The Directory

Question 1

Who created the directory

Answer 1

The Thermidorians

Question 2

When was the new constitution that created the Directory made

Answer 2

Drawn up August 1795

Ratified by plebiscite September 1795

Question 3

What did the constitution of the directory reflect

Answer 3

A desire for stability and moderation

Question 4

Three senior components of the directory

Answer 4

Directory of 5

Council of Five Hundred + Council of Ancients

Question 5

Who could vote for/ in directory

Answer 5

All male taxpayers over 21

5.5 of 8 million adult males entitled to vote

Question 6

When constitution agreed September 1795, convention decreed that who would make up the Council of Five Hundred and the Ancients

Answer 6

Two thirds of places in the C of 500 and of Ancients would go to existing deputies

Question 7

Council of Ancients had to be

Answer 7

Married or widowed

40+

Question 8

How many years did the Directory last

Answer 8

4 years

Question 9

How many men served as directors across the 4 years

Answer 9

13 men

Question 10

Examples of directors

Answer 10

Carnot
Sieyès
Barras

Question 11

What did the effect of the directory seeking to limit the power of individual politicians

Answer 11

No prominent leader stood out which left the Directory without clear directions
And the blend of directors meant they couldn’t agree

Question 12

Economic problems of directory

Answer 12

Thermidorians attempt to switch from a system of economic control to a more liberal environment resulted in acute inflation

By the end of 1795 the remaining assignats still in circulation had become virtually worthless

Question 13

What bad things did the directory inherit

Answer 13

Unbalanced budget made worse by war

Problems of tax collection

Question 14

Year of bad harvest

Answer 14

1795

Question 15

Did the directory try to bring back paper money

Answer 15

Yes introduced mandats

A type of land purchase bond similar to the assignats

Question 16

Metal currency & directory

Answer 16

They continued switch from paper to metal currency that had been begun in last months of the Thermidorian gov
After mandats failed and were withdrawn metal currency became only legal currency

Question 17

Good side and downside to directory metal currency

Answer 17

Inflation halted but lack of coinage in circulation brought deflation which hindered trade
Directory’s attempt at controlling the currency laid the groundwork for the Bank of France set up under Nap 1800

Question 18

Taxation system reform directory

Answer 18

Reorganised by Vincent Ramel, finance minister, making the assessment and collection of direct taxation more efficient and introducing property taxes on doors and windows
Revived octrois

Question 19

Issuing of Mandats wrote off how much debt of government

Answer 19

Wrote off two thirds of government debt

Question 20

Was rising of Vendémiaire Royalist or Jacobin

Answer 20

Royalist

Question 21

Who was Babeuf

Answer 21

Jacobin
Called for a revival of the terror
Planned Conspiracy of Equals and was guilloteaned for it

Question 22

Hypocrisy of directory regarding democracy

Answer 22

They used corrupt measures to quell Jscobins and royalists

Question 23

Date of the Coup of Fructidor

Answer 23

4th Sept 1797

Question 24

In April 1797 how did constitutional monarchists do in elections

Answer 24

They did well in April 1797 elections. They increased their number of seats to 182 so that more than one third of the total number of deputies had royalist sympathies

Question 25

What made the directors do the Coup of Fructidor

Answer 25

After constitutional monarchists did well in elections and increased their number of seats to 182 so that more than one third of deputies had royalist sympathies and then in next elections they could do better

Question 26

Which directors hatched plot of Fructidor

Answer 26

Barras, Rewbell and révellière-Lépeaux