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A-Level History > French Revolution, Points Test 7 – Why did the Constitutional Monarchy Fall? > Flashcards

French Revolution, Points Test 7 – Why did the Constitutional Monarchy Fall? Flashcards

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1
Q
  1. What was the meeting place of the Constituent/National Assembly after the October Days?
A
  1. What was the meeting place of the Constituent/National Assembly after the October Days?

The Dall du Manége (riding school) alongside the Tuileries gardens.

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2
Q
  1. How were the origins of the modern political ‘left/right’ divide created at this time?
A
  1. How were the origins of the modern political ‘left/right’ divide created at this time?
  • Deputies arranged themselves on right/left of president’s platform (hence LW/RW).
  • Deputies not ‘party-members’, but formed distinct groups.
  • On right, the noirs (aristocrats and monarchists).
  • Also, the constitutional monarchists (Fayettists, after champion Lafayette).
  • On left, more radical group, following Antoine Barnarve and tiny ‘far left’ clique, of whom Maximilian Robespierre the most vociferous.
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3
Q
  1. Who was Barnarve?
A
  1. Who was Barnarve?
  • Barnarve (1761-93) a lawyer who had become a deputy in 1789.
  • Gained a reputation as a radical in the National Assembly, became president October 1790.
  • Member of Jacobin club, but opposed growing republicanism.
  • Broke off to help found the Feuillants.
  • ‘Retired’ in September 1791.
  • During terror, in 1793 tried and executed as a monarchist.
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4
Q
  1. Who was Robespierre?
A
  1. Who was Robespierre?
  • Maximilian-Francois de Robespierre (1758-1794) lawyer from Arras.
  • Elected to EG in 1789.
  • Prominent speaker in both Assembly and Jacobin Club, earned reputation as radical.
  • Given nickname ‘the incorruptible’ for honesty and commitment to revolutionary principles.
  • Opposed declaration of war in April 1792.
  • In July, however, he joined the CPS which supervised the war effort.
  • Name associated with Terror, but in July 1794 he himself was arrested and guillotined.
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5
Q
  1. Who were the Noble Faction?
A
  1. Who were the Noble Faction?

• Noble faction met at ‘Salon Francais’. Produced Les Actes des Apotres, a satirical pamphlet which defended the monarchy and, from 1st publication in Nov 1789, soon offered around 3 issues a week. L’Ami du Roi, first issued June 1790, another royalist publication.

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6
Q
  1. Who were the ‘Society of 89’?
A
  1. Who were the ‘Society of 89’?
  • The Société de 89, founded by Sieyes, meeting place of constitutional monarchists.
  • Met at Palais-Royal and charged high entry fee, so membership came from wealthy moderates like Lafayette, Bailly, Mirabeau and Condorcet.
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7
Q
  1. Who were the Jacobins?
A
  1. Who were the Jacobins?

• The Jacobins (LW) heirs to the Breton Club, first set up in Versailles in May 1789 as meeting place for deputies from Brittany.

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8
Q
  1. Who was De Caritat?
A
  1. Who was De Caritat?
  • Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet (1743-1794) leading enlightenment philosopher and mathematician.
  • Elected to National Convention, supported Girondins.
  • Imprisoned in 1794, but died a mysterious death in prison, possibly taking poison.
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9
Q
  1. Why were the Jacobins given that name, despite formally changing their name in January 1790 to ‘Friends of the Constitution’?
A
  1. Why were the Jacobins given that name, despite formally changing their name in January 1790 to ‘Friends of the Constitution’?

• Jacobins changed name in January 1790 to ‘Friends of the Constitution’ but soon acquired nickname ‘Jacobins’ because its new home was the library of an ex-Dominican (otherwise known as Jacobin) monastery on the rue-Saint-Honoré.

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10
Q
  1. How many Jacobin clubs were there in France by August 1790, and then by the end of 1790?
A
  1. How many Jacobin clubs were there in France by August 1790, and then by the end of 1790?
  • Club met daily, after assembly proceedings finished, and by August 1790 there were 152 affiliated ‘Jacobin’ Clubs across France.
  • Initially all members deputies, but club rapidly expanded (to over 1,000 by the end of 1790).
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11
Q
  1. Who made up most of their membership initially, and why?
A
  1. Who made up most of their membership initially, and why?

• Members predominantly bourgeoisie, as fees high.

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12
Q
  1. Why did this change from October 1791?
A
  1. Why did this change from October 1791?
  • However, club adopted more radical position after 1791 (leading to Feuillant break-away in July).
  • Fees reduced, and from October 1791, artisans and shopkeepers joined in large numbers.
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13
Q
  1. Where did the Cordeliers Club meet, and from where did it get its name?
A
  1. Where did the Cordeliers Club meet, and from where did it get its name?
  • The Cordeliers Club (LW) began as the société des Amis des Droits de L’Homme et du Citoyen, in April 1790.
  • Took nickname too from place where it met: a former Franciscan monastery on the rue de cordeliers.
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14
Q
  1. Where did the Cordeliers club move to?
A
  1. Where did it move to?

• Relocated in May 1791 to Sall du Musée on rue Dauphine, but kept old name.

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15
Q
  1. What did the Cordelier Club wish to do, and what was its’ membership?
A
  1. What did the Cordelier Club wish to do, and what was its’ membership?
  • Claimed to protect citizen’s rights and keep a watch on the activities of the assembly.
  • The entry fee minimal, membership open to all, including women and passive citizens.
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16
Q
  1. Why did it become such an influential club?
A
  1. Why did it become such an influential club?
  • Georges Danton and Camille Desmoulins founders, Jean-Paul Marat a member.
  • The club became the home of radical democratic and republican ideas.
  • The Cordeliers linked itself to a number of local clubs in Paris in 1790.
  • These included the Société Fraternelle (Fraternal Society), founded in February 1790, where artisans and shopkeepers met to have the Assembly’s decrees explained to them in language they could understand.
  • The Cordelier Club was a highly influential force in Parisian politics in 1792 and became the hone of ultra-revolutionary factions, particularly the Hébertists who supported extending the terror.
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17
Q
  1. What factionalism divided the Cordeliers late in 1793-1794 during the terror?
A
  1. What factionalism divided the Cordeliers late in 1793-1794 during the terror?
  • Desmoulins tried to disassociate it from these extremists in his journal, the Vieux Cordelier (Old Cordelier), from December 1793.
  • However, despite arrest of Hébertists, Desmoulins, Danton and the ‘Old Cordeliers’ followed them to the guillotine in 1794, and the club collapsed.
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18
Q
  1. Who was Danton?
A
  1. Who was Danton?
  • George-Jacques Danton (1759-1794) a lawyer of enlightenment ideas who joined the new national guard in July 1789 and in 1790 helped found the Cordeliers Club.
  • Served in the Paris Commune, elected to the legislative assembly.
  • Became Minister for Justice in 1792, popular spokesman at Cordelier and Jacobin Clubs.
  • Urged overthrow of monarchy.
  • Encouraged insurrections and the September Massacres in 1792.
  • As a Parisian Deputy to the National Convention, tried to mediate between Girondin and Jacobin Factions.
  • Became the first President of the Committee of Public Safety in 1793.
  • Growing opposition to the terror led to his trial and execution in 1794.
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19
Q
  1. Who was Marat?
A
  1. Who was Marat?
  • Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793) had been a well-known doctor and scientific writer before revolution.
  • In September 1789, became editors of newspaper L’Ami du Peuple, in which he criticised moderate revolutionary leaders such as Lafayette, Mirabeau and Bailly and supported radical change.
  • He became a Montagnard Deputy in National Convention (1792) and favoured establishment of a temporary dictatorship to deal with the emergency of the war.
  • His radical views were popular with the sans-culottes and he survived an attack by the Girondins in April 1793.
  • However, after Girondins had been expelled from the Convention, he was assassinated by Charlotte Corday, a young Girondin Conservative.
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20
Q
  1. Why did these political clubs become so influential?
A
  1. Why did these political clubs become so influential?
  • These clubs were influential, both because of the membership of the clubs, which ranged from prominent members of the assembly to humble Parisian workers, and because of the ideas emerging from them.
  • They provided a platform for propaganda.
  • They often delivered their views in the form of petitions to the assembly.
  • This allowed them to influence decisions.
  • They produced revolutionary pamphlets which reached out to ordinary people, through public readings, extracts pasted on walls or proclaimed in streets, and copies spread around cafés.
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21
Q
  1. Which three newspapers were most influential in Paris at this time, and who created these?
A
  1. Which three newspapers were most influential in Paris at this time, and who created these?

The three dominant political-journalists, all who founded own papers, were:
• Camille Desmoulins: editor of Les Révolutions de France et de Brabant (November 1789=July 1791), fairly low-cost nationwide newspaper which strongly attacked the monarchy.
• Jean-Paul Marat: author of L’Ami du Peuple (September 1789-July 1793), a popular and influential paper amongst the working people of Paris. It contained a long editorial and letters through which Marat addressed his readers.
• Jacques-René Hébert: author of Le Pére Duchesne (January 1791-March 1794). This was a humourous and rather coarse publication, popular with workers, but with a ‘cult following’ among some of the higher classes who wanted to be seen as true to the revolution. The ‘hero’ of the paper was ‘Pére Duchense’ – a fictitious pipe-smoking ‘man of the people’.

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22
Q
  1. Who was Hébert?
A
  1. Who was Hébert?
  • Jacques-René Hébert (1757-1794) a journalist of bourgeoisie background who wrote the satirical ‘Pére Duchesne’.
  • Influential member of Cordeliers Club and Jacobin Club, and member of Commune.
  • Helps plan the sans-culottes insurrections and participated in turning Notre Dame into a ‘temple of reason’.
  • At height of influence during first months of terror, but CPS came to regard him and his followers as dangerous.
  • Arrested and executed in 1794.
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23
Q
  1. Who was Villeneuve?
A
  1. Who was Villeneuve?
  • Jérome Pétion de Villeneuve (1756-1794) lawyer, had been elected to EG.
  • Associated with Robespierre, acquired reputation as radical.
  • Elected Mayor for Paris in November 1791.
  • Elected first President of the National Convention in September 1792.
  • Supported Girondins, in June 1794 expelled from Convention along with other Girondins.
  • Escaped and committed suicide.
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24
Q
  1. Why was power fragmented in France by 1791?
A
  1. Why was power fragmented in France by 1791?
  • By 1791, authority in France fragmented.
  • Executive power remained with King (Necker remained in office until October 1790).
  • But royal authority continually undermined by the assembly.
  • It itself was divided among centre, left and right.
  • Lafayette (commander of the NG) and Bailly (Paris Mayor until November 1791, when Jérome Pétion elected) both had influence on the capital.
  • Also influential were the Paris Commune.
  • This was, to some extent, under the control of the ‘assemblies’ (Sections), established in July 1790 as electoral districts, some of which were quite radical.
  • In the rest of the country, disorder continued and only form of authority in many districts was the use of force.
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25
Q
  1. Why had the king been in such a difficult position since the formation of the National Assembly?
A
  1. Why had the king been in such a difficult position since the formation of the National Assembly?
  • King in difficult position ever since establishment of the National Assembly.
  • Authority questioned, lost support of army, Divine Right challenged and subjects showed increasing lack of respect.
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26
Q
  1. Why, by June 1791, did Louis find his situation almost intolerable?
A
  1. Why, by June 1791, did Louis find his situation almost intolerable?
  • He was a prisoner in the Tuileries.
  • The CCC had challenged his deepest convictions, though he had accepted it in December 1790.
  • Political clubs blossoming with increasingly radical sentiment.
  • 2nd April 1791, his courtier Count Mirabeau has died. Mirabeau had been a member of the national assembly, favouring constitutional monarchy, and had acted as a ‘go-between’.
  • 18th April 1791, Louis and his family has planned to spend their Easter at their nearby palace of Saint-Cloud, where they would have taken Mass, given by a refractory priest. They were prevented from leaving the Tuileries by a mob flanked by national guardsmen, whose actions were in defiance of their commander, Lafayette.
  • Louis’ wife and sister (Madame Elizabeth) urged the king to take action to resist the revolutionary movement.
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27
Q
  1. Why did Émigré nobles and Marie-Antoinette suggest for the king to flee to near the Austrian border?
A
  1. Why did Émigré nobles and Marie-Antoinette suggest for the king to flee to near the Austrian border?
  • The King and Queen were in contact with the growing band of émigré nobles who wanted Louis to assert his authority.
  • Maria-Antoinette had the assurances of her younger brother, Leopold (who has succeeded Joseph II in 1790) that he would help the royal family.
  • He had troops along the French border in parts of the Austrian Netherlands.
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28
Q
  1. Who led the Empire of Austria during the French Revolution, and when?
A
  1. Who led the Empire of Austria during the French Revolution, and when?
  • Joseph II HRE and Archduke of Austria until 1790, ruling jointly with mother, Maria-Theresa, until April 1780.
  • Leopold, his brother too, ruled from 1790—1792.
  • Francis II (1768-1835) last HRE, ruling from 1792 to August 1806, when Napoleon dissolved empire after Austerlitz.
  • Remained Emperor of Austria, from 1804-1835.
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29
Q
  1. What was the king’s intention in fleeing to the Austrian Border?
A
  1. What was the king’s intention in fleeing to the Austrian Border?
  • After the Saint-Cloud incident, the king and his advisers decided that they should flee from Paris.
  • Quite what their ultimate intentions were is not clear.
  • It is unlikely that Louis was contemplating direct military action.
  • He was probably hoping that a display of pressure would induce the revolutionaries to reach a settlement with him.Leopold promised Austrian troops if Louis could reach Montmédy, where Claude de Bouillé commanded a loyal royalist army of 10,000 soldiers.
30
Q
  1. When did the attempt to flee take place?
A
  1. When did the attempt to flee take place?

• The escape attempt took place on night of 20/21 June.

31
Q
  1. Why did the FtV fail?
A
  1. Why did it fail?
  • Marred by misunderstandings and errors of judgement.
  • Not discreet? Marie-Antoinette took a Russian Alias as ‘Baronesse de Korff’ (head of the party), dressed in Bourgeoisie fashion; Louis posed as a valet in a grey wig, brown suit and green overcoat; their son (6) dressed as a girl, their daughter (13) as a young bourgeoisie.
  • The family carried false passports signed by the king, and were accompanied by a manservant, three domestic staff and much luggage.
  • Louis rejected advisers’ choice of route and suggestion that the royal family should travel separately: instead they travelled in a (large) six-horse ‘berline’.
  • Departure delayed (1 ½ hours to load).
  • Weight in coach slowed journey down.
  • Troops waiting for Louis at Challons left half an hour before the royal family arrived (over 2 hours late) so the royal party continued without protection.
  • At Sainte-Menehould, Louis recognised by an old soldier-turned-postmaster, Jean-Baptiste Drouet (who is said to have recognised the profile from the coins in his pocket, although he had actually been tipped off from Paris). Drouet was able to ride on to the next village, Varennes, and stop the coach.
  • Representatives from the National Assembly arrived to escort the royal family back to Paris (The King’s Younger Brother, the Duc de Provence, and the royal accomplice, Count Fersen, managed to escape the same day by a different route).
32
Q
  1. How did the King receive a tense reception when he returned to Paris, according to the Courrier paper?
A
  1. How did the King receive a tense reception when he returned to Paris, according to the Courrier paper?
  • Louis’ return to Paris a sober affair.
  • According to the Courrier newspaper, the citizens who turned out onto the streets to see the royal family brought back in disgrace kept their hats on, to show their disrespect.
33
Q
  1. Why was the Flight to Varennes so damaging to the Constitutional Monarchy?
A
  1. Why was the Flight to Varennes so damaging to the Constitutional Monarchy?
  • Attempted flight sowed new doubts about king’s sincerity.
  • King’s attempt to justify his flight contained list of complaints about his treatment, and spoke of opposition to many of Assembly’s decrees (which he had officially accepted).
  • These included his limited suspensory veto on legislation.
  • It was clear Louis did not really understand the popularity of the revolution.
34
Q
  1. What did the Assembly decide to do to punish Louis?
A
  1. What did the Assembly decide to do to punish Louis?

• National Assembly debated deposing Louis, but eventually decided on ‘temporary suspension’ (16th July 1791) until the new constitution was ready and he had signed and sworn to uphold it.

35
Q
  1. How did the flight exacerbate the political divide already present in France?
A
  1. How did the flight exacerbate the political divide already present in France?
  • However, his behaviour had already helped undermine the new constitution.
  • Attempted flight deepened political and social divisions.
  • 290 assembly deputies abstained from voting to suspend the king’s powers since they believed the measure went too far.
  • Nevertheless, in the popular clubs and radical press, calls for the king’s abdication and trial and demands for a ‘republic’ instead.
36
Q
  1. How did radicals respond to the king’s attempted flight?
A
  1. How did radicals respond to the king’s attempted flight?

• Newspapers such as Marat’s L’Ami du Peuple had been calling for mob action to depose the king ever since Louis’ attempted flight.

37
Q
  1. Why was there great risk of mob action, as well as anger at the king?
A
  1. Why was there great risk of mob action, as well as anger at the king?
  • The economic situation in Paris was deteriorating: falling real wages compounded by the new Le Chapelier law of 14 June banning strikes and by the closure of Paris’ charity workshops, which has provided relief.
  • The Commune and Assembly therefore feared any mob action.
  • Arrests were made and offending newspapers closed down.
38
Q
  1. What occurred on 24th June 1791?
A
  1. What occurred on 24th June 1791?

• On 24th June, march of 30,000 on the National Assembly with a petition demanding a republic forced back by the national guard.

39
Q
  1. What occurred on 17th July 1791?
A
  1. What occurred on 17th July 1791?
  • The Cordeliers club and other more extreme societies decided to organise a meeting at the Champs de Mars on 17 July.
  • This was so people could sign a petition calling for the establishment of a republic.
  • They chose the Champs de Mars, a large field on the edge of Paris, because just three days earlier it had been the site of the 14 July ‘Feast of the Federation’ and in the centre stood ‘the Alter of the Fatherland’: a fitting platform for the petition.
40
Q
  1. How many people gathered at this?
A
  1. How many people gathered at this?

• Around 6000 people came, sparking fears of more disorder.

41
Q
  1. Why did Assembly/the moderate commune’s measures worsen matters around the CdM massacre?
A
  1. Why did Assembly/the moderate commune’s measures worsen matters?
  • Assembly and moderate Paris Commune send Lafayette and NG to ensure order.
  • However, this had reverse effect.
  • Numbers built up, Lafayette moved in to disperse the mobs.
  • Stones were then thrown at the NG.
  • When warning shots produced no result, Guards fired directly into the crowds.
  • Probably around 50 killed.
42
Q
  1. Why was this moment so divisive and problematic, despite the relatively few numbers killed?
A
  1. Why was this moment so divisive and problematic, despite the relatively few numbers killed?
  • Numbers many not have been large, but the event significant.
  • To the radicals this was a ‘betrayal’ of the ‘people’ by the moderates: a ‘massacre’.
  • The Champs de Mars Massacre completed the split that had already opened among those of the former 3rd estate.
43
Q
  1. What factions formed from the Jacobins as a result of the ‘massacre’?
A
  1. What factions formed from the Jacobins as a result of the ‘massacre’?
  • Alarmed at the potential power of the mobs, some (particularly men of wealth and property) took the side of the ‘moderates’.
  • One group, including Barnarve and Lafayette, broke with the Jacobins and set up their own moderate ‘Feuillant’ club.
  • These men were convinced they needed to prevent greater extremism in the revolution.
44
Q
  1. What did the moderate assembly do to persecute radicals after this?
A
  1. What did the moderate assembly do to persecute radicals after this?
  • Having broken up the Champs de Mars protest, they forced the closure of many ‘patriotic’ clubs and newspapers and drove the extremist leaders underground.
  • Danton went to England, Demoulins and Marat to hiding.
  • Whole episode increased sense of tension and anxiety.
  • This all made worse by added fear of Austrian invasion.
45
Q
  1. What was the Declaration of Pillnitz?
A
  1. What was the Declaration of Pillnitz?
  • With failure of flight to Varennes, Austrians felt they needed to give Louis a gesture of support.
  • On 27th July Leopold II and ally, Fredrick-William III of Prussia, issued Declaration of Pillnitz. Stated…
  • The situation of the French king ‘of common interest’ to all nations.
  • The powers of the king should be restored.
  • They were ready to use force to bring about the restoration of royal power.
46
Q
  1. Why did the Declaration of Pillnitz actually harm Louis in terms of his domestic support, and why did it fail to intimidate the French?
A
  1. Why did this actually harm Louis in terms of his domestic support, and why did it fail to intimidate the French?
  • The declaration helped add to mistrust of those who had already lost their faith in the monarchy.
  • This wasn’t taken seriously by the French: few papers even bothered to report it.
  • French knew declaration unlikely to add up to much, as two monarchs had announced they’d only intervene if other powers joined them.
  • This seen as out of question: Russia and Sweden preoccupied in Poland and Turkey, Britain would never support a French invasion.
47
Q
  1. What was the more immediate external/military threat to France by July-the end of 1791, and why?
A
  1. What was the more immediate external/military threat, and why?
  • The more immediate threat was posed by noble émigrés, who were building up private armies in neighbouring Austrian or German Rhineland states and awaiting their chance to return.
  • By end of 1791 an estimated 60% of all pre-revolutionary army officers amongst these.
  • Coblenz a noted centre, both of Louis’ brothers there, which intensified fear and suspicion within France.
48
Q
  1. When the new Legislative Assembly finally met on October 1791, in midst of this tension, what did it propose?
A
  1. When the new Legislative Assembly finally met on October 1791, in midst of this tension, what did it propose?

• Unsurprisingly its first decrees, in November 1791, were:
9th November: decree against émigrés, threatening perpetual banishment and the seizure of their property unless they returned to France before 1 January 1792.
20th November: a decree demanding refractory priests take the oath or be treated as traitors.

49
Q
  1. How did Louis respond to these measures from Oct. 1791 by the Legislative assembly?
A
  1. How did Louis respond to these measures?

• Louis used his suspensory veto against both measures, which only served to link the two rebellious groups more closely in the patriots’ minds.

50
Q
  1. When did the legislative assembly elections take place?
A
  1. When did the legislative assembly elections take place?

• Elections for the legislative assembly took place 29 August and 5 September.

51
Q
  1. What did Robespierre propose at this time (of the LA elections)?
A
  1. What did Robespierre propose at this time?

• ‘Self-denying ordinance’ proposed by Robespierre to prevent re-election of members of previous national assembly.

52
Q
  1. What was the make-up of the Legislative Assembly?
A
  1. What was the make-up of the Legislative Assembly?
  • Louis accepted new arrangements on 14 September.
  • Fewer than 25% of active citizens actually voted.
  • When 745 deputies met at beginning of October, comprised 264 Feuillants, 136 Jacobins and 345 (including 23 clergy) of no particular political affiliation.
  • Assembly overwhelmingly bourgeoisie (many were lawyers) and over half were under 30.
53
Q
  1. Why did the Assembly begin to support the idea of war in April 1792?
A
  1. Why did the Assembly begin to support the idea of war?
  • The Assembly was concerned that Prussia and Austria were supporting émigrés.
  • Feared they were stirring up counter-revolutionaries in France.
  • Consequently, deputies began to talk of a war against these states to unite the French people in a patriotic cause, expose the counter-revolutionary traitors within France, demonstrate the vigour of their new state and defend the ‘honour’ of the revolution against its enemies.
54
Q
  1. Who was Brissot?
A
  1. Who was Brissot?
  • Jacques-Pierre Brissot, a Parisian Deputy, headed a group known as the Brissotins (more commonly the Girondins).
  • Brissot (1754-1793) a writer, imprisoned in the Bastille for pamphlets against the Queen and government in 1783-84.
  • Became a member of the Paris Commune.
  • In 1789 launched a newspaper, Le Patriote Francais (May 1789).
  • Elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1791.
  • He led the Girondin group.
  • Lost influence after the king’s trial and execution.
  • In June 1793 fled when his arrest was decreed.
  • Captured and executed in October.
55
Q
  1. Why did Brissot and the Girondins argue strongly in favour of war, and why was this well-received?
A
  1. Why did he and the Girondins argue strongly in favour of war, and why was this well-received?
  • Faction claimed a war would be easily won, since oppressed subjects would welcome liberty.
  • Very little opposition to the idea of a war, since the far left had failed to get any seats.
  • Even in the radical Jacobin club, Robespierre alone opposed war.
  • He disputed the Brissotin’s arguments and suggested that the revolutionaries’ first priority should be to establish the revolution firmly at home.
  • However, his voice made little impact.
56
Q
  1. Why did the monarchy also support the war, though why was Louis reluctant?
A
  1. Why did the monarchy also support the war, though why was Louis reluctant?
  • The royal family also favoured war – but with the hope of a rather different outcome.
  • Whilst claiming to support the constitution and oppose any war, Louis was engaged in secret correspondence with his brothers and other émigrés.
  • Marie-Antoinette wrote to her brother Leopold and to Count Fersen.
  • Both sought armed intervention to bring about the restoration of their former royal powers.
  • Louis was not enthusiastic about a patriotic war against the Austrians.
57
Q
  1. How did the Girondins become a part of the Constitutional Monarchy at this time?
A
  1. How did the Girondins become a part of the Constitutional Monarchy at this time?

• Louis half-heartedly appointed several Girondin ministers, sympathetic to Brissot, in attempt to please assembly.

58
Q
  1. How did war break out?
A
  1. How did war break out?
  • Nevertheless, Austria was pressed for reassurances of non-intervention in French affairs.
  • These were not answered.
  • In February 1792, Austria and Prussia made a formal alliance, in which Prussia promised 20,000 men in support of a war against France.
  • Leopold died on 1st March 1792.
  • Lack of any response from his successor Francis II to the French demands led to a French declaration of war on Austria on 20 April 1792.
59
Q
  1. Who were the Girondins?
A
  1. Who were the Girondins?
  • Brissot headed a group of 12 depuities from the département of the Gironde. They distinguished themselves from the majority of Parisian deputies by their strong views (particularly in favour of war, and against extension of political rights to militant mobs).
  • At first given nickname ‘Brissotins’ but increasingly known as ‘Girondins’.
  • Met in Madame Roland’s salon. Views opposed by more radical members of the Jacobin club.
60
Q
  1. Why were Brissot’s predictions of an easy victory rapidly disproved?
A
  1. Why were Brissot’s predictions of an easy victory rapidly disproved?
  • French sent 150,000 men into approximately 35,000 Austrians (Prussians caught off guard, didn’t join until May).
  • Although numerically superior, French troops divided.
  • The ‘blues’ made up of volunteer battalions and largely formed from National Guards of active citizens, didn’t trust the ‘whites’, men from the old royal army.
  • Nor did they fully trust their commanders, appointed by Louis.
  • These were the elderly Rochambeau and Luckner, along with Lafayette, whose reputation tarnished by the Champs de Mars Massacre.
  • Lack of experienced French officers contributed to setbacks.
61
Q
  1. What occurred after a setback at Lille on 28th April 1792?
A
  1. What occurred after a setback at Lille on 28th April 1792?

• After a setback at Lille on 28th April French troops retreated on site of the enemy, and massacred one of their own officers whom they unfairly accused of treason (General Dillon?).

62
Q
  1. How did this lead to a period of disillusionment and scapegoating against suspected ‘counter-revolutionaries’?
A
  1. How did this lead to a period of disillusionment and scapegoating against suspected ‘counter-revolutionaries’?
  • 27th May: assembly voted for deportation of refractory priests on the grounds that they were ‘provoking disturbances’.
  • 29th May: assembly ordered disbanding of king’s guard (1200 cavalry soldiers and 600 foot soldiers) which had appeared to celebrate the military setbacks. The head of the guard was put on trial.
63
Q
  1. How did the National Guard change in its composition and character at this time?
A
  1. How did the National Guard change in its composition and character at this time?
  • 8th June: Assembly passed decree to set up a fédéré camp of 20,000 volunteer soldiers from all over France. The new fédéré recruits to expand to force of the ‘National Guard’ and change its character.
  • After they were admitted, the NG became a more revolutionary force (especially in the capital).
  • It fought for the sans-culottes (and against ‘enemies of the revolution’ at home and abroad).
  • Enforced its wishes on the Assembly with its ‘patriotic’ use of force.
  • NG remained a powerful political player until 1795.
64
Q
  1. Who were the Fédérés (a military group?).
A
  1. Who were the Fédérés (a military group?).
  • The Fédérés derived their name from the Fete de la Fédération - the 14 July celebration at the Champs de Mars where the attendees from all over France were known as Fédérés.
  • The term subsequently came to refer to the volunteer troops of 1792.
65
Q
  1. Who proposed that armed volunteers from the provinces should be brought to Paris to receive military training and supplement the regular army.
A
  1. Who proposed that armed volunteers from the provinces should be brought to Paris to receive military training and supplement the regular army.

• The Brissotin (Girondin) minister for war, Joseph Servan.

66
Q
  1. Why did Louis oppose this, and how?
A
  1. Why did Louis oppose this, and how?
  • However, Louis feared that the arrival of these new militiamen would increase radicalism and endanger himself.
  • Louis used his suspensory veto against all three decrees.
67
Q
  1. What did Louis then do when one of his Brissotin (Girondin) ministers, Roland, tried to plead with him to give way? What was the result?
A
  1. What did Louis then do when one of his Brissotin (Girondin) ministers, Roland, tried to plead with him to give way? What was the result?
  • Louis promptly dismissed his entire ministry on 13 June.
  • The government in disarray.
68
Q
  1. Who was accused, (correctly!) of planning counter-revolution at this time?
A
  1. Who was accused, (correctly!) of planning counter-revolution at this time?

• Lafayette.

69
Q
  1. Who was appointed Minister for War after 13th June?
A
  1. Who was appointed Minister for War after 13th June?

• General Dumoriez, but he resigned and left Paris to go to fight.

70
Q
  1. How did provincial volunteers then defy the king?
A
  1. How did provincial volunteers then defy the king?
  • Radical agitators stirred up unrest and the provincial volunteers began marching northwards, regardless of the king’s disapproval.
  • In mid-June 1792, all was uncertain.

A-Level History (54 decks)

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