Attempt at a Constitutional Monarchy 1789-91

Question 1

Response to August Decrees and Declaration of the Rights of Man/run up to October Days

Answer 1

Louis rejects the August Decrees and Declaration of Rights of Man. Assembly agrees to give Louis a ‘suspensory veto’ rather than an absolute one in order to curb his power and maintain the momentum of the revolution.

Louis summoned more troops to Paris and held a banquet to celebrate the returning of the King’s Flanders regiment in late September.

Marat’s ‘L’Ami du Peuple’ reported that drunken officers had stamped on the tricolore cockade and sworn allegiance solely to the royal family. Further evidence that Louis wasn’t sincere in his support for the N.A.

Question 2

Summarise events of October Days (how many people and date)

Answer 2

5th October: 5000-7000 people (mostly women) set out from Paris to Versailles, followed by Lafayette and 20,000 National Guardsmen to ensure Louis wasn’t harmed and order was maintained.

Question 3

Ways in which October Days helped to dismantle Constitutional Monarchy

Answer 3

1. The king agreed to accept the August Decrees and Declaration of the Right of Man (accepting limited political power)
2. Violence of crowd: they took hundreds of weapons and 2 cannons from the Hôtel de Ville. Several bodyguards killed and their heads impaled on spikes. A guard later reported that the mob were shouting that they wished to “tear out [Marie Antionette’s] heart” and “cut of her head”. This demonstrates increasing frustration with the constitutional government and the monarchy, with French citizens no longer perceiving Louis as a divine father figure who would bring salvation.
3. Louis is forced to move to Paris, the radical hub of the revolution, essentially as a prisoner of the Tuileries Palace. The fact that he was forced against his will points to his decreased power as a monarch.

Question 4

Ways in which October Days wasn’t problematic

Answer 4

1. March was triggered by hunger, not a desire for constitutional change. The women were reportedly shouting “when will we have bread?”
2. The crowd still had faith in Louis to respond to their demands and bring peace. They were reportedly shouting that they were coming for “le bon papa” King Louis.
3. The crowd was happy when Louis agreed to come to Paris (a massive procession of around 60,000 accompanied him outside his carriage). They didn’t want to overthrow the constitutional monarchy, just ‘check’ it.
4. The mob was essentially just women from Paris – doesn’t represent attitudes across the whole population and across all of France

Question 5

Ways in which the CCofC was problematic

Answer 5

1. Divided the privileged and unprivileged

In the Assembly, only 4.45% of bishops took the oath whereas 33% of the other clergy did. Gave a salary of 12,000 to ordinary priests which was generally an improvement. (wealthy member of clergy don’t support CCofC but poorer members did)

2. Polarised France more firmly into pro-revolution and counter-revolution

The ratio of juring to non-juring priests was 55:45% (split the clergy because it sidelined the role of the Pope)

The Pope, in a letter to the French bishops, claimed that accepting the CCofC would lead people into ‘error and schism’.

In November 1790, the Assembly declared that all non-juring priests were ‘counter-revolutionaries’

Question 6

Ways in which the CCofC wasn’t problematic

Answer 6

1. Aiming to nationalise, not destroy the existence of the Church.

The CCofC writes that bishops will still write to the Pope ‘as a testimony to the unity of faith and communion maintained within him’.

2. First Estate only represented 0.5% of the French population.

Question 7

How was the Flight to Varennes problematic

Answer 7

• Louis is found 13 miles from the Austrian border, during the middle of the night, with him and his family in disguise, using a fake passport. Therefore, Louis’ story, claiming that he was merely assessing the general attitude of the population towards the constitution, is not very plausible at all. Even those who continue to support a constitutional monarchy will doubt his sincerity and competency as a leader.
• 24th June: demonstration of 30,000 Parisians to the National Assembly in support of a petition from the Cordeliers club to dismiss Louis from office and establish a republic – criticism of constitution more sharply focused on Louis and the way in which he was preventing effective reform
• Led to Champ de Mars massacre (6000 gathered to sign a petition to dismiss Louis from office)

Question 8

How was the Flight to Varennes not that problematic?

Answer 8

• 16th July: 290 deputies abstained from voting to suspend Louis’ powers as they believed the measure was too radical – the Flight to Varennes, therefore, was not so problematic that Louis lost the support of the Assembly – majority were still in favour of a constitutional monarchy
• 16th July: Louis only received a temporary suspension until the new constitution was ready and he had sworn to uphold it – extremely moderate punishment
• Still had the support of the ‘Societe de 89’

Question 9

Events of the Champ de Mars massacre

Answer 9

• July 17th: a crowd of 6000 gathered to sign a petition for the establishment of a republic
• Roughly 50 Parisian civilians were killed by soldiers of the National Guard, who were supposed to be the protectors of the revolution and revolutionaries

Question 10

Consequences of the Champ de Mars massacre

Answer 10

• Further polarised the nation: some feared the power of the mobs and took the side of the moderates (eg in the following days after the massacre, many moderates from the radical ‘Jacobin’ club left to form the more moderate Feuillant club, which condemned violent/active political protest)