The French Revolution and the
Idea of the Nation
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Answers
The French Revolution was motivated and shaped by several distinct ideas. Three of these ideas were encapsulated in a well-known revolutionary slogan: “Liberty! Equality! Fraternity!”.
The ideology of the French Revolution was broader and more complex than mere slogans, however. French revolutionary ideas drew heavily on the political philosophy of the Enlightenment and the writings of the philosophes.
French revolutionary ideas borrowed from other political systems and places. Many French revolutionaries were keen students of Britain’s government and society, for example. They came to admire its constitutional basis, its separation of powers and its tolerance for individual rights and freedoms.
The American Revolution (1775-89), which was concluding as the French Revolution was unfolding, was also significant. The American model provided French reformers with a working example of a successful revolution and a written constitution.
The ideas of the French Revolution were also inspired or shaped by grievances specific to 18th century France. Some of the key ideas are summarised below.
Liberty
In the context of the 18th century, liberty described freedom from oppression, particularly oppression by the state or government.
The most visible instruments of oppression in the Ancien Régime were lettres de cachet, or sealed orders signed by the king. These lettres had several functions but their most common use was to detain and imprison individuals without trial or due process.
Several notable figures were imprisoned by lettres de cachet, including Honore Mirabeau (for disgracing his family) and Voltaire (for defamatory writings).
Another example of state oppression was the censorship of publications containing criticisms of the king, the aristocracy or the church. The Ancien Régime also used torture to deal with its opponents, though this declined in the late 1700s and was formally abolished in May 1788.
Equality
Equality also underpinned the ideas of the French Revolution. The social structure of the Ancien Régime was uneven and unfair, especially with regard to political participation and taxation.
The citizens of the Third Estate wanted equality. Some, however, wanted a more limited form of equality than others. The rising bourgeoisie wanted political and social equality with the nobility of the Second Estate. They favoured a meritocracy: a society where rank and status were defined by ability and achievement, rather than birthright and privilege.
For this, they looked to the newly formed United States, where a revolution had transferred government power to men of talent and ability. The bourgeoisie was more reluctant about sharing political equality with the lower ranks of the Third Estate, however. They did not support universal voting rights, believing that voting should be a privilege of the propertied classes.
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Answer:
The first clear expression of nationalism came with the French Revolution in 1789.
The political and constitutional changes that came in the wake of the French Revolution led to the transfer of sovereignty from the monarchy to a body of French citizens.
The ideas of la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the citizen) emphasized the notion of a united community enjoying equal rights under a constitution.
The Estates General was elected by the body of the active citizens and renamed the National Assembly.
Internal customs duties and dues were abolished and a uniform system of weights and measures was adopted.
The revolutionaries further declared that it was the mission and the destiny of the French nation to liberate the peoples of Europe from despotism.
Students and other members of educated middle classes began setting up Jacobin club.
Their activities and campaigns prepared the way for the French armies which moved into Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and much of Italy in the 1790’s.
The French armies began to carry the idea of nationalism abroad.
Through a return to monarchy Napoleon had, no doubt, destroyed democracy in France, but in the administrative field he had incorporated revolutionary principles in order to make the whole system more rational and efficient.
The Civil Code of 1804 – usually known as the Napoleonic Code - did away with all privileges based on birth, established equality before the Law and secured the right to property.
Napoleon simplified administrative divisions, abolished the feudal system and freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues.
Transport and communication systems were improved.
Businessmen and small-scale producers of goods, in particular, began to realize that uniform laws, standardised weights and measures, and a common national currency would facilitate the movement and exchange of goods and capital from one region to another.
In many places such as Holland and Switzerland, Brussels, Mainz, Milan, Warsaw, the French armies were welcomed as harbingers of Liberty.
It became clear that the new administrative arrangements did not go hand in hand with political freedom.
Increased taxation, censorship, forced conscription into the French armies required to conquer the rest of the Europe, all seemed to outweigh the advantages of the administrative changes.