Following the dissolution of the National Constituent Assembly on September 30, 1791, the Legislative Assembly was assembled. The organization operated under the French Constitution of 1791, which was a principle failure of a document. Maximilien Robespierre moved that no members of the National Constituent Assembly be allowed to serve in the Legislative Assembly, creating a power vacuum as well as much inexperience. The Assembly lasted less than a year and left France with an empty treasury, a collapsed army and navy and many misaddressed domestic problems. The Legislative Assembly became gridlocked due to the bipartisan problems present with the left-right political spectrum.
Structure of the Legislative Assembly
In 1791, the election of 745 members of the Legislative Assembly occurred. They first met on October 1. The vast majority of the membership were young members of local politics from around the country and primarily from the middle class.
Immediately, the Assembly was divided into two camps: Right and Left, literally sitting on their representative sides of the Assembly.
The Right was primarily comprised of centrists and Feuillants. These Feuillants were guided by former members of the National Constituent Assembly and voted accordingly.
The Left was divided into two different political parties: the Jacobins and the Girondins. The Girondins were left-leaning constitutional royalists, while the Jacobins were considered radicals on the far left. As a whole, the Left stood against far right conservatives and the Clergy. Much of the dialogue from this faction involved discussions about establishing a full republic.
Fall of the Legislative Assembly
The Legislative Assembly was essentially powerless as monarchical forces from France's neighbors began to assemble against the country. Many historians believe that King Louis XVI was responsible for the preliminary buildup and subsequent war.
At the same time, enforcement of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy commenced on November 29, 1791. Every member of the clergy was forced to take a civic oath making them employees of the state within eight days.
Soon, the failure of the Legislative Assembly was prevalent and the Jacobins called for the disillusionment of the body and establishment of a new Constitutional Convention. The king was removed from power and the Paris Commune took over the government despite the attempts by the National Guard to prevent the power exchange. New elections were held just as France was invaded by foreign forces on August 19, 1792. The Convention was assembled on September 20 and began to work on a new constitution. This set about the foundations of the rise of Robespierre and the Reign of Terror.
Sources:
Simon Schama, Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (Vintage Books, 1990)
Peter McPhee, The French Revolution 1789-1799 (Oxford University Press, 2002)
David Andress, French Society in Revolution 1789-1799 (Manchester University Press, 1999)
Hugh Gough, The Terror in the French Revolution (Palgrave Macmillan, 1998)
Jason Chavis - Jason lives and works out of Minneapolis. He is the author of four books, two movies and a play as well as numerous articles for a variety ...
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