Unit 2: Revolution and the failure of constitutional monarchy, 1789-93
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92 Terms
what was the ‘great fear’?
a wave of peasant violence and riots that spread through rural france
what is the french name for the ‘great fear’?
grande peur
when did the ‘great fear’ take place?
the summer of 1789
what caused/triggered the great fear?
bad spring harvest led to an influx of itinerant workers roaming between villages
rumours spread that they were “armed brigands paid by royalists to take land”
peasants responded by arming themselves
what did georges lefebvre describe the ‘great fear’ as? what did this mean?
“fear breeding fear” → irrational fears from rumours cause violence which creates more fear and violence; a vicious cycle
in which 2 ways did the ‘great fear’ differ from a traditional ‘revolution’?
their violence was indiscriminate (they only targeted symbols of the feudal system)
their violence was not bloodthirsty (less than 20 people in total died)
what was the result of the august decrees?
louis refused to sign them, contributing the tension in paris
what were the august decrees?
the national assembly completely abolished the feudal system
abolished the privileges of the nobility: tithes, venality and tax privileges
what year were the august decrees proposed?
1789
when was the declaration of the rights of man decreed by the national assembly?
august 1789
what was the declaration of the rights of man in a nutshell?
a declaration outlining the ‘sacred rights of man’ to be a constant reminder to all members of society of their rights and duties
what were the october days?
mainly women revolted and got the royal family to come back from versailles to paris so that they could amend the constitution and bring about change
what tradition was the october days a parody of?
tradition in the ancien regime where women would march to the palace of the royal family and offer bouquets of flowers
what was the significance of the october days bringing louis back to paris of all places?
people felt glad to get louis ‘cornered’ in paris, where he was virtually powerless and surrounded by revolution
what did the national assembly become known as after the august decrees and why?
the constitutional assembly
because they were writing a new constitution
how long did the process of writing the new constitution take?
august 1789 - 14 september 1791
(2 years)
what 4 main things did the new constitution establish?
freedom of religion and expression
established new regions in france called ‘departments’
reformed the judicial system
removed censorship on the press
give 3 features of the new 'departments’ that the constitution created.
there were 83
each department is overseen by a JP
all citizens in the departments were entitled to fair trials
what was the constitutional assemblys main aim when reforming the power of the monarchy?
to keep a monarchy in france (basically to keep louis happy), with some restrictions to avoid absolutism.
what was the constitutional assemblys main aim when reforming political rights?
to give the illusion that everyone had a say and that it was a democratic system (when it was still driven by classism)
what was the constitutional assemblys main aim when making economic reforms?
making the tax income more efficient and to increase state wealth + decreasing power of the church
what was the constitutional assemblys main aim when making religious reforms?
to reduce the church’s power
how did the constitutional assemblys reforms of monarchical power promote equality?
gave louis 25 million livres
hereditary principle upheld
louis had right to suspensive veto
how did the constitutional assemblys reforms of political rights promote equality?
more people could vote
70% male citizens had some voting
50% could afford to be electors
10% could become assembly deputies
how did the constitutional assemblys economic reforms promote equality?
indirect taxes abolished
state monopolies and tax farming abolished
third estate could accumulate wealth at every level
how did the constitutional assemblys religious reforms promote equality?
full civil rights granted to:
protestants in 1789
jews in 1791
how were some of the constitutional assemblys reforms of the power of the monarchy still unequal?
louis could abuse his right to suspensive veto (which he did) by delaying decisions in court
how were some of the constitutional assemblys reforms of political rights still unequal?
voting still limited to levels of wealth and sex (only men)
citizens who could pay equivalent of 3 days unpaid labour were labelled ‘active’ and those who couldnt were labelled ‘passive’
how were some of the constitutional assemblys economic reforms still unequal?
still some elements of the feudal system
bourgeoisie still had some control over peasantry
how were some of the constitutional assemblys religious reforms still unequal?
these reforms saw the church as a purely political institution and ignored the religious, communal aspect of it
when was lafayette appointed commander of the national guard?
15 july 1790
who was the national guard formed of?
from the citizens militia
many of the original rank and guard were made up from the ‘guardes francaises’ who had previously mutinied against the king
when did the national guard expand to include ‘non-active’ citizens?
21 april 1791
what did the expansion of the national guard to ‘non-active’ citizens mean?
it was flooded with sans culottes (who were extremely revolutionary)
what was the paris commune?
the democratic municipal government of paris during the french revolution
when was the paris commune formed?
during the uprising of july 1789
what made the paris commune different from the national assembly?
they were democratic and represented ‘the people’, which gave them a great deal of sway and meant they were more revolutionary
what was the date that radicals seized the paris commune?
10 august 1792
what did the paris commune becoming radical mean in terms of the progression of revolution?
directly representative of the paris sections (boroughs) and sans culottes
challenged authority of the national government
shaped the revolutionary violence
what is a faction?
a group of people who share similar beliefs who work together to see the beliefs realised
what is the difference between a faction and a political party?
in a faction lines are blurred and allegiances can overlap and change
name 3 political factions of the 1789-93 revolutionary period.
the jacobins
the cordeliers
the girondins
who were the jacobins supported by?
wealthy liberal constitutional monarchists
what were the aims of the jacobins club?
preserve gains of the revolution
ensure stability of the city
protect bourgeoisies wealth
what was one common association made about the jacobins?
violence and extremism - very radical
who is one notable member of the jacobins - what did he sign a petition for?
robespierre → supported a petition demanding kings removal
what did the cordeliers want?
direct democracy + universal male sufferage
how are the people who supported the cordeliers different to those who supported jacobins?
jacobins had cheaper entrance fees
cordeliers more accessible to wealthy + better educated people than jacobins
name 3 notable members of the cordeliers.
desmoulins
marat
danton
who established the cordeliers?
danton
when were the cordeliers established?
spring 1790
when were the jacobins established?
late 1789
give 5 reasons why louis was in a difficult position by mid-1791.
forcibly located to paris
attempts to run away
growth of radical factions
loss of power to constituent assembly
less catholicism, more protestantism
when did louis try to flee from paris?
21 june 1791
why did louis try to flee from paris in 1791?
catholic influence waning
constituent assembly more powerful
prevented from attending easter mass
what was louis’ plan when he fled from paris in 1791?
get to the belgian border (ruled by austrian netherlands) and seek refuge in his wifes name
what happened in reality when louis fled from paris in 1791?
his royal coach only got 160km away before someone recognised and reported him in the town of varennes
he was escorted back to tuilleries palace, paris
what was louis fleeing from paris in 1791 known as?
his “flight to varennes”
why was louis’ “flight to varennes” so significant?
point of no return for radicals and revolutionary thinking in france → encouraged regicide
when did louis have to sign the new constitution after the constituent assembly failed?
september 13, 1791
when did the legislative assembly have their first meeting?
october 1, 1791
what 3 things were the seeds of civil war in 1791?
failure of the august decrees
royalism vs. republicanism
peasants in france revolting against the failed august decrees (they were still poor)
what directly caused the champs de mars massacre?
people gathering at the champs de mars to sign the cordelier clubs petition for the abolition of the king
when was the champs de mars massacre?
july 17, 1791
how many people were at the champs de mars massacre and who did it mainly consist of?
50,000 people
mainly sans-culottes and poorer people
why was the champs de mars massacre a ‘massacre’?
lafayette had the national guard there
they fired on the peaceful, unarmed protesters
50 were killed
what are 3 consequences of the champs de mars massacre?
radical political leaders went into hiding (marat, demoulins, danton)
martial law remained
feuillants (royalist club) controlled paris and the assembly
how did moderates react to the champs de mars massacre?
they celebrated → believed it showed that radicalism couldnt win
why do some say that after the champs de mars massacre, the moderates had “won”?
it left them to work out a compromise with the king without fear of mob violence
when was the declaration of pillnitz?
27 august, 1791
after the flight to varennes
what was the declaration of pillnitz?
prussia threatening france with invasion if they did not ‘calm down’ - stop the unrest regarding constitutional changes
when did the legislative assembly order emigres to return to france under pain of death?
9 november, 1791
what was louis reaction to the legislative assembly order emigres to return to france under pain of death?
he attempted to use his suspensive veto
what was the significance of the declaration of pillnitz and the legislative assembly threatening the emigres?
violent intention had been declared on both sides - war more likely
why was the french army in 1792 less than ideal when the war started? give 4 reasons.
lack of military officers
officers were not trusted by their men
army were volunteers - no training or weaponry
numbers of less than 140,000
what happened when the french invaded the austrian netherlands in april 1792?
chaos → regiments deserted, mutinies, one soldier murdered his commander
what 3 laws were proposed to prevent counter-revolution in 1792?
april 1792 → all refractory priests deported, disband kings royal guard as they were seen as too loyal to king
may 1792 → laws to defend france against ‘traitors’
june 1792 → establishment of 20,000 national guards to defend paris
how did louis increase suspicions about him in june 1792?
used his suspensive veto to delay all of the new counter-revolutionary laws
what happened on 20 june 1792 that helped radicalise the revolution further?
journee → group of 8000 sans-culottes demanded louis to reverse his vetoes - he refused
what happened to louis as a result of the journee on 20 june 1792?
he lost his suspensive veto
what did the brunswick manifesto say?
commander of prussian army proclaimed to french people:
promised freedom to those who did not oppose him, but strongly threatened those who opposed him or harmed king louis
why was the brunswick manifesto significant for i) war and ii) revolution?
i) violent intentions reinforced
ii) riles up radical revolutionists
what happened on 10 august 1792?
attack on the tuileries - toscin (war bell/horn) sounded
30,000 citizens stormed palace → swiss guards killed
what was louis’ reaction to the journee on the 10 august 1792?
he fled to the chambers of the legislative assembly, thinking he would find protection
he was arrested
when did france declare war on austria?
20 april, 1792
when did france achieve their miraculous victory at valmy?
20 september 1792
who were the leaders of the french troops in the franco-prussian war?
dumouriez and kellerman
why was the french victory at valmy significant?
provided great moral victory
changed the course of the revolution (allowed it to continue)
what was the armoire de fer in 1792 symbolic of?
the final nail in louis’ coffin
what was the armoire de fer, november 1792?
documents revealed where louis had paid money and promises to emigres and people he thought would ‘save’ him from the revolution
how did the vote for the excecution of louis turn out?
voted 387 to 334 in favour of the excecution
name 2 things general dumouriez did to contribute positively to the war?
turned the army away from the netherlands towards valmy
put them in an advantageous position ontop of a hill