The Ideals of the Revolution

These were the ideals set forth by the National Constituent

Assembly in 1789

Liberté!Liberté! Egalité!Egalité!

Fraternité!Fraternité!

The Tricolour Flag

The Tricolour is Fashion!

White for the clergy, red for the nobility and blue for the

bourgeoisie

Other Revolutionary Symbols

The Liberty Cap: A symbol of liberty worn during the revolution, originated from the caps freed slaves wore in ancient Rome.Liberty Tree: By planting a tree, the residents of a village were announcing the rejection of traditional authority and their loyalty to a new order. 60,000 were planted by 1792.

The National Constituent Assembly- Constitutional Monarchy (1789-1792)• The National Assembly fell short of creating a system of

true democracy• The Declaration of Right of Man had stated that “men are

born and remain free and equal in right.”• “Active” and “Passive” citizens are recreated (a

distinction based on amount of direct taxes paid by each citizen)

• Tax paying amount had to be equal to three days of labour in a particular region- Franchise therefore denied to 1/3 of adult males

• Reasons for limiting the vote: 1) framers of the constitution feared mob rule 2) They defined the country as a body of “productive citizens.”

• Also, there was a great deal of centralization in politics--- People of Paris played the most decisive role in influencing the Revolution.

• High unemployment rates and bread shortages created a great deal of unrest among Parisians.

• Worried, the King sent troops to Versailles to protect the National Assembly from the Paris mobs (or so he said). However there were rumours that he wanted to use them against the Assembly and Revolutionary cause.

• October 5th, 1789: March on Versailles, a 12 mile march.• During this same month, some members from the angry

crowd invade the palace and are fired upon by troops.• They force the royal family to go to Paris and take up

residence in the Tuileries Palace where the king takes his seat in the constitutional monarchy created by the National Assembly.

• A calmer period for nearly three years. During this time the National Assembly initiate several reforms: new administrative system, confiscation of church lands and the Civil Constitution of the Clergy.

New Administrative System• The previously overlapping and confusing districts of the

Old Regime are replaced with a new system• France becomes divided into 83 departments

(départements); then into districts (arrondissements); then cantons; the communes.

• The departments were kept small enough that each citizen could reach the capital in no more than a day’s journey by horse-drawn vehicle.

• Provinces such as Normandy, Brittany and Champagne had official status taken away. New departments were named after natural landscape features.

• This offended some Frenchmen who had strong attachments to their homeland provinces.

• The Assembly tried to decentralize the government by having local and regional officials elected

• Many new officials had difficulty carrying out the tasks previously accomplished by the royal bureaucracy.

Departments in France Before and After 1789

Administration- Financing the Revolution

Several of the attempts to raise money included:• Direct taxes on income from land and other sources• “Patriotic Tax”- voluntary tax in which an individual would

be expected to give 25% of their yearly income stretched out over three years

• Solution: Confiscating the land of the Catholic Church• They claimed that under the Declaration of the Rights of

Man and the Citizen, people had the right to “Private Property.” However, they argued that the church land was not private, but a “corporation” that existed to serve the people.

• If they were obligated for providing these services as a state, then they felt justified taking the land back.

• They would have to assume the obligation of paying clergy, paying for the expenses of worship and helping the poor.

• Did not work right away because land cannot be used to pay back the state’s debt.

Assignats• The government planned to sell the lands and issues its

creditors interest-bearing notes (had former church lands as security)

• Whoever had the assignats could purchase the church lands

• They were supposed to be retired after the land was bought however, they began to circulate as paper money and the government put more into circulation

• Inflation occurred and they lost 90% of their face value• Successive revolutionary regimes were able to liquidate

much of the debt by paying off their creditors with the money

Tensions with the Catholic Church• The Civil Constitution of the Clergy in July 1790 set salary

scales for the various ranks of the clergy and reorganized the appointment of church officials

• Priests became elected by district assemblies and bishops by department assemblies

• The Pope had no choice in the appointment of the clergy• This arrangement was unacceptable to the Pope especially

considering the Civil Constitution was drawn up by the National Assembly without consultation from the Roman authorities.

• November 1790, the National Assembly required an oath from the clergy

• The priests who agreed to take the oath to the revolutionary cause were part of the “constitutional church” and the others (about half) were labelled “refrationary” priests and were prosecuted.

• This resulted in a great deal of bitterness on the part of French Catholics.

The Decline of the Monarchy• King became less and less popular, perhaps the rural

population had more say, the King may have stayed in power for longer

• A radical group of Parisians who worked through various political organizations- Jacobin clubs (propaganda/pamphlets)

• Relations were also strained because in June 1791, Louis XVI attempted to flee the country to seek protection under his brother in law, Emperor Leopold II

• With the help of count Hans Axel von Freson, the royal family managed to escape from the Tuileries on June 20, 1791

• Royal troops were to ensure the safety of their journey until they met Austrian troops

• However the royal family was recognized and stopped at Varennes, near the border.

• The family was detained until orders stated to bring them back to Paris

• The National Assembly pretended to believe the story that the King was abducted by enemies of France in order to avoid political instability. They went ahead with the Constitution of 1791

• However, when they discover the note that Louis left behind in which he denounced the limitations of the monarch’s power in the new constitution

• This note was published in all the papers• The King continued to collaborate with the revolutionary

government but he was very offended by the measures they took against the church and he was sympathetic to the clergy who had to swear the oath.

Political Division• How long the Revolution would have remained fairly

peaceful is hard to know• émigrés, were people who left France early on in the

revolution and were working towards restoring the King to his rightful position (including Louis’ younger brothers).

• Louis had to stop their plots on more than one occasion.• The new Legislative Assembly that had been created

under the New Constitution was divided. • It consisted of about 165 constitutional monarchists

(right), 330 Girondins and Jacobins (left) and the rest unaffiliated.

• The King’s attempted escape caused many constitutional monarchists to join the republican cause

• The most famous club that came to power was the “Jacobin Club”

• Many of these Jacobins had been apart of the National Society and in 1789 formed the Society of Friends of the Constitution

• The Jacobin club was first a debating group, but soon it broadened its membership and a network of clubs was built all over the country who communicated with one another.

• They would distribute propaganda in attempt to influence elections

• It consisted of mainly educated men and business professionals. This organization helped undermine the monarchy

• The major crisis that divided the Legislative Assembly was the outbreak of war in April 1792

• This was provoked by the reaction from other European leader to the Revolution

• Both the King and the Girondins wanted war, but for different reasons. They thought it would bring them more power. Also they thought the revolutionary army would win and inspire others living under an oppressive ruler.

• As early as 1790, Louis wanted to ask for the intervention of foreign countries in hope that a war might strengthen his power and scare off the revolutionaries

• He thought a war would end in defeat of the French armies and he would have to serve as a mediator between them.

The Declaration of Pillnitz and War• Most other European rulers did not view the Revolution as

a threat to their own thrones.• Leopold II, the ruler of Austria (came to the throne in

1790) sympathized with his sister and Louis XVI, but did not make an effort to rescue them from their Revolution. Instead he was busy dealing with re-establishing order in his own land. However when he subdued revolt in the Netherlands he was willing to make a gesture towards France.

• He and the Prussian King, Frederick William created the “Declaration of Pillnitz” (August 27th, 1791) which stated that French affairs are in the interest of all of Europe and they would support them as long as other European powers intervened.

• This didn’t worry Leopold II because he knew England wouldn’t support them

• However, when Leopold II died on March 1, 1972, Francis II took over and took a different position on France’s situation.

• Pretexts for conflict with Austria were not hard to find, Girondins came into power more and also encouraged war

• The French had been protesting the acts of émigres in Austria, also the two countries disagreed about the claims of German princes who had been deprived of their right in the French province Alsace. They demanded their rights and appeal to the Austrian court.

• This factors were enough to have the Legislative Assembly declare war on April 20, 1792.

• Shortly into the conflict, Prussia joined. They both thought defeating France would be easy.

• Throughout the summer many people in France became convinced that the King was engaged in treasonable activities

• A minority of Paris radicals, mainly the Jacobins exploited the situation to take power.

• They secured control over the administrative districts of Paris

• Paris was divided into 48 sections itself and within each district their was a ruling assembly

• Many of the eligible citizens (active) were not interested in their particular district so the Jacobins were able to gain control, turning these assemblies into revolutionary political activist groups.

• August 1792 experienced some uprisings. On August 3 a manifesto that had been issued by the Prussian duke of Brunswick, declaring the allies intentions to restore full power to Louis XVI. (Brunswick Manifesto). Confirmed suspicions of the King’s treason.

• Representatives from the Paris sections petitioned to the Legislative Assembly by demanding the removal of Louis XVI from power.

• Paris radicals also abolished the distinction between “active” and “passive” citizens in the district and secured support of the working class.

• On the night of August 9-10th, members from Paris sections were successful in ousting the legal municipal government in the city hall and installing a revolutionary commune.

• At the same time a crowd of radical leaders attacked the Tuileries and killed the guardsman and royal servants.

• The Legislative Assembly, pressured by the Paris Commune, suspended the King from his duties and handed him over as prisoner to the Commune.

The End of the Monarchy• The Legislative Assembly did not want to make a

judgement on the fate of the King so they decided to hold a National Convention. It would be elected by universal suffrage (men) and would decide the future of the King and create a new constitution.

• Until the election, the Legislative Assembly appointed a council of ministers to hold power. The Assembly, the Commune and the council of ministers fought for control. The Commune prevailed.

• Before the Convention met on September 21st, 1792, the Battle of Valmy (September 20th, 1792) occurred where the French stopped the advances of the Prussians towards Paris.

• Also, the September Massacres took place. The Prisons were full of refractionary priests, royalist sympathizers and aristocrats, all suspected of treason.

• Rumours were starting that these prisoners intended to break out and patriots of the Revolution dragged them out of their cells and massacred them

• More than a thousand were killed in a few days.• Since the elections for the National Convention occurred

at the same time as the massacres, the royalist sympathizers stayed away.

• Only 700 000 out of 7 million qualified voters casted their votes. The majority was in favour of a republic.

• The first act of the convention on September 21st, was to abolish the monarchy

• September 22, 1792 became the first day of the Year I of the Republic.

The New Republican The New Republican CalendarCalendar

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 A New Republican Calendar YearCalendar YearI 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.

Political Caricatures from the Revolution

At your table, write down what you believe the

caricature in front of you represents. In about 3

minutes, you will rotate to the next table.

Revolutionaries dance around a liberty tree as allied troops flee in the background.

•A revolutionary caricature from 1789. A peasant carries a cleric and an aristocrat on his back while his crops are devoured by pigeons and rabbits.

Symbolizes the confiscation of church lands and measures against the clergy.

•The armoire de fer: documents found about details of the royal household and reports on royal policy (May 1792)•The contents did little to discredit the King•Jacobins still used it for propaganda•This picture shows the opening of the armoire de fer. The Skeleton is that of Mirabeau, one of the people discredited by the chest’s contents.•unsuccessfully conducted secret negotiations with the French monarchy

•The Tennis Court Oath, by C. Monnet and I.S Helman•Members of the Third estate take their oath at the tennis court•Symbolism of liberty in the clouds above

•King Louis XVI wielding a pickaxe at the Champ de mars, preparing the ground for the Festival of Federation (1790). •Anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille.•A celebration of the trinity of the nation, the law and King.

The tax paying money is unable to pay of the deficit.