Jacobin dictatorship. Socio-economic policy of the Jacobins, their activities in the field of culture and life

In June 1793, the Convention adopted a new constitution, according to which Jacobin France was declared a single and indivisible Republic; the supremacy of the people, equality of people in rights, and broad democratic freedoms were consolidated. The property qualification for participation in elections to government bodies was abolished; all men over the age of 21 received voting rights. Wars of conquest were condemned. This constitution was the most democratic of all French constitutions, but its implementation was delayed due to the national emergency.

The Committee of Public Safety carried out a number of important measures to reorganize and strengthen the army, thanks to which in a fairly short time the Republic managed to create not only a large, but also a well-armed army. And by the beginning of 1794, the war was transferred to enemy territory. The revolutionary government of the Jacobins, having led and mobilized the people, ensured victory over the external enemy - the troops of the European monarchical states - Prussia, Austria, etc.

In October 1793, the Convention introduced a revolutionary calendar. September 22, 1792 was declared the beginning of a new era - the first day of the existence of the Republic. The month was divided into 3 decades, the months were named according to their characteristic weather, vegetation, fruits or agricultural work. Sundays were abolished. Instead of Catholic holidays, revolutionary holidays were introduced.

However, the Jacobin alliance was held together by the need for a joint struggle against the foreign coalition and counter-revolutionary revolts within the country. When victory was won on the fronts and the rebellions were suppressed, the danger of the restoration of the monarchy diminished, and a rollback of the revolutionary movement began. Internal divisions intensified among the Jacobins. Thus, Danton, since the autumn of 1793, demanded the weakening of the revolutionary dictatorship, a return to constitutional order, and a rejection of the policy of terror. He was executed. The lower classes demanded deeper reforms. Most of the bourgeoisie, dissatisfied with the policies of the Jacobins, who pursued a restrictive regime and dictatorial methods, switched to positions of counter-revolution, dragging along significant masses of peasants.

Not only ordinary bourgeois did this; the leaders Lafayette, Barnave, Lamet, as well as the Girondins, also joined the camp of the counter-revolution. The Jacobin dictatorship increasingly lost popular support.

Using terror as the only method of resolving contradictions, Robespierre prepared his own death and found himself doomed. The country and the entire people were tired of the horror of the Jacobin terror, and all its opponents united into a single bloc. A conspiracy against Robespierre and his supporters matured in the depths of the Convention.

9 Thermidor (July 27) 1794 To the conspirators J. Fouche (1759--1820), J.L. Tallien (1767-1820) and P. Barras (1755-1829) managed to carry out a coup, arrest Robespierre, and overthrow the revolutionary government. “The Republic has perished, the kingdom of robbers has come,” these were the last words of Robespierre at the Convention. On the 10th of Thermidor, Robespierre, Saint-Just, Couthon and their closest associates were guillotined.

The conspirators, called the Thermidorians, now used terror at their discretion. They released their supporters from prison and imprisoned Robespierre's supporters. The Paris Commune was immediately abolished.

The lands of the immigrant nobles went on sale in small plots, and feudal rights were finally abolished. Thus, the Jacobins eliminated the remnants of feudalism in the country.

However, under the conditions of that time, further development of the revolution was objectively impossible. On July 27, 1794, there was a coup, as a result of which the big bourgeoisie came to power. Prominent Jacobin figures were executed. Thus, this coup ends the revolution in France, although some scholars believe that it continued until the 19th century.

After the coup, the Convention in 1795 approved a new Constitution, which included a declaration of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen. And although France remained a republic, its political appearance changed. Legislative power according to the Constitution belonged to the bicameral Legislative Corps. The executive power was vested in a directory consisting of 5 people who were appointed by the Legislative Corps. The policy of the directory was not stable and consistent and aroused the indignation of both the people and the bourgeoisie. At this time, wars continued with the feudal states of Europe, and during these wars, thanks to his talent, Napoleon Bonaparte emerged. In November 1799, he dissolved the legislative body and the directory, that is, he carried out a coup d'état.

In 1799, the Constitution was adopted, which formalized the consulate regime. The period of the directory (1794 - 1799) ended.

According to the Constitution, supreme power was transferred to three consuls, the first of whom was Napoleon. The First Consul was given special powers. He had the right of legislative initiative, appointed and dismissed ministers, members of the State Council, ambassadors, generals, officials and judges. According to the Constitution, the following were created: State Council , Tribunate , Legislative body And Protective Senate who were supposed to exercise legislative power. The bills passed through all these links, but came into force only after being signed by the first consul. The Protective Senate consisted of members appointed for life, and the legislative body and tribunate were appointed by the Senate.

In 1800, the system of elected local government was abolished. Prefects were placed at the head of the departments, and sub-prefects appointed by the government were placed at the head of the district. The government also appointed city mayors. A strict system of subordination of all officials to the first consul was established. In 1802, Napoleon made the powers of the first consul lifelong and expanded them. Napoleon's power took on a monarchical character and in 1804 Napoleon was proclaimed emperor. Not only the executive, but also the legislative power passes to him. Napoleon's empire was called the first empire and lasted until 1814. At this time, the bourgeois state system was finally established and the basic provisions of bourgeois law were formed.

The political determination and radicalism of the Jacobins were manifested in the new Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen and in the Constitution adopted by the Convention on July 24, 1793 and approved by the overwhelming majority of the people in a plebiscite (Constitution of the 1st Year of the Republic). These documents, drawn up using the constitutional projects of the Girondins, were strongly influenced by the views of J.-J. Rousseau. Thus, the goal of society was declared to be “common happiness.” The main task of the government (state) was to ensure that a person enjoys “his natural and inalienable rights.” These rights included equality, freedom, security, property, the Constitution and legislative acts of the bourgeois states of the 17th - 19th centuries: England, USA, France, Italy, Germany: Sat. documents / Ed. prof. P.N. Galanza. - M.: Gosyurizdat, 1957. - P. 267..

According to the constitution of 1793, a republican system of government was established in France.

The Jacobin Constitution rejected the principle of separation of powers, as contradictory, according to J.-J. Rousseau, the idea of ​​the sovereignty of the people acting as a single whole. It provided for a simple and seemingly democratic state structure at that time. In contrast to the plans for the regionalization of France that emerged during the years of the revolution, Art. 1 emphasized that “the French Republic is one and indivisible.”

Having abolished the division of citizens into active and passive as incompatible with the idea of ​​equality, the Constitution practically legalized universal suffrage for men (from 21 years of age). The peculiar desire of the Jacobins to combine representative bodies with direct democracy (the influence of J.-J. Rousseau) was reflected in the fact that the Legislative Corps (National Assembly) was elected for one year on a number of important issues (civil and criminal legislation, general management of current revenues and expenses of the republic, declaration of war, etc.) could only propose laws.

The Executive Council was the highest government body of the republic. It was to consist of 24 members elected by the National Assembly from candidates nominated by lists from the primary and departmental assemblies. The Executive Council was entrusted with “the direction and supervision of the general administration” (Article 65). The Council was responsible to the National Assembly “in case of non-execution of laws and decrees, as well as in case of failure to report abuses” (Article 72) Constitutions and legislative acts of bourgeois states of the 17th - 19th centuries: England, USA, France, Italy, Germany: Sat. . documents / Ed. prof. P.N. Galanza. - M.: Gosyurizdat, 1957. - P. 269..

But the system of state bodies provided for by the Jacobin Constitution was not created in practice. Due to difficult domestic and international conditions, the Convention was forced to delay the entry into force of the constitution. Being convinced, fanatical and uncompromising revolutionaries, the Jacobins believed that the final suppression of the counter-revolution and the strengthening of the republic in the current situation could only be achieved as a result of energetic government action, by establishing a regime of revolutionary dictatorship.

There is no freedom where there is no bread; there is no equality if wealth is displayed next to poverty; there is no brotherhood if a working woman with her hungry children lies at the gates of the palace.

L.-E. Varlen, 1868

Controversies of the First Republic

The establishment of a republic did not automatically solve all the problems facing France. External enemies continued to advance, the economic situation in the country was deteriorating, the people were worried and demanded changes for the better. These problems had to be eliminated quickly, and political forces each offered their own recipe for this.

Revolutionary War

Even before the overthrow of the monarchy, Danton said at a rally: “To win, you need courage, only courage, always courage - and France will be saved.” In August 1792, his call had an effect - in Paris, men began en masse to enroll as volunteers in the army. On September 22, the French army won the first major battle - the Battle of Valmy. The war turned from an ordinary liberation war into a revolutionary one.

The French sought to protect not just their country, the land on which they lived. They defended the ideology of the Great French Revolution, fought for equality before the law, the right to vote, and republican rule. These ideas turned the French into heroes. The army was massively replenished with volunteers (starting from the age of 14), and they fought bravely.

One day a regiment of volunteers from Marseille arrived in Paris. They walked to the sounds of an unknown song with patriotic lyrics and a daring, sonorous, easy-to-remember motif. Its author was the young officer Rouget de Lisle. Everyone liked the song, and the other revolutionary parts learned it.

Due to its origin (from Marseille), the song was called “La Marseillaise”. It forever became the anthem of the French Republicans, and is now the national anthem of France.

The country also uses other symbols of the Great French Revolution - the tricolor banner and the motto “Freedom. Equality. Brotherhood".

Girondins and Montagnards in the Convention

Thus, the military policy of the first months of the republic was relatively successful. But the same cannot be said about domestic politics. The war caused a drop in production; the country lacked the basic necessities, and unscrupulous businessmen hid goods to sell at exorbitant prices. Food shortages were especially felt in large cities, including Paris.

The people put forward a demand for the introduction of a “bread maximum,” that is, a legislative limitation on prices for essential products. But the leading figures of the Great French Revolution could not agree on this matter.

The majority of the Convention (389 out of 749 deputies) did not have their own position, and followed the group that they considered more influential. For their unscrupulousness they were nicknamed “belly” and “swamp”. The Girondins and Montagnards actively defended their point of view.

At the first stage of the existence of the republic, the Girondins were in the lead. Antoine Condorcet was an outstanding economist, Pierre Vergniaud and Pierre Brissot were excellent speakers. Jean Roland was not distinguished by any talents, but his wife, Manon-Jeanne, had enough of them. The Girondins were categorically against the maximum - it threatened “sacred private property.” They believed that the revolution had already completed all its tasks and it was time to end it.

But other participants in the French Revolution did not agree with them. Their leader was Maximilian Robespierre, a fairly young lawyer from provincial Arras. Robespierre was very modest in his personal life. For his ideal honesty, he was nicknamed Incorruptible. He was short, thin, with a quiet voice, but with such strength of conviction that everyone respected and feared him.

Robespierre (Source: The Great French Revolution and Russia. - M.: Progress. - 1989. - 552 pp.)

Danton supported the position of the Montagnards. He was so different from Robespierre that many were surprised at their union. A man of enormous stature, incredible physical strength, almost ugly (pockmarked from smallpox), Danton easily shouted down the crowd at any rally without a loudspeaker. He did not, like Robespierre, have clearly expressed convictions, but had a fiery temperament and elegant eloquence. His listeners adored him, and he could convince them of anything.

Danton (Source: The Great French Revolution and Russia. - M.: Progress. - 1989. - 552 pp.)

Danton and Robespierre were so different, and their temporary collaboration ended so tragically that artists still like to compare them.

Robespierre and Danton (Source: The Great French Revolution and Russia. - M.: Progress. - 1989. - 552 pp.)

But the alliance with the Jacobins of the Swiss doctor Jean-Paul Marat is not difficult to understand. Already an elderly man (at the beginning of the revolution he was nearly 50, and Danton and Robespierre were slightly over 30), Marat was a republican all his adult life. For his convictions, he managed to be in exile, in the underground, in prison, but did not even think of abandoning them. For this he was highly respected among the people. Marat was a famous political writer and published the newspaper “Friend of the People.” This nickname passed on to himself.

In addition to the maximum, there were other contradictions between the Girondins and Jacobins - the decision on the fate of the king, the norms of the new constitution... Things were heading towards a conflict between the republicans.

Popular movements: “mad”, Commune

Many of those who participated in the French Revolution did not belong to known groups. But this had little effect on their influence.

One of these people was Marat, who was not a member of the Jacobin club. He defended the interests of poor people - artisans, small traders. Money for him was not an indicator of personality quality. Marat was a supporter of the revolutionary war, the “maximum”, and the trial of the king. As a member of the Convention, he personally helped many petitioners, although due to a serious skin disease he was sometimes forced to spend whole days in a bath with a medicinal solution.

Supporters of deepening the revolution also concentrated in the leadership of the city of Paris. In France, local authorities are called Communes. The Paris Commune actually became the initiator and leader of the uprising against the monarchy on August 10, 1792. Its leaders advocated the “maximum,” limiting the rights of the rich, and paying attention to the needs of the working people. One of the leaders of the Commune was Jacques-René Hébert. The prosecutor Pierre-Gaspard Chaumette fully supported the most vigorous demands of the poor.

Representatives of the “mad” emerged from among the people. They were nicknamed so by the rich for their demand to take away their excess property, to ensure a strict “maximum”, to rid the country not only of aristocrats, but also of “bloodsuckers” from the bourgeoisie. The leader of the “mad” was the former priest Jacques Roux.

The first famous woman of simple origin who became a real politician, actress Claire Lacombe, also belonged to them.

Chaumette tried to protect the “mad” from persecution with his power as the prosecutor of the Commune, and Marat tried to protect him with his authority.

Jacobin dictatorship

As we see, the sympathy of the people by the summer of 1793 was on the side of the Montagnards. The Girondists had to give in to them on some issues (in particular, condemning the king to death for treason). But they persisted on the issue of “maximum”. Difficulties also arose in the war - England joined the enemies of France, and a monarchical uprising broke out in the province of Vendee.

Establishment of the Jacobin dictatorship

On May 31, 1793, an uprising began in Paris - the poor demanded “the maximum.” The Montagnards took advantage of this and on June 2 achieved the expulsion of the Girondins from the Convention. The Jacobin dictatorship was established - only the Montagnards were considered real Jacobins.

But there was again no unity in the Convention. The most influential group (Saint-Just, Couthon, Lebas) united around Robespierre. Danton had his own group. The leaders of the Commune and Marat took the most decisive views on the rights of the poor.

On the benches of the Convention they sat to the left of the rostrum. Since then, social justice advocates have been called “leftists.”

Achievements of the Jacobins

At the initial stage of the dictatorship, the Jacobins did a good job of governing the country. On June 24, 1793, the constitution of the republic was adopted. It established a new form of government and introduced universal suffrage for adult men. New elections to the Convention had not yet been held, but this was also the right decision - after all, there was a war going on.

The army was replenished with recruits by mobilizing all single adult men. Commanders were allowed to be elected, and talented people from the grassroots made rapid careers.

Lazar Ghosh was a groom at the age of 17, but at 24 he became a general and quickly suppressed the monarchist movement in the Vendée. The artillery captain Bonaparte received the rank of general at the same age (right after the captain's).

The new army inflicted significant defeats on the coalition troops, and for the first time the war spread from French to enemy territory. But it has not yet become aggressive - it was forcing the enemy to peace.

But other events were less successful. The long-awaited “maximum” was introduced on September 24, 1793, but before that, available food supplies were not taken into account. As a result, his situation only got worse. The introduction of a new calendar or a new religion was perceived critically even by contemporaries.

The Age of Terror and the Fall of the Dictatorship

They decided to fight the speculators with brutal persecution. The reason for introducing widespread repression was the murder of Marat in July 1793. The noblewoman Charlotte Corday, trained by the Girondins, stabbed him with a knife right in the healing bath. The era of Jacobin terror began.

Terror (fear, horror) - in politics, the practice of suppressing an ideological opponent using harsh force methods.

The French Revolution had known manifestations of cruelty before. But this was an accidental or isolated phenomenon (indignant crowds dealt with aristocrats, executed the king and queen, and other counter-revolutionaries). The new terror implied the massive imposition of death sentences without serious trial, often based on slander or simple suspicion. Their heads were cut off with a special machine - a guillotine.

The Age of Terror (Source: The Great French Revolution and Russia. - M.: Progress. - 1989. - 552 pp.)

According to historians, up to 90 thousand people became victims of terror. Among them were many revolutionaries. The leaders of the Commune and the “mad” were the first to suffer. Hébert and Chaumette were guillotined, Jacques Roux committed suicide in prison. Then Danton's group was executed - he was accused of embezzlement (his rapid enrichment gave rise to suspicion).

According to legend, on his way to the place of execution, Danton saw Robespierre in the crowd and said: “You will follow me.”

Terror was the main reason for the fall of the Jacobins. The people no longer supported them - the military problems were solved, but the economic problems were not solved. Everyone was afraid of terror. In this situation, several members of the Convention (Barras, Tallien, Fouche) formed a conspiracy. These were dishonest people, but in conditions of general discontent, their plan was a success. Robespierre and his friends were arrested on July 27, 1794. According to the new chronology, it was 9 Thermidor of the 2nd year of the republic, so the coup was called the Thermidorian coup. The next day, all the Robespierrists had their heads cut off.

None of them asked for mercy or renounced their convictions - all died heroically. And Auguste Couthon, whose legs were paralyzed, also gave the executioner advice on how to place his awkward body under the guillotine...

One of the greatest merits of the Jacobins was to satisfy the urgent demands of the peasantry. The sale of emigrants' lands in small plots in installments was allowed. Part of the communal lands seized by the lords before the revolution was returned to the peasants.

The main role was played by the decree adopted in July 1793 on the complete and free abolition of all feudal payments and duties. The peasants became completely free and independent owners of their plots. Thus, the Jacobin dictatorship finally abolished the feudal order in the countryside and resolved the main issue of the French Revolution of the 18th century. - on the liquidation of feudal ownership of land held by peasants. This decree transformed peasants from dependent holders into full owners of the land. However, the landless poor did not receive allotments. The death penalty was still imposed for speaking in favor of an equal redistribution of land. The castles, parks and forests that belonged to them remained in the possession of the landowners. From all this one can see the bourgeois character of the agrarian decrees of the Jacobins.

A revolutionary calendar was introduced. The day of the proclamation of the republic, September 22, 1792, was taken as the beginning of the chronology. The months were divided into decades and received new names according to their characteristic weather or agricultural work, for example: Brumaire - the month of fogs, Germinal - the month of sowing, Prairial - the month of herbs, Thermidor - hot month, etc.

In the autumn of 1793, the masses of sans-culottes and the Council of the Commune of Paris, through their demonstrations, forced them to intensify the fight against speculation and high prices. Maximum prices for basic necessities were introduced. Searches were carried out and grain reserves were seized from the rich. The revolutionary sections and the Council of the Commune of Paris were the earliest beginnings of popular power in history.

Queen Marie Antoinette and the leaders of the counter-revolutionaries from the Vendee and Lyon were executed. Revolutionary terror was justified and necessary against the enemies of the revolution due to extraordinary circumstances and as a response to their actions. The popular masses demanded terror against the counter-revolutionaries. But there were quite frequent cases of the Jacobins using terror against the poor and popular agitators who advocated limiting large fortunes. This resulted from the bourgeois character of the Jacobin dictatorship. During the Jacobin dictatorship, agitators appeared who advocated the equalization of property, for example the former priest Jacques Roux. The bourgeoisie angrily called them “mad.”

Mass revolutionary army. Victory over the invaders

The great merit of the Jacobins was the mass recruitment into the army. The old royal troops were merged with detachments of revolutionary volunteers. The army was cleared of traitors to the revolution. Many new young and talented officers and generals emerged from the people. The groom's son Gosh received the rank of general at the age of 24.

The country developed the production of saltpeter, gunpowder, and the creation of weapons workshops and factories. The country's most prominent scientists were busy improving the production of cannons and rifles; French artillery became the best in the world. Soon a massive and well-armed revolutionary army was created, exceeding 600 thousand people. The soldiers of the republic were inspired by patriotic enthusiasm. For the most part peasants, they understood perfectly well that only the complete and crushing defeat of the coalition would help secure liberation from feudal duties. The slogan of the revolutionary war were the words: “Victory or death!”

The readiness to sacrifice themselves for their homeland was so great that sometimes even teenagers died fighting courageously. Thus, 14-year-old Bara participated in the hussar regiment in battles with the Vendeans and was captured. The counter-revolutionaries mocked the boy and demanded that he shout: “Long live the king!” But the little hero exclaimed: “Long live the Republic!” – he died under the blows of bayonets and scythes.

By the beginning of 1794, France was cleared of coalition troops. The war was transferred to enemy territory. In June 1794, in Belgium, near the village of Fleurus, the troops of revolutionary France defeated the main forces of the Austrian army. The coalition was defeated.

Citizens... stay awake, gather your strength and do not lay down your arms until you achieve complete justice, until you ensure your safety. When a free people entrusts the exercise of their powers, the defense of their rights and their interests to their chosen representatives, they must, so long as they are faithful to their duty, unquestioningly appeal to them, respect their decrees, support them in the performance of their duties. But when these representatives constantly abuse his confidence, trade his rights, betray his interests, rob him, torture him, suppress him, plot his destruction, then the people must take away their powers from them, deploy all their strength to force them to return to the performance of their duty, punish the traitors and save yourself. Citizens, you have nothing to count on except your energy. Submit your appeal to the Convention, demand the punishment of deputies who are disloyal to their fatherland, stay on your feet and do not lay down your arms until you achieve your goal.

From the decree of July 17, 1793 on the complete and free destruction of feudal rights

1. All previous seignorial taxes, dues associated with rights, both permanent and occasional... are destroyed free of charge.

6. Former lords... and other owners of documents establishing or confirming rights abolished by this decree or previous decrees issued by previous Assemblies are required to submit them within three months after the publication of this decree... Documents submitted before August 10th are burned in this day... all other documents must be burned after 3 months.