Discussion 7

French Revolution

Effects of American Revolution on France

American Revolution demonstrated that ordinary people

could overthrow a monarchy and set up a representative

republic. If simple British farmers could overthrow a

superpower, would be easy for the civilized French to do so.

About 9000 French soldiers, sailors and aristocrats took part

in the Am. Revolution, so had direct contact with what they

were fighting for.

Remember the American Revolution didn’t challenge the

Church, the aristocracy (the American aristocracy or British

aristocracy) or the monarchy in Britain. Americans weren’t

out to remake society but to maintain the status quo. Will

not be that way in France.

French Society on the eve of the Revolution

France had an absolute monarchy. Didn’t mean that the king

had ALL the power, but there was no representative

government, no way to redress grievances against the

government, no way for aristocracy or the Middle Class to

have access to political power (remember Louis XIV and the

aristocracy of the robe).

French society was divided into three estates.

1 st

Estate was the Catholic Church, which was exempt from

all taxation. Numbered around 138k (population of France

was about 28 million). Also, the upper members of the

clergy came from the aristocracy.

2 nd

Estate was the aristocracy, which was also exempt from

taxation. Numbered around 300k in population. They also

owned much of the land in France.

Together the 1 st

and 2 nd

Estate owned about 50% of the

resources and wealth in France.

The 3 rd

Estate was everyone from the urban Middle Class to

the poor peasants and the homeless. The Middle Class

owned about 30% of the wealth in France but not exempt

from taxation. Also composed of artisans, skilled workers,

small landowners, shopkeepers, etc.

There was a lot of frustration in France at this time. Taxes on

the 3 rd

Estate were exceedingly high. Middle Class was

frustrated because it felt it bore most of the tax burden

without having any political voice whatsoever. Also, familiar

with Enlightenment philosophy. Urban workers and dwellers

were hard hit by rampant inflation. Rural peasant farmers

were upset about leftover feudal dues (corvee, private

taxes, pay for mill use, etc.). Everyone hurt because of poor

harvests and costly wars (which cost France its North

American colonies).

Example of desperate economic times…25k registered

prostitutes in Paris, 40k children/year are abandoned, street

riots, wandering vagabonds and beggars all are a fixture of

French life.

Then in 1774, Louis XIV comes to the throne. Warned not to

help the Americans, but takes out large loans to loan to the

Americans…around 1 billion pounds in loans and aid (like

outfitting a navy for the Americans to use). Put France even

deeper in debt…government is on the verge of bankruptcy

(whole budget goes to interest payments on loans). Problem

is not that France is poor, but government cannot tax a

large portion of its population.

Also part of the problem is that Louis is a weak king and

people despise his queen, Marie Antoinette and her

extravagant spending. French hated her because she was

Austrian.

Louis XIV attempts reform

Country was for the most part prosperous, but inflation was

rampant in France and the government had no money.

France had been practicing deficit spending for years, taking

out loans to cover previous loans. By Louis XVI however,

could no longer do so…no one would loan the money. In

addition, the taxation system was too ancient, inefficient

and corrupt to fund the government. But the other problem

is that there was no effective avenue for change…the

privileged classes were not about to give up their

‘privileges’. Had their power in the parlements which was

the only way to challenge the monarchy. Since the

parlements wouldn’t budge the king tried to go around

them.

Louis XVI appointed ministers to reform the government

finances…i.e. tax the untaxable. Charles Alexandre de

Calonne became Minister of Finance in 1786. He tried to

institute a program that would implement a new land tax…

you would pay no matter your social status and the amount

you would pay would depend on the amount of land, not

social status. To lend legitimacy to this plan Louis called an

Assembly of Notables in 1787 to approve this new plan but

backfired. Some resented having their exempt status taken

away, some thought that this would give the monarchy too

much power and some thought that it didn’t go far

enough…should set up a constitutional government just like

the United States. Irony here is that most supported reform,

Louis made sure of that, but got nowhere because couldn’t

agree on type of reform.

Told Louis that only the Estates General could approve such

sweeping reforms. Under pressure from his ministers and

the discontent of the population, Louis sends out a

summons to the Estates General in 1788.

The Estates General was a legislative body that was only

called into session when the king said so. Made up of the

three estates, it last met in 1614. So no one knew quite how

to go about having one of these meetings. Decided that

since the Third Estate represented the majority, it would

have 600 representatives as opposed to 300 each for the 1 st

and 2 nd

estates. These representatives would be elected

from the local provinces all over France. Again, Louis

miscalculated…thought his support would be in the

provinces outside of Paris, and would elect members

sympathetic to his reforms. Not so. Also, he didn’t let the

individual members each have a vote, instead voting was

done by estate…and the first two would outnumber the

third. He didn’t really want to give all the power to the 3 rd

Estate, just wanted them to scare the 1 st

and 2 nd

Estates

into agreeing to his reforms.

Louis really really really miscalculates the mood of the

population and the stubbornness of the upper classes.

Keep in mind that the representatives of the 3 rd

Estate were

not the urban poor and rural peasants, but the bankers,

merchants, lawyers, low ranking government officials and

intellectuals of the Middle Class. Also, some members of the

1 st

and 2 nd

Estate (such as the Marquis de Lafayette and the

Abbe Sieyes) were sympathetic to the 3 rd

estate and reform.

The Third Estate becomes the National Assembly or 1 st

Phase

The Estates General was convened in May of 1789. Soon

became clear that the 1 st

and 2 nd

Estate would block any

attempt at reform. Also became clear that the 3 rd

Estate

wanted broad political reform and a constitution…Louis had

only wanted approval for his economic policies. Therefore on

June 17 the 3 rd

Estate, along with sympathetic members of

the first and second, declared itself the National Assembly,

the representative legislative body in France. When they

found themselves locked out of the meeting hall three days

later, they met at a nearby tennis court and promised to

continue meeting until a constitution was written (the Tennis

Court Oath). Realizing that the momentum was against

them, most of the first and second estate joined the

National Assembly.

Louis was appalled at the events. On the one hand, he

professed support for the National Assembly…on the other

he ordered troops to march to Paris. Mistake as the people

of Paris, who had accepted the National Assembly, saw this

as a threat. With the mood ugly, Paris finally erupted on 14

July. A mob of armed citizens stormed the Bastille, the

fortified prison in Paris and a symbol of royal authority.

Although the Bastille only had a handful of prisoners, it was

stormed and taken over.

Within a few days, peasants in the countryside also formed

mobs and attacked aristocratic estates, wanting an end to

feudal privileges. When the nobility agrees to do so, the

peasants settled down. Stereotype that peasants were a

large part of the Revolution…most resisted the changes that

the Revolution brought.

These events shocked the National Assembly, who wanted

peaceful reform and a constitutional govt. not mob rule.

Motivation to write a constitution and on August 27 they

issue the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Based partly on

the US Constitution, it affirmed the “natural rights of man

are liberty, property, security and freedom from

oppression”.

-single chamber legislature, king only has the right to

suspend legislature for two sittings (three years)

-all govt positions will be elected, not bought or appointed

-only men who own property allowed to vote, 50% could

vote for electors, who would elect the legislature. The

property requirements for electors was higher than for

general elections.

-replaces the 35 provinces with 83 departements…try to

eliminate power base of aristocracy and historical

affiliations, local officials would be elected

-promised to reform the taxation system

On the other hand, did not really address the issues that

had prompted the Estates General in the first place…

government debts and lack of food for the common

populace.

To try and remedy the lack of money, in July of 1790 the

National Assembly issued the Civil Constitution of the

Clergy.

- all Catholic Church officials were to be salaried employees

of the state

- had to take oath of loyalty to the government

- confiscation of majority of church land, made into national

property

Many reform minded clergy resisted these efforts, especially

the oath of loyalty. Also upsets the people in the

countryside, because the church was still a vital part of the

community and integral to charity and society in these

villages. Also doesn’t bring in much revenue because can’t

sell the land fast enough.

Louis also becomes alarmed, especially at the clergy reform

(he is a devout Catholic). In June of 1791 he tries to flee with

his family to Austria, but he is stopped at the border and

returned to Paris where he is kept under house arrest in the

Tuileries Palace. Now the National Assembly has a huge

problem…it has written a constitution with a monarchy and

the monarch refuses to cooperate. Under duress, Louis

promises to support the constitution on Sept. 14.

The constitution written was designed to give power to a

wealthy landowning elite and to exclude the ‘mob’ from

power…for example, freedom of the press and assembly

were not guaranteed. Failed to realize that the mob,

especially the Parisian mob, were a vital force in the

Revolution. The National Assembly then made a huge

mistake. Disqualified its members from membership in the

new legislature to be elected under the new constitution.

This meant that the new government, the Legislative

Assembly, did not have the experience of the National

Assembly, did not have the cohesiveness of the latter, and

did not represent the broad range of opinions of the latter.

With the implementation of this new constitution, the first

phase of the Revolution ends.

The Second phase of the Revolution, October 1791-August

1792

The Legislative Assembly elected was much more

republican than the National Assembly. They distrusted the

king and really wanted to abolish the monarchy. It couldn’t

cope with the fiscal crisis and the growing bread shortage (it

was a bad harvest year). Under pressure, it forced the king

to declare war on Austria (was hoping for a defeat, would

give them an excuse to get rid of the monarchy).

The French army was disorganized, it had lost many

competent officers (because they had been drawn from the

aristocracy) and put more financial pressures on France.

French suffered a series of defeats. But may have been

more than the Assembly bargained for because the common

people of Paris (artisans, laborers, craftsmen, shopkeepers)

began to meet in their own “republican” clubs. They called

for the overthrow of the monarchy AND the overthrow of the

inept Legislative Assembly. The common name for these

people are sans-culottes. On August 10, 1792 the san-

culottes stormed the Tuileries and killed hundreds of royal

guards and militia. They took control of the royal family and

had them imprisoned. Most of the Legislative Assembly fled

Paris. The remaining members declared general elections

based on universal manhood sufferage (had no choice

really) to rewrite the constitution. With the election of a new

legislature the second phase of the revolution ended.

Third Phase…the Republic, September 1792 – August 1795

On September 20, 1792 the new National Convention

declares an end to the monarchy and pronounces that

France will now be a Republic. On the same day, the French

win their first victory over Austrian forces. Huge

psychological victory for the revolutionaries. Gave them the

impetus to put the king on trial and in January of 1793 had

him executed. But, while the king was found guilty of

treason by an overwhelming majority (683 to 39), the vote

to execute him split the Convention (387 to 384).

In addition to being split over the execution of the king, the

Convention had to contend with being at war with virtually

all of Europe (the other countries declare war with the

execution of Louis), AND counter-revolutionary movements

all over France. Remember that the common people of the

rural areas are very conservative…disliked mucking about

with the Church and then the execution of “their” king. To

combat what the Legislative Assembly saw as threats to the

republics security, it created the Committee of Public Safety

to ferret out suspected traitors. Soon however, this

Committee would gain control of the Convention.

In June 1793, the Committee purged the Convention of

many moderate members, and now power rested in the

more radical hands of the Committee. The Reign of Terror is

now underway. Led by Robespierre, the Terror would execute

around 14000 political opponents, counter-revolutionaries,

aristocrats (including the queen) and even sans-culottes.

Another 11000 would die in jail. Tribunals were set up to

condemn people and issue judgment, often without

suspicion or a proper trial. Robespierre said that “without

virtue, terror is fatal; without terror, virtue is impotent”.

Robespierre thought that terror would be used to create a

republic of virtue. Committee was determined to save the

Revolution by suppressing ALL dissent. Also wanted to wrest

political control out of the hands of the sans-culottes that

put them in power in the first place.

The Committee did do some good. It instituted the Levee en

Masse (draft) which provided France with an effective army

to fight the rest of Europe. It imposed restrictions on the

price of grain so people could afford bread, and later

extended these price controls on other staple goods. They

tried to institute a free and universal education system

(which was difficult because the traditional schools run by

the church were gone), declared slavery illegal in French

colonies, and passed a law in which could obtain a divorce

easily.

But there was huge protests against the arbitrary violence

of the tribunals and also against the social reforms that had

been implemented. When the Convention came to power in

Sept of 1792, it redid the calendar…uniform 30 day months

of ten day weeks with one day off for rest. All the days of

the week and months of the year were renamed…all saint’s

days and religious holidays were eliminated. Churches

became “temples of reason” and the government tried to

promote a cult of the “supreme being” with new festivals to

replace the old ones. Resulted in huge uprisings in the

countryside, which of course, had to be suppressed by the

Committee.

Robespierre executed everyone who disagreed with him,

even in minor matters, so that by July 1794, he had too few

supporters left. With French armies victorious over the

Austrians, the Convention used this victory to declare the

‘emergency’ over and had Robespierre, the leader of the

revolutionary tribunal in Paris and their closest supporters

arrested. With their execution in July 28, the Terror comes to

an end.

The Thermidorian Reaction starts with the death of

Robespierre and lasts until August 1795. Convention regains

power, dismantles the Terror, forces the tribunals to follow

the process of law. But cannot enforce price controls

enacted during the Terror, and a harsh winter produces a

famine in the Spring of 1795. The churches are reopened in

February but protests still continue. Another constitution

(the third), was written in August ushering in the fourth

phase of the revolution.

Fourth phase…the Directory

New constitution instituted a 2 house legislature, and

limited suffrage ( and could only vote for electors, not actual

representatives). Convention also decreed that 2/3 of its

members had to sit in this new legislature, regardless of the

outcome of elections. Also had an executive body of five

men called the Directory chosen by the upper house of the

legislature. Still had to contend with challenges to its power

however, and when elections in 1797 put a large number of

royalists into the legislature, the Directory had them

arrested or refused to admit them their seats. France is no

longer a republic but a dictatorship under the Directory.

The war is going well however. By 1795 French armies have

conquered the Netherlands and in 1796-97 a brilliant young

general by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte conquered

northern Italy. In 1798, add Switzerland, Rome and Naples.

On the home front, the Directory cannot cope with the

growing economic problems…the currency is devalued, the

govt is on the verge of bankruptcy, the war is costly, the

cost of even basic goods is high and there were still royalists

factions and radical factions that wanted to overthrow the

government. The Directory recalled General Bonaparte, now

a national hero, home to save them. Instead, he overthrew

the Directory in a coup in November of 1799. The Revolution

was over…or was it?