The collapse of the constitutional experiment

The sans-culottes

- Working class, left-wing supporters who were far more radical than the moderate
members of the assembly – far from cohesive but shared a hatred of the bourgeoisie
in their selfishness – they lived on fine margins and the slightest change could cause
revolt, showing why they played such an important part in the development of the
revolution from 1792.

The Journée 20th June 1792

- Anniversary of the Tennis court oath saw 8000 sans-culottes gather around Tuileries,
carrying petitions demanding war and the retraction of Louis’ vetoes – despite the
Assembly fearing it, it was weak in its implication so much to the fact that Louis
appeared himself without responding to their demands.
- The moderates were unsettled however, and Lafayette sent his troops to visit the
Assembly 8 days later to demand action against the sans-culottes – however, the
news that the Army of the North was retreating backed the demands of the sans-
culottes – La patrie en danger was issued to call all men to give effort in the war.
- 29th June saw a passionate speech by Robespierre in which he echoed opinions of
France becoming a republic, having lost faith in the constitutional monarchy –
Moreover, the arrival of the Brunswick manifesto, stating that any harm to the king
would be punished, merely adding fuel to the arguments of getting rid of the
monarchy.

The Journée 10th August 1792

- There was a second sans-culottes march to the Tuileries palace with 20000 this time
accompanied by 2000 fédérés and National guard, having been carefully planned –
the king was advised to seek refuge in the Assembly guarded by some loyal National
Guard and Swiss Guard, but many of these defected to the crowds and a shot fired
provoked a battle where 1000 sans-culottes were killed – This caused the radicals to
remove the king and his family to the Temple prison, declaring him ‘temporarily
suspended’ to avoid thought that an immediate switch had taken place to a republic,
as well as ending the difference between ‘active’ and ‘passive’ citizens, promising a
new system whereby all men over 25 could vote.
- Danton, favoured by the sans-culottes, was made Minister of Justice, and all laws the
king had vetoed were to come into effect immediately – the compensation of the
August Decrees were cancelled as well to appease the peasants – Lafayette saw this
as too much and when failing to attract support, defected to the Austrians.

September Massacres

- 2 losses in August, on in Longwy and on In Verdun, suggesting that Brunswick would

be able to reach Paris in 2 weeks – at the same time there was a royalist uprising in
the Vendée which killed 200 – Danton had to act and therefore authorised house-
 searches for hidden weapons and to combat the external war he issued a levée en
masse, enforcing conscription for all.
- It was the proximity of the enemies as well as aristocratic plots that created this
atmosphere – 1500 prisoners in the Parisian gaols were massacred by the sans-
culottes – 2nd September saw the first attack by the fédérés on the refractory priests
in prison – the sans-culottes carried on these spontaneous attacks but were also
encouraged by the Commune and National Guard, as well as the Assembly not
stopping them.
- Similar actions in the provinces meant all in all there were fears abroad of the
dangers of popular revolution, the Jacobins and Girondins split as the Jacobins were
accused of igniting the behaviour, as well as the Assembly’s power being weak whilst
radical popularity (Robespierre and Danton) was on the rise.

Elections leading to the National Convention

- The outbreak of the September massacres occurred at the same time of the voting
for the members of the new National Convention, with the new voting system of all
males over 25 – No Girondins were elected due to their hostility to the Commune
and the actions of the sans-culottes whereas Robespierre became the people’s first
choice, with Danton, Marat and Desmoulins amongst the elected for the capital.
- Turnout for voting was however low and did not make much difference in terms of
numbers from the previous electorate – the provinces saw the same sort of men
elected by the active citizens in 1791 – the Jacobins became known as the
Montagnards due to their high positioning in the assembly on the left of the
President – the ‘Plain’ were those who occupied the central seats – 20 th September
saw the opening of the new convention and French victory over the Austro-Prussian
forces in Valmy gave it new found optimism after the previous weeks.

Establishing a Republic

The new policies and problems of the Republic

- 22nd September saw France declared a Republic – there was disagreement on what to
do with Louis however as the Girondins wanted protection of the progress made
whereas the Jacobins were in favour of further progression and saw the previous
years as a starting point.
- The Girondins wanted republican government as well as war and further
enlightenment to improve all aspects of society – they believed decentralisation was
key and were fearful of the activity of the sans-culottes, correlating in with their
views of more moderate change.
- The Jacobins were also in favour of a republican government, war and more
enlightenment however they believed centralisation of power in Paris would be
beneficial and favoured the sans culottes and their demands, as well as a more
radical approach to bring about change.
- The ‘Plain’ were more in favour of the Girondins but were unpredictable and the
Convention progressed slowly with decision making – there was a fear from the
Girondins of Robespierre and the Montagnards becoming dictatorial in their
 decisions but the Montagnards accused the Girondins of a lack of faith with the
revolution – the disagreement disrupted further the new constitutional committee
created to redraw the constitution of 1791 that gave the king executive power – even
on the subject of war, there was disagreement but victories were celebrated by both,
especially by the Girondins whose belief in the spread of revolution through war was
proved right.
- The Jacobins, despite their appreciation of the external victories in war, preferred to
favour ‘victory at home’ by tackling growing inflation which angered the sans-
culottes as well as the outbreak of peasant rioting in the west of France, arguing for
greater central control to solve these problems.

The debate on the fate of the King

- The Montagnards spoke out first over the execution of the king but the Girondins
feared the execution could cause civil war and unrest – over the next 2 months,
evidence was gathered to deem whether the execution was suitable or not – a vote
was taken on the guilt of the king, with 693 voting guilty, none against with some
abstentions – there was an overall majority for the vote of his punishment for death,
although certain members of the Convention voted for detention and banishment
instead of death.