The National Assemblies Actions Flashcards
Why did they reduce church
Attack on church power Bcos it was unessecary and even clergymen agreed with this like abbé Sieyès
Also church was rich and France needed money
Religious reforms of August 1789-1790 that were prosperous
ALL church property nationalised
Full citizenship granted to protestants in December 1789 but not Jews until mostly September 1791 altho a couple had been granted it in January
All religious orders dissolved unless they could prove they were contributing to community e.g. Providing for poor or sick
Date of the civil constitution of clergy
1790 12th July
What about church abolished
Pluralism
What happened on the 12th July 1790
The civil constitution of clergy
Civil constitution of clergy stipulated
Bishops and priests to be elected so that french citizens had control over their spiritual as well as political leaders
The civil constitution effectively made the church
Subservient to the state
But what was U democratic about the decision regarding civil constitution of clergy
Church wanted o have a National Synod but couldn’t as they said synods were abolished
Louis civil constitution
In December 1790
Forced to accept
Of 160 bishops, how many swore the oath
7/160
When pope shspended those who took the oath what did the assembly do
Declared all refractory priests counter-revolutionaries and their income was stopped and forbidden from using religious building and from May 1792 they cld be deported
What did the assmebly decide on in terms of constitution
A constitutional monarchy
October 1789 king renamed
Called ‘King of the French’ not king of France to show his power emanated from the people not divine right
Kings income reduced by how much
From approx 45 million livres to 25 million livres
How regular wld election be
One every two years
But who cld vote
Only active citizens ( males over 25 who paid direct taxes spoke french and had lived in one place for a year)
Who couldn’t vote
Passive citizens only received civil rights not a vote
Assembly geographical stufflocation
November 1789 83 départements created each with a commune as local government and it wld have a council of 36
This promoted decentralisation which wld prevent monarchical absolutism
What did Assembly start issueint to help economy and when
December 1789
Assistants
But did assignats really help
Excessive printing caused inflation and rather than solving problems it just staved them off
Despite Aug decrees what did deputies try to retain
Old taxes
Examples of taxes the National Assembly didn’t get rid of
The salt tax (Gabelle) wasn’t abolished till march 1790
Municipal tolls and Tabacco tax survived till 1791
What one off thing did the National Assembly order
Ordered a one off patriotic contribution of 25% of income paid over two years by all those whose income exceeded 400 livres
But this didn’t rlly help / make up for lost tax
What did the National Assembly plan to put into action in 1791
A land tax
Poll or property tax
Limited tax on commercial activity
But this didn’t rlly alleviate tax just made them different assessed
NA stuff that boosted entrepreneurial activity
Internal tariffs disappeared
Emergence of new land owning bourgeoise helped agriculture and new landowners sought ways of farming more profitably
Did tolls at city gates disappearing actually make a difference
No as there was no corresponding drop in the price of food in urban centres as merchants sought to maximise profits
No called master or mistress instead
Citoyen
Good societal changes
Individual rights and liberties were more protected in law than ever before. Public education no venality meant more chances
New court system = fairer
More religious toleration
But less societal change under NA
Divisions of gender, wealth and office rapidly replaced those based on birth
Active over passive
Workers forbidden from conducting strikes or even forming trade unions
Who did NA make winners
Bourgeoise
