What other activities did the Jacobins take? Jacobin dictatorship in France
The historical merit of the Jacobins consisted in the adoption of a number of important decrees aimed at the most radical solution of the agrarian question, which was only possible under the conditions of a bourgeois revolution.
June 3, 1793 - decree on preferential(with payment by installments for 10 years ) sale of land confiscated from counterrevolutionaries to peasants.
The decree of June 10, 1793 returned the agricultural lands seized earlier by the nobles to the peasant communities; at the same time, the possibility of dividing communal lands was envisaged, if one third of the members of these communities spoke in favor.
On July 17, 1793, the Decree "On the Final Abolition of Feudal Rights" was adopted. It established that all seigneurial payments and all feudal rights, both permanent and temporary, were canceled immediately and without any remuneration.
The result of all these measures of the Jacobins was a radical restructuring of the entire system of land ownership on the principles of small and medium peasant land tenure.
Anchoring this new situation, The Convention adopted a special decree of September 7, 1793., which stated that "no Frenchman can use feudal rights in any area on pain of deprivation of all rights of citizenship."
It took a lot of effort from the Jacobins solving social problems of the urban population... Under the pressure of the people, the Jacobins started rationing food prices, although the original attitude of the Robespierres to the idea of a universal maximum was sharply negative.
On September 11, 1793, a decree was adopted that established uniform fixed prices for grain, flour, fodder... Grain and flour were allowed to be sold only in the markets (because only there it was possible to control the observance of fixed prices). To supply armies, cities and departments in need, the authorities were given the right to carry out requisitions.
On September 29, 1793, the Decree “On the General Maximum", According to which price caps were introduced for all basic essential commodities... At the same time, the maximum amount of wages was established (one and a half times more than the wages of 1790). Workers who refused to work for official wages were subject to short-term (up to three days) imprisonment and subsequent forced mobilization through the municipalities. In Paris and other major cities a card system was introduced; market trading in grain was banned. Food detachments were sent to the village to forcibly confiscate food. On November 1, 1793, a single maximum was set throughout the Republic. The monitoring of compliance with the universal maximum was carried out The Central Food and Supply Commission, established by a decree of the Convention of October 22, 1793. and endowed with the broadest powers. It was in charge of the production, trade and delivery of food. She was given the right to carry out requisitions, relying on military force. By a decree of July 26, 1793, speculation in essential goods was declared a criminal offense, for which the death penalty was imposed.
The pinnacle of the social policy of the Jacobins was t. n. Vantose decrees, adopted by the Convention in late February - early March 1794 d. According to these decrees, the Committee of Public Safety and the Committee of Public Security were to review the cases of all persons arrested after May 1, 1789 and found not guilty - to release, and from those recognized as enemies of the revolution - to confiscate property. The confiscated property should be distributed free of charge among indigent patriots, whose lists were to be drawn up by the Public Security Committee on the basis of information received from local communes. The Vantose decrees coincided with the views of the robespierres, inspired by the ideas of J.J. Rousseau about universal equality. The implementation of the Vantose decrees would lead to a significant increase in the number of small owners from the ranks of the peasant and urban poor and would significantly strengthen the social base of the Jacobin dictatorship. At the same time, the implementation of these decrees would lead to a significant undermining of the positions of the counter-revolutionary bourgeoisie and nobility. The Vantose decrees were greeted with great enthusiasm among the people, but provoked fierce resistance from the owners, who were represented, among other things, in the Convention itself and in government committees. The Thermidorian coup that followed soon removed the Vantose legislation from the agenda. The May (1794) decrees of the Convention on the introduction of a system of state benefits for old age and disability, a system of subsidies to the poor and orphans also remained unfulfilled.
The big and middle bourgeoisie, the prosperous and middle peasantry, as the danger of the restoration of the monarchy decreased, did not want to tolerate the regime of the revolutionary dictatorship any longer (restriction of freedom of trade and entrepreneurship, a firm policy of maximum and requisition, revolutionary terror), which narrowed their opportunities to extract all the benefits from the victory of the bourgeois revolution. Reflection of these processes there was an exacerbation from the beginning of 1794 of the political struggle in the ranks of the Jacobin bloc itself. Expressing the aspirations of the poor left ("extreme") Jacobins (leaders of the Paris Commune J.R. Hebert, P.G. Chaumette and others) and those close to them in the Paris sections and the Cordelier Club demanded further equalization measures limiting large property and the freedom of bourgeois profit, the strictest observance of the maximum, the toughening of revolutionary terror, war until complete victory.
On the opposite political flank "condescending" (Dantonists), headed by J. Danton and C. Desmoulins, associated with the new bourgeoisie that rose up during the revolution, sought to weaken the regime of the revolutionary dictatorship, and in foreign policy - the earliest possible conclusion of peace.
Execution in March - April 1794 of Ebert and other Ebertists, Chaumette, as well as Danton and other Dantonists, intensification of revolutionary terror (decree June 10, 1794) could not prevent the inexorable process of the collapse of the Jacobin bloc and the escalation of the crisis Jacobin dictatorship.
In June - July 1794, a conspiracy took shape in the bowels of the Convention directed against the revolutionary government headed by Robespierre and his closest associates. Although some left-wing Jacobins also joined the conspiracy, the main role in it was played by representatives of the counter-revolutionary bourgeoisie... As a result Thermidorian coup (27/28 July 1794), the Jacobin dictatorship was overthrown.
Historical meaningThe Jacobin dictatorship consists in the fact that it brought the bourgeois revolution in France to a decisive victory and defended its conquests from internal and external counter-revolution, laid revolutionary traditions that played and are playing a large role in the revolutionary movement of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In the summer of 1793, the revolution in France reached its highest point. The most radical politicians came to power in the country, who established a political regime, later called the "Jacobin dictatorship."
Establishment of the Jacobin dictatorship in France
On May 31, 1793, the lower strata of society revolted in Paris, led by the most radical political group - the Jacobins. Very soon they were supported by the poor people from the villages and representatives of the petty bourgeoisie. By June 2, the rebels surrounded the building of the French parliament, forcing the deputies to pass a law on the arrest of the Girondins, the main political opponents of the Jacobins. So, having eliminated competitors, the Jacobins established their dictatorship.
Rice. 1. Portrait of Robespierre.
Jacobin activities
October 1793 is an important date in the history of France, because then the most progressive constitution of its time was adopted. The French Revolution gave all men over the age of 21 universal suffrage. However, in reality, this constitution never started to work. The Legislative Corps was responsible for the adoption of new laws, and decrees gained popularity in wartime. In fact, parliament was relegated to the background, and all the threads of political games were in the hands of the Jacobins.
From the very beginning of the establishment of the dictatorship, it was expected that the country would burst at the seams. The troops of Spain, Prussia and Austria were stationed on the borders of France, and in the province of Vendée, emigrant nobles revolted against the Jacobins.
Rice. 2. Marseillaise on the facade of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
In June 1793, the Jacobins began to solve the agrarian question, transferring communal lands to the ownership of the peasants and eliminating all feudal obligations. The church and the nobility were deprived of their lands in favor of the state.
The army system has also undergone a number of changes. For example, military personnel began to occupy officer positions, who really showed themselves to be a good commander, and not by right of origin.
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Rice. 3. The National Guard of Paris goes to the front.
It was thanks to this innovation that the star of Napoleon Bonaparte began to rise, distinguished himself in the capture of Toulon and made a brilliant career as an officer in the republic.
The Jacobins succeeded in suppressing the uprising in the Vendée, and in June 1794 Austrian troops were defeated at Flirius. Constant spending and the country's destabilized economy required new income. There was a shortage of grain in the country, which forced the Jacobins to set maximum prices for the most important goods.
The reasons for the death of the Jacobin dictatorship
In short, the cause of the fall of the Jacobin dictatorship was the terror unfolding in the country. In September 1793, a decree issued allowed the arrest of all suspicious persons, and in June 1794 a new revolutionary concept was introduced - the enemy of the people. The leader of the Jacobins, Maximilian Robespierre, turned legal proceedings into a circus, allowing people to be accused by a jury.
The mass "cleansing" of society from the enemies of the revolution claimed thousands of lives. The strata of society that made themselves capital during the revolution were dissatisfied, but tolerated the new order as long as there was a threat of intervention. Even the peasants, satisfied with the land they had received, were already outraged by the terror. The attempt to retain power in their hands ended in failure. The result of the Jacobin regime was the coup d'état on July 27, 1794. Opponents of the Jacobins in the Convention approved the decision to arrest and execute Robespierre and his entourage. After the overthrow of the dictatorship, many reforms were canceled, and the Directory regime was established in the country.
What have we learned?
The dictatorship of the Jacobins gave France a vivid experience of life without a monarchy. She showed that it is not the origin that plays the main role in the fate of a person, but his merits. This period of French history was bloody, capacious and fateful for the country.
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The political decisiveness and radicalism of the Jacobins manifested itself in the new Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen and in the Constitution adopted by the Convention on July 24, 1793 and approved by the overwhelming majority of the people at 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. Russo. Thus, the goal of society was declared "general happiness." The main task of the government (state) was to ensure the use of man "his natural and inalienable rights." These rights included equality, freedom, security, property of 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 .-- S. 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 contradicting, according to J.-J. Rousseau, the idea of the sovereignty of the people acting as a 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 were manifested during the years of the revolution in Art. 1 it was emphasized that "the French Republic is one and indivisible."
By abolishing the division of citizens into active and passive as incompatible with the idea of equality, the Constitution practically legalized universal suffrage for men (from the age of 21). The peculiar desire of the Jacobins to combine representative bodies with direct democracy (the influence of J.-J. Rousseau) is reflected in the fact that the Legislative Corps (National Assembly) elected for one year on a number of important issues (civil and criminal law, general management of current income, etc. expenditures 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 “directing and overseeing the general management and supervision of it” (Art. 65). The Council was responsible before the National Assembly “in case of failure to comply with laws and decrees, as well as in case of failure to report abuses” (Art. 72) of 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 .-- S. 269 ..
But the system of state bodies envisaged by the Jacobin Constitution was not created in practice. Due to difficult domestic and international conditions, the Convention was forced to postpone the entry into force of the constitution. Being convinced, fanatical and uncompromising revolutionaries, the Jacobins believed that the final suppression of counter-revolution and the consolidation of the republic in the current situation could be carried out only as a result of energetic actions of the government, by establishing a regime of revolutionary dictatorship.
Jacobins and their role in the revolution. First part.
The club gets its name from the club's meeting place in the Dominican monastery of Saint Jacob on rue Saint-Jacques in Paris.
The Jacobin party included:
The right wing, whose leader wasGeorges Jacques Danton
Center headed by Robespierre
Left wing, led by Jean-Paul Marat.
(and after his death by Ebert and Chaumette).
Inception
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The Jacobin Club had a tremendous influence on the course of the French Revolution of 1789. Not without reason it was said that the revolution grew and developed, fell and disappeared in connection with the fate of this club. The cradle of the Jacobin Club was the Breton Club, (Bretagne) - so called,)Tbut there are conferences organized by several deputies of the third estate of Brittany upon their arrival in Versailles for the states-general, even before their opening.
The initiative for these meetings is attributed to d'Ennebon and de Pontivy, who were among the most radical deputies in their province. Deputies of the Breton clergy and deputies from other provinces, who held different directions, soon took part in these meetings. There were Sieis and Mirabeau, Duke d'Egillon and Robespierre, Abbot Gregoire, Petion and
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Initially, the Jacobin Club was almost entirely composed of deputies from Brittany, and its meetings were held in an atmosphere of strict secrecy. Then it included deputies from other regions. Soon, the club was no longer limited to members of the National Assembly. Thanks to its wide membership, the Jacobin Club became the spokesman for the most diverse groups of the French population, even citizens of other states were members of it.
Soon, the views of most of the club members began to take on a more radical character. The speeches voiced calls for a transition to a republican form of government, for the introduction of universal suffrage, for the separation of church from state. Among the tasks of the Jacobin club, formulated in February 1790, were a preliminary discussion of issues that were to be considered by the National Assembly, improving the constitution, adopting a charter, maintaining contacts with similar clubs that were created in France.
The management of the club decided to include in its composition similar in views and structure societies located in other regions of France. This decision determined the further fate of the Jacobin club. Within a few months, he had more than 150 branches in different regions of France, while maintaining a rigid system of centralized leadership. By July 1790, the metropolitan branch of the club had 1,200 members and met four times a week. The club was a powerful political force. Any member of the Jacobin club who, in word or deed, expressed his disagreement with the constitution and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, was subject to exclusion from its ranks. This rule subsequently facilitated the "purges" with the exclusion of those members of the club who were of more moderate views. One of the tasks formulated in February 1790 was to enlighten the people and save them from delusions. The nature of these misconceptions has been the subject of much debate.
As the number of members grew, the organization of the club became much more complicated.
At the head was the chairman, who was elected for a month; he had 4 secretaries, 12 inspectors, and, which is especially typical for this club, 4 censors; all these officials were elected for 3 months: 5 committees were formed at the club, indicating that the club assumed the role of political censor in relation to the national assembly and France - committees for the representation (censorship) of members, for supervision (Surveillance ), by administration, by reports and by correspondence.
Meetings began to take place daily; the public began to be admitted to meetings only from October 12, 1791, that is, already at the legislative assembly.
At this time, the number of club members reached 1211 (as voted on at the November 11 meeting).
As a result of the influx of non-deputies, the composition of the club changed: it became an organ of that social stratum, which the French call la bourgeoisie lettreе ("intelligentsia"); the majority consisted of lawyers, doctors, teachers, scientists, writers, painters, to whom people from the merchant class also joined.
Some of these members bore famous names: the physician Kabanii, the scientist Laseped, the writer Marie-Joseph Chénier, Chauderlos de Laclos, painters David and C. Vernet, La Garpe, Fabre d'Eglantine, Mercier. the qualification of newcomers was reduced, but the Parisian Jacobin club to the end retained its two original features: doctoralism and a certain stiffness in relation to the educational qualification. that the very entry into the Jacobin Club was due to a rather high membership fee (24 livres annually, in addition, when joining another 12 livres).
Subsequently, at the Jacobin Club, a special department was organized under the name "fraternal society for the political education of the people", where women were also admitted; but that did not change the general character of the club.
The club got its own newspaper; its edition was entrusted to Chauderlos de Laclos, who was in close relations with the Duke of Orleans; the newspaper itself began to be called the "Monitor" of Orleanism. This revealed the well-known opposition against Louis XVI; nevertheless, the Jacobin Club remained faithful to the political principle proclaimed in its name.
In the elections to the Legislative Assembly, which took place in early September 1791, the Jacobins were able to elect only five leaders of the club among the 23 deputies of Paris; but his influence grew, and in the elections to the Paris municipality, in November, the Jacobins prevailed. From that time on, the "Paris Commune" became an instrument of the Jacobin Club.
The Jacobins began at the end of 1791 to directly influence the people; for this purpose, prominent members of the club - Petion, Collot d'Erbois and Robespierre himself - devoted themselves to the “noble vocation to teach the children of the people in the constitution,” that is, to teach the “catechism of the constitution.” Another measure was of more practical importance - the recruitment of agents, who, in the squares or galleries of the club and the national assembly, were to engage in the political education of adults and win them over to the side of the Jacobins. These agents were recruited from military deserters who were sent in droves to Paris, as well as from workers previously initiated into the ideas of the Jacobins.
At the beginning of 1792 there were about 750 such agents; they were under the command of a former officer who received orders from a secret committee of the Jacobin Club. The agents received 5 livres a day, but due to the large influx the price dropped to 20 sous. The galleries of the Jacobin Club, where a crowd of 1,500 people were packed, had great educational value in the sense of the Jacobin; the seats were occupied from 2 o'clock, although the sessions began only at 6 o'clock in the evening. The club speakers tried to keep this crowd in constant exaltation. An even more important means of gaining influence was the capture of galleries in the legislature through agents and the mob they led; in this way, the Jacobin Club could exert direct pressure on the speakers of the legislature and on the vote. All of this was very expensive and was not covered by membership fees; but the Jacobin Club was heavily subsidized by the Duke of Orleans, or appealed to the "patriotism" of its wealthy members; one such collection delivered 750,000 livres.
Although the Jacobin dictatorship did not last long, it was the culmination of the revolution. The Jacobins were able to awaken in the people irrepressible energy, courage, courage, self-sacrifice, daring and courage. But in spite of all the unsurpassed greatness, all the historical progressiveness, the Jacobin dictatorship still had the limitations that are inherent in any bourgeois revolution.
The Jacobin dictatorship, both in its foundation and in its policy, had enormous internal contradictions. The goal of the Jacobins was freedom, democracy, equality, but precisely in the form in which these ideas were envisioned by the great bourgeois revolutionary democrats of the eighteenth century. They crushed and uprooted feudalism, and, as Marx put it, swept away everything medieval and feudal with a "gigantic broom", thereby clearing the ground for the formation of new capitalist relations. As a result, the Jacobins created all the conditions for the replacement of the feudal system by the capitalist one.
The Jacobin dictatorship strictly intervened in the sale and distribution of basic products and goods, speculators and those who violated maximum laws were sent to the guillotine.
But since the state during the period of dictatorship regulated only in the sphere of distribution and did not affect the mode of production, therefore the economic power of the new bourgeoisie could not weaken either the policy of repression of the Jacobin government or state regulation.
In addition, during this period, the economic strength of the bourgeoisie grew significantly, thanks to the elimination of feudal land tenure and the sale of national property. Economic ties were destroyed by the war, at this time great demands were made on all economic areas of life. But, despite the restrictive measures carried out by the Jacobins, all conditions were created for the enrichment of enterprising businessmen. From everywhere, after the liberation from feudalism, an energetic, courageous new bourgeoisie appeared, striving for wealth. Its ranks were constantly growing at the expense of immigrants from the urban petty-bourgeois strata and wealthy peasants. The sources of the rapid fabulous growth in the wealth of the new bourgeoisie were the speculation of scarce goods, the sale of land, the difference in the exchange rate of money, huge supplies to the army, accompanied by various machinations and frauds. The policy of repression pursued by the Jacobin government could not influence this process. Without fear of being beheaded, the rich who appeared during the revolution were able to make a huge fortune for themselves in a short time, they uncontrollably rushed to enrichment and in every possible way bypassed the laws on the maximum, on the prohibition of speculation and other measures of the revolutionary government.
Lands of immigrant nobles went on sale in small plots, feudal rights were finally abolished. Thus, the Jacobins liquidated the remnants of feudalism in the country.
However, under the conditions of that time, the 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 figures of the Jacobins were executed. Thus, with this coup, the revolution in France ends, although some scholars believe that it lasted 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 image changed. Legislative power under the Constitution belonged to a bicameral Legislature. The executive branch was handed over to a directory of 5 people who were appointed by the Legislature. The policy of the directory was not distinguished by stability and consistency, aroused indignation of both the people and the bourgeoisie. At this time, wars continued with the feudal states of Europe, and during these wars, honoring his talent, Napoleon Bonaparte was promoted. In November 1799, he dissolved the legislative body and the directory, that is, he carried out a coup d'etat.
In 1799, the Constitution was adopted, which formalized the regime of the consulate. The directory period (1794 - 1799) is over.
According to the Constitution, the supreme power was transferred to three consuls, the first of whom was Napoleon. The first consul was endowed with special powers. He had the right to initiate legislation, appointed and removed 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 Guardian 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 Guardian Senate was made up of members appointed for life, while the Legislature and Tribunate were appointed by the Senate.
In 1800, the system of elective local self-government was liquidated. Departments were headed by prefects, and the district was headed by sub-prefects appointed by the government. The government also appointed mayors of cities. A strict system of subordination of all officials to the first consul was established. In 1802, Napoleon makes the powers of the first consul for life and expands them. The power of Napoleon takes on a monarchical character and in 1804 Napoleon is proclaimed emperor. Not only the executive, but also the legislative power is transferred to it. The empire of Napoleon was named 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.
