Chapter 16 - The Establishment Of The Consulate Flashcards
Did Abbé Sieyès support the 1795 constitution that set up the directory?
No
What position did he accept when it failed to maintain stability?
Director
(May 1799)
What coup did he play a significant part in?
Coup of Prairial
What did he want to change?
People in the army
The constitution
Who did S talk with about a coup d’etat (also called coup of Brumaire)?
General Joubert
He was killed in at Battle of Novi
Who had returned and was liked by both Jacobins and royalists?
Napoleon
What did S do in preparation for a coup?
Bribed council members
23 Oct arranged N bro Lucien to be elected President if Cof500
Troops were deployed around Paris
What was the plan?
Persuade Directors to resign
Persuade 2 Councils to appoint a commission to draw a new constitution
What happened morning of 18 Brumaire?
Members of CofA (liked the coup) warned colleagues of Jacobin conspiracy
What were the 2 assemblies convinced to do?
Leave Paris
Go to former palace Saint-Cloud
Away from potential Jacobin mobs
What did N promise?
To ensure safety of 2 councils
He took command of Parisian troops
His commander Murat moved 6000 men into position
What happened the same morning?
Sieyès + Ducos resigned as Directors
Baras was also persuaded to step down
What happened to the remaining Directors?
Put under house arrest
But councils continued to meet
What had the deputies realised by 10 Nov?
They were facing an attempted coup by the army
Not protected from Jacobin rebellion
What did he do when he failed to make an impression?
Moved to Cof500
Was met with threats
Lucien helped by getting palace guards to intervene
What did they do when guards came in?
Deputies left
Some jumped out of windows
The remaining had to be forced out
Where did Lucien find new deputies?
From the CofA who were prepared to obey his orders of appointing 3 Consuls to run govt
Who were the 3 Consuls?
Sieyes
Ducos
Napoleon
Why did Sieyes mount the coup?
To establish an executive that had strong leadership
Who worked to prepare the new constitution?
Sieyes
N friend Pierre Daunou helped
When was the constitution adopted?
24 Dec 1799
What was it known as?
Constitution of Year VIII
What did the new structure look like?
First Consul
Council of State - Senate
Tribunate - Legislative Body
6000 Notables
Departmental list
Communal list
6 million citizens
What was the 6 million citizens?
First stage of voting:
Men over 21
Lived in same house for 1 year
Voted 10% of themselves to be on communal list
What was the Communal list?
600,000
Members selected 10% to form departmental list
What was the departmental list?
60,000
10% selected to form ‘Notables’
Who were the Notables?
Senate selected members from here to be part of the legislative
What was the Tribunate?
The lower chamber of the legislature
Had 100 members
Discussed legislation but didn’t vote
What was the legislative body?
Upper chamber of legislature
Had 300 members
Voted on legislation but didn’t discuss it
What was the Senate?
80 members nominated by 1st consul
Appointed for life
Duty to ‘protect the constitution’ advised 1st Consul on draft legislation
Selected deputies for 2 bodies of legislature
Could override decisions made by legislature using senatus consultum
What is senatus consultum?
A senatorial decree that was not referred to the Tribunate or Legislative Body
What was the Council of State?
Chosen by 1st Consul
Acted as advisory body
Nominated officials + prepared draft legislation
What was the First Consul?
Shared executive power with 2 others
Held office for 10 years
Appointed ministers
Acted as director of policy + initiator of all legislation
What were S ideas?
Having a single Grand Elector as Head of State - N vetoed this
Wanted 2 consuls that had separate powers one for internal affairs and the other for external
He wanted N to be head of external
N insisted on ‘First Consul’ + 2 others advised
Supported idea of senate protecting
What did S do in the new constitution?
Disappointed with outcome of his work
Him + Ducos - entered new senate
Who were the 2 replacement consuls?
Jean-Jaques Régis de Cambacérès
Charles-François Lebrun
Both very loyal to N
What was this the first constitution in the rev to not have?
A Declaration of Rights
How many people were allowed to serve in a legislature?
6,000 out of 6,000,000 males
What percentage of the members of the legislature had to be replaced annually?
20%
