Results of the French Revolution
From Neha Madugala.
A period of radical social and political upheaval occurred in France from 1789 to 1799 drastically changing the government of France. For extravagant spending in war, the Third Estates aspiration for political equality, deregulation of the grain market, and France’s endless debt during the reign of Louis XIV, which continued up and beyond the French Revolution, the commoners of France started the catastrophic French Revolution which led to endless revolutionaries and ultimately a military dictatorship. After the French Revolution, France underwent three radical governments: first, France became a constitutional monarchy proposed by the National Assembly; secondly, France turned to a form of republic that was run entirely by the National Assembly; thirdly, France became a military dictatorship under the rule of Napoleon. Thus, for social, financial, political and economical reasons France underwent a series of changes that permanently changed the government of France.
Date 1789-1799
Location France
Participants Society of France
Causes of the French Revolution
The craze of involvement in the American Independence War and the extravagant spending from the rulers of France proved to be a great cause of the French Revolution. Louis XVI, king of France in 1774, refused to listen to his advisors and in time of famine and depression, increased taxes, putting the French citizens in a veil of poverty and anger. Through Ancien Regime, social institutions and money determined the estate and power you were given. France was divided into three estates: first being, the clergy who ran both the Catholic Church and some aspect of the country; the second estate, was the nobility of France who did not have to pay taxes; and the third estate, was the majority of people living in France (commoners) who were the ones hit the hardest by taxes. The third estate consisted mostly of people in poverty and Louis XVI only worsened this issue. At the beginning of his reign Louis attempted to make improvements to France in alignment with Enlightenment ideals. This included attempts in abolishing serfdom, the key distinguishing factor between serfs and slaves, and he increased taille taxes which was a direct tax on the peasantry. This led to the Great Fear which was an effect of the French government not being able to provide a uniform arrangement of taxes. Therefore, the Third Estate was robbed of their little money in an effort to provide for the tax money of their estate and the other two estates. For major problems in France, the king would hold an Estate General which was a meeting between the estates to vote on choices made among France. However, each estate was given one vote leading to an unfair advantage for the third estate in that the majority of the people of France got one vote. All these reasons led to the French Revolution, which marked the end of the Ancien Regime.
Transition to constitutional monarchy
The video presented below further explains the constitutional monarchy of France:
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France was previously under an absolute monarch, however after the radical changes presented through the French Revolution, the absolute monarchy in France was abolished. Louis XVI was forced to sign the Constitution of 1791 by the National Assembly, which marked the end of the French Revolution. This led France to develop from absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. The constitution abolished the Ancien Regime and stated that all men are created equal before the law. Although, Olympus de Gouges ironically pointed out that the French Revolution and the National Assembly’s failure towards gender equality, meaning that the revolution “will only take effect when all women become fully aware of their deplorable condition, and of the rights they have lost in society" eventually led to the Declaration of the Rights of Woman in 1791 directly based off of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen. Also, the constitution presented to King Louis XVI allowed himself to stay in power, however, he would now have to answer to the new legislation dubbed as the Legislative Assembly. Although, the new constitution was not a surprise because previously in 1789 the Third Estate made the Tennis Court Oath, which stated that they would not separate until a written constitution had been established in France. During the summer of 1791 while the constitution was being written, King Louis was considered by many the best hope for solving many of France’s problems. However, this brisk moment of relief was quickly shattered when bread prices in the capital remained sky high. In protest, a crowd of woman, aided by the National Guard, arrived at the royal palace in the middle of the night and effectively captured the royal family threatening them to return to Paris to ensure the King would do something about the bread prices. After the constitution was written, Louis XVI started to regret having a constitutional monarchy. This was for the Civil Constitution of the Clergy which made the clergy elective; those elected were required to take an oath of allegiance to the new, revolutionary government. This caused a schism among the French church and turned many devout Catholics against the Revolution. The King's entourage urged him to flee the country in an attempt to not compromise his absolute power. On the night of June 20, 1791 the royal family dressed as servants and fled for the border. However, Louis was recognized and arrested in the small town of Varennes and brought back to Paris. Louis claimed that it was indeed not an attempt to flee, but merely a demonstration to counter revolutionist that he had not become a prisoner of the National Assembly. The National Assembly accepted his weak apology fearing that punishing the King would further destabilize the country. Out of options, Louis accepted the new constitution officially making France a constitutional monarchy.
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The start of the Republic
Once the National Assembly gained control of France they attempted to build a new basis for French Society, which in many places church reform was extremely unpopular. Moreover, the uprising in France was intensified with the onset of war among other European countries. Emerging leaders from the new legislative group “Girondins” feared the army of emigres in Austria sitting just outside the border and therefore demanded that war should be declared on them before they would declare war on France. Girondists campaigned for an end in monarchy and often times encouraged foreign warfare in a means to unite the people behind the Revolution. Without waiting for the Austria to react to their plea of war, Girondins in France declared war themselves in April. However, as the news spread through France of the poor performance of the French Army in the first encounters against the better-supplied invaders the reputation of the Legislative Assembly and the King continued to drop. It seemed as if a counter revolution was starting to blossom while hostile powers of invaders threatened the weak and divided government. Realizing their fault, the Girondins attempted to escape the blame by blaming it in the monarchy claiming that they were subverting the Revolution from within. To add to the problems in France the new constitution became invalid dissolving the Legislative Assembly requiring a new constitution to be written. In September 1792, the National Convention was called to make a new constitution that would be a republic, have laws to effectively govern the country, and decide the fate of the King. Using letters to the king as evidence, a two month long trial was conducted against the crimes of King Louis. On September 21st, 1792 the National Assembly announced France to be a Republic abolishing monarchy. King Louis was stripped of his titles and honors and from that day on was known as Citoyen Louis Capet. Thus the monarchy of France came to an end in the name of “revolutionary justice.” The elimination of the king represented liberalism to its supporters and to its detractors pure stupidity and cruelty. Ten months later, the queen Marie Antoinette followed a similar route to death as King Louis XVI.
Napoleonic Empire
While fighting a war in Egypt, Napoleon stayed informed of European affairs through newspapers and any other sources of information available. As he learned that France was suffering from a series of defeats he immediately set sail for France without receiving any exact orders from Paris. He reached Paris in October and found that France’s situation had improved after a series of victories. During this time, the Republic was bankrupt and there was a popular disrupt of order of government among society. Napoleon was eagerly welcomed in France as a hero. In alliance with his brother and two directors, Napoleon overthrew the Directory on November 9, 1799 and closed down the council of five hundred. His power was confirmed by the new Constitution of the Year VIII, originally written by Sieyes a previous director to give Napoleon a minor role, but was rewritten by Napoleon and accepted by direct popular vote. The constitution was viewed as a republic, but under its facade, it was really the beginning of an established military dictatorship.
A Democrat, -or- Reason and Philosophy
The following is based on a political cartoon of Charles James Fox by James Gillray called “A Democrat, -or- Reason and Philosophy”.
The document “A Democrat, -or- Reason and Philosophy” is a published political cartoon that was drawn by English caricaturist and printmaker James Gillray published by his publisher Hannah Humphrey in London in 1793. The purpose of this document is to depict British Whig Charles James Fox, who from a young age had the least regard for morality and acquired extravagant and dissolute habits such as gambling. Almost 20 years later he abandoned these habits for a political life through being given a seat in Parliament, appointed a junior lord of the Admiralty, but soon gave up this job to oppose a bill that would prevent marriages among the royal family unless authorized by the King or ratified by the Privy Council, junior lord of the Treasury, however, the King, who already disliked him for recent opposition, accused of him of insubordination and dismissed him in February 1774. Through his friend Edmund Burke, he easily entered the Whig party and was accepted a leader in the House of Commons. He believed that the colonial policy of the prime minister Lord North was unjust and supported the American Revolution. Fox became the first foreign secretary in English history and immediately worked on recognizing independence for the colonies. When minister Rockingham died naturally the King would choose who would replace him, but Fox and his friends stated that they should be the one to choose which was completely unconstitutional. So as a result, Fox and some of his friends immediately resigned as an act of rebellion. Fox eagerly welcomed the start of the French Revolution in 1789 and was one of the weakest oppositions known in France with only about 50 to 60 people and was dismissed from the Privy Council in 1798 for reaffirming in a public speech the Doctrine of the Sovereignty of the People, ending his political life. With reference to the origin and purpose of the source, its value is that it reveals the divided loyalties within Britain over issues of liberty and constitutional order. As the Fox-North Coalition came into power, in spite of the Kings resistance. Fox strained his power and grew more radical by the minute, however, the unpopular coalition would not outlast a year. A horrific idea that Gillray conveyed that Fox’s radical attitude and ideas seemed as if he supported the Reign of Terror. An important limitation of this source is that Charles James Fox is viewed through a humorous lens. He is depicted as a satire, a common theme in Gillarys works to make a fool of one, rather than a political leader. Another limitation is that the author represents the whole French Revolution as the distasteful bizarre antics of a crude individual and this is seen when Gillray shows Fox farting, dancing, waving, smiling, and evidently drunk. Also, the color of his shirt, which is barely concealing his hairy legs and arse, represents the monarchy of France, his blue coat which is identified with Saint Martin, who cut his military coat in half to share with a beggar and the blood dripping from his sword and smeared on his hand that portrays Saint Denis who was said to have picked up his head after being decapitated and walked six miles preaching a sermon of repentance adds to the atrocious and droll idea conveyed by the drawing.
The document “A Democrat, -or- Reason and Philosophy” is a published political cartoon that was drawn by English caricaturist and printmaker James Gillray published by his publisher Hannah Humphrey in London in 1793. The purpose of this document is to depict British Whig Charles James Fox, who from a young age had the least regard for morality and acquired extravagant and dissolute habits such as gambling. Almost 20 years later he abandoned these habits for a political life through being given a seat in Parliament, appointed a junior lord of the Admiralty, but soon gave up this job to oppose a bill that would prevent marriages among the royal family unless authorized by the King or ratified by the Privy Council, junior lord of the Treasury, however, the King, who already disliked him for recent opposition, accused of him of insubordination and dismissed him in February 1774. Through his friend Edmund Burke, he easily entered the Whig party and was accepted a leader in the House of Commons. He believed that the colonial policy of the prime minister Lord North was unjust and supported the American Revolution. Fox became the first foreign secretary in English history and immediately worked on recognizing independence for the colonies. When minister Rockingham died naturally the King would choose who would replace him, but Fox and his friends stated that they should be the one to choose which was completely unconstitutional. So as a result, Fox and some of his friends immediately resigned as an act of rebellion. Fox eagerly welcomed the start of the French Revolution in 1789 and was one of the weakest oppositions known in France with only about 50 to 60 people and was dismissed from the Privy Council in 1798 for reaffirming in a public speech the Doctrine of the Sovereignty of the People, ending his political life. With reference to the origin and purpose of the source, its value is that it reveals the divided loyalties within Britain over issues of liberty and constitutional order. As the Fox-North Coalition came into power, in spite of the Kings resistance. Fox strained his power and grew more radical by the minute, however, the unpopular coalition would not outlast a year. A horrific idea that Gillray conveyed that Fox’s radical attitude and ideas seemed as if he supported the Reign of Terror. An important limitation of this source is that Charles James Fox is viewed through a humorous lens. He is depicted as a satire, a common theme in Gillarys works to make a fool of one, rather than a political leader. Another limitation is that the author represents the whole French Revolution as the distasteful bizarre antics of a crude individual and this is seen when Gillray shows Fox farting, dancing, waving, smiling, and evidently drunk. Also, the color of his shirt, which is barely concealing his hairy legs and arse, represents the monarchy of France, his blue coat which is identified with Saint Martin, who cut his military coat in half to share with a beggar and the blood dripping from his sword and smeared on his hand that portrays Saint Denis who was said to have picked up his head after being decapitated and walked six miles preaching a sermon of repentance adds to the atrocious and droll idea conveyed by the drawing.
Le Serment du Jeu de paume
The following is based of a painting by Jacques-Louis David and represents the Tennis Court Oath which was taken during the first few days of the French Revolution.
The document “Le Serment du Jeu de paume” which translates to “The Tennis Court Oath” is a published drawing by a Neoclassical painter, Jacques-Louis David in 1791. The purpose of this document is to depict the moment the oath was taken. The members of the Third Estate knew that any attempts at reform would be outvoted by the nobles and clergy so therefore they formed the National Assembly. However, when the Third Estate members were locked out of their norm chamber and found it guarded by soldiers they feared that the king was forcing them to disband and therefore they congregated into a nearby tennis court resulting in the name of the oath, The Tennis Court Oath. The drawing commemorates the moment when the Third Estate members swore "not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established". There they took an oath to not disband until a written constitution was assembled in France and this led to King Louis XVI to order the clergy and nobility to join the National Assembly. In the immediate center of the picture is French astronomer Jean-Sylvain Bailly who was chosen president of the Third Estate and led the famous proceedings in the tennis court on June 20, 1789.In the drawing, the thrust of bodies together toward the middle of the picture creates a triangular shape which represents unity. Also, children are shown peeking through the windows on top and they represent spectators of the oath. The only person who did not take oath was Joseph Martin-Dauch who would not carry out decisions not decided by the king. With reference to the origin and purpose of the source, its value is that it signifies the first time in French history that the French citizens formally stood up to King Louis XVI, and their refusal to back down led the king to make concessions. The Oath also inspired riots and a variety of revolutionary activity in the months afterward, calling for a written French constitution demonstrating the transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. The Tennis Court Oath also led to the Declaration of Human Rights and Man and the abolition of feudalism. Although in royalist and conservative circles the oath was seen as an indicator towards the National Assembly supporting anarchy. An important limitation of this source is that because it is a drawing, the event is viewed through the perspective of the artist, David. This means that David could have added his own bias to the painting reducing the factuality of the actual event. Another limitation is that David was not an immediate viewer of the scene and also that the drawing was made in 1791 when the oath was taken in 1789. This adds to the fact that the source is not an exact replica of what happened and is more of a symbol of the oath and the National Assembly before the revolution itself.
The document “Le Serment du Jeu de paume” which translates to “The Tennis Court Oath” is a published drawing by a Neoclassical painter, Jacques-Louis David in 1791. The purpose of this document is to depict the moment the oath was taken. The members of the Third Estate knew that any attempts at reform would be outvoted by the nobles and clergy so therefore they formed the National Assembly. However, when the Third Estate members were locked out of their norm chamber and found it guarded by soldiers they feared that the king was forcing them to disband and therefore they congregated into a nearby tennis court resulting in the name of the oath, The Tennis Court Oath. The drawing commemorates the moment when the Third Estate members swore "not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established". There they took an oath to not disband until a written constitution was assembled in France and this led to King Louis XVI to order the clergy and nobility to join the National Assembly. In the immediate center of the picture is French astronomer Jean-Sylvain Bailly who was chosen president of the Third Estate and led the famous proceedings in the tennis court on June 20, 1789.In the drawing, the thrust of bodies together toward the middle of the picture creates a triangular shape which represents unity. Also, children are shown peeking through the windows on top and they represent spectators of the oath. The only person who did not take oath was Joseph Martin-Dauch who would not carry out decisions not decided by the king. With reference to the origin and purpose of the source, its value is that it signifies the first time in French history that the French citizens formally stood up to King Louis XVI, and their refusal to back down led the king to make concessions. The Oath also inspired riots and a variety of revolutionary activity in the months afterward, calling for a written French constitution demonstrating the transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. The Tennis Court Oath also led to the Declaration of Human Rights and Man and the abolition of feudalism. Although in royalist and conservative circles the oath was seen as an indicator towards the National Assembly supporting anarchy. An important limitation of this source is that because it is a drawing, the event is viewed through the perspective of the artist, David. This means that David could have added his own bias to the painting reducing the factuality of the actual event. Another limitation is that David was not an immediate viewer of the scene and also that the drawing was made in 1791 when the oath was taken in 1789. This adds to the fact that the source is not an exact replica of what happened and is more of a symbol of the oath and the National Assembly before the revolution itself.
Below is a slideshow with other pieces by Jacques-Louis David.
In conclusion, the ideas presented through the French Revolution inspired the ideas of the series of government that followed the revolution and also groups of revolutionists. Through social upheaval and economic and political disasters, France underwent three radical governments: first, King Louis XVI was forced to accept the constitution from the National Assembly, putting France under a constitutional monarchy; second, once the National Assembly gained complete control of France, the radical revolutionists declared France a Republic; third, Napoleon swooped in to France when everything was falling apart and under his constitution put France under a military dictatorship. It seems as if France took five steps toward a Republic however, in the end took ten steps away from it.
References
Primary Sources:
"Close Look: Jacques-Louis David, "The Tennis Court Oath" (1791)." Penn Art History 102. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://penn-arth102.tumblr.com/post/49065929884/close-look-jacques-louis-david-the-tennis-court>.
"Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 26 August 1789." Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 26 August 1789. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/295/>.
"Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791." Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://csivc.csi.cuny.edu/americanstudies/files/lavender/decwom2.html>.
The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/great-works-a-democrat-or-ca-ira-james-gillray-1793-2009625.html>.
Secondary Sources:
Aspinall, Arthur C.V.D. "The Fox-North Coalition (1783)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 22 Nov. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/215350/Charles-James-Fox/2402/The-Fox-North-coalition-1783>.
"Causes of the French Revolution." Causes of the French Revolution. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. <https://classes.lt.unt.edu/Fall_2012/CECS_5110_050/jls0740/Image and Text.html#spending>.
"Charles James Fox." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Nov. 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_James_Fox>.
"Girondist." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 May 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girondist>.
"Jacques-Louis David." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Louis_David>.
"Liberty Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution." Chapter 6 Page 1. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap6a.html>.
"Louis XVI of France." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVI_of_France>.
"Napoleon." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Oct. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon>.
"Tennis Court Oath." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_Court_Oath>.
"Tennis Court Oath (French History)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/587409/Tennis-Court-Oath>.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "French Revolution (1787-99)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/219315/French-Revolution>.
Primary Sources:
"Close Look: Jacques-Louis David, "The Tennis Court Oath" (1791)." Penn Art History 102. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://penn-arth102.tumblr.com/post/49065929884/close-look-jacques-louis-david-the-tennis-court>.
"Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 26 August 1789." Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, 26 August 1789. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/295/>.
"Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791." Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://csivc.csi.cuny.edu/americanstudies/files/lavender/decwom2.html>.
The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/great-works-a-democrat-or-ca-ira-james-gillray-1793-2009625.html>.
Secondary Sources:
Aspinall, Arthur C.V.D. "The Fox-North Coalition (1783)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 22 Nov. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/215350/Charles-James-Fox/2402/The-Fox-North-coalition-1783>.
"Causes of the French Revolution." Causes of the French Revolution. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. <https://classes.lt.unt.edu/Fall_2012/CECS_5110_050/jls0740/Image and Text.html#spending>.
"Charles James Fox." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Nov. 2014. Web. 22 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_James_Fox>.
"Girondist." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 May 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girondist>.
"Jacques-Louis David." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Louis_David>.
"Liberty Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution." Chapter 6 Page 1. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/chap6a.html>.
"Louis XVI of France." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XVI_of_France>.
"Napoleon." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Oct. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon>.
"Tennis Court Oath." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_Court_Oath>.
"Tennis Court Oath (French History)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/587409/Tennis-Court-Oath>.
The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "French Revolution (1787-99)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 02 Nov. 2014. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/219315/French-Revolution>.