Attempts to establish a constitutional monarchy notes

Church reforms

- The Church was one of the first victims of this change due to its association with the
ancien regime and the privileges that came from it to the first estate clergy –
attacked by the enlightenment, claiming that it did not serve the community in a
suitable way – Abbé Sieyès was one who spoke against the church, believing that the
church should focus on its spiritual function rather than secular.
- The reform was also attractive due to the declining financial position – the wealth of
the church offered an escape from the refusal of peasants to pay their faxes – the
August decrees allowed for this to occur.

Religious changes

- Abolition of Pluralism (the holding of more than one ecclesiastical office), abolition of
annates, the don gratuit was abolished, nationalisation of church property, full
citizenship granted to Protestants and the removal of all religious orders unless they
benefitted the community.
- These did not only just weaken its secular power, but also reduced the burden of
debt as it enabled the sale of monastic wealth and property and church land,
becoming a main reason in the way the new government were able to keep the
country afloat.

The Civil Constitution of the Clergy

- This decree allowed for the reorganisation of the administrative structure of the
church, with boundaries of dioceses redraw to comply with the administrative
divisions of the state – Clergymen were to become paid state officials with a new
salary structure, and bishops and priests were to be elected which gave control to
the population over their spiritual leaders.
- The constitution made the Church lower than the state – it ignored Papal authority in
France and the Pope, despite condemning the changes, was in no position to
completely protest and object as he was already in negotiations with the French
state over his control at Avignon – the higher clergy did not agree with the change as
well as more conservative clerics but the majority of the Assembly agreed and
denied a National Synod (Church meeting) to discuss it and thus Louis XVI was forced
to agree in 1790.

The oath and placement of the Civil constitution on France

- The general doubt of the church over the Civil Constitution led the Assembly to
decree that all the clergy should swear their loyalty and faith to the nation.
- Not swearing this oath meant the deprivation of salaries as it was a way of declaring
whether a cleric was in support of the revolution or not – only 7 out of 160 Bishops
were prepared to swear it and the pope sent a Papal Bull which discouraged the
swearing of the oath even more.
 - The Assembly responded by occupying Avignon, a previous papal territory and the
declaration that all refractory priests (those who did not sign the oath) were
counterrevolutionaries, stopping their income and forbidding their use of religious
buildings – furthermore, April 1792 saw the banning of religious dress to emphasise
the clergy being on the same level as normal citizens.

Impact of Church reforms

- Large number of the clergy fled abroad along with the nobles who had done so
previously in the revolution – Central areas of France accepted the Civil Constitution
but the conservative peasantry in the Catholic areas in France rejected it and saw it
as an attempt in change in religion from the Assembly – they were more fearful of
eternal damnation rather than committing to the revolution.
- The Civil Constitution was key in the destruction of national unity and led to counter-
revolution and civil war.

Political reforms

- Having broadly outlined their values for the next constitution, the government had to
decide what form of government would be the best in accordance with general will
at the time.
- A system of representative democracy was put in place, with an elected governing
body as the legislative, the king and royal ministers as the executive and the judiciary
independent – the Assembly was the only chamber of the governing body and had
the power to make laws, collect taxes and decide on issues of conflict.
- A decision was made so that the king had a suspensory veto to balance out power as
it was feared that absolute rule by the Assembly would be in the self-interest of the
deputies.
- The King retained the right to select the cabinet although they had not influence in
the Assembly – he was also named king of the French to reflect the fact that his
power came from the people of France, with him also retaining a private income,
reduced from that pre-revolution.
- Elections would be held once every two years, with active citizens (men over 25 who
spoke French and paid taxes) being able to vote and passive citizens (those who
received rights, not votes) being excluded from the voting system.

Administrative reforms

- Local government was drastically reformed, abolishing old provinces and dividing
France up equally to suit administrative purposes, creating 83 départements with
communes for each town in the district.
- Each département had its own council of 36, with a directorate of 8 who took
responsibility for the administration of the area – the areas had no links to central
government, reflecting the revolutionary idea of decentralisation to prevent
monarchical absolutism – local government was however controlled by the
propertied and educated bourgeoise.
Judicial reforms

- There was angst to reform the judicial system of the ancien regime – The Declaration
of the rights of Man did outline basic free and fair justice for all.
- Organisation – JPs were to hear minor civil cases, with district courts hearing more
severe civil cases.
- Each department had a court for criminal cases, and one high court of appeal.
- JPs were to be elected by active citizens for two-year periods – criminal judges were
to be elected for a fixed term and Jurors to be drawn by lot - judges would also be
paid salaries and not to rely on fees form those whom they served to eradicate
venality and maintain neutrality.
- Legal rights – every accused person was to be brought to a judge within 24 hours of
arrest, assisted by a lawyer with their property being unable to seize.
- The only capital punishment available was the guillotine due to its humanity and any
sentences were to be proportionate to the crime – it became one of the most
enlightened reforms of the revolution.

Economic and social change

- The newfound income from the church meant that restructuring the nation’s
finances could be put aside.
- Assignats were introduced as government bonds, which could be exchanged for
Church lands (biens nationaux) – they soon became used as paper money to pay of
debts by the Assembly, but their excessive printing caused inflation and only put
aside the financial problems France had.
- The August decrees had attempted to reform taxation, but certain deputies
attempted to keep the gabelle as well as the aides on drinks – the idea of the tax
liability of the peasants falling off was short-lived as the privileged classes were not
taxed like everyone else – in addition, the new reforms of fixed wages for judges and
the clergy put the finances under further strain.
- The deputies decided to restructure taxation with land tax, property tax and limited
tax on commercia activity, which proved difficult to assess but it was a fairer system
and allowed space for further reform.

Economic policies

- Having been freed from restrictions, trade and industry were boosted – international
tariffs disappeared, and corporate bodies were abolished in 1791.
- There was a devolution of power to local authorities and fiscal redistribution, which
provided a boost to bourgeois entrepreneurs – the emergence of the new land-
owning bourgeoisie helped agriculture as they sought new ways of farming with
more profit.
- The changes were not all beneficial as the rich benefitted, but the peasant sand
townsfolk lost out on the high prices as well as the lack of price drop for food.

Society
 - The new reforms also brought about social change and everyone in theory enjoyed
social equality as they were all referred to as ‘citoyennes’ (citizens).
- Individual rights were more protected, with the poor protected by state charities and
the lack of influence of the church reduced restrictions on individuals.
- Men still had more rights than women and employers than employees, with the
introduction of active and passive citizens suggesting societal divisions.
- The Bourgeoisie came out best with the reforms as they dominated the Assembly
with their interests and the removal of social barriers allowed their gain of land – In
effect, they became the backbone of the new France.

Reaction to Change

Political Clubs

- The noble faction met and produced a satirical pamphlet defending the monarchy,
becoming a royalist publication.
- Sieyès set up a society in favour of the constitutional monarchy whose membership
came from the wealthy moderates.
- The Jacobins were a left-wing club made up of deputies but expanded to 1000 by
1790 with bourgeoisie membership becoming more common – became more radical
in 1791, causing break-off from some members to form the moderate Feuillant club.
- The Cordeliers club claimed to protect citizens’ rights and keep a watch on the
activities of the Assembly – became home to radical democratic and republican ideas
but was also a left-wing club.
- Both clubs were influential due to their membership diversity but also because of the
new ideas emerging that provided a platform for propaganda and delivered views in
front of the Assembly in the form of petitions.
- The three dominant politician-journalists who would spread the revolutionary
propaganda were Desmoulins, Marat, and Hérbert.

The flight to Varennes

- The difficult position of the King and the questioning of his authority, as well as the
lack of support from the army and the challenged Divine right, meant that Louis
sought options to escape the control he had been put under as well as the increasing
revolutionary word.
- His contact with the émigré nobles, who wanted him to assert his authority, meant
that he felt fleeing was the best option – in his attempt he rejected his advisers’
choice of route, and the departure of the coach was delayed – he was spotted by an
old soldier who had been tipped off from Paris, advancing onto Varennes and
stopping the coach there.
- Louis was forced to return to Paris under the escort of the representatives of the
National Assembly and disgraced by the citizens upon return to Paris.
- The attempt reinforced the doubts about the king’s sincerity to the cause – Louis’
complaints about his restricted power showed his lack of coherence with the
revolution, deepening political and social divisions – Assembly deputies abstained
from voting to suspend the king’s power, but it was clear that in the radical press and
 clubs, calls for his abdication and trial were growing and demands for a republic
spread.

Demonstration at the Champ de Mars

- The Cordeliers Club and other extreme societies called for the signing of a petition to
establish a republic – the 6000 that appeared caused the National Assembly to send
Lafayette and the National Guards to disperse the mobs, but it had the reverse effect
as the guards were battered by stones, killing 50 of them.
- The Champs de Mars massacre completed the split that had opened up among those
of the third estate, as some were alarmed at the power of the mobs and took the
side of the moderates – there was forced closure of many patriotic clubs and
newspapers and extremist leaders diminished due to fears of the revolution
becoming extreme and potential Austrian invasion.

Origins and impact of war

- Louis’ flight to Varennes and its failure meant that the Austrians felt the need to
intervene and make a gesture of support for the monarch as the situation of the king
was common interest to all nations and they believed it’s powers should be restored
through force.
- This declaration by the Austrian Emperor added to the mistrust of the monarchy in
France but in addition the fears of the émigré nobles and their possible invasion –
The new legislative Assembly finally met in October 1791 where they decreed
perpetual banishment against the émigrés unless thy returned to France, and
demanding the refractory priests take the oath or they would be declared traitors.
- The Assembly was concerned that Prussia and Austria were supporting the émigrés
and stirring up counter-revolution within France and there was talk of war against
these states to defend the revolution.
- Brissot, a Parisian deputy argued in favour of war as they thought it would be an easy
victory – there was very little opposition to war in the Assembly as the far left were
outnumbered but Robespierre did argue against was as he wanted to establish the
revolution in France before defending it, but he made no impact.
- The Royal Family supported war but in hope of the fact that crown powers would be
restored by the invading forces – Austria were pressed for assurances of non-
intervention in French affairs, but they and Prussian made a formal alliance
promising 20000 men against France.
- The war itself went against Brissot’s prediction of an easy victory due to the distrust
between the French soldiers as they were separated by differing revolutionary views
– The French were rapidly retreating and the Assembly called for the deportation of
refractory priests due to their accused provocation of disturbance, as well as the
disbanding of the king’s guard and the setting up of a new volunteering force to add
to the National Guard
- Louis used his suspensory veto against all of these propositions and the government
was in disarray with differing views within the army as well as outside of it.