Irish-American History

Lesson 3: 100 Years that changed the world

The French Revolution

It cost Louis XVI 250 million dollars to come to the aid of the American colonists in their fight for independence. This and other extravagances by the monarchy had exhausted the French National Treasury. The Ministers of Finance tried to cut back on court expenses but the Queen , Marie Antoinette was young , frivolous and extravagant and was not inclined to listen to the word economy.

Finally , foreign bankers refused to lend any more money.

Before 1789 , inequality was typical of the old order . The Nobles and Clergy were the privileged classes. The peasants , artisans , merchants and professional men paid most of the taxes. Even among these groups , taxes were not equal. Some provinces were exempt from certain taxes , such as the salt tax . In addition , the collection of some taxes was made by contractors and the tax gatherers collected whatever they could. The success of the American War of Independence had given the intellectuals and writers in France food for thought. French men had supported a Country which had freed itself and had declared the Rights of the Individual , while in their own country , the peasant class still had to support the king and his nobles , they also had to pay dues to the Church.

On May 1789 , the French Revolution began , with the formation of the National Assembly , which represented the people of France. The Storming of the Bastille on July 14 captured the attention of the world. The National Assembly produced a Constitution in 1791. The rule of the Nobles was abolished . France became a limited monarchy , with a one-house legislature. This was based on the Declaration of the Rights of Man approved by the National Assembly of France , on August 26th , 1789.

The representatives of the French people , organised as a National Assembly , believing that the ignorance , neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural , unalienable , and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration , being constantly before all the members of the Social body, shall remind them continually of their rights and duties; in order that the acts of the legislative power, as well as those of the executive power, may be compared at any moment with the objects and purposes of all political institutions and may thus be more respected , and, lastly , in order that the grievances of the citizens , based hereafter upon simple and incontestable principles, shall tend to the maintenance of the constitution and redound to the happiness of all. Therefore the National Assembly recognises and proclaims , in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and of the citizen:

Articles:

1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.

2. The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property , security and resistance to oppression.

3. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation.

4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society , the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law. (4)

Many of the Nobility had escaped before the Revolution had broken out and they appealed to the Aristocracy and Princes of the rest of Europe to help stop the Revolution. Austria , Prussia and finally England were drawn into a war against the French Revolutionary armies. France , during this period , was being ruled by the Committee of Public Safety. This Committee instituted what came to be known as the ‘Reign of Terror’ . Eventually , people tired of the terror . Leaders of the Committee ; Danton , who was guillotined , Jean –Paul Marat , assassinated and Robespierre , guillotined , lmade way for more moderate men togovern France. A new Government , the Directory was formed and saw the rise of a young artillery officer , Napoleon Bonaparte . On November 9 , 1799 , he overthrew the Directory and replaced it with a Consulate of three members . He was the First Consul and actual ruler of France. In 1804 , he declared himself , ‘Napoleon 1 , Emperor of the French. Liberty is a necessity felt only by a not very numerous class. It can therefore be restricted with impunity. Equality on the other hand pleases the multitude.’

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