Elections leading up to the Convention

Question 1

how did the girondins try to influence the votes and what was the outcome for them

Answer 1

• The Girondins tried to influence the voting through their widely read newspapers saying the need for stability.
• Fear of a return to failure under the leadership of the Girondins tied the electorate to the Montagnards.
• None of the Girondin candidates was elected, thanks to their opposition towards the people and the editors of radical journals, Danton and Desmoulins among others, were also chosen to represent the capital.

Question 2

who benefited from being elected

Answer 2

• most of those elected were lawyers, doctors, officials, regional and National Guard officers as well as other professionals who had prospered in the ‘new’ France.
• Outside Paris, the electorate returned the deputies as such because they occupied the high seats to the left of the President. Popularly known as the Montagnard faction, they swept the seats in the centre of the hall and Marat’s faction had the majority.

Question 3

when did the new convention open and what their popularity like?

Answer 3

On 20 September the ‘new’ Convention opened. The French Army won a reactionary against the combined Austro-Prussian forces at Valmy. This victory against them boosted the popularity of the National Convention and gave the new National Convention an air of optimism.