Thursday, July 23, 2009

Part 1... The Personalities: Examination of the French Revolution (in English)

[Note: This is Part 1 of 3 of this posting… Other parts will appear over the next few days.]

“Justice has its anger, my lord Bishop, and the wrath of justice is an element of progress. Whatever else may be said of it, the French Revolution was the greatest step forward by mankind since the coming of Christ. It was unfinished, I agree, but still it was sublime. It released the untapped springs of society; it softened hearts, appeased, tranquilized, enlightened, and set flowing through the world the tides of civilization. It was good. The French Revolution was the anointing of humanity.”
— Victor Hugo

The French Revolution was the result of not only the immediate societal needs in the latter eighteenth century but of the spirit of freedom that was awash following the successful revolt of the American colonies against British rule. This struggle was the time when the ‘Enlightenment’ philosophers’ thinking was put into action, especially John Locke and Montesquieu. The French philosophers Voltaire, Rousseau, and Montesquieu served as guides for the French intellectuals who were the leaders of the early phases of the French Revolution. In the previous posting, we examined a comparison between the two revolutions; the key difference has been clearly stated as: ◊

While the American Revolution was a rebellion of a group of colonists seeking independence of their King, the French Revolution was more of a civil war that sought to define the form of government that should provide the needs of the French population. ◊

Who were the Personalities that led the French Revolution?

The answer is complex when we consider that there were at least a dozen reformers that sought a change in the structure of the French government. These men and women were not seeking only a change in the structure of government, but also a major shift in the structure of French society. The French King, Louis XVI, started the process as an absolute monarch who was accountable to no one but God; he was supported by the clerics of the Catholic Church (the First Estate) and the nobility (the Second Estate). Ninety-five percent of the population, the Third Estate was powerless in this structure. The rural peasants and tradesmen, especially, were essentially feudal serfs to the clerics and nobility who owned the land. These people held few rights and basically no property. They survived at the pleasure of their overlords. There was only a small middle class and they lived in the large cities. The times were ripe for a change in this society. ◊

So, these dozen key reformers arose to the occasion. They were not, however, a cohesive group struggling against the King as was the case in the American colonies. They had very different ideas of how to restructure government, ranging from a Constitutional Monarchy (like the United Kingdom) to a communist-like rule of the people. The one uniting concept was this: there needed to be freedom from the absolute control of the King (Liberté), to provide each of the groups in the population with an equal say in their governance (Egalité), and the need for all sectors of society to ‘get along’ with each other (Fraternité). The first two goals were generally achieved, but the latter goal was only partially achieved for men and not at all for women. ◊

The personalities that led this Revolution were generally not from the aristocracy or noble classes, nor were they clerics — they were from the third class: the regular population. The King was in the middle of this process, with a majority of the population wanting to at least remove the King from the throne if not execute him. Briefly, the major participants in the various stages included: ◊

The leaders during the transition from Absolute Monarchy:
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau (1749-1791… Natural Causes)

The leaders during the Constitutional Monarchy (the ‘Girondists’):
Jacques Pierre Brissot (1754-1793… Natural Causes)
Jérome Pétiôn de Villaneuve (1756-1794… Suicide)
Jean-Marie Roland, vicomte de la Plateière (1734-1793… Suicide)
Madame Manon (Marie-Jeanne) Roland (1754-1793… Guillotine)
François Nicolas Léonard Buzat (1760-1794… Suicide)

Women of note for specific contributions ('Girondist' Supporters):
Olympe de Gouges (1755-1793… Guillotine)
Charlotte Corday (1760-1793… Guillotine)

The leaders during the ‘Reign of Terror’ (the ‘Montagnards’):
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (1758-1794… Guillotine)
Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793… Assassination)
Camille Descoulins (1760-1794… Guillotine)
Georges Danton (1759-1794… Guillotine)

The leaders of the ultra-radical, de-christianization (the ‘Hébertists’):
Jacques Hébert (1757-1794… Guillotine)
Pierre Gaspard Chaumette (1763-1794… Guillotine)

These leaders of the Revolution ‘ebbed and flowed’ throughout this period, with each having their time in the spotlight of history. The fate of each of each of these are listed behind the date of their death in the listing above, with only Mirabeau and Brissot dying of natural causes. A majority of them met their fate with the ‘Widow Maker’, Madame Guillotine! Most of these men were members of the ‘Jacobin Club’ where the ‘real’ debates occurred before being taken to the Convention for action; Mirabeau did not associate with any club while others were members of the ‘Cordelier Club’. The ‘Jacobin Club’ was actually made up of two other groups, the ‘Girondist Club’ and the ‘Montagnards’ as well as an uncommitted mass called the ‘Plain’. The support of the latter group was necessary to obtain passage of any legislation in the Convention. We will deal with the details of the various assemblies that were formed and superseded as the Revolution continued to evolve. The participants listed above were involved in many of those assemblies. ◊

So, let’s take a closer look at the men (and women) that carried the French Revolution forward. By necessity, these profiles are summaries. ◊

Just who were these principal participants in the French Revolution?

The leaders during the transition from Absolute Monarchy:

Mirabeau (Writer, Orator and Statesman)… Mirabeau sought to instill a Constitutional Monarchy, patterned after the one in the United Kingdom, in France. He was much more moderate than the other men covered here, but was known for his broad historical knowledge, philosophical insights, and his eloquence in speech. He was committed to the notion that: “government exists to allow the population to pursue its daily work in peace, and, to do that, the government must be strong. The government must conform to the wishes of a majority of the people.” He was against a civil war that would come if more radical ideas were to prevail. He was, above all, a statesman and wanted to see a new government, but one that was more congruent with the ideas of Montesquieu than of Rousseau. He died of pericarditis in 1791. ◊

This completes the first part of this coverage of the major participants in the French Revolution. Join us over the next several days for the remaining parts. ◊

Next Time: Part 2 of 3 will be available tomorrow. Join us then… ◊

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