Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic

• Louis XVI signed the Constitution but entered into secret negotiations with the King of Prussia
• Neighbouring countries were worried by the developments in France and planned to send troops to put down the events since the summer of 1789
• National Assembly voted in April 1792 to declare war against Prussia and Austria
• Thousands of volunteers joined the army, seeing it as a war of the people against kings and aristocracies
• The Marseillaise, composed by Roget de L’Isle, became the national anthem of France
• Revolutionary wars brought losses and economic difficulties
• Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer sections of society
• Jacobins were an important political club during the French Revolution
• Jacobins were mainly from less prosperous sections of society like small shopkeepers, artisans, servants, and daily-wage workers
• Jacobins wore long striped trousers to set themselves apart from nobles who wore knee breeches
• Jacobins who wore long striped trousers were known as sans-culottes, meaning ‘those without knee breeches’
• In the summer of 1792, Jacobins planned an insurrection in Paris due to short supplies and high food prices
• On August 10, 1792, Jacobins stormed the Palace of the Tuileries, held the king as a hostage, and later imprisoned the royal family
• Elections were held, and all men of 21 years and above got the right to vote, forming the Convention
• On 21 September 1792, the Convention abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic
• Republic is a form of government where people elect the government, without a hereditary monarchy
• Louis XVI was sentenced to death and executed publicly on 21 January 1793
• The Reign of Terror from 1793 to 1794 was a period of severe control and punishment by Robespierre
• Robespierre arrested, imprisoned, and tried 'enemies' of the republic, leading to their execution by guillotine
• Robespierre issued laws placing a maximum ceiling on wages and prices, rationing meat and bread
• Peasants were forced to sell grain at government-fixed prices and eat equality bread made of wholewheat
• Traditional titles like Monsieur and Madame were replaced with Citoyen and Citoyenne
• Churches were shut down and converted into barracks or offices
• Robespierre was convicted, arrested, and sent to the guillotine in July 1794
• The fall of the Jacobin government allowed the wealthier middle classes to seize power
• A new constitution was introduced which denied the vote to non-propertied sections of society
• The new constitution provided for two elected legislative councils
• The legislative councils then appointed a Directory, an executive made up of five members
• The Directory was meant as a safeguard against the concentration of power in a one-man executive as under the Jacobins
• The Directors often clashed with the legislative councils, who then sought to dismiss them
• The political instability of the Directory paved the way for the rise of a military dictator, Napoleon Bonaparte
• Throughout the changes in government, the ideals of freedom, equality before the law, and fraternity remained inspiring ideals that motivated political movements in France and the rest of Europe during the following century