2.1- Attempts To Create A Constitutional Monarchy Flashcards
What was the name of the first elected assembly?
National constituent assembly
When did the national constituent assembly govern?
June 1789- September 1791
What was the national constituent assembly of the restricted by?
Wealth as only the well off had been able to vote for the estates general, from which the National Assembly was drawn
Who were the dominant classes in the national constituent assembly?
Bourgeoise, former nobles, clergy
What form of government was the national constituent assembly?
Constitutional monarchy
What political parties were in the national constituent assembly?
No political parties
What was the name of the second elected assembly?
Legislative assembly
When was the Legislative assembly in government?
October 1791- September 1792
How was the Legislative assembly restricted by wealth?
-only the bourgeoise, former nobles and higher clergy were able to stand for national elections.
-only those groups, poor priests, and very prosperous peasants and artisans could vote
Who was the dominant class of the Legislative assembly?
The bourgeoisie
What form of government was the Legislative assembly?
Constitutional monarchy
What political parties were in the Legislative assembly?
The feuillants on the right, the girondins, and the jacobins
Who was the strongest political party in the Legislative assembly?
The feuillants
What political parties were most deputies in the Legislative assembly?
Most deputies were unattached
What was the third elected assembly?
The convention
When was the Convention in government?
September 1792- June 1793
Who could vote in the Convention?
All men could vote- universal manhood suffrage
Who were the dominant classes in the Convention?
Radical bourgeoisie, urban poor
What form of government was the Convention?
Republic
What did the Convention do?
Abolished the monarchy and put the king on trial
What political parties were the most dominant in the Convention?
The left ( the girondins and jacobins)
What was the fourth elected assembly?
The second Convention
When was the second Convention in government?
June 1793- july 1794
Who could vote in the second convention?
In theory universal manhood suffrage, but no elections
What classes dominated the second convention?
Radical bourgeoisie, urban poor
What type of government was the second convention?
Republic, revolutionary dictatorship
How was the second convention created?
The jacobine expelled the girondins, suspended the constitution and set up a dictatorship
What was the fifth elected assembly?
The third Convention
When was the third Convention in government?
July 1794- October 1795
Who could vote in the third Convention?
Convention originally elected by universal manhood suffrage, but determined to stop the poor voting again
Who was the dominant class in the third Convention?
The bourgeoisie
What type of government was the third Convention?
Republic
Why was the third convention created?
The Thermidorians overthrew the jacobin dictatorship and drew up a new constitution
Who were the thermidorians?
The majority of unaligned deputies
What was the sixth elected assembly?
The directory, council of ancients, council of 500
When was the directory in government?
November 1795- November 1799
Who could vote in the directory?
The wealthy only
What class dominated the directory?
The bourgeoisie
What type of government was the directory?
A republic
Why was the directory created?
A new constitution was implemented to ensure no revolutionary dictatorship happened again
When was the declaration of the rights of man and the citizen adopted?
26th August 1789
When was a twelve member constitutional committee convened?
14th July 1789 (Bastille day)
What was the task of the constitutional committee?
To do much of the drafting of the articles of the constitution
Who did the constitutional committee include?
Two members from the first estate, two from the second, and four from the third
When did the August decrees become law?
4th August 1789
What did the August decrees do?
Got rid of tithes, feudal dues, and the privileges of the upper orders
What did Marquis de Lafayette propose?
A combination of the American and British systems, called a bicameral parliament
What did the bicameral parliament mean?
The king had the suspensive veto power over legislature
What did the constitutional committee propose?
A bicameral legislature
When was the motion for a bicameral legislature defeated?
10th September 1789 in favour of one house
What did the constitutional committee propose on the 11th September 1789?
An absolute veto
What happened to the constitutional committee’s idea of an absolute veto?
It was defeated in favour of a suspensive veto
What was a suspensory veto?
A veto by which a law is merely suspended until overridden by three consecutive legislatures
When was a new iteration of the constitutional committee formed?
September 1789
Why was a new iteration of the constitutional committee formed?
To discuss the controversial topic of citizenship in this New France following the collapse of the ancien regime
What was the debate in the new iteration of the conditional committee?
Would every formed subject become an equal citizen, or would there be some restrictions or limitations?
What other issues did the constitutional committee need to debate?
Race, religion, socioeconomic status and sex with regards to political and civil rights
What rights were women going to have?
No political rights and restricted civil rights compared to men
What were active citizens?
Men over 25 who paid the equivalent of three days labour in local taxes
How many men were active citizens?
Over 4 million men
What were active men eligible to do?
Vote in assembly elections and potentially stand as deputies.
Who were passive citizens?
Those who did not pay this amount in taxes, so were barred from voting or standing for election
Who were electors?
Active citizens who paid an equivalent of 10 days labour in local taxes
How many men were electors?
About 50,000 men
What could electors do?
-Elect members of the canton and department assemblies, and were legible to become officials in those departments.
-in charge of electing deputies to the National Assembly
Who were deputies?
Active citizens who paid the minimum of the Marc d’argent which was the equivalent of 54 days labour in direct taxes
What percentage of Frenchmen had the right to take part in some sort of election?
61%
How did the National Assembly assert its legal presence in French government?
By establishing its permanence in the constitution and forming a system for recurring elections
What did the assembly believe in?
A sovereign nation and in equal representation, shown in the constitutional separation of powers
Who was the legislative body of government?
The National Assembly
Who was the executive branch of the government?
The king and royal ministers
What branch was the judiciary in?
The judiciary was independent of the other two branches
How was the French state divided on a local level?
The previous feudal geographic divisions were formally abolished, and the territory of the French state was divided into several administrative units, but with the principle of centralism
What did Louis do about the constitution?
He refused to sign it and tried to flee the country
What ddi the assembly vote after the king refused to sign the constitution?
They voted to suspend the powers of the king until the new constitution is as signed into law
When did the king swear an oath to uphold his suspension of powers?
16th July 1791
When did Louis accept the new constitution?
13th September 1791
What did the French activist and playwright Olympe de Gouges object?
The lack of political and religious rights for women and people of colour
What did Olympe de Gouges publish?
The declaration of the rights of woman and of the female citizen
When was the declaration of the rights of woman and of the female citizen published?
14th September 1791
What was Louis’ new title?
‘King of the French’ rather than ‘king of France’
What did the constitution state about the king?
He is now subordinate to both the assembly and the constitution as any law that was passed must be obeyed by the king
How much was the king given for his expenses?
An annual grant of 25 million livres
What was the king forbidden to do under the new constitution?
Forbidden to levy forces against the constitution or leave the country
What powers did the king still have?
-executive power
-right to a suspensive veto
What was executive power?
He would choose his own cabinet and ministers
What was a suspensive veto?
He could delay legislation for up to 5 years, but he had no power of veto over any legislation regarding taxation or important constitutional matters
What authority did the legislative assembly have?
Had full fiscal and financial authority along with the power to propose and pass laws, raise taxes, military affairs, foreign policy, and organise new festivals
How was declaration of war decided?
Was voted on by the assembly
How many representatives were there chosen by electors?
745
What happened to national constituent assembly members?
They weren’t allowed to sit in the new legislative assembly
Who proposed ‘self denying ordinance’ (no existing members of the National Assembly were allowed on the new legislative assembly)?
Robespierre
When did Robespierre pass ‘self denying ordinance’?
16th May 1791
What was done on the assembly to ensure the separation of power?
Ministers, state officials and judges were barred from sitting in the assembly
