French Revolution: Legislative Assembly 1791-92 | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

The Legislative Assembly (1791-92)

• Self-Denying Ordinance: The Constituent Assembly, upon its dissolution, had implemented a self-denying ordinance that barred its own members from participating in the upcoming Legislative Assembly. This decision meant that the experience gained over the past two years was disregarded, and the new constitution was placed in the hands of individuals quite different from those who had created it. This was a significant risk, especially considering that many of the new members were influenced by the extreme views of the republicans. These radical ideas were disseminated by various political clubs that emerged during this period.
• The most prominent of these clubs were the Jacobin Club and the Cordelier Club. While these clubs had originated early in the Revolution, it was under the Legislative Assembly and its successor that their influence became pronounced.

The Jacobin Club:

• Initially, the Jacobin Club was moderate, providing a venue for constitutionalists and educated individuals.
• However, as the Revolution progressed, the club became increasingly radical.
• Conservative members like Lafayette and Mirabeau were eventually ousted.
• This shift allowed radical democrats like Robespierre to rise to prominence within the club.
• Robespierre effectively used the Jacobin Club to unify radical sentiment across the country.
• The club established numerous daughter societies throughout France, enhancing its organizational power and capacity for coordinated action.
• Over time, the Jacobin Club became a formidable rival to the Legislative Assembly due to its immense influence.

The Cordelier Club:

• Unlike the Jacobin Club, the Cordelier Club, under Danton's leadership, was radical from the outset.
• It drew its members primarily from the lower strata of society, making it a stronghold of republicanism.

Influence of the Clubs:

• These clubs played a crucial role in debating contemporary political issues and were powerful tools for shaping public opinion.
• They supported the Legislative Assembly as long as its actions aligned with their interests.
• However, they were also assertive enough to attempt to dominate the Assembly when necessary.

Parties in the Assembly

• Constitutionalists: The members of the Legislative Assembly started to organize themselves into different parties. The Constitutionalists, known as the Feuillants, supported the newly established constitution of 1791. They aimed to maintain the monarchy but with restrictions on the king's powers.
• Girondists: The republicans were not a united group and were divided into two main factions. The Girondists, named after the district of Gironde where many of their leaders came from, were moderate republicans. They were a group of passionate young men genuinely eager to establish a republic in France, but their approach was often impractical. They had a theoretical perspective on the world, emphasizing the importance of legal procedures and processes. While they believed in the principles of revolution, they were averse to frequent reliance on force.
• The Jacobins (the Mountain): The Jacobins, referred to as the Mountain due to the elevated seats they occupied, represented the more radical faction of the democratic party. They deemed any means—whether fair or foul, legal or illegal—as acceptable as long as it contributed to the safety of the republic. Initially, the Girondists held the majority in the Legislative Assembly. However, the Jacobins were rapidly gaining influence outside the Assembly, largely through the activities of the Jacobin Club.

Due to the inexperience of its members and the intense factionalism, the Legislative Assembly was set on a tumultuous path, ultimately witnessing the irreversible downfall of the monarchy.

Measures of the Legislative Assembly

Decree Against Non-Juring Clergy:

• The Legislative Assembly enacted a decree mandating all priests to comply with the Civil Constitution of the Clergy.
• Priests who refused to accept this constitution, known as the non-juring clergy, would lose their pensions and be considered suspicious individuals. This meant they could be removed from their areas if any disturbances occurred.

Decree Against Emigrés:

• A decree was issued targeting emigrés—those who had left France and were attempting to persuade foreign powers to suppress the French Revolution.
• This decree required emigrés to return to France by a specific deadline, threatening them with death and confiscation of their property if they failed to comply.

King’s Veto:

• The king exercised his veto power against the decrees aimed at the non-juring priests and the emigrés.
• However, he made an exception for his brother, ordering him to return to France.
• The king's vetoes angered the public and undermined their trust in his commitment to the constitution.

Public Reaction:

• On June 20, 1792, in response to the king's vetoes, a mob in Paris invaded the palace of Tuileries.
• The mob attempted to force the king to withdraw his vetoes, marking the beginning of mob violence during this period.

The Revolution at War with Europe and Downfall of Monarchy

The French Revolution quickly transformed from a national issue to a concern for the entire European continent. The revolutionary principles proclaimed by the French were universal in their application and posed a threat to the existing order in every European nation. The French Revolutionaries were not content with merely implementing their ideas within France; they were eager to spread these principles to other countries, becoming increasingly propagandist. This fear of the spread of revolutionary ideas united the powers of Europe against France.

Causes of War

Beyond the common threat posed by the French attempts to spread their doctrines, many states had specific grievances against the aggressive actions of the revolutionists.

Abolition of Feudalism in Alsace:

• France proclaimed the complete abolition of feudal dues and tithes. However, in Alsace and other border provinces that were once part of the German Empire, many German princes had certain rights and possessions.
• The French decree hit these princes hard, leading them to refuse the French offer of compensation and appeal to the German Diet.

Annexation:

• Another contentious act by the French was the annexation of Avignon, which, although geographically part of France, had been under Papal authority.
• This action was seen as a violation of international law and a reversal of a European settlement, bringing the Revolution into conflict with the rest of Europe.

Militant Temper of the French People:

• At the core of these causes was the new attitude of the French populace, driven by a fervent desire to spread their democratic principles across Europe and challenge the Old Regime.
• This militant spirit was further fueled by the actions of Queen Marie Antoinette and the emigres, who sought assistance from foreign powers, hastening the onset of war.

Conflict with Austria:

• Numerous sources of tension existed between France and Austria. The primary grievance for the French was Emperor Leopold's failure to expel the French emigres from German territories despite French requests.
• Many nobles and royal figures who fled the Revolution took refuge in neighboring German states, where they gathered troops and sought to persuade foreign powers to intervene in French affairs and restore the Old Regime.
• The French blamed Austria for providing sanctuary to these emigres and supporting their plans.
• The republicans suspected the king and court were colluding with the emigres, a belief reinforced by the king's veto of Assembly measures against the emigres and non-juring clergy.
• Leopold of Austria, being Marie Antoinette's brother, was naturally concerned about the situation in France. Consequently, he, along with the King of Prussia, issued the Declaration of Pillnitz on August 27, 1791.
• This declaration asserted that the French king's cause was that of all European monarchs and expressed Austria and Prussia's willingness to intervene militarily.
• The threat of foreign intervention enraged the French populace and deepened their distrust of the king, whom they suspected of plotting with foreign rulers.
• The Declaration aligned with the Girondists' desire for immediate war, anticipating that conflict would lead to the monarchy's downfall.
• Leopold II of Austria, alarmed by France's warlike posture, formed an alliance with Prussia. The Legislative Assembly, dominated by Girondists, compelled Louis XVI to declare war against Austria in April 1792.
• Since Austria was allied with Prussia, this declaration effectively brought France into conflict with Prussia as well.
• Robespierre and the Jacobins opposed this war, but it commenced with disastrous results for France.
• The initial defeats intensified public anger towards the king, with many believing he sympathized with the Austrian forces, hoping their victory would liberate him from the Parisian mob.

August 10, 1792: The Attack on the Tuileries:

• As the Prussian army, led by the Duke of Brunswick, advanced towards Paris, he issued a controversial proclamation threatening severe retribution if any harm came to the royal family.
• This declaration only fueled public suspicion against the king and heightened tensions in the city.
• On August 10, the Parisian mob, driven by revolutionary fervor, stormed the Tuileries Palace.
• The royal family, seeking refuge, fled the palace and sought safety within the Legislative Assembly.
• The Tuileries were ransacked, and the Swiss guards protecting the king were brutally killed in the streets.

The King Suspended from Office:

• In the wake of the chaos, the Legislative Assembly voted to suspend the king from his duties.
• They called for the election of a National Convention tasked with drafting a new constitution.

Supremacy of the Parisian Mob:

• The Assembly's decision was made under the pressure of the mob, which had now established itself as the dominant force in Paris.
• The Jacobins, leading the mob, overthrew the previous municipal government of Paris.
• They set up a new commune or City Council, with leaders like Danton, Marat, and Robespierre at the forefront.
• These leaders relied on the support of the Parisian populace, who played a crucial role in this period.
• Until the National Convention convened, this new commune effectively held power over France.

Jacobins Take Drastic Measures to Defend France:

• With control over Paris, the Jacobins took swift and extreme actions to defend the country from the advancing Austro-Prussian army.
• In a bid to intimidate those suspected of royalist sympathies and potentially aiding the foreign forces, the Jacobins orchestrated a series of brutal massacres.
• Armed assassins, hired by the municipality, stormed prisons where suspected royalists were held and killed over a thousand men and women.
• These horrific events, known as the September Massacres (September 2 and 3, 1792), were largely attributed to Marat, whose influence in the Commune was significant.
• The September Massacres left a grim mark on the Revolution's history.
• With perceived traitors eliminated or subdued, the Mountain sent troops to confront the advancing Prussian army.
• The Prussians faced defeat at the Battle of Valmy, marking a turning point in the campaign.
• This victory checked the Prussian advance and signified a moment of hope for the revolutionary forces.
• The battle, though small in scale, had profound implications.
• It instilled confidence in the revolutionary armies and set the stage for a series of victories.
• Valmy demonstrated that the Revolution was capable of defending itself, turning the tide in favor of the French forces.

Expansion of French Control:

• Following the victory at Valmy, the French forces began to push back the Austrians.
• France conquered the Austrian Netherlands and Belgium, expanding its territory significantly.
• French armies achieved further successes in 1793, gaining control over Belgium, Savoy, and Nice, and establishing a strong presence along the middle Rhine.

Degeneration into Anarchy:

• The onset of war with Austria marked the decline of the monarchy's cause.
• The September massacres tarnished the image of the Revolution.
• The struggle against the Old Regime devolved into chaos, with France experiencing the worst of mob rule.
• The mob equated reform with anarchy and liberty with unchecked freedom.
• This shift explains the extreme lawlessness and atrocities that marred the Revolution, which had begun as a noble endeavor.

Causes of the fall of monarchy 

• The French people were by tradition attached to the Monarchy. and the Revolution in the beginning was not a republican movement. 
• The target of attack was not the Bourbon monarchy but Privilege in all its forms. But circumstances combined first to discredit the monarchy and then to end it. 
• The intrigues of the emigres who sought to rouse Europe against the Revolution made the king suspect. For it was generally believed that their conduct was inspired by king’s machinations. 
• This suspicion was heightened by the attempted flight to the king, as also by the threat of foreign intervention.
• The revolutionists believed, and that rightly, that the king was looking beyond the frontiers for help. The menacing manifesto of the Duke of Brunswick confirmed their suspicion and it identified the king with the enemies of the Revolution. 
• Hence followed mob violence-the sack of the Tuileries and the suspension of the king. 
• War and initial failure worsened the situation. The people realised the extreme danger which menaced the Revolution and all that it stood for. Hence a resolute minority, the Jacobins, determined to overthrow the king who served as the focus of foreign intervention. It was under their pressure that the newly elected convention abolished kingship and set up a republic. Foreign war was thus the immediate cause of the fall of the marked monarchy in France. 
• Hence it has been remarked that ”the republic in France in 1792 was the result of two factors- the Prussian invasion and Parisioan Jacobinism. 
• Lastly the weakness of Louis XVI and his wavering policy did much bring about the collapse of the monarchy.