The family were captured and returned to Paris, with posters informing the gathering crowd "Whoever applauds the King will be flogged; whoever insults him will be hanged".

Most delegates wished to hold together a compromise, but the Head of State fleeing to lead a hostile invasion of the nation had created difficulties. Many insisted that the King must have been kidnapped. General Bouille wrote a statement confessing his involvement, but many insisted he was lying to implicate the King. While the only punishment towards the King was stripping of his powers of veto on laws and finance, talk began to emerge for the first time of the possibility of a republic. At this point Robespierre and most of the Paris commune strongly opposed the republic, whilst Lafayette rallied to the slogan 'The Revolution is Over'. By then the French Revolution was in full swing.

Declaration of the Rights of Woman

In 1791, a French journalist named Olympe de Gouges proposed a “Declaration of the Rights of Woman,” (inspired by the writings of Mary Woolstonecraft) but the National Assembly rejected her proposal. She, like many other leaders of that time, was eventually executed by guillotine. Other sans-culotte groups were established including the Society of Revolutionary Women

New Start

Politics in France became divided between the moderate Girondins and the more radical Jacobins. At this point the Girondins appeared to be in the stronger position, however the Jacobins were growing in strength. By this point the [[Jacobins were led by Robespierre who made a strong speech in favor of a republic.

The French National Assembly established a constitutional monarchy and, in 1791, adopted a new constitution that created a Legislative Assembly. Three factions quickly formed in the new Legislative Assembly, known as the radicals (liberals), moderates (centrists) and conservatives, similar to those political movements today in the United States. The three factions sat in different sections of the large assembly hall, with the radicals (liberals) sitting on the left, the moderates sitting in the center, and the conservatives sitting on the right. That gave rise to the left-center-right terminology that we still use today in the United States to describe these three political groups.

German Invasion

A large number of noblemen had gathered in Koblenz to form an army to invade France and restore the King to full rule. The emigrants carried stories of atrocities and encouraged reaction against the National Assembly and atrocities associated with lower class democracy. The Duke of Brunswick declared "We will soon be marching on Paris".

This was a matter of some concern in France, as many of the officers that had been in the French army in 1789 had joined the emigrant army in Germany. The Girondins remained confident, but Robespierre saw little cause for initial optimism. The Royal Family strongly supported war with the Prussian and Austrian force in the hope that the French would be defeated and they be restored.

On April 1792, the King declared war on the Hapsburg Empire, who wished to restore his power. The French army suffered a series of defeats along the border, creating optimism in the Royal house. The National Assembly ordered the dispersal of the Kings bodyguard who were supporting the foreign invasion, but this was vetoed by the King. The Assembly then voted for 20,000 French patriots to come from across France to protect Paris, but this was also vetoed by the King.

The use of the royal veto to undermine the defense of France prompted a strong reaction, with demonstrators managing to pour into the royal apartments. The King was forced to wear a red cap while being taunted for several hours with taunts of "Fat Louis" and "Tyrants must Tremble". The time of compromise was nearing an end.

Lafayette planned a coup to restore the old order to as it was in 1787, using the National Guard. This force was resisted by a volunteer group of citizens. Traditionally this latter group are portrayed as ne'er-do-well criminals, however it is questionable whether such groups would march typically 800 miles. The volunteer groups were greeted as heroes in towns they passed through and Rouget de Lisle composed 'La Marseillaise' as a call to arms.

The war started badly for the French and on 25th July the Duke of Brunswick prepared to March on Paris and pledged to restore the French Royal Family to their original statue, but that he had no intention of meddling in the internal affairs of France. He demanded total surrender or the Prussian and Austrian armies would "take an exemplary and never-to-be-forgotten vengeance, by giving up the town of Paris to military execution..and the guilty rebels to the death they deserve".

Second Revolution

Paris was divided, with 20,000 signing a petition to support the full restoration of an absolute monarchy and a foreign army was invading France rapidly. Moderates such as Mme Roland supported withdrawal from Paris, whereas Maton would accept no backward step. On 10th August a larger demonstration marched on the palace demanding the removal of the King.

Valmy

The National Assembly called for volunteers to defend the state, with assurances that this army would be different to the one that had gone before and collapsed before the troops of the Duke of Brunswick. The soldiers would sing Les Maseillaise into battle and officers and men would wear similar uniforms. The majority of the officers would be voted for by the soldiers.

The army was formed, and the Duke of Brunswick brought his army round to meet the French on by the village of Valmy. The French were grouped around a windmill in an area of uncommon tranquillity. The battle involved a day long exchange of cannon fire with little result. The significance of the battle is that the French volunteer troops remained firm.

Johann Goethe was present at the battle, as one of the troops of the Duke of Brunswick; "In the morning we had been talking of spitting and eating the French. Now everyone was thinking again. Almost everyone remained silent. Only a few men spoke and their reflections seemed illogical or frivolous".

In the opinion of Goethe, what had changed in the French was their spirit. They had won their freedom and did not wish to return to the days before the revolution, they had debated and were politically active. They were therefore able to stand firm. The news of the battle had a strong effect on French national morale, as the French came to believe they could win.

Republic

On the day following the Battle of Valmy, the newly elected French Government (the Convention). The Convention declared France to be an 'Indivisible Republic'. The Convention was made of three factions; the Girondins, the Montagnards Including Robespierre, Danton and Marat) and the Grenouilles de la Marais. Robespierre won an argument to allow a public gallery for debates.

All factions favored deposing the King, but were far from united beyond that point. The Montannards saw this as the first step to greater social equality, as opined by Robespierre, "Royalty has been destroyed, not the reign of equality is beginning". He attacked the wealthiest businessmen "those goods which are necessary to keep people alive as nothing more than an ordinary item of trade" - a sentiment echoed later by Karl Marx's assertion that businessmen see objects not for their usefulness but for their value as commodities.

However, the Jocobin position was far from modern Socialism, as they sought a nation of small property owners. The Government would be elected by property owners. Support for a republic was recently and had little idea of how to progress with the power they now found they had.

The Girdondins accused the Montagnards of preparing a dictatorship. However, the Girdondins had lost credibility by suggesting retreat from Paris and furthermore lacked the social roots that enabled the Montagnards to motivate thousands of volunteers. It reflects on the differing social backgrounds of the delegates that it was at this point Robespirre met a cabinet maker, M. {{Duplay]]. Duplay invited Robespierre back to his flat to meet his family and, finding that the family had been trying to let a spare room, Robespierre moved in. It is worth considering the contrast between the setting of the reign of Louis XVI to Robespierre who, whilst the most powerful man in France, has to queue behind his landlord to use the toilet in the morning.

Trial of the King

The King and family were detained in the Temple prison, but retained the trappings of luxury. The King had a library of 1,500 books, still ordered his shoes from his preferred cobbler and the family was provided with servants. The majority of servants remained utterly devoted to the family, feeling their employment to be a sacred duty.

This loyalty was not universal however, a former locksmith of the King revealed to the Paris Commune that there is secret cupboard containing correspondence between the King and invading powers showing collusion. Mirabeau and Lafayette were also implicated, though Mirabeau had no died and Lafayette had fled to Austria.

The trial was debated by a number of key speakers. Louis St-Just debated the very validity of Kings, that to try the King as a bad King suggested it was possible to be a good, legal King, which was not acceptable. He was opposed by Thomas Paine who wished the King to be exiled to the USA. The vote was won for death by 387 to 334.

Louis XVI was executed in January 1793.

Committee of Public Safety

The Committee of Public Safety was formed in 1793, and passed a rule that Generals were to live in camp with the army. This had the practical effect of testing the belief in equality of the many Nobles in the army. General Dumouriez made overtures to the Prince of Coburg for the invasion of France and have Louis XVI's son proclaimed King Louis XVII.

By this time many countries, including Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Prussia and Austria, had formed a First Coalition to invade France and restore monarchy. The National Convention responded by drafting people into an army. Historians claim women were drafted, but such a politically inspired claim is worth investigating before accepting it. The war lasted for several years, on several fronts, but the First Coalition was eventually defeated.

The execution of Louis XVI led almost immediately to the Reign of Terror. Maximilian Robespierre, head of the Committee of Public Safety, proceeded to guillotine numerous alleged enemies, including Marie Antoinette. In a classic illustration of Jesus’s teaching that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword,” Jacobin leaders Georges Danton (a fiery orator) was guillotined, and Jean-Paul Marat (a scientist) was stabbed to death in his bathtub. Eventually Robespierre himself was guillotined in 1794, and the Reign of Terror ended with his death.

At last the government of France was in the hands of a legislature, and an executive branch of five men called the Directory. The Directory picked a young, highly successful military genius named Napoleon to lead the French army. The very next day Napoleon seized all power in France as its dictator, in November 1799.

Legacy of the Revolution

The influence of the French Revolution was immense throughout the western hemisphere, as other peoples felt that they, too, could rise up against their rulers and defeat them. Historians credit the French Revolution with spreading the ideas of the Enlightenment, limiting the power of nobility and clergy, and ending an absolute monarchy. But many who supported the French Revolution in its beginning were horrified by where it led, including numerous executions and terror. Some would say that France never fully recovered, as the French Revolution unleashed an hostility towards Christianity that continues to this day in France.

References

• Simon Schama, 'Citizens', London 1989.
• 'The French Revolution'
• William Doyle. Oxford history of the French Revolution, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002 ISBN 0-19-925298-X

See also

• Alexis de Tocqueville