A message from Mr Frame:Please could you announce to your History and Politics classes

that I am running a session on reading History or Politics at University on

Tuesday 2nd December at 1.30 in P4. Students who are interested should let me know and I will get them into lunch at 1pm.

B&B and HR

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.

The National (Constituent) Assembly was successful in reforming France 1789-91