'Although the French Revolution proclaimed universal rights,

it is clear that the intended beneficiaries were already-

wealthy white men.' Discuss.

The French Revolution certainly began with the

Enlightenment ideals of equality, democracy and the rule of
law at its forefront, ideals which, if implemented, would
have resulted in the creation of a France in which all
citizens felt the benefit of the revolution. Despite this, these
ideals quickly became second to violence and terror as
France descended into chaos and tyranny. Thanks to the
actions of certain key figures, namely Jean-Paul Marat and
Robespierre, France was no longer an environment in which
the revolution’s intended significant social change could
take place. The intended beneficiaries of the revolution
were all people of France, not just already wealthy-white
men; however, due to the level of terror in revolutionary
France, such a radical social change was not possible. This
therefore meant that, for the vast majority of France, their
daily lives did not see any significant change. However, it
cannot be said that the intended beneficiaries of the
revolution extended to France’s colonies, given the
contradiction of France’s elite when applying their <<
Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen >> to the
practise of slavery in Saint Domingue (Moitier and Jefferson,
1789).

While France’s intellectuals may have strived for civil

political discourse, the revolution was quickly taken over by
‘mob mentality’ as violence spread among the masses. This
violence meant that France was in no state to make long-
term social changes. From the very beginning of the
Revolution, with the storming of the Bastille in July 1789
and the subsequent murder of Bernard Réné Jordan de
Launay, violence was at the forefront (The Britannica, n.d).
This established the tone for a violent and bloody revolution.
The ‘mob mentality’ meant that many were afraid to step out
of line. As news of the Bastille spread to rural France, a
rumour began to spread that there was a plot to starve the
people known as << La Grande Peur >> (Merriman, 1996,
p.481). This led to further outbursts of violence among the
peasants and townspeople (Merriman, 1996, p.481). This
demonstrates the ‘snowballing effect’ that the violence in
the revolution experienced. We can clearly see the rapid
descent into total chaos. This evidence, as a whole,
highlights how violence quickly took control in the
revolution. This meant that France was unable to address
the pressing social issue of inequality she originally set out
to fix. Consequently, the beneficiaries of the revolution were
only already-wealthy white men.

Many attribute this widespread acceptance of violence in

revolutionary France with the writings of Jean-Paul Marat,
who advocated for the radical and violent overthrow of the
monarchy. Marat’s newspaper, << L’Ami du Peuple >>, did
advocate for the rights of the lower classes, however his
fiery language often ignited violence (Darnton and Roche,
1989, p.162). He directed criticism to moderate
revolutionaries whom he deemed to be ‘anti-revolution’ such
as the marquis de Lafayette, the comte de Mirabeau and
Jean Sylvain Bailly (The Britannica, n.d). When France was
threatened by invasion by foreign powers, Marat stated that,
if freed, the imprisoned aristocrats would take revenge on
the people (Biggs, 2021). This triggered the September
Massacres of 1792, in which over a thousand prisoners were
massacred in the space of four days (Biggs, 2021). These
points demonstrate how, thanks to the actions of Marat, the
original Enlightenment ideals became second to violence
and terror. This subsequently meant that the bracket for the
beneficiaries of the revolution shrank to only include
already-wealthy white men.

Upon rising to power, Robespierre and the Jacobins ended

any hope for significant social change for those of all
classes in France by enacting their Reign of Terror. During
this period, fear and terror took full priority over democracy
and equality, meaning little social change was able to take
place. Robespierre and the Jacobins established both the
Committee of Public Safety and the Revolutionary Tribunal
in 1794 (The Britannica, n.d). They believed that there were
many hidden enemies of the revolution among the people
and, with these two new organisations, they began their
Reign of Terror (The Britannica, n.d). It is estimated that in
this period, 17,000 were executed and 10,000 died in prison
without trial (The Britannica, n.d). While the Jacobins were
the strongest advocates for the radical ideals of the
revolution, it was their Reign of Terror that was significant
in ending all political discourse. The ideals of equality and
democracy were overshadowed by fear and terror. This
meant that many of the intended beneficiaries (that being all
of France) saw no significant change in their daily lives. As
Carter (1940, p.79) points out, a clear distinction has been
made by French historians between the ‘principles of 1789’
and the ‘principles of 1794’. This evidence and analysis
clearly show how Robespierre and the Jacobins were
detrimental to the original aims of the revolution. The
immense level of violence meant that the principles first
established by France’s intellectuals in the eve of the
revolution were completely disregarded in favour of
violence, chaos and ‘revolutionary justice’. Consequently,
the beneficiaries of the revolution became a narrow group of
society, that being already-wealthy white men.

It cannot be said that the intended beneficiaries of the

revolution extended to all peoples of the French Empire,
since the slaves in Saint-Domingue were not granted their
freedom until they took it themselves (The Britannica, n.d).
Article One of << La Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du
citoyen >> (Du Motier and Jefferson, 1789) states that <<
Les hommes naissent et demeurent libres et égaux en droits
>>. This principle of freedom goes against the practise of
slavery and would lead one to expect that the newly formed
<< Assemblée Nationale >> abolished slavery (or at least
declared to do so, showing intent to formally end the
practise of slavery once France stabilised). However, this
was not the case. Instead, inspired by the events in the
mainland, slaves in Saint-Domingue revolted (The Britannica,
n.d). In 1791, they overthrew the French regime and the
white landowners to found their own independent country
(The Britannica, n.d). This led France to formally abolish
slavery in 1794, five years after the publishing of << La
Déclaration >> (The Britannica, n.d). This evidence clearly
demonstrates how, when discussing the intended
beneficiaries of the French Revolution, the slaves of Saint-
Domingue were not a part of this group. We can therefore
see that the intended beneficiaries of the revolution only
stretched as far as mainland France, and did not extend to
her colonies.

To conclude, the intended beneficiaries of the French

Revolution were not solely already-wealthy white men.
France’s elite did intend to create a better country for all of
mainland France. However, the enlightenment principles
that had first guided the revolution were quickly undermined
by violence, terror and a desire for ‘revolutionary justice’.
This level of instability in France meant that little
meaningful change could take place and thus, few saw the
benefits of the revolution. However, the government’s
inactivity in the face of slavery in Saint-Domingue, which is
in direct violation of the principle of freedom in << La
Déclaration >> (Du Moitier and Jefferson, 1789). Even a
formal declaration against slavery, considering the
instability in France, would have been evidence against this
argument; however, a complete lack of ambition to address
the issue of slavery until the slave revolt of 1791 highlights
their lack of desire to abolish its practise. This therefore
leads to the conclusion that the intended beneficiaries of
the French Revolution were the whole people of France, but
not the slaves of Saint-Domingue.

Word Count: 1250

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