The French Revolution Notes

Section I: Introduction to the French Revolution, Russian Revolution, and Rise of Nazism

• These events significantly shaped the modern world.
• Chapter I focuses on the French Revolution.

Chapter I: The French Revolution

• Liberty, Freedom, and Equality:
  • These ideas are often taken for granted today.
  • It's crucial to remember that these concepts have a history.
• End of Monarchy:
  • The French Revolution led to the termination of the monarchy in France.
  • A society based on privileges was replaced with a new system of governance.
• Declaration of the Rights of Man:
  • This declaration signaled the beginning of a new era.
  • The concept that all individuals have rights and can claim equality became an essential part of political discourse.
• Equality and Freedom:
  • Emerged as central ideas of a new age.
  • Were reinterpreted and rethought in different countries.
• Anti-colonial Movements:
  • Movements in India, China, Africa, and South America adopted the language of equality and freedom from the late eighteenth century.
  • Produced innovative and original ideas.

Chapter II: Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution

• Socialism's Advent:
  • The chapter discusses the rise of socialism in Europe.
  • It also explores the events that led to Tsar Nicholas II relinquishing power.
• Economic Equality:
  • The Russian Revolution aimed to transform society by raising the question of economic equality.
  • Focused on the well-being of workers and peasants.
• Soviet Government:
  • The chapter examines the changes initiated by the new Soviet government.
  • It also addresses the problems faced and the measures undertaken.
• Industrialization and Mechanization:
  • Soviet Russia pursued industrialization and the mechanization of agriculture.
  • However, it denied citizens rights essential to a democratic society.
• Ideals of Socialism:
  • Became part of anti-colonial movements in various countries.
• Contemporary Status:
  • The Soviet Union has dissolved, and socialism faces a crisis.
  • However, it significantly shaped the twentieth century.

Chapter III: Germany and the Rise of Nazism

• Focus on Hitler and Nazism:
  • The chapter explores the rise of Hitler and the politics of Nazism.
  • It discusses the roles of children and women in Nazi Germany, as well as schools and concentration camps.
• Denial of Rights:
  • Nazism denied various minorities the right to live.
  • It exploited long-standing anti-Jewish sentiments to persecute Jews.
  • It waged a battle against democracy and socialism.
• Systematic Operation:
  • The rise of Nazism involved an elaborate and frightening system operating at different levels.
• Indian Perspective:
  • Some in India were impressed by Hitler's ideas, but most viewed the rise of Nazism with horror.
• Modern World History:
  • The history of the modern world includes not only freedom and democracy but also violence, tyranny, death, and destruction.

July 14, 1789: Storming of the Bastille

• Alarm in Paris:
  • The city of Paris was in a state of alarm on the morning of July 14, 1789.
  • Rumors circulated that the king had ordered troops into the city and would soon order them to open fire on citizens.
• Formation of People's Militia:
  • Approximately 7,000 men and women gathered in front of the town hall and decided to form a people’s militia.
  • They broke into government buildings in search of arms.
• Storming the Bastille:
  • A group of several hundred people marched towards the eastern part of the city and stormed the Bastille, a fortress-prison.
  • They hoped to find ammunition there.
• Armed Fight and Consequences:
  • In the ensuing fight, the commander of the Bastille was killed, and the prisoners were released (though there were only seven).
  • The Bastille was a symbol of the king's despotic power and was hated by all.
• Demolition and Souvenirs:
  • The fortress was demolished, and its stone fragments were sold as souvenirs.
• Rioting and Protests:
  • Following the event, there were more riots in Paris and the countryside.
  • Most people were protesting against the high price of bread.
• Historical Significance:
  • Historians later viewed the storming of the Bastille as the beginning of a chain of events that led to the execution of the king.
  • However, most people at the time did not anticipate this outcome.

Louis XVI and the Financial Crisis

• Accession to the Throne:
  • In 1774, Louis XVI of the Bourbon family became the king of France.
  • He was 20 years old and married to the Austrian princess Marie Antoinette.
• Empty Treasury:
  • Upon becoming king, Louis XVI found an empty treasury.
  • Long years of war had drained France's financial resources. Also, The cost of maintaining the extravagant court at Versailles added to this.
• Support for American Colonies:
  • France helped the thirteen American colonies gain independence from Britain.
  • This war added more than a billion livres to France's debt, which had already risen to over 2 billion livres. Debt_{total} > 2*10^9 livres
• Interest on Loans:
  • Lenders began charging 10 percent interest on loans.
  • The French government had to spend an increasing percentage of its budget on interest payments alone.
• Increase in Taxes:
  • To meet regular expenses, the state was forced to increase taxes.
  • However, even this measure was insufficient.

French Society and the Estate System

• Division into Estates:
  • French society in the eighteenth century was divided into three estates.
  • Only members of the third estate paid taxes.
• Feudal System and Old Regime:
  • The society of estates was part of the feudal system dating back to the Middle Ages.
  • The term "Old Regime" describes the society and institutions of France before 1789.
• Population Distribution:
  • Peasants made up about 90 percent of the population.
  • However, only a small number of them owned the land they cultivated.
  • About 60 percent of the land was owned by nobles, the Church, and richer members of the third estate.
• Privileges of the First Two Estates:
  • The clergy and nobility enjoyed privileges by birth.
  • The most important privilege was exemption from paying taxes to the state.
  • Nobles also enjoyed feudal privileges, including extracting feudal dues from the peasants.
• Obligations of Peasants:
  • Peasants were obliged to render services to the lord.
  • This included working in his house and fields, serving in the army, or participating in building roads.
• Taxes and Tithes:
  • The Church extracted tithes from the peasants.
  • All members of the third estate had to pay taxes to the state, including a direct tax called taille and indirect taxes on everyday items like salt and tobacco.
• Burden on the Third Estate:
  • The burden of financing state activities through taxes was borne by the third estate alone.

Subsistence Crisis

• Population Increase:
  • The population of France rose from about 23 million in 1715 to 28 million in 1789.
• Demand for Foodgrains:
  • This population increase led to a rapid increase in the demand for foodgrains.
• Price of Bread:
  • The price of bread, the staple diet of the majority, rose rapidly.
• Wages and Prices:
  • Most workers were employed as laborers in workshops, where owners fixed their wages.
  • Wages did not keep pace with the rise in prices.
  • The gap between the poor and the rich widened.
• Drought and Harvests:
  • Things worsened whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest.
  • This led to a subsistence crisis, which occurred frequently in France during the Old Regime.

The Growing Middle Class and Privileges

• Revolts and Lack of Means:
  • In the past, peasants and workers had participated in revolts against increasing taxes and food scarcity.
  • However, they lacked the means and programs to bring about a change in the social and economic order.
• Emergence of the Middle Class:
  • The eighteenth century saw the emergence of social groups, termed the middle class.
  • They earned their wealth through expanding overseas trade and manufacturing goods such as woolen and silk textiles.
• Composition of the Third Estate:
  • In addition to merchants and manufacturers, the third estate included professions such as lawyers and administrative officials.
  • All of these were educated and believed that no group in society should be privileged by birth.
• Emphasis on Merit:
  • Rather, a person’s social position must depend on his merit.
• Philosophical Ideas:
  • These ideas envisaging a society based on freedom and equal laws and opportunities for all were put forward by philosophers such as John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau.
• John Locke:
  • In his Two Treatises of Government, Locke sought to refute the doctrine of the divine and absolute right of the monarch.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau:
  • Rousseau carried the idea forward, proposing a form of government based on a social contract between people and their representatives.
• Montesquieu:
  • In The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the government between the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary.
• Influence of the American Revolution:
  • This model of government was put into force in the USA after the thirteen colonies declared their independence from Britain.
  • The American constitution and its guarantee of individual rights was an important example for political thinkers in France.
• Dissemination of Ideas:
  • The ideas of these philosophers were discussed intensively in salons and coffee-houses and spread among people through books and newspapers.
  • These were frequently read aloud in groups for the benefit of those who could not read and write.
• Opposition to New Taxes:
  • The news that Louis XVI planned to impose further taxes to meet state expenses generated anger and protest against the system of privileges.

The Estates General and the National Assembly

• Louis XVI's Decision:
  • Louis XVI had to increase taxes, but in the Old Regime, he did not have the power to impose taxes according to his will alone.
• Estates General:
  • He had to call a meeting of the Estates General, which would then pass his proposals for new taxes.
  • The Estates General was a political body to which the three estates sent their representatives.
  • The monarch alone could decide when to call a meeting of this body.
  • The last time it was done was in 1614.
• Meeting of May 5, 1789:
  • On May 5, 1789, Louis XVI called together an assembly of the Estates General to pass proposals for new taxes.
  • A hall in Versailles was prepared to host the delegates.
• Representation:
  • The first and second estates sent 300 representatives each, who were seated in rows facing each other on two sides.
  • The 600 members of the third estate had to stand at the back.
  • The third estate was represented by its more prosperous and educated members. Peasants, artisans, and women were denied entry to the assembly.
  • However, their grievances and demands were listed in some 40,000 letters which the representatives had brought with them.
• Voting Dispute:
  • Voting in the Estates General in the past had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote.
  • This time too Louis XVI was determined to continue the same practice.
  • However, members of the third estate demanded that voting now be conducted by the assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote.
  • This was one of the democratic principles put forward by philosophers like Rousseau in his book The Social Contract.
• Formation of the National Assembly:
  • When the king rejected this proposal, members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in protest.
  • The representatives of the third estate viewed themselves as spokesmen for the whole French nation.
  • On June 20, they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles.
  • They declared themselves a National Assembly and swore not to disperse until they had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch.
• Key Figures:
  • They were led by Mirabeau and Abbé Sieyès.
  • Mirabeau was born in a noble family but was convinced of the need to do away with a society of feudal privilege. He brought out a journal and delivered powerful speeches to the crowds assembled at Versailles.
  • Abbé Sieyès, originally a priest, wrote an influential pamphlet called ‘What is the Third Estate’?

Turmoil and the Storming of the Bastille

• National Assembly's Work:
  • While the National Assembly was busy at Versailles drafting a constitution, the rest of France seethed with turmoil.
• Economic Hardship:
  • A severe winter had meant a bad harvest; the price of bread rose, and bakers often exploited the situation and hoarded supplies.
  • After spending hours in long queues at the bakery, crowds of angry women stormed into the shops.
• The Storming of the Bastille:
  • At the same time, the king ordered troops to move into Paris.
  • On July 14, the agitated crowd stormed and destroyed the Bastille.
• Peasant Revolts:
  • In the countryside, rumors spread from village to village that the lords of the manor had hired bands of brigands who were on their way to destroy the ripe crops.
  • Caught in a frenzy of fear, peasants in several districts seized hoes and pitchforks and attacked chateaux.
  • They looted hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of manorial dues.
• Flight of Nobles:
  • A large number of nobles fled from their homes, many of them migrating to neighboring countries.
• Recognition of the National Assembly:
  • Faced with the power of his revolting subjects, Louis XVI finally accorded recognition to the National Assembly and accepted the principle that his powers would from now on be checked by a constitution.
• Abolition of Feudal System:
  • On the night of August 4, 1789, the Assembly passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes.
  • Members of the clergy too were forced to give up their privileges.
  • Tithes were abolished, and lands owned by the Church were confiscated.
  • As a result, the government acquired assets worth at least $2*10^9 livres$.

France as a Constitutional Monarchy

• Constitution of 1791:
  • The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791.
  • Its main object was to limit the powers of the monarch.
  • These powers, instead of being concentrated in the hands of one person, were now separated and assigned to different institutions – the legislature, executive, and judiciary.
  • This made France a constitutional monarchy.
• Political System:
  • The Constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which was indirectly elected.
  • Citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly.
• Voting Rights:
  • Not all citizens, however, had the right to vote.
  • Only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a laborer’s wage were given the status of active citizens and were entitled to vote.
  • The remaining men and all women were classed as passive citizens.
  • To qualify as an elector and then as a member of the Assembly, a man had to belong to the highest bracket of taxpayers.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

• Rights Established:
  • The Constitution began with a Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.
  • Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, and equality before law were established as ‘natural and inalienable’ rights.
  • These rights belonged to each human being by birth and could not be taken away.
• Duty of the State:
  • It was the duty of the state to protect each citizen’s natural rights.
• Critiques and Perspectives:
  • The revolutionary journalist Jean-Paul Marat commented in his newspaper L’Ami du peuple (The friend of the people) on the Constitution drafted by the National Assembly
  • Marat stated, 'The task of representing the people has been given to the rich … the lot of the poor and oppressed will never be improved by peaceful means alone. Here we have absolute proof of how wealth influences the law. Yet laws will last only as long as the people agree to obey them. And when they have managed to cast off the yoke of the aristocrats, they will do the same to the other owners of wealth.'

Political Symbols and Their Meanings

• Use of Symbols:
  • The majority of men and women in the eighteenth century could not read or write.
  • Images and symbols were frequently used instead of printed words to communicate important ideas.
• Snake biting its tail to form a ring: Symbol of Eternity. A ring has neither beginning nor end.
• Sceptre: Symbol of royal power.
• Eye within a triangle radiating light: Stands for knowledge. The rays of the sun would drive away the clouds of ignorance
• Bundle of rods or fasces: Represents unity. One rod can be easily broken, but not an entire bundle represents strength.
• Broken Chain: Represents freedom. Chains were used to fetter slaves, and a broken chain stands for the act of becoming free.
  • Red Phrygian cap: Cap worn by a slave upon becoming free.
• Blue-white-red: The national colors of France.
• The winged woman: Personification of the law.
• The Law Tablet: Represents equality before the law. The law is the same for all, and all are equal before it.

War and Political Clubs

• Tensions in France:
  • The situation in France continued to be tense during the following years.
• Royal Negotiations:
  • Although Louis XVI had signed the Constitution, he entered into secret negotiations with the King of Prussia.
• Fear Among Neighboring Countries:
  • Rulers of other neighboring countries were worried by the developments in France and made plans to send troops to put down the events that had been taking place there since the summer of 1789.
• Declaration of War:
  • Before this could happen, the National Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare war against Prussia and Austria.
  • Thousands of volunteers thronged from the provinces to join the army. They saw this as a war of the people against kings and aristocracies all over Europe.
• The Marseillaise:
  • Among the patriotic songs they sang was the Marseillaise, composed by the poet Roget de L’Isle.
  • It was sung for the first time by volunteers from Marseilles as they marched into Paris and so got its name.
  • The Marseillaise is now the national anthem of France.
• Economic Difficulties:
  • The revolutionary wars brought losses and economic difficulties to the people.
  • While the men were away fighting at the front, women were left to cope with the tasks of earning a living and looking after their families.
• Demand for Further Revolution:
  • Large sections of the population were convinced that the revolution had to be carried further, as the Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer sections of society.
• Political Clubs:
  • Political clubs became an important rallying point for people who wished to discuss government policies and plan their own forms of action.
  • The most successful of these clubs was that of the Jacobins, which got its name from the former convent of St Jacob in Paris.
  • Women too, who had been active throughout this period, formed their own clubs.

The Jacobins and the Sans-Culottes

• Membership:
  • The members of the Jacobin club belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society.
  • They included small shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-makers, printers, as well as servants and daily-wage workers.
• Leader:
  • Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre.
• Sans-Culottes:
  • A large group among the Jacobins decided to start wearing long striped trousers similar to those worn by dock workers.
  • This was to set themselves apart from the fashionable sections of society, especially nobles, who wore knee breeches. It was a way of proclaiming the end of the power wielded by the wearers of knee breeches.
  • These Jacobins came to be known as the sans-culottes, literally meaning ‘those without knee breeches’.
  • Sans-culottes men wore in addition the red cap that symbolized liberty. Women, however, were not allowed to do so.

Abolition of Monarchy and Establishment of the Republic

• Insurrection of 1792:
  • In the summer of 1792, the Jacobins planned an insurrection of a large number of Parisians who were angered by the short supplies and high prices of food.
• Storming of the Tuileries:
  • On the morning of August 10, they stormed the Palace of the Tuileries, massacred the king’s guards, and held the king himself as hostage for several hours.
• Imprisonment of the Royal Family:
  • Later, the Assembly voted to imprison the royal family.
• Elections and Universal Suffrage:
  • Elections were held.
  • From now on all men of 21 years and above, regardless of wealth, got the right to vote.
• The Convention:
  • The newly elected assembly was called the Convention.
• Abolition of Monarchy:
  • On 21 September 1792, it abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic.
  • A republic is a form of government where the people elect the government, including the head of the government. There is no hereditary monarchy.

Execution of Louis XVI and the Reign of Terror

• Trial and Execution of Louis XVI:
  • Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a court on the charge of treason.
  • On 21 January 1793, he was executed publicly at the Place de la Concorde.
  • The queen, Marie Antoinette, met with the same fate shortly after.
• The Reign of Terror (1793-1794):
  • The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror.
  • Robespierre followed a policy of severe control and punishment.
• Enemies of the Republic:
  • All those whom he saw as being ‘enemies’ of the republic – ex-nobles and clergy, members of other political parties, even members of his own party who did not agree with his methods – were arrested, imprisoned, and then tried by a revolutionary tribunal.
• Guillotine:
  • If the court found them ‘guilty,’ they were guillotined.
  • The guillotine is a device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is beheaded. It was named after Dr. Guillotin, who invented it.
• Policies of Robespierre:
  • Robespierre’s government issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices.
  • Meat and bread were rationed.
  • Peasants were forced to transport their grain to the cities and sell it at prices fixed by the government.
  • The use of more expensive white flour was forbidden; all citizens were required to eat the pain d’égalité (equality bread), a loaf made of wholewheat.
  • Equality was also sought to be practiced through forms of speech and address. Instead of the traditional Monsieur (Sir) and Madame (Madam), all French men and women were henceforth Citoyen and Citoyenne (Citizen).
  • Churches were shut down, and their buildings were converted into barracks or offices.
• Fall of Robespierre:
  • Robespierre pursued his policies so relentlessly that even his supporters began to demand moderation.
  • Finally, he was convicted by a court in July 1794, arrested, and on the next day sent to the guillotine.

The Directory and the Rise of Napoleon

• Fall of the Jacobin Government:
  • The fall of the Jacobin government allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power.
• New Constitution:
  • A new constitution was introduced, which denied the vote to non-propertied sections of society.
  • It provided for two elected legislative councils. These then appointed a Directory, an executive made up of five members.
• The Directory:
  • This was meant as a safeguard against the concentration of power in a one-man executive as under the Jacobins.
  • However, the Directors often clashed with the legislative councils, who then sought to dismiss them.
  • The political instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte.
• Ideals of the Revolution:
  • Through all these changes in the form of government, the ideals of freedom, of equality before the law, and of fraternity remained inspiring ideals that motivated political movements in France and the rest of Europe during the following century.

Women's Role in the Revolution

• Active Participation:
  • From the very beginning, women were active participants in the events which brought about so many important changes in French society.
  • They hoped that their involvement would pressurize the revolutionary government to introduce measures to improve their lives.
• Economic Hardships and Labor:
  • Most women of the third estate had to work for a living.
  • They worked as seamstresses or laundresses, sold flowers, fruits, and vegetables at the market, or were employed as domestic servants in the houses of prosperous people.
  • Most women did not have access to education or job training. Only daughters of nobles or wealthier members of the third estate could study at a convent, after which their families arranged a marriage for them.
  • Working women also had to care for their families, that is, cook, fetch water, queue up for bread, and look after the children.
  • Their wages were lower than those of men.
• Political Clubs and Newspapers:
  • In order to discuss and voice their interests, women started their own political clubs and newspapers.
  • About sixty women’s clubs came up in different French cities.
  • The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women was the most famous of them.
• Demands for Political Rights:
  • One of their main demands was that women enjoy the same political rights as men.
  • Women were disappointed that the Constitution of 1791 reduced them to passive citizens.
  • They demanded the right to vote, to be elected to the Assembly, and to hold political office.
  • Only then, they felt, would their interests be represented in the new government.
• Legislative Improvements:
  • In the early years, the revolutionary government did introduce laws that helped improve the lives of women.
  • Together with the creation of state schools, schooling was made compulsory for all girls.
  • Their fathers could no longer force them into marriage against their will. Marriage was made into a contract entered into freely and registered under civil law.
  • Divorce was made legal and could be applied for by both women and men.
  • Women could now train for jobs, could become artists, or run small businesses.
• Setbacks and Continued Struggle:
  • Women’s struggle for equal political rights, however, continued.
  • During the Reign of Terror, the new government issued laws ordering the closure of women’s clubs and banning their political activities. Many prominent women were arrested, and a number of them were executed.
  • Women’s movements for voting rights and equal wages continued through the next two hundred years in many countries of the world. The fight for the vote was carried out through an international suffrage movement during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
• Inspiration and Legacy:
  • The example of the political activities of French women during the revolutionary years was kept alive as an inspiring memory.
  • It was finally in 1946 that women in France won the right to vote.

Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793)

• Political Activism:
  • Olympe de Gouges was one of the most important of the politically active women in revolutionary France.
• Critique of the Constitution:
  • She protested against the Constitution and the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen as they excluded women from basic rights that each human being was entitled to.
• Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen:
  • So, in 1791, she wrote a Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen, which she addressed to the Queen and to the members of the National Assembly, demanding that they act upon it.
• Opposition to the Jacobins and Execution:
  • In 1793, Olympe de Gouges criticized the Jacobin government for forcibly closing down women’s clubs.
  • She was tried by the National Convention, which charged her with treason. Soon after this, she was executed.

Abolition of Slavery

• Revolutionary Social Reform:
  • One of the most revolutionary social reforms of the Jacobin regime was the abolition of slavery in the French colonies.
• Importance of Colonies:
  • The colonies in the Caribbean – Martinique, Guadeloupe, and San Domingo – were important suppliers of commodities such as tobacco, indigo, sugar, and coffee.
• Triangular Slave Trade:
  • The reluctance of Europeans to go and work in distant and unfamiliar lands meant a shortage of labor on the plantations. So this was met by a triangular slave trade between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
  • The slave trade began in the seventeenth century. French merchants sailed from the ports of Bordeaux or Nantes to the African coast, where they bought slaves from local chieftains.
  • Branded and shackled, the slaves were packed tightly into ships for the three-month-long voyage across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. There they were sold to plantation owners.
• Economic Prosperity and Slavery:
  • The exploitation of slave labor made it possible to meet the growing demand in European markets for sugar, coffee, and indigo.
  • Port cities like Bordeaux and Nantes owed their economic prosperity to the flourishing slave trade.
• Initial Inaction:
  • Throughout the eighteenth century, there was little criticism of slavery in France.
  • The National Assembly held long debates about whether the rights of man should be extended to all French subjects, including those in the colonies, but it did not pass any laws, fearing opposition from businessmen whose incomes depended on the slave trade.
• Abolition and Reintroduction:
  • It was finally the Convention which in 1794 legislated to free all slaves in the French overseas possessions.
  • This, however, turned out to be a short-term measure: ten years later, Napoleon reintroduced slavery.
  • Plantation owners understood their freedom as including the right to enslave African Negroes in pursuit of their economic interests.
• Final Abolition:
  • Slavery was finally abolished in French colonies in 1848.

Revolution and Everyday Life

• Changes in Society:
  • Can politics change the clothes people wear, the language they speak, or the books they read?
  • The years following 1789 in France saw many such changes in the lives of men, women, and children.
  • The revolutionary governments took it upon themselves to pass laws that would translate the ideals of liberty and equality into everyday practice.
• Abolition of Censorship:
  • One important law that came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille in the summer of 1789 was the abolition of censorship.
  • In the Old Regime, all written material and cultural activities – books, newspapers, plays – could be published or performed only after they had been approved by the censors of the king.
• Freedom of Speech and Expression:
  • Now the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right.
  • Newspapers, pamphlets, books, and printed pictures flooded the towns of France from where they traveled rapidly into the countryside. They all described and discussed the events and changes taking place in France.
• Freedom of the Press:
  • Freedom of the press also meant that opposing views of events could be expressed.
  • Each side sought to convince the others of its position through the medium of print.
• Cultural Activities:
  • Plays, songs, and festive processions attracted large numbers of people.
  • This was one way they could grasp and identify with ideas such as liberty or justice that political philosophers wrote about at length in texts which only a handful of educated people could read.

Napoleon Bonaparte and the Legacy of the Revolution

• Napoleon's Rise:
  • In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France.
  • He set out to conquer neighboring European countries, dispossessing dynasties and creating kingdoms where he placed members of his family.
• Modernizer of Europe:
  • Napoleon saw his role as a modernizer of Europe.
  • He introduced many laws such as the protection of private property and a uniform system of weights and measures provided by the decimal system.
• Initial Perception:
  • Initially, many saw Napoleon as a liberator who would bring freedom for the people.
• Later Opposition:
  • But soon