FRENCH REVOLUTION:

Events of the French Revolution

 

INTRODUCTION

There are three phases in the French Revolution from 1789 to 1795. The first phase is the abolishion of feudalism and the creation of constitutional monarchy. The second phase is the deposition and execution of the King and Queen, the death of Mirabeau and the growing powers of the Jacobins in Paris. In this period the Revolution comes to be dominated by the powerful figures of Marat, Robespierre, Danton and their followers. War breaks out against the Great Powers, and Belgium and Holland are overrun by the Revolutionary armies. Danton loses power to Robespierre, under whose direction the Reign of Terror reaches its height. The third phase marks the fall of Robespierre and the events leading up to the creation of the Directory Government.

THE ELECTIONS TO THE STATES-GENERAL

The States-General which met at Versailles on May 5, 1789, comprised of the clergy, the nobility and of the bourgeoisie and peasantry. The method of electing the members of the States-General was employed in the year 1614, when it had last met. The regulations allowed the vote to the great majority of the clergy, nobility and peasants, each voting for the representatives of his own Estate. So closely did the government keep to the ancient forms of election that the old districts known as the “bailliages” were to be the electoral divisions, although they were no longer of much importance in the general government of France. There was a system of a general assembly of the voters in each “bailliage”, in which they elected their representatives for the States-General. The later was not a “parliament” in the English sense of the word. The elected deputies were not given freedom to speak for their constituents on every question, but were expected to keep strictness to a discussion of the lists of grievances which the local assemblies had promised to them and which they were commanded to present to the government.

THE “CAHIERS”

These lists of the grievances were known as the “cahiers”, and had been asked for by the government. The “cahiers” of the Third-Estate contained almost the same demands throughout France, namely, the abolition of all feudal dues, the ending of exemption of the nobles and clergy from taxation, the abolition of the special feudal law courts of the nobility, the establishment of a system of law which was equal for all classes, and the abolition of the oppressive direct and indirect taxes. The militia service came in for special denunciation, some “cahiers” declaring that men had been known to mutilate themselves rather than accept service. They asked that all citizens should be able to gain promotion in the armed forces, the Church and the government without regard to their social station, and there should be an elected assembly with the members responsible to this assembly in the first place, and not to the King.

On the other hand the “cahiers” of the nobility and clergy showed no such uniformity. In general, the clergy wished to reduce the nobles’ privileges, while the nobles wished to reduce those of the clergy. The Lesser Nobility made attacks on the privileges of the Greater Nobility, but wished to maintain their own. The parish priests attacked the privileges of their wealthy superiors in the Church. From the beginning, the First and Second Estates were in conflict among themselves, whereas the Third Estate was united. This unity was to give the Third Estate a decisive political advantage in the near future.

The “cahiers” contained no demand of the abolition of the monarchy, but they demanded end to its despotic powers. The demand was frequently made that the State-General should meet regularly, have control over taxation, and not be dissolved without its own consent. Above all the “letter de cachet” was denounced as the very essence of despotism. The Church was frequently the object of attack, and demands for the confiscation of its property were made.

THE STATES-GENERAL

The newly elected States-General met at Versailles at the beginning of May, 1789. It comprised 308 clergy, 285 nobles and 621 members of the Third-Estate. This arrangement by which the Third-Estate had double the representation of each of the other estates, had been agreed to by Louis on the advice of Necker. All the ancient ceremonials were rigidly maintained, which emphasized the social superiority of the First and Second Estates. Third Estate were even kept waiting a considerable time. This proved of minor importance compared with Louis’s handling of the first important question of procedure. If, on the other hand, they sat as one assembly and voted by individuals and not by estates, the Third Estate would be able to outvote the other two.

The Third Estate immediately put forward the demand for a single assembly voting by heads. Louis’s reply was to insist on the ancient method of voting by separate estates. The next action of the Third Estate constituted their first defiance of the King, for they now invited the clergy and nobles to send representative to discuss this matter with them. Several such conferences were held between May 23 and June 9, but a majority of the nobles and clergy refused to accept the arrangements proposed by the Third Estate. On June 12 the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly, and invited the other estates to join them.

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

The self-conversion of the Third Estate into the National Assembly was the real beginning of the French Revolution. This decision ended six weeks of wrangling and time-wasting over the question of procedure. It meant a complete break with the old law of the constitution. The defiance of the King  by the Third Estate created a tense situation, for the Third Estate had literally swept aside the assemblies of nobles and clergy.

THE TENNIS-COURT OATH

Louis was alarmed by the stubborn determination of the Third Estate, and, under pressure from the advisers of the Court, decided to hold a “Royal Session” of all three estates together at which he would give them his direct personal instructions. For this purpose it was necessary to prepare the hall in which the National Assembly was meeting and, without any previous notice to the deputies of the Third Estate, workmen were sent into the hall while it was unoccupied, and the doors were locked. When the deputies arrived under the leadership of their President, they were alarmed and angered at finding the building shut against them in a high-handed manner. Rumours at once flew round that Louis intended some military move against the Assembly. The members of the Assembly, not to be beaten, moved to a Tennis-Court building in the vicinity, and took an oath never to dissolve “until the constitution of the kingdom shall be established”.

THE ROYAL SESSION, JUNE 23

The Royal Session of all the estates held on June 23. This was one of the most dramatic events of the early days of the revolution. In his speech to the assembled deputies, Louis announced a series of reforms for the consideration of the estates. His proposals went a long way to meet the demands expressed in the “cahiers”, but he made one fatal mistake against the urgent advice of Necker. He ordered the three estates to separate, and he declared illegal the recent actions of the Third Estate in naming itself the Nation Assembly. Having ordered the three estates to meet separately to consider the proposals he had put before them, he left the hall. The nobility and clergy withdrew promptly, but the whole mass of the Third Estate remained defiantly in their seats. The King’s Master of Ceremonies repeated the command to withdraw. Count Mirrabeau strode towards the Master of Ceremonies and exclaimed: “Go tell your master we are here by the will of the people and that we shall not leave except at the point of the bayonet!”

PREPARATION FOR COUNTER-REVOLUTION_Increase of Violence

A large body of troops under Marshal de Broglie, mostly composed of the foreign regiments, was now concentrated at Paris and Versailles. The member of the National Assembly, fearing that some attempt was about to be made to suppress them, spread  the alarm to their constituents throughout France. Demonstrations and riots occurred in many places. The unrest was greatly aggravated by the high price of bread caused by the extremely bad harvest of the previous year. Bread-riots became widespread and the discontent flared up among the regular troops and the militia. Paris itself was covered with paupers who had been attached there by the relief schemes set on foot by the city corporation. Numerous political pamphlets appeared, for the censorship of press was no longer effective. Every open space in the city had its political orator, and political clubs were formed or emerged from the secrecy into which the old system had forced them. To maintain order in Paris there were only 1,000 police, the Swiss Guards and the Gardes Francaices. Of these, only the Swiss Guards were reliable defenders of the monarchy. The Gardes Francaises were almost completely in favor of the National Assembly and had been increasingly insubordinate since some soldiers of the regiment had been imprisoned when a secret society had been discovered amongst them. On June 30 a mob of Parisians attacked the Abbaye prison and released the imprisoned soldiers. In this action the attackers were aided by a number of regular soldiers who had deserted.

In an effort to prevent indiscriminate pillage and disorders, the electors of Paris who had voted for their representatives in the States-General, formed their own committee, established themselves at the Hotel de Ville, and began to take measures for the establishment of a new force, the National Guard.

It was in these conditions that the forces of Marshal de Broglie arrived in Paris and Versailles. Almost at once the events took a more violent turn. It was above all the dismissal of the popular Necker by the King on the demand of the Court party that was the signal for action.

THE CAPTURE OF THE BASTILLE, JULY  14, 1789

Necker was dismissed by Louis on July 11 and the news became generally known in Paris on the following day. They were supported in this action by many deserters from the Gardes Francaises. The soldiers brought into Paris by Marshal de Broglie were already fraternizing with the crowds, for revolutionary propaganda had been sedulously spread in their encampments in the Champs Elysees and the Champs de Mars. Possibly for this reason, or because of the unwillingness of Louis himself to shed blood, no action was taken against the rioters, not  even when the cry “To the Bastille!” was raised amongst  them.

On the morning of July 14 the attack  on the Bastille began. After some hours of fighting and several parleys between the Governor, de Launay, and the attackers, a surrender was agreed upon, the assailants promising de Launay and his garrison their safety. Some attempt was made to conduct de Launay and his guard to the Hotel de Ville, but his escort was overwhelmed and the Governer and some of his attendants were murdered by the mob.

Only seven prisoners (common criminals) were found inside the Bastille, but the capture of the grim eight-towered fortress in the first fighting of the Revolution assumed  a meaning out of all proportion to the actual event itself. It was the symbol of the downfall of tyranny, many political  prisoners arrested  under the odious system of “lettre de cachet” had in the  past been imprisoned there, and  it had had such distinguished inmates as the great Encyclopedists Diderot and Voltaire. Its capture was hailed both in France and elsewhere as the greatest and most significant event of the century. “Whatever act or day may be taken as the beginning of the French Revolution,” writes one French historian, “with the fall of the Bastille, flames of revolt went leaping skyward”. Everywhere the people elected new local council in town and countryside. The old court of justice, both provincial  and manorial, were swept away. Widespread  attacks  were made by the peasants on the mansions of the nobility, the manorial records were destroyed and property pillaged. In the national army, the officers were no longer able to control their troops.

The electors’ committee at the Hotel de Ville now established the National Guard, declared July 14 a national holiday and adopted the new tricolor of the red, white and blue in place of the old white royalist flag. The assembly at Versailles sent a special deputation to Paris and their President, Bailly, was now chosen Mayor of the City. Thus Paris and the Assembly threw in their lot together, for the Assembly  realized that any plot by de Broglie for a counter-revolution had been defeated by the armed action of the people of Paris.

The Assembly now asked Louis to order the withdrawal of the troops which had been sent by de Broglie to Versailles. Louis agreed to this demand, and the troops were withdrawn. He also consented to go to the Hotel  de Ville to address the new council, but when he arrived there , he was too overcome by humiliation to give his speech, and the mayor Bailly spoke on his behalf. Placing the new tricolor emblem in his hat, Louis returned to Versailles amidst cries from the onlookers of “Long live the King!” But he returned to Versailles defeated and almost alone, for the King’s brothers and others of the Court party who had been the instigators of the military moves made by Marshal de Broglie had already left the country at the King’s request to join other “émigrés” across the Rhine.

THE SESSION OF AUGUST 4, 1789

The events of August 4 in the Assembly were the direct outcome of the spread of unrest and the attacks on the nobility in the countryside. The Assembly was faced with the problem of maintaining some semblance of order in France and yet at the same time satisfying the just demands of the peasants. In the middle of a debate on this question, two members of the nobility suddenly rose in their places and proposed equality of taxation for all and ending of a number of feudal burdens. This self-abnegation electrified the Assembly and other members of the privileged classes were soon vying with one another to outdo these proposals. A bishop proposed the abolition of the game laws, another even proposed that the Assembly should have the right to dispose of the property of the Church, and an archbishop proposed the abolition of the “gabelle” salt tax. And so it went on. The Assembly at last  embodied these various proposals in thirty decrees which swept away the whole system of feudal dues and declared the old system of taxation illegal.

The decrees of August 4 were destructive of the old order. However, the Assembly had created another grave problem for itself i-e the payment of even the state taxes, which the Assembly had authorized to continue, now fell away drastically. The government was suddenly deprived of a large part of its income, and soon would have to take desperate measures to gain revenue in other ways.

DECLARATION OF THE RIHGHTS OF MAN

The Assembly had already begun the task of setting up a new form of government for France and, after July 14, had taken the title of Constituent Assembly. After prolonged debate it was decided to issue a Declaration of the Rights of Man as an introduction to the new constitution. This decision was the result of the excitement of the times and a general feeling of the vast importance of the Revolution for the whole of mankind. Above all, the Declaration showed the influence upon the deputies of American ideas and of the teachings of Rousseau. It asserted the right of the people to rule and that men by nature are equal, that there should be freedom of speaking, writing and printing, that every citizen should have the right through his representatives to make laws and impose taxation, and that nobody was to be imprisoned except by forms of law decided by the people.

It was when the new constitution that serious trouble began. Some of the nobility demanded that the king have the right to veto any laws, other members of the Assembly wanted this to be a 6 years veto only_ that is, that the king would have the power of delaying the passing  of a law for six years but no longer. The popular orators outside the Assembly, and a number of deputies within (but not a majority), denounced the right of the king to have any power of veto whatever. On the matter coming to the vote, the Assembly decided by 673 votes to 325 that the six-years suspensive veto be adopted.

THE MARCH OF THE WOMEN

The decision of the Assembly on the question of the King’s veto led to intensified action by the popular orators. Robespierre and the Jacobins in the Assembly had opposed the right of veto because it would give to the King the powers which he would use in defence of the aristocracy. The Jacobins already had a considerable influence in Paris. Their campaign of opposition to the Assembly’s decision was made easier by the state of things in the city. The price of bread was high, there was much unemployment because of the crowds who h ad flocked into Paris and also through the desertion of the city by many wealthy employers. The agitation was roused to a new height of furry by the King’s refusal to accept the decrees of August 4 abolishing feudalism. He had also refused to sign the Declaration of the Rights of Man.

The Jacobin orators in Paris had for some time been demanding that the King be brought to Paris out of reach of the aristocrats at Versailles who were influencing him against the Assembly. The Center and Right Parties in the Assembly, alarmed for the King’s safety, now proposed secretly to Necker (who had been reinstated) that the King and the Assembly should both move to the provinces_ to Compiegne or Soissons. Louis himself, however, opposed the idea on the grounds that it was undignified and that the disturbances in Paris would soon die down. But even during the debate on this crucial question in the Council of Ministers, Louis had been asleep most of the time_ he was tired after hunting.

Then the news reached Paris that, at a military banquet at Versailles, the officers of the King’s bodyguard had insulted the Constituent Assembly and persuaded members of the newly-formed National Guard whom they were entertaining to throw aside the tricolor in their hats for the white cockade of the royalists. At once the rumour flew round of a military plot against the Assembly instigated by those who were still attempting to influence the King. It was out of this situation that the famous march of the women to Versailles took place. On the morning of October 5 a huge crowd of women forced their way into the Hotel de Ville, seized arms and, dragging cannon along with them; began a march on Versailles. Their declared aim was to get the King to order a reduction in the price of bread and to ensure the punishment of the officers who had insulted the tricolor. On the way they were joined by a crowd of men, some dressed as women.

Lafayette, the popular hero of the American War of Independence, had been elected Commandant of the National Guard. His position was one of great difficulty. If he prevented the marchers from reaching Versailles, he would be identifying himself with the opponents of the Assembly. In any case, it was by no means certain that the Guard itself would obey his instructions. After much hesitation, he followed with the National Guard to Versailles, arriving only to find that the marchers had already invaded the Assembly and demanded a decree lowering the price of bread. They had also sent a deputation to the King. Lafayette now took charge of the arrangements for protecting the Royal Palace, but during the early morning of the next day, October 6, the marchers found an unguarded door, rushed into the Palace and attacked the Queen’s apartment. She managed to make her escape just before the crowd burst in and thrust their pikes into her bed.

Lafayette now succeeded in restoring order by persuading Louis and the king to appear on a balcony before the crowd. Lafayette himself announced the King’s acceptance of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and his willingness to go to Paris. Louis made a promise of bread to the people.

In the early afternoon the royal family set out in a coach for Paris surrounded by the marchers, some of them carrying on pikes the heads of the guards killed during the assault on the Palace. On reaching Paris the Royal Family was lodged in the Tuileries Palace. Ten days later the Assembly also moved from Versailles to Paris.

From this  moment in October, 1789, Paris dominated the Revolution. The Royal Family was little more than prisoners. The clubs, the orators, the pamphleteers took increasing control of the situation. This control was greatly assisted by the fact that the public were admitted to the gallery seats of the Assembly, whose members were thus under constant pressure from the mob.

THE ASSEMBLY AND THE CHURCH- The “Assigants”

The complete breakdown of the old system of taxation after the decrees of August 4, had left the government without funds to meet the expenses of the State. This was one of the first problems  which the Assembly had to face after the removal to Paris. Already the great wealth of the Catholic Church had been discussed in the Assembly, and now it was made to come to the rescue of the government. A new paper currency was printed, and the guarantee or security for this paper money was to be the lands of the Church, which were decreed State property. The paper “assignats” were sold by the government to gain a necessary revenue, and could be redeemed by their holders in the New State land. For a time this helped to ease the revenue problem, but as the revolution progressed these “assignats” worth 100 francs in 1789 was only worth one franc by 1796. However, the issue of the “assignats” was one of the cleverest moves made by the National Assembly, and it cannot be overestimated in the history of the Revolution. If ever the clergy and nobles returned to their former land and power, the “assignats” would be destroyed. It was therefore to the interest of every holder of the “assignats” to see that this power was never regained. In other words, every holder of the “assignats” became a supporter of the Revolution from economic self-interest.

CIVIL CONSTITUTION OF THE CLERGY, JULY, 1790

The Assembly now went further in its determination to alter the position of the Church in France. The law known as the “Civil Constitution of the Clergy” had the effect of making all ecclesiastics servants of the State.

Bishops and priests were now to be elected by the same people who appointed civil servants. The salaries of the clergy were to be paid by the government. The Pope of the Rome was to have no power of altering elections or other matters decreed by the State. The law reduced the salaries of the bishops considerably, but increased those of the Parish priests. Finally, all priests were to take an oath of loyalty to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. Many bishops and clergymen supported these changes, because they sincerely thought that they would improve the life of the Church, do away with its scandals and inequalities and bring it nearer to true Christianity. Most members of the Assembly took this view, and it was therefore not a measure merely dictated by violent hatred of the Church or of Christianity, although, of course, some members of the Assembly supported the change from these motives.

The oath was resisted by about two-third of the parish priests and by 130 of the 134 bishops. Those accepting were known as the juring priests, those refusing as non-jurors. Thus the result of the change was to alienate from the Revolution a considerable number of priests who had so far supported it. This situation, of course, encouraged “emigres” to continue their intrigues against the Revolution and gave them a number of allies among the priesthood in France.

THE FLIGHT TO VARENNES, JUNE, 1791

Louis XVI signed the law for the Civil Constitution much against his will. A devout Catholic, it was a humiliation to him to have to oppose the Pope and what he considered to be the best interests of religion. It was this situation which determined him to make an effort to escape from France. He placed his last hopes on being able to join the “émigré” forces over the frontier and especially his brother-in-law, the Emperor Leopold of Austria. With the aid of these forces he hoped to return to France and impose his terms on the people. This was a last desperate gamble for independence, but it failed. Louis, Marie Antoinette and their children were recognized at the little eastern frontier village of Varennes. Their coach was escorted back to Paris, amidst hostile demonstrations all along their route. The final humiliation was the hostile silence of the watching crowds in Paris itself.

The effects of the attempt of Louis XVI to escape from France were decisive for the future of the revolution. He lost what personal regards the people had still for him. By attempting to fall back on foreign help he had wounded the French people in their tenderest spot, their love of the motherland. A second result of Varennes was the emergence of any openly republic party which came more and more to dominate the course of the Revolution.

THE NEW CONSTITUTION DECIDED, SEPTEMBER, 1791

Owing to the Declaration of Right of Man which prefaced the new constitution and the granting of the six year veto to the King; the Assembly now completed the constitution.The new Assembly was to consist of 745 members. It was decided to adopt a system of indirect election. All men over 25 years of age paying State taxes equivalent to three days labour and enrolled in the National Guard were to be styled “active citizens”. These “active citizens” were to vote for electors who in their turn elected the members of the Assembly. This was the moderate form of representative government and shows that in 1791 the Constituent Assembly was still prepared to accept a form of constitutional monarchy, even after the flight of Louis to Varennes. Again, the new voters were mostly people of property, for, while the “active citizens” numbered about 4,000,000, the electors for whom they voted in the first stage had to pay in direct taxes the equivalent of ten days’ wages. The electors who finally chose the Assembly, numbered not more than 43,000 while the “passive citizens” who did not qualify to vote at all, were 3,000,000 in number.

Finally, the Constituent Assembly which had first met on May 5, 1789, dissolved itself in September, 1791, in preparation for the new elections. Many people were glad when these protracted labours of the old Assembly were complete, and the belief was widely held that the Revolution was at an end.

A new constitution had been formed and the monarchy had been retained, but it was short of its despotic powers. Moreover, the position of Louis XVI in the eyes of the French people had been heavily compromised by his attempted flight. Hatred of the Queen, who was regarded as the main opponent of the Revolution in the royal circle, was intense and bitter.

Louis XVI had already lost a leading member of the Assembly who had been well disposed towards him, Count Mirabeau, who died in April 1791, Mirabeau, although a member of  the nobility, had early thrown in his lot with the Third Estate. He belonged to no section or party, but played a great part in the affairs of the National Assembly. His life has been thoroughly disreputable. He was a powerful pamphleteer against the abuses of the time, his pamphlets being in the main written for him, or partly plagiarized from the writings of others.he had also at one time served as a secret agent of France in Berlin. His part in the States-General had been a prominent one, for he had strongly supported the declaration of the Third Estate as the National Assembly and had taken a strong lead against the king on the occasion of Tennis Court Oath. He was one of the most violent opponents of the Church and had been the main instigator of the sale of Church lands; the issue of the “assignats”; and the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. He had also been the President of Jacobins Club for a time.

Mirabeau’s view about monarchy differed from many others. He foresaw only chaos if the King’s power were to be completely destroyed. Towards the end of  his life he had entered into  correspondence with the Court, which began to trust him. Louis even paid his personal debit for him. Mirabeau’s influence is particularly seen in the Constitution of 1791, which had been pieced together since 1789 by numerous debates in the Assembly.

He constantly urged the King to remove himself from Paris and go to some provincial town where he could rally all his supporters unhindered by the extreme revolutionaries. But he urged the King to accept all that had so far been achieved by the Revolution for there was no going back to the past, and it was now only necessary to hold the Revolution in check. Yet, Mirabeau had so many enemies, both in the Court and in the Assembly, that all his proposals were regarded with extreme jealousy and dislike, even that  many people thought that Mirabeau was only striving for personal power.

From May, 1789 to September, 1791 was the first stage of Revolution and entirely new forces now took charge of the situation. Far from being finished, the Revolution had only just started.

THE REVOLUTION FROM SEPTEMBER, 1791 TO THE DIRECTORY, 1795

The elections to the new Legislative Assembly resulted in the return of 136 Jacobins, 264 Feuillants and a center group of about 350 deputies. The old National or Constitutional Assembly, with the idealistic motive of preventing itself gaining a monopoly of power, had barred its members from being elected to the Legislative Assembly. Thus, the new Assembly was consisted of men with energy and enthusiasm, but had little previous political experience.

THE JACOBINS

This group came eventually to dominate the Revolution and were members of the Jacobin club. The original members of the club were some deputies of the National Assembly from Brittany, and they gained their name from the fact that they held their meetings in the old convent of the Jacobins in Paris. The public was admitted to the debates of the club, and it gradually became the rallying center of all those popular elements which brought pressure to bear on the Assembly from outside at first, its membership had been wide, and even Mirabeau had been one of its presidents. But as time went on it became dominated by outright republicans, of whom the most prominent were Robespierre and Marat. The club had more than two thousands affiliated clubs in the towns, cities and villages of France. And they acted as a concerted, disciplined force. They played a prominent part in the elections to the Legislative Assembly and carried on a violent campaign against all moderate elements and supporters of the constitutional monarchy.

THE CORDELIERS

Another important  Paris club of this period was that of the Cordeliers, of which Danton was the prominent figure. Its activities were confined to Paris and its members were more distinctly working class or “proletarian” than the members of the Jacobins Club. It was strongly republican.

THE FEUILLANTS

The Feuillants outnumbered the Jacobins in the Legislative Assembly, but were weak in their organization. They wished to preserve a constitutional monarchy, but wanted to improve the new constitution. There were serious divisions in their ranks as to the way in which the constitution should be changed. From the position the Feuillants occupied in the Assembly, they were usually referred to as the Right.

THE CENTER GROUP

This group wished to be independent of both Right and Left. But in the prevailing temper of Paris, and under pressure from the Jacobins and their supporters in the galleries, the center became confused, divided and brow-beaten. One of the first measured which the Jacobins secured in the Legislative Assembly was the “apel nominal” by which each deputy had to declare aloud his vote on any question. This procedure resulted in the gallery being able to bring the weight of insult and terror to bear on individuals.

DECLARATION OF WAR, APRIL, 1792

The history of revolution is from now closely related to events abroad and the activities of  the “emigres”. Louis himself had disapproved their violent  threats against the Revolution, for such threats only increased his own danger and played into the hands of extreme revolutionaries. Despite his written requests to his brothers, the threats continued, and an army of about 20,000 men were concentrated on the frontier of France in the territory of the German Elector of Trier. Then in August, 1791, the “émigrés” persuaded the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Austria to issue the Declaration of  Pillnitz. The two rulers asserted that the cause of Louis XVI was the cause of every monarch of Europe. The main result of this declaration was to strengthen republicanism in France and unite with it the forces of patriotism, a consequent which its authors had certainly not foreseen. Another serious development was the outbreak of civil war in western France, in the region of La Vendee. Here the peasants had risen in revolt to support the non-juring priests and had expelled the constitutional priests from their parishes. When the National Guard was sent to restore order, the revolt took on an armed and counter-revolutionary character under the leadership of the Comte de Rochejacquelin. Thus the “émigrés” had a considerable body of armed supporters within France itself.

The Assembly replied vigorously to the “émigrés”. By decree, it fixed January 1, 1792, as the day on which the “émigrés” must return to France or come under sentence of death. The Assembly also passed a decree in November, 1791, by which all priests who had not taken the Civil Oath within one week were to be deprived of their livings. As his opponents expected, Louis also vetoed this decree. By these two actions Louis had appeared to identify himself with the enemies of France and the Revolution.

THE GIRONDINS

A section of Jacobins under Brissot now demanded that Louis should order the Elector of Trier to disband the “émigré” army. They knew well that this would lead to war, which they wished to bring about in order to overthrow the King. This section of the Jacobins were known as the “Girondins”, taking their name from the Gironde district of south-western France from which a number of  them came. If they could bring about war, then Louis, having vetoed the decrees against the “émigrés”, could easily be shown as unfitted to lead the nation. The war policy was demanded by the principal leaders of the Girondins, including Vergniaud, Madame Roland and Brissot.

The Girondins were , however, aided in their policy by support from an unexpected quarter. The Feuillants had secured the appointment of one of their number, Narbonne, as Minister of War, and they demanded a war policy from exactly opposite motives to the Girondins. They considered that a successful war would restore the popularity and power of the King. Thus, from entirely opposite motives, two main groups of the Assembly looked to war in order to gain their ends. Lafayette, also, was a party to this plan, but both Louis and the Queen opposed it, mainly out of distrust of Lafayette, whom they now regarded as the part-author of all their misfortunes through his failure to use the National Guard on their behalf. Louis dismissed Narbonne, and the Girondins succeeded in securing the appointment of one of their members, Dumouriez, as Minister of War. War was thus made certain, for a large majority of the Legislative Assembly was now in favour of it. It was regarded as the means of spreading abroad the spirit of the Revolution against kings and to lasting benefits of peoples. “Peace to the peoples, war against the tyrants” became the ideal held before the French soldiers. An ultimatum was sent to the Emperor of Austria demanding that he cease to support the “émigrés”. His reply was to make some unacceptable demands against the Revolution. The result was the declaration of war against Austria on April 20, 1792. The declaration of war was momentous change in the course of events.

The French armies first moved against Austria in Belgium, and at once suffered severe defeat. Louis immediately dismissed the Girondist ministry and installed another composed mainly of the followers of Lafayette. He also vetoed further decrees against the non-juring priests and for the formation of an army to protect Paris.

These actions by Louis led to the organization of a popular demonstration against the King on June 20, 1792. It was under Jacobin leadership that the crowd of demonstrators assembled in the Tuileries gardens and eventually broke into the Palace. Louis himself was surrounded for some hours by a group of demonstrators and was forced  to don the red cap of the Revolution and to drink to the health of the nation. There were loud demands that he should withdraw his vetoes on the subjects of the “émigrés” and the non-juring priests, but Louis remained firm. Marie Antoinette had been similarly insulted. Some of his opponents probably hoped that Louis would be assassinated, but eventually the crowd was persuaded  by some of the deputies  from the Legislative Assembly to withdraw.

EFFECTS OF JUNE 20. LAST MOVES OF LAFAYETTE

An effort was made by the opponents of the Jacobins to suppress them, and the lead was taken in this by Lafayette. The humiliations suffered by the King on June 20 had led to a strong reaction in his favour among large sections of the public, and Lafayette determined to take advantage of this situation to restore the credit of the monarchy and put an end to the Jacobins. Louis himself had been greeted in the Assembly by cries of “Vive le Roi!”

Lafayette had been given the command of the army on the eastern frontier and he now left it in order to appear before the Assembly. The Jacobin organization now showed itself at its most effective. As soon as Lafayette  appeared, he was accused of having deserted the army in the moment of France’s greatest peril, and they were able to sway the Assembly against him, while, of course, their gallery supporters took up the hue and cry. Marie Antoinette herself, harbouring an intense dislike of Lafayette had actually warned the Jacobins herself that he intended to make a direct appeal to the National Guard!

Lafayette’s plan was entirely foiled by the Jacobins and Marie Antoinette_ a tragically ironic combination! Lafayette returned to the army, soon afterwards fled over the frontier and was imprisoned by the Austrians till 1797.

THE RISE OF DANTON

It was now that a new figure began his rise to power in Paris_ Danton. Besides being the guiding spirit of the Cordeliers Club, he had also gained important office in the citizens’ council of Paris at the Hotel de Ville. He now took a leading part in organizing a new insurrection, for which purpose the Jacobins had set up a special committee known as the Directory of Insurrection. He supervised the military organization of the Paris sections which were under Jacobins. He supervised the military organization of the Paris sections which were under Jacobins control, the guards at the Tuileries were changed, and the National Guard itself was recognized in order to remove any possibility of its supporting the King. At the same time a number of special volunteer regiments were introduced into Paris known as the “federes”, of whom the most strongly pro-Jacobin were the Marseillais. At this very moment the plans of the Jacobins were aided by the stupidity of the “émigrés” and the commander of the Prussian forces which had now joined the Austrians. The Manifesto of the Duke of Brunswick declared that if the Tuileries Palace were again invaded as on June 20 then he would subject the city of Paris to “military execution and total subversion and the guilty rebels to the death they deserved” and he spoke of “exemplary and never-to-be-forgotten vengeance”. The main result of this Manifesto, the actual work of an émigré, was to enable the Jacobins to rouse the patriotic feelings of the French people to furious heights. The Manifesto was a threat to the motherland and to the city of Paris, and was to be resisted by every patriotic Frenchman.

THE INSURRECTION OF AUGUST 10,1792. THE COMMUNE ESTABLISHED

It was Danton who gave the signal for insurrection. The forces of  the sections and the “federes” were summoned by the tocsin bell of  the Cordeliers Club in the early morning of  August 10. the commandant of the National Guard, despite the changes made in its composition, still hoped to be able to oppose the insurrectionists and he made preparations for this. At the Hotel de Ville a committee of Danton’s supporters drawn from the city sections suddenly seized power, suspended the old council and established a Revolutionary Commune. MEANWHILE AT THE Tuileries the King reviewed the National Guard, but received a very mixed reception. His advisers urged him to take refuge in the Legislative Assembly, and after some hesitation he agreed to this course, and the Royal Family were temporarily lodged in a reporters’ box in the gallery. At the Tuileries a general attack by the insurgents now began and they broke into the Palace. The National Guard had now joined them, and the only resistance came from the King’s Swiss Guards. At a critical moment a written message was received from Louis ordering them to retire, and in the course of doing so they were forced to surrender. The following day the prisoners were massacred.

Thus the real power in Paris passed into the hands of  Danton and the Revolutionary Commune. The Assembly was reduced to a position of subservience, and it was at this point that Lafayette on the frontier decided to leave the sinking ship of the monarchy.

MAXIMILIEN ROBESPIERE

It was immediately after the successful insurrection of August 10 that Maximilien Robespiere became a member of the Paris Commune. From the time of his election to the States-General in 1789 he had been a member of the Jacobin Club. A fanatical follower of the ideas of Rousseau, he preached virtue and incorruptibility. A provincial lawyer by profession, assumed an air of superiority and cultured refinement which came in time to exercise a fascination over his audience. Yet Robespierre, who was to bear much responsibility for both the September Massacres and the Reign of Terror, had abandoned his lawyer’s practice rather than to be a party to the passing of a death-sentence in the courts! Of his complete incorruptibility in all money matters and his unselfish devotion to the Revolution there is no doubt whatever.

The closely ally of Robespierre at this time was Marat, a member of the Cordeliers Club and editor of the revolutionary paper L’ Ami du Peuple. This paper was renowned for the sharpness and scurrility of its attacks on the aristocracy, the Church and the monarchy. Marat was one of the decisive, controlling influences behind the actions of the Paris mob at critical points of the Revolution, and was the main instigator of the September Massacres.

Robespierre and his supporters in the Commune now began a furious campaign against all those, and especially the Girondins, who had in any way given support to the monarchy. The Commune established a censorship of the press and also removed from the voters’ lists large number of voters considered unfit to vote. The barriers of the city of Paris were closed, and an examination of letters entering and leaving the capital began. Robespierre demanded from the Assembly the custody of the Royal Family, who were now taken to the Temple prison. The Commune also gained the right to take action against all those who were suspected of acting against the security of the State. Thus the Commune became the decisive ruling force in Paris.

THE SEPTEMBER MASSACRES

Further measures were now planned against all those suspected of royalist sympathies. The police activities of the Commune had filled the prisons of Paris to overflowing, and plans were now made by Marat to dispose of the inmates. The Commune and Assembly were both making great efforts to raise troops to stop the enemy advance, and the extreme Jacobins considered that the possible traitors in the prisons were a grave danger to the rear of the French armies. On September 2, orders were issued to the bands of assassins, who went from prison to prison, dragged the inmates before hastily-formed tribunals and then massacred them. About 1,200 persons in Paris were killed between September 2 and September 6. The policy of terror was also extended to the provinces. The September Massacres were mainly prepared by Marat and supported by Robespierre.

THE CONVENTION, SEPTEMBER, 1792_ OCTOBER, 1795

The first months of the new Assembly, the Convention, were marked by increasing conflict between the Jacobins and the Girondins. In the first place the Girondins were deputies of the provinces and were not prepared to accept the supremacy of Paris. The Jacobins, however, relied for their strength on Paris. Secondly, there was intense personal enmity between the leaders of the Girondins such as Madame Roland and Vergniaud, and the Jacobins leaders, Marat, Robespierre and Danton. Thirdly, there was a marked difference between the two parties in their attitude to the King.

THE EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI

The King was now brought to trial on a charge of having conspired against the nation by supporting the “émigrés” and the foreign sovereigns who were then attacking France. His vetoes had made the case against him a very strong one, and the Jacobins were especially

determined to secure his conviction. Evidence of the King’s correspondence with the enemies of France had been found among his papers seized in the Tuileries. After the trial the Convention voted unanimously that Louis was guilty.

At this point the Girondins attempted to secure a vote of the people as a final court of appeal, but they were overborne by Robespierre, and the Convention rejected the idea. By a majority of 53 the Convention next voted for death, and Louis was guillotined on Sunday, January 21, 1793.

THE WAR

Already on September 20 the French armies had begun to recover from their first defeats by their victory over the Prussians at Valmy. Their armies had then swept everything before them in the Austrian Netherlands. England entered the war against France in February, 1793. The policy of the British Prime Minister, William Pitt, the Younger, had been very cautious up to1793. He had no wish to entangle England in a war against France, but became alarmed whenthe Revolution began to spread beyond the frontiers of France. The Girondist policy of war against other countries  brought about a gradual change in British policy, especially when the  French denounced certain European treaties which affected the position of Britain. The French denounced the right of Holland to control the navigation and commerce of the River Scheldt. At this time Holland was an ally of Britain, and Pitt was greatly concerned for the possible effects on Britain’s trade and naval power if Holland came permanently under French control, which was an obvious aim     of the French government. Again in November, 1792, the National Convention issued the Edict of Fraternity, in which the promised help to all peoples who rose against their rulers_ “all governments”, it declared, “are our enemies, all people our friends”. Lastly, the execution of Louis XVI appeared to many people in England as a barbarous and unwarrantable act which made the Revolution the enemy of all kings. Pitt protested to the French Ambassador in London, and the French reply was a declaration of war against England on February 1, 1793. Spain, Holland, the German and Italian states also entered the war against France. The execution of Louis had undoubtedly filled the rulers of Europe with horror and alarm and they now hoped that a concerted attack would destroy the new Republic. Besides this, they all had territorial aims against France, for they were not fighting out of pure idealism by any means. The result of these developments was the defeat of the French forces.

The Convention now decided on the creation of a new system to meet the serious situation which had again developed. It set up three important organs of government which came to control the life of Paris and the country­_ the Committee of Public Safety, the Committee of General Security and the Revolutionary Tribunal.

THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC SAFETY

At first the Committee was given control of the army and foreign affairs, but soon came to be the guiding force of the Revolution, controlling the Convention which had created it. It consisted of twelve members whose duties extended to every department of State. These duties entailed the issuing of decrees, the appointment and dismissal of officials, the sending of its special agents to the departments and to the army, the consignments of the suspects to the guillotine. Under its direction the Committee of General Security took charge of the actual police arrangements in Paris and the provinces. The Revolutionary Tribunal was a specially created court for the trial of those ordered before it by the Committee of Public Safety, and no appeal was possible from its verdicts. From day to day it fed the guillotine with victims.

While these measures were being adopted, the Girondins made a last vain effort to defeat the Jacobins. They wished to punish those who had been responsible for the September Massacres, and actually succeeded in having Marat brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal. But the Tribunal acquitted him, and he at once organized an attack on the Convention by the forces of Commune. The Convention hall was surrounded by an armed  force of 80,000 and the members were made to expel the Girondins.

THE REIGN OF TERROR

The Convention and the Committee of Public  Safety made ruthless and gigantic efforts to retrieve the situation. They raised 700,000 fresh troops in a few weeks, under the direction of their organizing genius, Carnot, who was a member of the Committee. Success was the ruthless demand of the Committee, and its agents with the armies sent unsuccessful  generals to the guillotine and promoted  new men from the ranks. During these late months of 1793, a new French Army emerged, powerful, well-disciplined and successful. This was the result of the combination of terror and Herculean effort which marked the work of the Committee of Public Safety., mainly declared by Danton. On August 23, 1793, the famous “levee-en-masse” was decreed by the Convention. Under  this decree the whole population of France was brought into “permanent requisition” for the defence of the country and the prosecution of the war against the enemy. Unmarried citizens or widowers between the ages  of eighteen and twenty-five were the first to be called for military service, while married men, women and children were all assigned tasks directly related to the war effort.

The Terror extended all over France. The Committee secured the passing of a “Law of Suspects” which was so loosely worded that even those only guilty of a lack of enthusiasm for the revolution could be brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal. In these months many thousands were guillotined in Paris and the provinces. In the City of Lyons, which had supported the Girondins, about 1,500 persons were executed. In La Vendee the rebel forces were defeated and prisoners were shot indiscriminately by the victorious armies. And, as was to be expected, the Girondist leaders were now executed, among them Madame Roland. The ferocity of the Terror was only increased by the despairing action of the young Girondin, Charlotte Corday, a Norman girl, who went to Paris and stabbed Marat to death in his bath. Marie Antoinette was also executed on October 16, 1793.

THE WORSHIP OF REASON, NOVEMBER 10, 1793

There were now really two main bodies attempting to direct the Revolution, the Commune and the Committee of Public safety. In the Commune the control was now gained by the group which wished to carry the Terror to even more ruthless extremes. They also attempting to destroy Christianity in France altogether. Under the influence of  their leader, Hebert, they forced the Convention to introduce a new non-Christian calendar, which did away with saints’ days, Sundays and religious festivals of various kinds. The months were named after nature e.g. April became Germinal or budding time, the day was divided into ten hours and general dating of events was to be, not from the birth of the Christ, but from the year One of Liberty_ September 22, 1792. this was followed by a campaign against Christianity itself and  on November 10, the Cathedral of Notre Dame became a Temple of Reason, and a special ceremony took place in which a dancer from the Opera sat in the Cathedral as the Goddess of Reason in the place formerly occupied by the statue of the Virgin Mary. Many churches in France became at this time Temple of Reason.

Robespierre was opposed to this policy for two reasons: he held that some of religion and belief in a Supreme Being was necessary, and secondly, he wished to destroy the power of the Commune as the rival to the Committee of Public Safety which he dominated. Danton was also opposed to Hebert and the Commune for an entirely different reason_ he wished to bring the policy of Terror to an end, whereas the followers of Hebert wished  to continue it. Robespierre skillfully formed an alliance with Danton to destroy the Commune and , after elaborate intrigues, the Convention ordered the arrest of the Hebertists. They were guillotined on March, 1794.

Having defeating the Herbetists, Robespierre now turned against Danton. Ha had skillfully used him as an ally, but was violently opposed to Danton’s attempt to end the policy of terror. In the view of Danton, the success of the French armies made the Terror no longer necessary and would only further divide and weaken the nation. He wished also to secure peace with foreign powers as soon as possible and not to carry the Revolution  by force into other territories. This policy, openly and courageously expressed, led to furious attacks upon him by Robespierre and his followers in the Committee of Public Safety, which eventually ordered Danton’s arrest. Shortly afterwards, Danton was tried before the Revolutionary Tribunal which he himself had helped to establish, was condemned and guillotined on April 5, 1794.

Robespierre had gained supreme power in both the Commune and the Committee of Public Safety. He now secured the recognition by the Convention of the existence of the Supreme Being and a great festival was held on June 8, in the Tuleries Gardens at which Robespierre made an oration before the crowds and the  members of the Convention.

At the same time Robespierre intensified the Terror. The Revolutionary Tribunal’s procedure was made even more severe. The jury was packed with Robespierre’s supporters and no council was allowed to the accused. In the seven weeks of Robespierre’s rule more victims went to the guillotine than in the whole period of the Terror up to that time.

This policy led to a sudden hardening of the opposition to Robespierre. He had carried his policy to the point at which the moderate elements who feared for their heads were prepared to risk them in outright opposition. On July 27, 1794, the opposition to Robespierre broke out in the Convention where he was shouted down with cries of “Down with the tyrant!’ The    Convention ordered his arrest, but his followers released him and he joined the Commune at the Hotel de Ville, where preparations were made to bring about a rising against the Convention. But the Convention moved first with the troops under its command, the Hotel de Ville was attacked and Robespierre and his supporters were arrested. On July 28, Robespierre was guillotined together with twenty of his followers, and others were executed during the next two days.

Robespierre, no doubt, carried his policy of “Revolutionary Virtue”. His “Law of Maximum” turned merchant class of France against him.

After his death, policy of Terror was abandoned. “Commune” another organization created by the Jacobins, was abolished. Later, Convention was succeeded in closing down the Jacobin Club itself.