Reforms of the Constituent Assembly Winners and Losers

Reforms of the Constituent Assembly – Winners and Losers

Your Task… Your turn to be the teacher… You need to teach a 5 minute lesson on a particular aspect of the National Assembly’s Reforms. You should also provide a hand -out/ resource for your classmates to take away. *These will be used for their revision*

*Local Government *Taxation & Finance *Economy (not 12 C) *Legal System *Church

Questions to consider… • What practical changes did the reforms make? • What are the key differences compared with the Ancien Régime? • Who benefited from the reforms? • Who lost out? • What is the legacy of the reforms? Do you envisage future problems?

Main aims of the Constituent Assembly • Based on ideas of Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen. • Focus on Enlightenment idea of meritocracy. • System should be: – Uniform – Decentralised – Representative – Humanitarian

Local Government Reforms • Strengthen power of local authorities, rather than rely on central power in Paris. • Introduce democracy at all levels and restrict absolute power of the King. • 83 Departments, 547 Districts, 43 360 Communes (grouped in Cantons). • More people could vote (but still restricted to wealthier citizens): active vs. passive. • All posts elected rather than appointed by 1790 – heavy workload of administration, which many rural communes struggled to deal with.

Local Government Reforms • Winners: Urban communes; middle classes. • Losers: The King, rural communes.

Taxation and Finance Reforms • 2 Nov 1789 – Sale of Church land (biens nationaux) began to provide funding for the state. Clergy now funded by the CA. • Jan 1791 - Indirect taxes abolished. Land tax to be paid by all citizens introduced, however this was restricted by failure of CA to carry out land assessments. • Despite problems, burden of taxation fell on producers rather than consumer e. g. tax on movable good and on commercial profits. It was much fairer than the Ancien Régime.

Taxation and Finance Reforms • Winners: Consumers/working classes; bourgeoisie/richer labourers who could afford to buy church land. • Losers: The Church; privileged classes.

Economic Reforms • Aug 1789 – free trade in grain introduced to boost economy; Oct 1790 – internal tariffs abolished. • 1791 – Trade Guilds abolished to encourage competition and boost economy; striking made illegal (Le Chapelier Law). • Failure to provide adequate benefits for French poor.

Economic Reforms • Winners: Employers; consumers. • Losers: The poor; working classes.

Reform of the Legal System • Consistent system of justice established throughout France i. e. everyone tried in the same sort of court; everyone subject to the rule of law. • Judges were elected rather than appointed. • More human penal code – number of crimes punished by death reduced. • Mar 1792 – Guillotine introduced as more human method of execution. Used on all convicted criminal regardless of status.

Reform of the Legal System • Winners: French society. • Losers: Privileged classes.

Church Reforms • Aimed to improve standards in Church life and become more independent from the Pope. • Aug 1789 – Church privileges abolished (in line with reforms in all other areas). • 12 Jul 1790 – Civil Constitution of the Clergy introduced: – Linked Church to new administrative districts. – Church officials elected rather than appointed. • 27 Nov 1790 – Oath of Loyalty introduced by CA: divided French clergy and created huge conflict. Clergy forced to choose between Revolution and loyalty to the Pope. Many French people felt that the CA was trying to change their religion.

Church Reforms • Winners: Theory of fair society. • Losers: The Church; CA.

What you need to do – the basics • THINK about the topic. • DEMONSTRATE understanding. • Provide a BALANCED response. • Make a JUDGEMENT.

What you need to do – the details Q: To what extent was the course of the Revolution in the months May-Oct 1789 influenced by popular protest in Paris? What do you need to think about before you start writing? • What is the question asking? • What is there to argue about in the answer? • What are the parameters? What do the dates refer to? • What supporting evidence is there on each side of the argument? • What view will I adopt?

Types of ‘Explain Why…? Question 3 types of question could be asked in the exam: • Explaining an event e. g. ‘Explain why there were peasant revolts in the French countryside during the Summer of 1789? ’ • Explaining a development e. g. ‘Why did resistance to French royal authority increase during the 1780 s? ’ • Explaining an issue e. g. ‘Explain why the French taxation system was in need of reform by the late 1780 s? ’

What skills does this question test? This is not an essay question – it does not require an argument or balance of views. It DOES test: • Understanding of causation i. e. the events have more than one cause and that these causes are interlinked. • The ability to make a judgement about how these causes/factors work together.

How do I link causes? Different types of questions require different responses: • Why did Louis XVI summon the Estates General in 1789? Long term/short term. • Explain why the National Assembly swore the Tennis Court Oath in June 1789? Prioritisation.

What should your ‘Explain Why…? ’ answer include? • Needs careful timing: 2 minutes thinking/10 minutes writing. • Needs at least 3 separate reasons to show understanding. • An opening sentence, indicating how you are going to sort/categorise the causes e. g. most important/long or short term. • 2/3 sentence conclusion, emphasising how the reason interlink.