Bonne Fête Nationale!

Short Paper of the French Revolution,

by Michael H. Stenger, Ed. M.

The French Revolution was a period of history that dramatically changed France. Economic strife and social conflict were the root causes that led to the fall of the French monarchy and the development of several revolutionary governments that struggled to gain control of France. France was divided into three social groups, the 1st Estate (the clergy), the 2nd Estate (the nobles), and the 3rd Estate (the working class, or peasant class),[1] and this period witnessed successes in the creation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789), the French Constitution (1791), and French military victories of the Wars of the First Coalition (1792 – 1797) and the Second Coalition (1799 – 1802). During this period, they also witnessed conflicts and civil unrest, such as The Terror, radical government factions, overwhelming death by guillotine, and the execution of a king. Many groups struggled to control what they felt was needed in the revolution. The Age of Enlightenment saw thinkers like Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Baron de Montesquieu present new views on individual rights, liberty and thought. There was economic unrest in France after the Seven Years’ War, where France had lost many of its claims in America to Britain. The Treaty of Paris (1763) concluded with France making “no European gains and lost Canada and most of her establishments in India.”[2] France was virtually bankrupt. 

Louis Capet, the grandson of King Louis XV, became King Louis XVI in May 1774. He was an unready King who inherited a bankrupt country. France was in economic peril, and the young King saw an opportunity for revenge against the British. American colonists declared independence from Great Britain, so Louis XVI went to war to protect the United States and gain commercial rewards.[3] As peace was reached in 1783, again, France saw no territorial gains and was still in economic chaos. With a decline in tax revenues and repayment of war loans coming due, France incurred a financial crisis.[4] As the financial situation in France collapsed, he was encouraged to convene the Estates-General (a council of representatives from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Estates) would meet on May 5, 1789, for the first time in 175 years, to discuss the financial crisis.[5]

Austrian princess Marie Antoinette married Louis Capet in 1770. She lived a lavish lifestyle and was villainized by the people. As the economic situation in France declined, the 3rd Estate detested the court at Versailles, and Marie Antoinette “was regarded as frivolous, petty, unthinking, capricious, intriguing, and outrageously wasteful.”[6] The peasant class of France was starving at the expense of the nobles. Leading up to 1788, natural disasters devastated the harvest, and bread prices started to increase drastically.[7] Violence erupted, resulting in the murder of citizens suspected of hoarding flour. Much of this violence was directed at the Queen.

Jacques Necker, a Swiss banker, became the minister of finances for France in 1788. As he proposed economic reforms, he suggested that the King call for a meeting of the Estates-General. Although some reforms seemed possible, there was a stalemate between that deputies, resulting in the 3rd Estate creating their sovereign power. The seeds of the French Revolution were created. On May 17th, the National Assembly was formed, and when they were locked out of their meeting space, they convened at a local tennis court on June 20th.[8] The mood of the members of the National Assembly became one of hatred, frustration, and bitterness. They were becoming radicalized. “The Oath of the Tennis Court…the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen…the regelation of the King to the position of a first magistrate, the expropriation of the church…were a series of…irrevocable commitments.”[9] With the King unwilling to meet the demands of the Assembly, Necker resigned. This was the beginning of the French Revolution.

Troops were moved around Versailles and the Ile de France, causing concern in the Assembly. Hostility increased in Paris when the people learned that Necker was dismissed on July 12th. Fearing troops stationed around Paris would attack, the starving people began “ransacking strong points in the city for arms, powder, and flour.[10] The Bastille in Paris was a state prison and stronghold in the city. On July 14th, the rioters stormed the Bastille and brutally killed its commander. The National Assembly was still in control of France. 

The Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen was written on August 26th, promoting a constitutional monarchy and limiting the powers of the King while promoting individual freedoms.[11] However, the people were still starving and perceived the monarchy as having too much food. On October 5th, thousands of women, angry and starving, marched from Paris to Versailles and stormed the palace threatening the life of the Queen. After a violent clash with the National Guard, the thousands of women won, and the King reluctantly returned to Paris with his family the following day. The Assembly grew increasingly concerned with the conflict between Revolution and Counterrevolution that “another step is taken toward [the] concentration of sovereignty in the Assembly in Paris.”[12]  

Maximilien Robespierre and Georges Danton were lawyers who became representatives of the 3rd Estate at the Estates-General. They were instrumental in the creation of the National Assembly. Danton was a charismatic idealist who inspired the people to defend Paris from foreign invasion in 1792.[13] Robespierre was a frequent orator who supported the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen and fought for the poor. As the fervor for revolution increased across France, Robespierre became more polarized in his vision of the Revolution. Robespierre became a Jacobin fueling the animosity among various revolutionary groups.

The King, who attempted to flee France in 1791, was now seen as an enemy of the state. Radicals protested that the King remained in power even though he had no authority. Violence again erupted between conservatives and radicals, and after the massacre at Champs de Mars, radicals gained more power in the Assembly. The new Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria in 1792. Radicals stormed the royal palace, and the King fled for the safety of the Assembly. The King was arrested, and the monarchy was suspended. 1792 saw an increase in violence when a radical group, the sans-culottes, rounded up their enemies and sent them to prison. In September 1792, the prisons were raided, and prisoners, including some clergy, were massacred. Doyle writes, “In the confusion of the next five years, with the ever more horrific news of destruction, outrage, and massacre, bewildered onlookers cast about explanations for such a boundless upheaval.”[14]  In December 1792, citizen Louis Capet was tried for crimes against the state. Although he proclaimed his innocence, he was quickly found guilty. Citizen Louis Cadet was executed by guillotine on January 21, 1793.[15] 

Journalist Jean-Paul Marat wrote The People’s Friend promoted a violent uprising against the upper class, spreading fear throughout France. As his popularity rose, violent rhetoric encouraged groups to become more radical. Marat was instrumental in creating a message of fear across France. France became fragmented between radicals, conservatives, Catholics, and former monarchists. Marat’s messages of intolerance increased. In the summer of 1793, Marat was assassinated by Charlotte Corday, who thought the violence would end and peace would return to France.[16] She was wrong and executed, and Marat became a martyr for the Revolution.[17]

Civil War erupted in parts of France. The Verdee rebellion found the rebels organizing themselves into the “’ Catholic and Royal Army” to support their dead king.[18] Another political group, the Girondins, called for the end of the bloodshed. At odds with the sans-culottes, they were soon expelled from the convention and arrested. Robespierre soon joined the Committee of Public Safety, and the violence again increased. Enemies were seen everywhere, and once denounced, the condemned were sent to the guillotine. In September, the sans-culottes continued acts of terror throughout Paris. Executions increased; Marie Antoinette was unceremoniously guillotined on October 16th, and the imprisoned Girondins were executed on October 31st.[19] The terror in France continued to get worse as Robespierre sent his friend Danton to the guillotine, then the Hebertists and the Dantonists were executed in the spring of 1794.[20] Robespierre, who stood firmly for republicanism, began to act strangely, leading to the beginning of the end of the revolution. By June, Robespierre was elected president of the Convention, creating the Festival of the Supreme Being.[21]  Robespierre was letting the terror get out of control. The Law of 22 Prairial allowed a more significant increase in The Terror in the summer of 1794, resulting in more executions. Soon Robespierre was alienating and threatening the members of the Convention. Soon Robespierre found himself a victim of his terror and was executed.[22]

The most important person in France emerging from the revolution was Napoleon Bonaparte. During the revolution, France was at war with Europe. Napoleon, a soldier from Corsica, rose from obscurity to the First Consul throughout the events of the French Revolution. He was responsible for liberating Toulon from the British in December 1793.[23] Napoleon gained fame from his exploits against the British. Promoted to General, Napoleon reacted to a Catholic uprising in Paris, where he repelled the insurrection with cannon fire. Napoleon’s reputation grew. As the war against Europe intensified, France invaded Vienna, attacking the Austrians. Two armies invaded the north, while Napoleon was to attack through northern Italy. As the army failed in the north, Napoleon was successful in the south, resulting in an overwhelming military victory.[24]  Then Napoleon dictated terms with the Austrian government and brokered a peace where Austria left the war. Again, Napoleon was a national hero. After traveling to Egypt in 1798, Napoleon again returned to Paris as a famous national hero. Napoleon, the hero of France, was approached by Emmanuel Sieyes, a politician who seemed to keep his distance throughout the terror. Understanding that Napoleon was popular among the people and knowing that the government was unpopular in the wake of Robespierre, he encouraged Bonaparte to support a diplomatic coup of the Convention.   Napoleon helped Sieyes end the legislative council and create a new ‘authoritative constitution’ giving Bonaparte limitless powers.[25] Napoleon maneuvered himself into the position of First Consul. Napoleon pursued peace with the Catholic Church and declared that the revolution was over. In 1804 Napoleon crowned himself Emperor.

France entered a period of chaos as famine, and the economy collapsed in the late 1700s. King Louis and his Queen, Marie Antionette, were viewed as responsible for the collapse. The King understood the financial crisis and, hoping to resolve it called for the Estates-General. The 3rd Estate realized they were marginalized and created their government, the National Assembly. As National Assembly declared its sovereignty, the monarchy resolved to take control. This was defeated as the starving masses stormed Paris and demanded control. After the Bastille, the Government continued to polarize. As factions grew more radical, increased fear and terror gripped the nation. Revolution and counterrevolution antagonized each other, and there was increased terror as opposing groups massacred each other, most falling victim to the guillotine. Robespierre emerged as a central figure in the revolution and soon was responsible for the deaths of thousands, including the King and the Queen. As Robespierre alienated himself, a military general, Napoleon Bonaparte, emerged as the leader in the turmoil. Robespierre, the voice of the revolution, soon became a guillotine victim. Napoleon found himself a famous hero in France. As a new government emerged after the terror of Robespierre, they were ineffective in bringing peace to France. With the help of the representative Sieyes, Napoleon created a government under the control of a group of Consuls. Napoleon became the First Consul granting himself limitless power. In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France. France had suffered through a revolution that resulted in thousands of deaths. The French Republic survived as its leaders were executed mainly by their inventions. Napoleon emerged as the “leader” of France after years of turmoil and terror throughout Paris and more excellent France.

Bibliography

Doyle, William. 2001. The French Revolution, A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Palmer, R. R. 2014. The Age of Democratic Revolution, A Political History of Europe and America, 1760 – 1820, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

[1] R. R. Palmer, The Age of Democratic Revolution, A Political History of Europe and America, 1760 – 1820, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014), 24.

[2] William Doyle, The French Revolution, A Very Short Introduction, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), Adobe Digital Edition PDF.

[3] Doyle, 20.

[4] Doyle 21.

[5] Doyle, 36.

[6] Palmer, 339.

[7] Doyle, 30.

[8] Doyle, 40.

[9] Palmer, 332.

[10] Doyle, 42.

[11] Doyle, 45.

[12] Palmer, 370.

[13] Doyle, 6.

[14] Doyle, 89.

[15] Doyle, 53.

[16] Doyle, 54.

[17] Palmer, 456.

[18] Doyle, 54.

[19] Doyle, 111.

[20] Palmer, 470.

[21] Palmer, 470. 

[22] Palmer, 470.

[23] Doyle , 56.

[24] Doyle, 63.

[25] Doyle, 63.le