This week we will examine the development of democracy in revolutionary France in the late 1700s. As mentioned in lecture, democracy is not a binary condition but a variegated one. Some societies are more democratic than others. Within a democracy, some of the “people” can have more of the “power.” Deciding how democratic France should be, that is, who belonged to the “people” and how much “power” they could exercise, was a fundamental question for the revolutionaries.

The reading assignment comprises several parts that reflect the different meanings of democracy for different segments of French society. The first group is the Enlightened liberals, who were often members of the upper bourgeoisie, lower nobility, and lower clergy:

1. Sieyès, “What Is the Third Estate?” (1789) (Links to an external site.)
2. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and the Constitution of 1791

The second contains documents on the perspectives of women. Remarkably, women acted as a group at different points of the revolution to express their grievances and demands. But it is also important to remember that women did not constitute a monolithic bloc. Many women, especially those in rural areas, were reactionary, religious, and supported the royalist cause. Others were active in revolutionary or republican circles:

1. Petition of Women of the Third Estate to the King (1 January 1789) (Links to an external site.)
2. Women’s Petition to the National Assembly (Links to an external site.)
3. Chaumette, Speech at City Hall Denouncing Women’s Political Activism (17 November 1793) (Links to an external site.)

The third consists of documents on the perspective of colonists in Haiti. Their number was not large but they controlled substantial wealth in the form of enslaved people and sugar production. The revolution presented them with a dilemma. Slave owners of all races wanted liberty for themselves and representation at the national government. But they resisted abolishing slavery or the slave trade:

1. Grievance List (September 1789) (Links to an external site.)
2. The Abolition of Negro Slavery or Means for Ameliorating Their Lot, 1789 (Links to an external site.)
3. Abbé Grégoire, “Memoir in Favor of the People of Color or Mixed–Race of Saint Domingue” (1789) (Links to an external site.)

The fourth highlights the ideas of the republicans. Led by the Jacobins and backed by the Parisian sans-culottes, they advocated overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a republic. Liberty and equality were their most treasured goals:

1. Beware the Wealthy Bourgeoisie (Links to an external site.)
2. “Constitution of 1793” (Links to an external site.)
3. Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen from the Constitution of the Year I (1793) (Links to an external site.)
4. The Père Duchesne Supports the Terror (Links to an external site.)

The last showcases the views of the royalists. At every stage of the revolution, a sizable portion of the population resisted political change. They included the king’s inner circles, higher clergy and nobles, and large parts of the rural population:

1. Moreau, “Principles of Monarchy” (1773) (Links to an external site.)
2. Lamoignon, “The Principles of the French Monarchy” (1787) (Links to an external site.)
3. Marie Antoinette’s View of the Revolution (8 September 1791) (Links to an external site.)

What were the main objectives of each of these groups? On which points might they agree or disagree?

Citation information:
“Abbé Grégoire, ‘Memoir in Favor of the People of Color or Mixed–Race of Saint Domingue’ (1789),” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/509 (Links to an external site.).
“The Abolition of Negro Slavery or Means for Ameliorating Their Lot, 1789,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/561 (Links to an external site.).
“Beware the Wealthy Bourgeoisie,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/items/show/479 (Links to an external site.).
“Chaumette, Speech at City Hall Denouncing Women’s Political Activism (17 November 1793),” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/374 (Links to an external site.).
“Constitution of 1793,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/422 (Links to an external site.).
“Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen from the Constitution of the Year I (1793),” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/553 (Links to an external site.).
“Grievance List (September 1789),” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/512 (Links to an external site.).
“Lamoignon, ‘The Principles of the French Monarchy’ (1787),” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/613 (Links to an external site.).
“Marie Antoinette’s View of the Revolution (8 September 1791),” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/519 (Links to an external site.).
“Moreau, ‘Principles of Monarchy’ (1773),” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/596 (Links to an external site.).
“The Père Duchesne Supports the Terror,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/3079 (Links to an external site.).
“Petition of Women of the Third Estate to the King (1 January 1789),” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/571 (Links to an external site.).
“Sieyès, ‘What Is the Third Estate?’ (1789),” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/570 (Links to an external site.).
John Hall Stewart, A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1951).
“Women’s Petition to the National Assembly,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, https://revolution.chnm.org/exhibits/show/liberty–equality–fraternity/item/273 (Links to an external site.).