Politics of the National Convention

• On the right were the Girondins, on the left were a group known as the “Mountain,” and Jacobins. Each one of these groups held 150 seats

• In between these two groups there was the Plain, consisting of around 400 representatives. These voters could swing either way but usually ended up throwing their support to the Mountain.

• The first eight months of the National Convention (starting from September 1792) were the struggle between Girondins and the Mountain for control.

• The Mountain won this struggle by 1793. Jacobins and Mountain basically become synonymous with one another.

The Political SpectrumThe Political Spectrum

JacobinJacobinss

MontagnarMontagnardsds

(“The (“The Mountain”)Mountain”)

GirondistsGirondistsMonarchíeMonarchíe

nn(Royalists)(Royalists)

1790s:1790s:The PlainThe Plain

(swing (swing votes)votes)

TODAY:TODAY:

JacobinsJacobins Girondists

Girondists

The Politics of the The Politics of the National Convention (1792-1795)National Convention (1792-1795)

Desired republican government. Desired republican government. Wanted to kill the king.Wanted to kill the king.

Main support from the Main support from the sans-culottessans-culottes. Would adopt extreme . Would adopt extreme measures to achieve their goals. measures to achieve their goals.

Are not prepared to give political Are not prepared to give political rights to all classes. Very rights to all classes. Very middle middle classclass in their orientation. in their orientation.

Rise in popularity in 1792 due to Rise in popularity in 1792 due to Girondins weak rule in war against Girondins weak rule in war against Austria. Come to power when the Austria. Come to power when the Convention begins in Sept. 1792Convention begins in Sept. 1792

More likely to emphasize “equality”More likely to emphasize “equality”

Elimination of all political and civil Elimination of all political and civil distinctionsdistinctions

RadicalRadical

Desired constitutional Desired constitutional monarchy. Wanted to keep monarchy. Wanted to keep the monarchs. the monarchs.

Feared the influence of radical Feared the influence of radical elements like the elements like the sans-sans-culottesculottes..

Supported by Supported by progressive progressive noblesnobles and and conservative conservative middle classmiddle class. Want slow . Want slow change - not overnight. Fear change - not overnight. Fear the ignorant mob.the ignorant mob.

First group to come to power. First group to come to power. Discredited by France’s poor Discredited by France’s poor showing in the war with showing in the war with Austria.Austria.

Emphasized “liberty”- Emphasized “liberty”- exemption of trade and exemption of trade and industry form regulation from industry form regulation from statestate

ModerateModerate

Rise of Jacobins and Fall of the King• Jacobins gained more power because the Girondins were too

willing to compromise. An prime example is the trial of the King.

• The King and his family were prisoners awaiting trial and the Girondins were merciful, some wanted to send him into exile and other wanted there to be a referendum to determine his fate.

• The Mountain felt that he was a traitor and should be punished accordingly--- death.

• In December 1792 (Year I) the National Convention decided to try King Louis for treason. He was renamed “Louis Capet,” (surname is a reference to Hugh Capet, first King of France).

• In January 1793 the member of the Convention were asked publicly to determine the fate of Louis. The Mountain demanded death and won enough support from the Plain to let this happen. Even some Girondins at the last minute decided to agree on this. The vote to execute him was 387 to 334.

• On January 21st, 1793, Louis was led under tight security from the Temple where he was held prisoner to the “Place de la Revolution” where the guillotine had been placed.

• The execution marked a new beginning to the revolution. The Jacobins committed themselves to even greater radicalism.

• Girondins became the minority party and had less power in shaping the events in Paris.

• In June 1793, the Convention voted for the arrest of the Girondins on charges of counterrevolution. This paved the way for a year long dictatorship of the Mountain/Jacobins over the Convention.

• This is known as the “Terror.”

The Terror• During the Winter and Spring of 1793, France experienced

several international crises and Jacobin leaders were able to justify the extreme measures. The growing extreme attitudes of the revolutionary regime caused other European rulers to join anti-revolutionary alliances.

• After the execution of the King, Great Britain broke all diplomatic relations with France and France declared war on Britain and its ally Holland on February 1st, 1793.

• Shortly after Spain and the Italian states of Sardinia and Naples joined and cooperated with Austria, Prussia, Britain and Holland to form the “First Coalition.”

• Francoic Domouriez, who had been the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1792 entered treasonable negotiation with Austrian forces and planned to led troop on Paris to restore monarchy, he was forced to flee for the border. This sharpened the division between the Jacobins and Girondins, both who charged each other for cooperating with his plots.

• There was also an uprising in the region known as the Vendee. The government was trying to conscript more soldiers. The peasants in this area, loyal to the King and the Catholic Church refused to be drafted and revolted.

• The rebels established a Royal Catholic Grand Army.• In the late winter and spring of 1793, food for the army

had resulted in the depletion of stocks of grain and other food, causing riots in Paris in February. The government responded by creating more assignats and this resulted in their further depreciation.

• One radical group in Paris, known as the “enraged” (enrages), demanded government regulation of food prices and sibsidies for the poor, heavy tax on the wealthy.

• The Jacobins were receptive to these demands and the Girondins were not.

• In 1793, the Convention established a new body known as the “Committee of Public Safety.” It was dominated by the Jacobin leader Georges Jacque Danton.

• The Committee created the “Law of the Maximum”- limited grain prices.

• In early June, radicals petitioned to have the 29 Girondin deputies arrested for being too moderate. They were successful

• The dictatorship of the Mountain/Jacobins would remain the leading force of what was suppose to be the Convention until October 1795.

• The Convention still needed to revise the Constitution of 1791 and a new one was created by the Spring of 1793. however it was considered a “stillborn” Constitution because it was never put into effect.

• The Jacobins exploited the crisis in the summer of 1793 to state that electing a new assembly would be too disruptive at that time.

• The 1793 Constitution was quite revolutionary. It allowed for universal man suffrage without property qualifications for voter or assembly candidates. There was no more distinction between “active” and “passive” citizens.

• The dictatorship of the Jacobins was administrated by two councils : The Committee of Public Safety and the Committee of General Security.

• The Committee of Public Safety first consisted of 9 members, then later 12. The Committee of General Security was given control of the revolutionary police. Members of these committees were chosen from the Convention, they were suppose to collaborate with it, but instead became more or less independent.

• After the Fall of 1793, their membership became automatically renewed every month.

• None of these radical policies were ever challenged until the Terror ended.

• All 12 members of the Committee of Public Safety were educated and from the middle class (lawyers, army officers, protestant minister).

• Danton played a major role but was dismissed in 1793. The next most influential member of the committee became Maximelien Robespierre.

Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794)• 35 year old lawyer from

Northern France• Dubbed the “Incorruptible”

because he was unmarried, chaste and lived a self-disciplined life.

• He insisted on wearing breaches, a light blue coat, breeches and carefully powdered hair, while other men abandoned the culottes or knee breaches.

• Excersized strong influence over the Committee of Public Safety

• Famous phrase: The King must die for the Revolution to Live.”

Reaction to the Terror• During the summer and the fall of 1793, revolutionary

crowds played a large role in radicalizing the course of the revolution.

• In July, there was chaos in Paris when a Jacobin journalist, Jean-Paul Marat was stabbed and killed in his bathtub by a young aristocrat women--- Charlotte Corday.

• Also, in September the Port of Toulon surrendered in a battle with the English. A crows of sans-culottes marched to the Convention with a list of demands, including more controls of food prices.

• This forced Robespierre to revise the “Law of the Maximum,” establishing control on wages and maximum prices for many basic commodities.

• In September of 1793, the “Law of Suspects” was approved by the Convention. This stated that any enemy of the revolution would be accused of treason.

• Even if you were neutral, you could be accused of treason.

Marat: “Sacrifice 200,000 heads, and you will save 1,000,000

• The “levée en masse” was also established, called for the universal conscription of French men to defend the revolutionary republic.

• By spring, 1794 they had recovered that French had lost during the previous years.

• They re-captured Toulon in December 1793 (Napoleon Bonaparte was an officer who helped take it back).

• By the end of the Terror, the French occupied the Austrian Netherlands and the west bank of the Rhine. The nationalistic spirit of the army helped achieve this.

• The Law of the Maximum also helped establish fair prices for food and eventually the value of the assignat stabilized.

Revolutionary Tribunal of Paris• It was established in the spring of 1793 to deal with

enemies of the revolution.• It increased its activity in October of 1793 when there

seemed to be a great deal of traitors or disputers of the revolution.

• Marie Antoinette who became named the “Widow Capet,” was a victim of the guillotine.

• 2,639 death sentences in 15 months in Paris alone!!• Throughout France, 14 000 executions were carried out

and about 10 000 to 12 000 people dies in prison awaiting death sentences.

• 10 000 more executed after the defeat of counter-revolutionary revolts in the provinces.

• Interestingly enough, only 15% of those sentenced to death belonged to the nobility or clergy... The rest belonged to the third estate.

Challenges to the Committee of Public Safety

• By the beginning of 1794, they were challenged by two other groups. The “Dantonists,” followers of Jacques Danton, a leader in the early days of the revolution. Also, there was also a group on the left led by Jacques Hébert (1755-1794)... They wanted an intensification of the Terror, more economic controls and more attacks on the church.

• Robespierre dealt with the situation by playing one against the other with the two groups. When he appeared to have the situation under control, he concentrated on creating a utopian society which he called the “Republic of Virtue.”

• However, members of his own committee became scared after his double prosecution of the recent two parties.

• He confirmed these fears by speeding up the execution process and the months of June and July of 1794 were the bloodiest.

• Then on July 27th 1794 (9 Thermador in revolutionary calendar

The End of Robespierre• Then on July 27th 1794 (9

Thermador in revolutionary calendar) when Robespierre took the floor to give a speech to denounce some more enemies, he was hauled away.

• He was put in prison at the Hotel de Ville, he tried to shoot himself and shattered his lower jaw.

• The next day he was sent to the guillotine.

• This marked the “Themidorean Reaction”- Committee of Public Safety has its power taken away, Jacobin clubs closed and price controls removed.