The Thermidorian reaction and Directory Flashcards
(36 cards)
1
Q
List key political developments July-August 1794
A
- On 31st July (13th Thermidor), four days after the ‘Coup of Thermidor’, vacancies on the CPS and CGS were mostly filled with moderate Dantonists and members of ‘the Plain’. Some vacancies were even filled by former Montagnards (i.e.., Jean-Lambert Tallien) who had conveniently forgot his own involvement in the Terror and supported the coup of Thermidor
- On 1st August, the Law of 22 Prairial was repealed and many held under its terms were released from the gaols. Fouquier-Tinville, the feared public prosecutor during the Terror, was arrested on the same day.
- On 10th August, the Revolutionary Tribunal was reorganised and it was decided that exile to Guiana, in South America, should be used more often as an alternative to guillotining (though people were still executed for their involvement in the Terror, like Fouquier-Tinville)
2
Q
What happened on 24th August, and how did this strengthen/weaken government
A
- On 24th August, the Law on Revolutionary Government moved France completely away from the highly centralised structure of terror
a) Revolutionary committees were reduced to one per department, with 12 in Paris (one for every four sections) – significantly reduces the power of the sans-culottes whilst not overly aggravating Parisians (who have more political influence) through enabling slightly more representation in Paris
b) Central government was put in the hands of 16 committees responsible to the Convention. There are regular changes to membership, with 25% of members being changed each month – separation of powers and rotating membership frequently is good in preventing despotism, but possibly creates a less stable government as all deputies are making policies with a short-term mindset
c) New representatives-on-mission were sent out to the provinces, but this time to remove Jacobins from positions of authority rather than prop up their control – no reason this would be problematic
3
Q
List key reforms September-December 1794
A
On 18th September, the church and state were formally separated, with the state no longer paying clerical salaries (ended the ‘Constitutional Church’ which had acted as a branch of government)
* On 12th November, the Jacobin club was closed, and all its affiliated societies were disbanded
* On 24th December, the Law of the Maximum was repealed
* In December, the 73 deputies who had signed a resolution in supported of the expelled Girondin deputies were readmitted to the Convention (the moderates basically have full control over both central and local government)
4
Q
How did the political reforms of the Thermidorian government cause the Germinal rising?
A
- On 24th August 1794, the revolutionary committees were dramatically reduced in number, with only 12 in Paris (one for every four sections)
- In 1795 the Commune had been entirely abolished
- The power of the sections was further reduced as the assemblies were prohibited from meeting more than once every ten days
- There was also resistance to the closure of the Jacobin club, the abolition of the 40 sous, and the destruction of the busts of Marat
Combined with the continued Jacobin propaganda kept up by the L’ami du people, this political suppression of the sans-culottes’ power created a sense of political discontent which unleashed itself in the Germinal rising on 1st April
5
Q
How did economic reforms cause the Germinal rising?
A
- On 24th December the Laws of the Maximum were abolished, perhaps seeing it as linked to the terror by association but forgetting that it was actually pretty successful in improving the economic situation.
- This economic decline is reflected in the steady decline of the value of the assignat from 36% in July, to 24% in November, to 17% in February, and then to 7.5% in May.
- The price of bread also increased from 25 sous on 28th March to 65 sous on 11 April to 16 livres (which each comprise 20 sous) to 16 livres on 18th May (two weeks before the 1st Prairial rising)
6
Q
Describe events of the Germinal rising - what evidence indicates that the rising was a serious threat, and what evidence suggests the opposite?
A
- On 1st April, around 10,000 men and women of the sections burst in on the Convention in the middle of a speech, shouting for bread
- Some of them wore on their revolutionary caps the slogan ‘du pain et la Constitution de 1793’, showing how they were motivated by both economic suffering and a sense of having been ripped off ideologically/politically
- But some of the demonstrators were not that radical in their aims, and were even applauded by the Convention for their moderate speeches
- Two Montagnard deputies were the ones who told the demonstrators to discharge their business quickly (showing that support for the masses amongst the central government was basically entirely lost)
- The demonstrators dispersed without offering any resistance when the National Guard turned up to escort them out
7
Q
How did the Thermidorian government respond to the Germinal rising? How did this create instability?
A
- Minor disturbances followed in the subsequent couple days, Paris was declared to be in a state of siege, and Barere, Billaud-Varenne and Collot d’Herbois (despite having led the coup of Thermidor), were now denounced as terrorists and sentenced to deportation – arguably was unnecessary violence and merely angering the people (of whom these deputies represented)
- The Convention failed to recognise the seriousness of the Parisians’ economic struggles, and didn’t respond to their crisis with enough energy – the convention decreed that the bread ration should be supplemented with rice and biscuits, but this didn’t address the heart of the issue (being inflation and the lack of any imposed maximum prices)
8
Q
Events of the Prairial revolt (mob action and demands)
A
- On 19th May, an anonymous manifesto was widely distributed, bearing the title: Insurrection du people pour obtenir du pain et reconquerir ses droits – points against to the financial and political motivations for the revolt
- On 20th, a large group, led by women again, bursted into the assembly-hall but were quickly ejected. However, they returned with armed groups of the National Guard an hour later
- A deputy, Feraud, who opposed their entry, was killed by the mob and his head was severed and paraded on a pike (echoes of the initial women’s march on Versailles)
- They got the Mountain deputies to voice their main demands (the release of Jacobin prisoners, steps to implement the 1793 constitution etc) but the insurgents then started chattering once they thought this had gotten through to the Convention, giving the Thermidorian leaders time to get the help of the loyal Sections are drive them out of the Tuileries
- On 21st, the armed rebellion (of possibly 20,000 insurgents) continued, facing General Dubois and his 40,000 men. However, even when the Convention’s gunner and genarmerie deserted to the opposing side, the insurgents failed to follow up on their advantage and no shots ended up being fired – diplomatic negotiations began in the evening.
9
Q
The response of the Convention to the Prairial revolt, 22st - 23rd
A
- On 22nd, the Convention decided that the sans-culottes needed to be ruthlessly supresses in order to deter any future opposition; 40 deputies were arrested and six were executed
- On 23rd, a Military Commission was set up for the summary trial and execution of all persons captured with arms in their possessions or showing signs of rebellion (i.e., revolutionary slogans). The Commission sat for 10 weeks and tries 132 persons, condemning 19 of these (including 6 Mountain deputies) to death.
- All former members of Revolutionary Committees and all soldiers of the armee revolutionnaire were arrested or disarmed irrespective of whether they played a part in the Prairial of Germinal rising – in some ways this was a very efficient way of eliminating potential Jacobin sympathises and those who would create problems in the future, but the violent crushing also created resentment (?)
10
Q
What was the white terror?
A
- The White Terror is the name given to the series of purges and campaigns by with the Thermidorian government took action against former Jacobins and supporters of the terror. It was supported by the ‘Muscadins’ and ‘gilded youth’, who were mobs of relatively well-off middle-class, bourgeois men with royalist sympathies and a determination to attack any ex-Jacobins
11
Q
Who were the Chouans and how did they participate in the ‘white terror’?
A
- The Chouans, who had formally been the victims of the Terror, took the Thermidorian reaction as an opportunity for them to seek violent revenge
- From the Summer of 1794 to the Spring of 1796, the Chouans controlled most of Brittany and, under royalist leaders, sought English support. In June 1795, 3000 émigré troops were landed at Quiberon Bay and were joined by thousands of Chouans (making a combined force of some 22,000)
12
Q
What was the reaction of the government to the Chouans?
A
- As these forces were not just reactionary, but royalist and conferring with foreign enemies, the government decided to violently crush the rebels; under the command of General Hoche, 6000 prisoners were taken and 640 were shot, including 108 Chouans.
- Then an army of 140,000 was sent to Hoche to entirely wipe out the emigres and Chouans, which was finally completed by Summer 1796 – took quite a lot of time and required a lot of military effort (suggesting the government was weak and unstable) BUT the Convention had the right idea in recognising the seriousness of the emigres and Chouans joining forces, and then in crushing them with a lot of force to prevent future disturbances
13
Q
Give details of the White Terror in the south
A
- In Lyons in May 1795, there was a particularly violent massacres where Jacobin prisoners were hauled from cells and slaughtered
- Gangs of youths killed as many as 2000 in the south-east in 1795
14
Q
What was the ‘Verona declaration’? And how did it encourage the White Terror?
A
- The declaration was made by Louis XVIII in June 1795 after the death of Louis XVII, and was his attempt to introduce the French people into his politics – the declaration beckoned the France back into the arms of the monarchy, “which for fourteen centuries was the glory of France”
- This declaration fuels the White Terror and royalist support across France, as they have a politically involved monarch to personally encourage their resistance to the Convention
15
Q
What was the rising of Vendemiaire?
A
- This was a royalist rising, unlike the previous sans-culotte led ones of Germinal and Prairial
- Monarchists believed that a plebiscite held in September to win support for a new, non-monarchical constitution had been rigged, and their anger was further excited by news that the comte d’Artois had just landed off the coast of the Vendee (he was one of the leaders of the emigres)
- A 25,000 strong royalist army approaches Paris, causing the Convention to the military action on 5th October
16
Q
What was the response of the government to the royalist rising of Vendemiaire?
A
- As news of a new royalist approaching army (25,000 strong) reached Paris, the Convention assembled three battalions by calling on unemployed Jacobin army officers who had been dismissed after 9th Thermidor.
- Barras is approached by Napoleon, who was given permission to take command of the Republic’s 5000-6000 troops. On 13 Vendemiaire (5th October), armed royalists surrounded the convention, outnumbering the Republicans by six to one.
- However, Bonaparte and Murat found 40 canon which he fired into their ranks, killing 300 royalists and repulsing the rest of them.
17
Q
What political change went ahead after the Rising of Vendemiaire?
A
- Having violently suppressed the two sans-culottes’ uprisings and the royalist rising of Vendemiaire (5th October) , the deputies went ahead with their creation of a new constitution. This became the government of the Directory.
18
Q
What are the three main components of the constitution under the Directory? How often are they elected?
A
a) Directory of five – five people chosen from the Ancients from a list provided by the Council of Five Hundred – one member, chosen by the lot, would retire each year, and none of them could sit in any of the Councils (revolutionary because it ensures that power is rotated to prevent despotic behaviour)
b) Council of Five Hundred – comprised 500 deputies over the age of thirty – they proposed and drew up legislation but didn’t vote on it (separation of powers)
c) Council of Ancients – comprised 250 married or widowed men over 40 (bit weird but probably intending to keep out the younger more radical voices) – they examine and approve or reject legislation, but don’t propose it (separation of powers which is revolutionary)
d) There are annual elections to replace one third of the deputies which make up the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of Ancients
19
Q
What was the electoral system under the Directory?
A
e) Voters: all male taxpayers over 21 were ‘citizens’ who could vote (NO financial restrictions here), meaning that 5.5m of 8m adult males were entitled to vote (close to universal male suffrage, though their power is very limited because it is the electors who choose the deputies)
f) Electors: these were the people who were eligible to sit in the assemblies and were chosen by the voters. However, there were financial restrictions imposed (had to pay taxes equivalent to 150-200 days’ labour) meaning that the electorate only comprised of one million people. Additionally, due to restrictions on age and marital status etc, only 30,000 of these electors were eligible to sit in the resulting assemblies.
20
Q
How can the constitution of the Directory be seen as a continuation of the Thermidorian reaction?
A
When the Constitution was agreed in September 1795, it was also decreed that 2/3 of the places in the councils would go to existing deputies in the Convention.
21
Q
What economic issues did the Directory inherit?
A
- The Directory inherited a very weak economy with inflation being a huge issue. By the time the Directory took control of France, assignats had already reached 1% of their face value.
- The Directory also inherited problems of inefficient tax collection from its predecessors.
22
Q
What early financial issues did the Directory face?
A
- The Thermidorians attempts to switch from a system of economic control to a more liberal environment had resulted in acute inflation. By the end of 1795, the assignats were virtually worthless.
- Another poor harvest in 1975 worsened the economic situation.
- In October 1795, the floor of the printing house were assignats were produced literally collapsed due to the activity of the presses, as 2,000 millions worth of paper money was being printed per month by this point.
23
Q
In what ways could the economic policy under the Directory be seen as weak? (mandate + replacement)
A
- The Thermidorian government made one last attempt at paper money by introducing mandats. In February 1796, 800 million francs-worth of mandats were issued to replace the 24 billion francs-worth of assignats still in circulation.
- However, the mandats issued were worth 3 x as much as the entire face value of assignats still in circulation, meaning that their value quickly declined; even on their first day of issue they were being discounted at 18% of their face value.
- The collapse of the mandats destroyed the creditors who bought them, and thus alienated the bourgeoisie (who comprised most creditors and tax payers)
- Within a year the mandats were virtually worthless so the government then declared metal coins as the only legal currency (in February 1797). Though this halted inflation, however, the lack of coinage in circulation brought deflation which hindered trade.
24
Q
How could the Directory’s economic policy be seen as strong?
A
- In 1795, weights and measures were standardised (finally replacing the old regional variations of the Ancien Regime). This had a positive long-term effect on the economy and, helped by better harvests in 1796 and 1798, the price of grain was brought down.
- The introduction of the mandats in February 1796 wrote off 2/3 of government debt.
- The Finance Minister, Vincent Ramel, reorganised the taxation system in 1798. He introduced new property taxes (including on doors and windows) to help cover the shortfall between government income and expenditure. He also revived the octrois, which was a tax on goods entering towns.
25
What was the Babeuf plot?
* Graccus Babeuf was a Jacobin who campaigned for the rights of the poor and for the 1793 constitution in his journal Le Tribun du Peuple as a counter-balance to the right-wing demands of the royalists.
* He was initially tolerated by the Directory, but he became progressively more radical especially under the worsening economic situation, and so by 1796 was calling for a revival of the terror.
* When news reached the government that soldiers were ready to join an armed uprising of the masses (later referred to as the ‘Conspiracy of Equals’), planned for 11th May 1796 (22nd Floreal), they took action. The threat was dealt with through repression, with Babeuf and a co-conspirator being guillotined in May 1797.
26
What were the consequences of the Babeuf plot for the Directory? How big of a threat was it?
* The Directory’s use of repressive measures to quell threats from the left (as well as from the right) completely undermined their authority because they outwardly tried to advocate for a moderate and democratic form of government.
* However, arguably the plot wasn’t that significant in undermining/destabilising the Directory because Babeuf was pretty atypical in his political views, holding an almost proto-communist stance regarding his views on property. Therefore, he had limited support from the people.
27
Give details of early resistance from the right under the Directory (i.e., royalist uprisings)
* In 1795-6, General Hoche and the army were called upon to deal with the remaining pockets of royalist sentiment in the Vendee and in the west. Hoche maintained well-disciplined and mobile army units and successfully established firm control over the whole of the west. A treaty was signed by summer 1796.
* In January 1797, the royalist Andre-Charles Brotier was arrested and deported to Cayenne for planning a military rising in Paris to overthrow the government.
28
Give details of the coup of Fructidor?
* In the elections of April 1797, the constitutional monarchists did very well, winning 182 seats so that more than one third of the total number of deputies had royalist sympathies.
* The Directors feared that a royalist majority might be produced in the next elections, so they decided to take action against the royalists. Three directors, including Barras, hatched a plot. They produced evidence that Pichegru (the President of the Five Hundred) had made contact with monarchist emigres in 1795, and then on 4th September (18th Fructidor) had him arrested and accused the Five Hundred of ‘acting against the revolution)
* The joint military forces of General Hoche and General Augereau (who’d been sent by Napoleon from Italy), were used to seize strongpoints in Pairs and 177 royalist deputies were arrested. Of these, 53 (including Pichegru) were exiled to French Guiana.
* 42 opposition newspapers were also shut down.
29
How was the coup of Fructidor arguably successful?
a) Monarchist threat is successfully removed with the deportation of 53 royalist deputies and the removal of Carnot and Barthelemy from the post of director – prevents the return to a monarchy which would’ve undermined all revolutionary progress
b) Deportation rather than guillotining looks less tyrannical to the public eye, meaning that the Directory somewhat keeps in line with its moderate, democratic principles
c) There was no resistance – the coup was essentially bloodless
d) The government becomes more unified now because the right-wing sector is removed
30
How was the coup of Fructidor a bad way to deal with the right wing threats?
a) A decree cancels the results of the elections in 49 departments meaning that Normandy, Brittany and the Paris area now have no parliamentary representation – not democratic at all, and presents the government under the directory as despotic
b) By initiating the coup, the three directors essentially revealed that they had no faith in the very system of government which they worked to create and were supposed to defend – their citizens have no chance of trusting the government if they don’t
c) The coup showed a reliance on military force rather than democratic processes, compromising political legitimacy
31
What political reforms did the Directory initiate following the coup of Fructidor?
* The Directory took extreme measures against any royalists and against the old class of aristocracy in order to prevent such a coup from the right-wing happening again.
a) Former members of the second estate were declared foreigners, and they had to apply for naturalisation paper to regain their rights as a ‘citizen’.
b) Returned emigres were given two weeks to leave France and those who failed to do so, and their relatives, were prosecuted by new military tribunals which awarded 160 death sentences.
c) Refractory priests were persecuted again
* So despite preaching to be a refreshingly moderate and democratic form of government, the Directory ended up being very intolerant and repressive in order to maintain power (with its methods being similar so those used in the terror, even)
32
What was the coup of Floreal? How did it further destabilise the government under the directory?
* The Directory passed a new electoral law in January 1798 before the round of elections in order to minimise royalist gains. The effect, however, was that many Jacobins ended up getting in power which proved as or even more worrying than the royalists.
* On 22 Floreal (11th May), 125 Jacobin deputies were purged from the Council of Five Hundred before they even had the chance to take their seats. The results from eight departements were completely quashed.
* This only furthered people’s perception of the Directory as repressive, hypocritical and corrupt, further contributing to political instability.
33
What was Jourdan's law?
Jourdan’s Law, 5th September 1798
* Jourdan’s Law effectively institutionalised conscription, requiring that all single, childless men between the ages of 20 and 25 were liable for military service.
* It also was an attack on the poor, however, as the legally sanctioned practice of ‘replacement’ enabled anyone who was able to purchase someone who could enlist in their place.
* Another way in which it was potentially classist was that the law exempted certain members of the bourgeoisie such as those enlisted in higher education institutions.
34
What was the coup of Prairial?
* This is a bloodless coup intiated by Sieyes in 1799. Whilst most of the other coups were initiated by the directors themselves, this was initiated by the Council of Five Hundred and the Council of Ancients.
* On 17th June, Sieyes, supported by Barras, proposed to enforce the councils’ demands that two disliked directors should stand down. On 18th June, when the directors resisted, Sieyes called on General Joubert, who had taken command of the army in Paris, to organise troop movements in the capital.
* Under this military pressure, the two Directors stood down and Sieyes emerged triumphant.
35
What was the Law of Hostages?
The Law of Hostages, July 1799
* This was a law introduced by Sieyes which allowed any areas resisting the government’s laws to be declared ‘disturbed’. Local authorities in that area were then allowed to take action against potential ‘radicals’, meaning that relatives of emigres, nobles or political rebels could be imprisoned, fined and property even confiscated.
36
Name all the coups under the Thermidorian government and then Directory with dates + key details
The Rising of Germinal, 1st April 1795 - left-wing rising of the sans-culottes against the Convention, demanding a return to the 1793 republican constitution (bloodless)
The Prairial Revolt, 20-23rd May 1795 - a second sans-culottes rising against the Convention which is this time much larger and more violent (and ruthlessly repressed by the government)
The Rising of Vendemiaire, 5th October 1795 - a royalist rising this time which is ruthlessly suppressed by Napoleon and Murat (massacre)
The Coup of Fructidor, 4th September 1797 - an attempt by Barras and other directors to remove all royalists from the councils in order to prevent extremists from becoming too vocal
The Coup of Floreal, 11th May 1798 - the Directors now attempt to remove Jacobinism from the councils
The Coup of Prairial, 18th June 1799 - Sieyes gets two directors to stand down using military intimidation from General Joubert
