French Revolution: From Monarchy to Republic (1789-1799)
The National Assembly (1789-1792)
The National Assembly requested vote by head, and duplication of representatives of the Third Estate. They accepted the duplication of representatives but not the vote by head (in the end, they did vote by head). From the institutional revolt came a popular revolt. They asked to deliberate in common with the clergy and nobility. The privileged estates refused to meet with the Third Estate. The Third Estate named itself the National Assembly, deposited in the sovereignty. The king closed their session room. The Third Estate vowed not to dissolve. The Assembly was renamed the National Constituent Assembly. This was a triumph of social groups.
A large urban revolution occurred on July 14th, 1789 (assault of the Bastille prison in Paris). National Guard training. In 1789, there was a peasant revolt (Great Fear). The abolition of manorial rights was required.
Work of the National Constituent Assembly
- Law for the abolition of the feudal system.
- Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
- Civil Constitution of the Clergy: the Church was submitted to the state.
- New territorial organization: departments and municipalities.
- 1st French Constitution, 1791: National sovereignty and division of powers.
- Nationalization of ecclesiastical properties.
The Legislative Assembly (September 1791 – August 1792)
The king was detained in Varennes as he fled. After drafting a constitution, the National Constituent Assembly dissolved. The Legislative Assembly was a turbulent period in which there was little food and threats from abroad. France declared war on Austria on April 20th, 1792. France lost.
The Convention (1792-1794)
The Girondins, integrated by Brissot, had moderate, censitary suffrage. The Montagnards, a democratic republic led by Jacobins like Robespierre, had an alliance with the sans-culottes. The Plain defended property rights.
There was an assault on the Tuileries Palace. The assembly abolished the monarchy and gave way to the convention.
The Girondins in Power
The Girondins defended suffrage (vote of the proletariats). In Valmy, France defeated the Prussians on September 20th, 1792. The Republic was proclaimed on September 22nd. Politics were dominated by the struggle between Girondins and Montagnards from September to June 1793. Louis XVI was executed on January 21st, 1793. The first coalition was formed in April, bringing together the enemies of the Revolution. The internal situation worsened: in March, the Vendée region revolted. Repressive measures were taken against the enemies of the revolution. The sans-culottes demanded control of bread prices.
The Jacobin Convention (June 1793 – July 1794)
Universal male suffrage was established. A new Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was created. Popular sovereignty was established. The new government imposed the Reign of Terror (mass arrests and murders). The Law of the General Maximum was enacted (fixing wages and prices of commodities by the government). Worship was suppressed. A new calendar was created, with year I beginning on September 22nd, 1792. The Reign of Terror ended with Robespierre’s death; he was executed.
The Conservative Republic (1794-1799)
From July 1794 (Thermidor) to October 1795, the Convention established a conservative republic with censitary suffrage. The new constitution of the year III (1795) was a government that advocated for the owning bourgeoisie. Executive power was vested in a directory of five members.
The Directory (October 1795 – 1799)
The army gained prominence and repressed any attacks from the left or right. The regime responded to attacks with the army. The end of the regime came with the coup of 18 Brumaire (November 1799), which began the Consulate. Sieyès and Napoleon staged a coup. Napoleon was appointed commander of the troops in Paris. He promised to calm things down and appointed three provisional consuls: Sieyès, Ducos, and Napoleon.
Causes of the French Revolution
Economic
Subsistence crisis. The clergy and nobility refused to pay taxes.
Ideological
Influence of the Enlightenment.
Social
Unhappiness of the Third Estate. The bourgeoisie aspired to political power. The peasantry was upset by fiscal demands. The privileged feared the loss of privileges and sought more political power.
Political
The revolt of the Third Estate and the powerlessness of absolute monarchy. The existence of absolute monarchy. Influence of the American Revolution.