The First Phase of the French Revolution-Constitutional Monarchy Flashcards
Describe the events surrounding Storming of The Bastille
- Catalys. by news of Necker’s dismissal”on 12 Jul.
- Speakers at the PR ordered the taking of arms
- looting for ammunition
- Clashes with gardes-francaise + royal troops
- GF ordered to withdraw
- refusal + desertion
- 14 July- 5/6 battalions had deserted + some joined
- looted Les Invalides but short of gun powder
- De Launay refuses entrance + gp
- group enters the courtyard
- Open fire
- killed 98 protesters
Explain why it was stormed
- Necker’s dismissal
- Very popular
- Seen to be one of the only working to solve the food crisis–>subsidised bread + enforced price controls
- compte rendu suggesting royal finances in surplus
- raising loans rather than taxes during AWoI
- The increasing presence of troops
- 2600 foreign speaking units
- 11 July–> 25,000 troops located in P-V area
- The Economic Crisis
- encouraged more widespread popular movement vs. intellectual movement
- Parisian worker could be spending 88 percent of wages on bread
- Bad harvest–> unemployment
Who was involved in the storming of the bastille?
- Sans-culottes
- some gardes-francaise
Describe the formation of The National Guard
- Bourgeoisie afraid of the breakdown of l + o
- fear of property being threatened
- 10 July 1789
- Citizens’ militia
- 2 defend the interests of property owners
- Defending Paris from Royal Troops
- Predominantly Bourgeoise
- After SoB and formation of Paris Comm.(King lost control)–>became known as The National Guard
What were the priorities of the national constituent assembly?
-Draw up a constitution
What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man?
-Stated that Frenchmen were citizens not subjects bound to the king
What was the Great Fear?
-increase in peasant unrest in the wake of rumours that the nobles were gonna block reform and attack them
What did the Great Fear result in?
- looting of chateux
- destroyed feudal documents (terriers)
Why did the Great Fear spread?
- bad harvests
- the failed calling of the National Assembly
- The Storming of The Bastille
When was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen passed?
-4 August 1789
-What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Of The Citizen?
- civil rights document
- All are free and equal
- Limited government
- Personal ’inalienable rights’
Describe What Happened During The Woman’s March?
- led by fish-wives of Paris
- protesting the Price of Bread
- Marquis de La Fayette followed the crowds to Versailles
- Bloodshed
- Palace invaded
- King forced to move to Paris
What were the points of the Declaration of the Rights of Man
-Men are born and remain equal
-Sovereignty to the people
-Freedom of worship
-Freedom of expression
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What were the August Decrees?
-Abolished the feudal system
Describe the Civil Constitution of The Clergy
-established the new position of the Catholic church within France
What did the CCC do?
- Made being a bishop/priest an office which was elected
- Made the clergy paid employees of the government
- Reduced the number of bishops and archbishops
Impact of the CCC?
-created more dissent
Describe the draft of the 1791 Constitution
- Constitutional monarchy
- subjugated by the law
- sovereignty lay in the people
- King of the French instead of King of France
- people>inherent part of country
- But had significant powers:
- Suspensive veto
- Appoint ministers and military generals
Explain why the revolutionaries began to split
Describe the Flight to Varennes
- June 1791
- Louis declared he could not rule under the new changes (not publicly)
- Failed attempt of the royal family to flee
Why did Louis want to flee
- Lack of faith in the constitution
- Own personal beliefs
- Urgings from his wife (Marie Antoinette)
What was the Flight to Varennes’ impact on Louis XVI (specifically to him)?
- lack of trust
- -> people openly talked about replacing him
- Led to his execution
What was The Flight to Varennes impact on the revolution?
- Exposed how the 1791 constitution was not workable (discredited it)
- Encouraged the idea of republic
- More radical groups took the lead (i.e the cordeliers)
- Split of the Jacobins- feuillant (don’t want the king deposed)
- National assembly faced with a new challenge- whether to depose or not- could lead to civil war + war in Europe over the king
- Jacobins were persuaded to join the Cordeliers
Describe the Champ de Mars massacre
- 17 July 1971
- 50,000 people
- Went to send a republican declaration
- The Paris commune declared martial law.
- The NG-under Lafayette- fired on the crowd
- 50 killed
Describe the Declaration of Pillnitz
-Rulers of Austria + Prussia issue joint decl. of supp. for Louis
- Stated that:
- hoped to restore the powers of french monarchy
-situation in France is a problem for all European monarchies
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Describe the Legislative Assembly
- The gov. between the 1791 constitution and the overthrow of the monarchy
- Controlled by the feuillants (wanted constitutional monarchy)
Explain the clash with the king over refractory priests
- The King was deeply religious
- Refused to jeopardise his immortal soul(CCC condemned by pope)
- Vetoed decree on the expulsion of non-juring priests (19 June 1792)
Describe France’s Declaration of War
- 20 April 1792
- Only 7 deputies voted against it
Explain why war was declared
- Girondin/Brosottin push
- Underline the permanence of the rev.
- oppressed subjects of opp. army would support
- Lack of likelihood of foreign interv. (Russia busy with Poland, Britian would not join unless empire was threatened)
- Fear of counter-revolutionaries
- Austrian Commitee
- Generals wanting prestige
- Reinforce the monarchy
- tired of political instability
- Reinforce the monarchy
- Dismissal of Feuillant Ministers
- Declaration of Pillnitz
Why did Louis support war?
- hoping that Austrian victory would drive out the revolutionaries
- Pressure from the National Assembly
- Appease mistrust of the people
Describe the problems of The Legislative Assembly
- Actions of the king suggest that he would not accept policies he did not like
- e.g: flight to Varenne
- Suspicious about the King’s acceptance of the Revolution
- Fear of counter-revolutionary plots
- Less than 24% of active citizens voted
- Unhappiness of the Sans-Cullotes
- felt that they had not been rewarded for their role in The Storming of The Bastille
- Inflation on the rise
- Strikes begining in 1791 as the value of wages fell
- Grain prices rose by 50%
Describe France’s problems at the beginning of The War
- Half of its officers had emigrated
- Only 150,000 men
- Discipline + desertion problems
- Failed invasion of the Austrian Netherlands
- By May 1971- 3 senior commanders recommending peace talks
- Marie Antoinette sending war plans to Austria
When was war declared?
-20th April 1792
Describe the actions of the Sans-Culottes
- Invasion of The Tuileries
- 20th June
- 8000 demonstrators
- Organised by the Paris Sections (represented the SC)
- Called for Louis to remove veto + recall the Girondin ministers
- in the short term unsuccessful–> he did not do this
What was the impact of the Invasion of the Tuileries
- when “patrie en danger” was declared there was no wgreater pressure to appease the SC
- in order for them to fight–> they demanded the right to vote
- right 2 vote for passive citizens granted
- in order for them to fight–> they demanded the right to vote
Who were the Federes?
- revolutionary
- republican
- guard
What did the Federes demand?
-the removal of the king
How many federes were there (by 1792)
-5000 armed men
What did the Girondins want by July 1792?
- prevention of radicalisation of the revolution/uprising
- offered all their support IF
- he recalled their ministers
- Louis REFUSED
- he recalled their ministers
- offered all their support IF
Describe Robespierre’s speech?
- 29 July 1792
- Abandonment of current constitution
- The overthrow of the monarchy
- The establishment of a NA
- universal male suffrage
- a purge of departmental authorities (royalists)
Describe the Brunswick Manifesto
- from the commander of the AP armies
- Stated:
- 2 restore the liberty of Louis and his family
- the freeing of Louis + his family + their safety
- warned that if TP attacked + royal family harmed–>AP vengeanc
Describe the attack on the tuileries
- 10 August
- SC + federes marched on T
- Swiss mercenaries battled them
- Louis ordered them to stand down
- massacred
- Crowd declared a new “Paris Commune”
- Danton, Demouillez + Herbert leaders
- LA still ruling the country as a whole but Paris under SC control
- Danton, Demouillez + Herbert leaders
- National Convention established- new constitution 2 be formed
- Kind moved to prison under commune control
Describe French defeats/struggles at the beginning of the war
- Prussians captured Longwy
- by September–> Verdun (last major fortress on the road to P., was about to surrender)
- Paris under threat
- Defeat in Austrian Netherlands 1792-led to desertion
- Lafayette had defected on 17 August–> fear of treachery
Describe Prussia’s Defeat
- Battle of Valmy
- September 1792
- 52,000 french troops defeated 34,000 Prussians
- Prussian retreat
- Meant Louis no longer needed as hostage in case of invasion
Describe the September Massacres
- PC called for taking up of arms
- Feared counter-revolutionary prisoners
- Marat (Jacobin) -called for execution
- 14000 Prisoners murdered
- killed by SC
- Caused a gap between more moderate Girondin + Jacobin
- believed J. using SC to achieve their will
Evaluate the reasons that France became a republic
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Describe the decision to execute Louis XVI
- Jacobins/Montagnards wanted to hold trial–> feared royalist coup
- Convention established a commission to investigate the Armoire de Fer
- damning evidence of his correspondence with Austrian royal family
- Marat declared that the votes would indicate traitors
- overwhelming majority voted that L. was guilty
- Divided in terms of whether to execute him–> 387 say yes, 288 prefer imprisonment
