Letter From the Dais
Dear Delegates,
Our names are Margo and Kishore and we are both sophomores in Silliman College. We are so excited to welcome all of you to the 2017 Security Council Simulation at Yale, especially within such a historically significant committee: The National Convention of the French Revolution! This period is an incredibly interesting and important one to consider, as it is such a powerful example of the power of ideals and the people who ascribe to them. It can also help us understand how and why revolutions that start a certain way take a drastically different turn. At the same time, we are interested in the period because of the lessons about political factions that can be drawn from it and applied to our own modern political landscape. We hope you are all as excited as we are to dive into this topic!
Besides chairing for SCSY, I, Margo, spend my time playing the violin in the Yale Symphony Orchestra, through which I am also one of the producers for this year’s Halloween Show, as well as doing volunteer work teaching science to New Haven elementary school students through the entirely student-run group Demos. I am planning on majoring in History of Science and Medicine and pursuing a career as a doctor. I, Kishore, am a board member for Bridges ESL, which is an English teaching program that pairs Yale students with immigrants in the New Haven area in a tutor-student relationship. I am also a member of the Club baseball team and sing for Sur et Veritaal, an a Cappella group on campus. I am planning on majoring in Philosophy and currently have no clue as to which career I will be pursuing.
We are so looking forward to engaging with you all in what we hope will be an exciting and productive committee. Before we all get together, you can reach us anytime at kishore.chundi@yale.edu and margaret.e.williams@yale.edu and with any questions or concerns you may have. Good luck in your preparations, and see you soon!
Wishing “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” upon you all,
Margo Williams and Kishore Chundi
SM ’20
Topic History
General and Recent History
The first part of this section will give a brief history of the Revolution up to the current period of the National Convention. It will refrain from an analysis of the causes for the revolution, for such an attempt would both be beyond the scope of this project and would enter an extremely controversial intellectual arena. Instead, this part will focus on bare bones recapitulation.
Louis XVI becomes king in 1774, inheriting a country in dire financial straits. France had become embroiled in a series of costly wars that had exhausted the country’s wealth. In the Seven Years War, France had lost many of its foreign possessions at the hands of its British enemies. In an effort to regain national prestige and undermine the British, Louis XVI supported the Americans in their revolution against the British. The money spent in supporting the Americans further impoverished the crown. In addition, there was little means of replenishing country’s empty coffers, because the system of taxation was so inefficient. It allowed the wealthy to pay little to no taxes, while inefficiently and unfairly burdening the poor. Louis XVI appointed Jacques Necker to fix the finances of the country. Necker realized the gravity of the financial situation and tried to revamp the tax system. He proposed an increase on taxes for the aristocrats and the clergy, and an amelioration of the tax burden on the poor. In addition, he wished to curtail the power and influence of the parlements. The parlements were provincial courts, dealing with a wide range of matters including taxation, which were dominated by the aristocracy.
However, Necker’s attempts at reform met widespread opposition amongst the nobles, and he was eventually dismissed by Louis XVI. Louis XVI appointed Charles Alexandre de Calonne to Necker’s position. Calonne also desired to reform the tax code, but the nobility once again proved to be an obstacle. As a result, Louis XVI decided to convene the Estates General in May of 1789, which had not been convened since 1614. French society was divided into three parts, also known as the Estates. The first estate was composed of the clergy. The second estate was composed of the aristocracy. The third estate was composed of everyone else. In the Estate-General, all three groups possessed equal power, even though the third estate represented approximately 95% of the population.
While optimistic at first, the third estate soon grew disenchanted with the unfair representation and lack of progress. They decided to establish the National Assembly, which had the aim of representing the people rather than the arbitrary estates. On June 20, 1789, the National Assembly famously took the Tennis Court Oath, swearing not to disassemble until they had established a constitution for the country. In the meantime, Louis XVI had ordered soldiers into Paris, which made people think that Louis XVI was planning to shut down the Assembly. The masses took to the streets on July 14, 1789, infamously storming the Bastille.
Emboldened, revolutionaries fanned the flames of rebellion across the country. In the countryside, peasants violently stormed the chateaus of their nobles. In August of 1789, Feudalism was abolished. Serfdom was outlawed, and the countless privileges that the nobles had enjoyed for centuries disappeared into oblivion. Later that month, the Declaration of the Rights of Man was promulgated by the National Assembly. A highly influential document in the history of human rights, the Declaration enumerated basic human rights, which for the time were very progressive. In October, popular fears and rumors led to the Women’s March on Versailles. Crowds of fisherwomen marched to Versailles and attempted to violently stormed the palace. They succeeded in pressuring the King and Queen to move to Paris from their traditional home in Versailles.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly attempted to reduce the power of influence of the Catholic Church. In early 1790, the Assembly dissolved all monastic vows and confiscated Church property. In July, they established the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. It attempted to ensure the loyalty of the clergy to the state and make religion subservient to the state. It tried to force the clergy to swear an oath of allegiance to France. While some clergy swore the oath, many did not, inviting the enmity of the Assembly.
The royal family became dismayed with the turn that the revolution had taken. In the famous Flight to Varennes in June 1791, the King, Queen, and their children left Paris during the night in attempt to flee to the Austrian border. They were recognized and arrested at Varennes, just 30 miles from the border, and returned to Paris. The incident dramatically swayed public opinion against the monarchy. It gave the constitutional focus of the National Assembly, which had been solidified in the Tennis Court Oath, a new direction towards a Constitutional Monarchy.
The momentum towards the Constitutional Monarchy increased. In August 1791, the Holy Roman Emperor, the King of Prussia, and Louis XVI’s brother issued the Declaration of Pillnitz, which threatened to invade France to support the monarchy. The Declaration was highly unpopular amongst the French people, who understood it as another foreign attempt to meddle in French affairs. With the momentum, the National Assembly drafted a constitution, which was accepted by Louis XVI.
The period beginning in October 1792 and lasting until September 1792, the Legislative Assembly, directly precedes the period of the National Convention that this committee will be focusing on. New elections were held, in which men who paid a certain amount of taxes participated. The Legislative Assembly entered crisis soon after its establishment. The National Assembly that preceded it had not done much to correct the disastrous financial state of the country. The government issued increasing amounts of assignats, the new currency that was originally based in the property and wealth confiscated from the Church. This policy led to rampant inflation, especially with regards to food prices. In addition, the King retained veto power, which he used in several cases to the consternation of the Assembly.
At the same time, controversy broke out over whether the country should declare war with foreign powers or not. Many were worried about the emigres, the counter-revolutionaries who had fled France for neighboring countries. One group, which came to be known as the Girondins, supported war, while another group, which became known as the Montagnards,opposed the war. Eventually, in April 1792, France invaded Austria. The war effort initially met with disaster, as the French troops were highly unprepared and untrained for battle.
Meanwhile, the Legislative Assembly cracked down on non-juring priests, who had refused to swear the oath of allegiance to France in accordance with the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. The government harassed non-juring priests and attempted to deport them, which prompted backlash in deeply Catholic regions, especially the Vendee.
The encroachment of the Austrians, in combination with the Brunswick Manifesto and the royal vetoes, fanned revolutionary fury against the monarchy. As mentioned earlier, Louis XVI’s vetoes were unpopular. In addition, the terrible performance of the French army against the Austrians also deepened distrust of the monarchy. The Queen, after all, was Austrian and had significant ties to Austria. The Declaration of Pillnitz had made it clear that Austria and other countries supported the monarchy. Thus, there was widespread suspicion that the royal family was responsible for the country’s troubles. The Brunswick Manifesto threatened to destroy Paris if the royal family was harmed. On August 1, the people of Paris found out about the Manifesto, which deepened suspicions of the family.
At this point, the fall of the monarchy seemed imminent. On April 10th, forces led by the Paris Commune, the municipal government of Paris, stormed the Tuileries Palace where the royal family was staying. The King and Queen were deposed and imprisoned in the Temple, a prison where they were kept under constant guard.
In early September, the Austrians continued to make advances, which led to suspicions that prisoners were colluding with the foreign invaders. As a result, mobs stormed the prisons of Paris slaughtering thousands of prisoners, many of whom were non-juring priests who had been imprisoned. The Legislative Assembly then decided to convene a new body, the National Convention, which would be elected by universal male suffrage to decide the future of the country. The National Convention officially abolished the monarchy and declared the French First Republic on September 21, 1792. The day before, French forces won a landmark battle against the Prussian force at Valmy. The victory halted the Austrian invasion. Here we stand, as members of the National Convention, on September 22, 1792-the edge of history.
Current Situation
Current Issue One: Internal Dissent
There are several major factions within the National Convention. The most significant are the Montagnards and the Girondins. As mentioned earlier, the two groups dissented on the issue of whether to go to war or not. The Montagnards opposed going to war because they believed that war would strengthen the position of the monarchy. The Girondins wanted to go to war to spread the ideals of the French Revolution and to proactively counteract what they believed to be the foreign influences within the French state. Nevertheless, there are many more ideological and policy related areas of divergence between the two factions. The Montagnards tend to be more radical and leftist. They depend on the support of the petty bourgeoisie and the sans-culottes, who are radical revolutionaries from the urban working class. The sans-culottes do not wear the stockings characteristic of members of higher society, and thus bear their descriptive appellation, “without stockings.” The Montagnards’ base of support is Paris, which is the hub of radicalism in France. As a result, they support radical economic and political equality, which would require high levels of government centralization and involvement in trade, finance, and local politics. The Montagnards are led by several influential politicians, most notably Maximilien Robespierre, Jacques Hebert, and Georges Danton. These politicians are influenced by the writings of the philosophe Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who believed in complete equality and unqualified obedience to the “general will” of the body politic. If someone disagrees, they must be forced to be free. While this is not the forum to go into an in-depth recapitulation and analysis of Rousseau’s political philosophy, we encourage delegates to research more in order to gain a firm grasp on the philosophical and ideological foundations of Montagnard thought.
The Girondins, on the other hand, tend to be more moderate, enjoying the support of lawyers, doctors, intellectuals, and journalists. They want the Convention to represent the interests of all French people, not just the radical Parisians. They believe that the Convention too strongly represents the radicalism of Paris instead of the more measured interests of the provinces. The Girondins also disavow excessive government involvement in trade and finance, as they strongly support ideals of personal liberty and industry. The Girondins also had influential leaders and rhetoricians, most notably Jacques Pierre Brissot, who was a fiery supporter of the war effort as a means to consolidate the gains of the Revolution both at home and abroad. There is also a large contingent of the National Convention that is independent. Many delegates do not identify as either Montagnards or Girondins, and as a result are subject to exhortation and cajoling by both sides in an attempt to garner the required amount of votes necessary to enact policy and take action. As a result, rhetoric and public speaking skill is essential to influencing the independents and enacting policy. At this point, the groups seem so opposed in both ideology and rhetoric that dissent threatens the ability of the Convention to coherently and effectively address the numerous issues pertinent to the country. Will they be able to overcome their differences for the common good, or will sectarianism prevail to the harm of all?
Current Issue Two: The Role of Religion
The events affecting the Catholic Church until the present moment of September 1792 have been previously discussed. The property of the Church has been confiscated and monastic vows have been dissolved. Priests have also been pressured to swear an oath of allegiance to France. Until now, there has been significant controversy regarding the treatment of refractory priests. As it stands, many refractory priests have been killed in prison during the September massacres. Many people in the provinces are disturbed by the encroachment on their traditional religious practices. The people of the Vendee region feel a particularly strong resentment, and have taken up arms to oppose what they deem to be an injustice.
Nevertheless, many of the vestiges of the Catholic Church remain. Streets, monuments, and places are named after Catholic figures. Catholic artwork dominates public and private spaces. In fact, the seven-day week and the yearly calendar are Catholic institutions that reflect the remaining religious influence of the Church. Many of the Montagnards, especially the leadership, support the continued erasure of such vestiges of Catholicism from society. The Girondins, on the other hand, are more reluctant to undertake such measures for fear of drastically disturbing the functioning of society.
Members of the Montagnards desire to institute a new state religion. Influenced by Enlightenment principles, this group of figures disavows traditional religion as a superstitious and counterrevolutionary set of beliefs. One group, led by Robespierre, favors a Deistic religion that adheres to Classical notions of virtue. Another group, led by the radical Jacques Hebert, wishes to abolish all religion and establish state Atheism. They disavow any belief in God, and instead propose a respect of reason and humanity. How will the National Convention deal with the issue of religion? Will it continue to eradicate the influence and power of the Church or will it move to a more moderate treatment of the Church? If it continues to dechristianize France, will it try to impose a Deistic or Atheistic ideology, or will it promote a separate ideology altogether?
Current Issue Three: Foreign Wars
France has just emerged victorious in the Battle of Valmy. As underdogs, French troops defeated the vaunted Prussian army and forced them on a retreat from French territory. There is considerable disagreement on the issue of whether France should continue to engage its neighbors on the battlefield or whether it should draw back and focus on domestic issues. Many of the Girondins believe that war is imperative in order to spread the ideals of the revolution to Europe and promote a sense of patriotic pride on the domestic front. On the other hand, the Montagnards oppose war on the grounds that war is not the best way to spread ideals of freedom. It also believes that the Girondins want to use war as a means to distract from their counter-revolutionary tendencies.
Military issues are also very much related to the previously highlighted issues. It is possible that the provincial unrest may very well lead to debate over possibly military intervention. Given that foreign countries have issued the Declaration of Pillnitz and the Brunswick Manifesto, France may be faced with an invasion should it take radical measures against the royal family as some members of the National Assembly desire. In addition, the military conflicts with foreign countries also levee an economic and demographic toll on the country. In order to keep the military well-maintained and competent, there needs to be a constant stream of soldiers enlisting in the army. Will the Convention adopt a policy of mass conscription, will it find other means of maintaining the military, or will it pull back from extensive military activity?
Final Takeaways
You must tread carefully, balancing the ideals of your faction with the necessary business of governing the country. Your rhetoric must be unparalleled in order to win over the independents. At the same time, you must back up your rhetoric with concrete action to carry out the sacred task with which the people of France have entrusted you. Deviate into sophistry, and your results will be short-lived and earn you the spite of millions. Will your actions and rhetoric be an exemplary precedent on how to effect societal progress while ensuring justice and freedom for French citizens? Or will they be remembered as a warning against rapid societal change and the dangers it poses to civil society? The future of the French Revolution and the French state lies in your hands, delegates. If nothing else, remember the rallying cries of unity for this Convention. Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité! Il nos faut de l’audace, encore de l’audace, toujours de l’audace!
Portfolio Powers
In this section, we will list the delegates of the Convention, including a brief summary of their backgrounds and powers within the Convention. As with this Topic Guide as a whole, this list and summary is purposefully brief and designed to stimulate further research and inquiry rather than serve as the final and authoritative source of information. We also wish to inform delegates that we have taken certain historical and intellectual liberties with the powers we have assigned to the delegates of the Convention. For obvious reasons, we have dramatically shortened the list of delegates from the hundreds present in the actual Convention to a more manageable number that is appropriate in a SECSY committee. We have also chosen to focus on Girondin and Montagnard delegates rather than Plain delegates because we do not want to create a power imbalance within the committee, as historically accurate as that may be. We do not want certain delegates to be subject to the whims of other, more ideologically and rhetorically powerful delegates.
In addition, we have in some cases assigned delegates powers that they historically did not have, and even created committees that did not historically exist. This decision was also taken for purposes of equality and practicality. Historically, some delegates were part of multiple committees, while others were not party to any committees. In addition, there was a very limited number of committees and positions within the Convention. As it is necessary for delegates to have some degree of unilateral power, we have assigned every delegate a committee even though they might historically have never been on that committee and even though that committee might not have existed.
Girondin
Jacques Pierre Brissot
Brissot is a known author and philosopher. He has been a very vocal supporter of the revolution since the beginning in 1789. Brissot has been involved in several publications that promoted a right to revolution in the case of despotism and spoke out against slavery. Brissot was an early supporter of initiating war with Austria and Prussia as a means to spread the ideals of the revolution abroad and of revealing the enemies of the Revolution within France. He is considered by most to be the leader of the Girondins within the National Convention.
Powers: As a member of the diplomatic committee, Brissot has access to intelligence on foreign countries. He can direct a spy network in order to obtain more information if it is necessary. Brissot also has direct communication lines with representatives of other countries.
Jean Marie Roland
Jean Marie Roland and his wife Madame Roland became famous for their letters supporting liberal causes. His wife Madame Roland was by rule not allowed to be a member of the Convention, but had a high degree of influence on his decisions and positions as a delegate. In fact, his wife drafted most of the letters that made him famous, and continues to draft letters he writes as a delegate of the Convention. Madame Roland’s salon is an important center of political discourse, and many prominent revolutionary figures convene there. He has been appointed Minister of the Interior after the overthrow of the monarchy and the convening of the National Convention. A close friend of Brissot, Monsieur Roland supports military action and opposes radical economic upheaval.
Powers: As member of the committee of the interior, Roland has control over the police and other law enforcement agencies of the country. He also has access to insider information on local governments and officials throughout the country, as it is his job to communicate with them on behalf of the central government. He is also in charge of immigration, and can control to large degree the flow of people into and out of the country.
Francois Buzot
Buzot, a lawyer, was also an early advocate of the Revolution. He was president of the criminal tribunal before the convening of the National Convention. An important focus of Buzot has been the nationalization of Church property and the right to bear arms. Buzot wants to keep the Convention free from the influence of the Parisian mobs so as to make the Convention better represent the interests of all French people, not just the interests of Parisians. In this way Buzot aligns with the Girondins.
Powers: As a member of the judiciary committee, Buzot oversees the justice system in the country. He is responsible for unifying the many legal codes of the country, vestiges of the ancien regime, into a single unified legal code that ensures the legality of all French citizens before the law. He is also responsible for ensuring the conduct of judges throughout the country, and for overseeing the prosecution of crimes that are especially threatening to the state.
Jean-Baptiste Treilhard
Trielhard is a lawyer who was propelled to fame by his legal and rhetorical opposition to aristocratic claims over his birthplace. He argued that such feudal claims undermined the authority of the king. He was later charged with directing the writing of the cahiers de doleance in 1789, and became an influential member of the National Assembly.
Powers: As a member of the finance committee, Trielhard oversees taxation, employment, and funding for the wide-ranging projects the government undertakes. He is also responsible for foreign and internal trade. The minister is responsible for monitoring the price of commodities and provisions, acting when needed to ensure that the French people have access to affordable goods. The Minister has access to information pertaining to these roles, as well as any information relevant to the economy and finances of the country.
Marquis de Condorcet
The Marquis is an intellectual well-known for his contributions to philosophy, mathematics, and political science. An Enlightenment thinker, he believes in the abolition of slavery, religious toleration, and economic liberty. He is also a strong advocate of education reform and women’s equality. As a secretary for the Legislative Assembly, the Marquis promoted education reform and dialogue with other countries. A fervent republican, the Marquis drafted the document that called for the convening of the National Convention. Nevertheless, as an Enlightenment thinker, he believes in the use of reason in public affairs and thus opposes radical policies, a trait that aligns him with the Girondins.
Powers: As a member of the Committee for the Promotion of Education and Science, the Marquis is responsible for ensuring the viability of the next generation of French citizens. He is responsible for centralizing the educational system in a way that provides opportunity to all and teaches youth the ideals of the Revolution. In addition, he is responsible for promoting scientific progress that improves the quality of life of the French people and brings glory to the nation.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas-de-Caritat-marquis-de-Condorcet
Maximin Isnard
Isnard is a member of the petit Bourgeois, as a merchant dealing in perfumes. He has spoken out clearly against the king by denouncing court intrigue and criticizing possible foreign sympathies on part of the king, in addition for the failure of the king to adhere to the constitution. He has also asked that the king’s bodyguard be removed. Nevertheless, when the Tuileries Palace was invaded in June of this year, 1792, Isnard actually acted to protect the king from physical harm. This action encapsulates Isnard’s desire to impel change, but not in a bloody and radical fashion.
Powers: As member of the Labor committee, Isnard is responsible for ensuring the health and prosperity of workers. Workers include both urban laborers and rural farmers. He has the power to intervene when laborers are being exploited by employers. He also works closely with the Minister of Finance to ensure that workers have access to basic commodities and financial instruments.
http://www.theodora.com/encyclopedia/i/maximin_isnard.html
Armand Gensonne
Gensonne’s political career has been propelled by the Revolution. A Girondin with interests in engaging foreign powers, Gensonne was a member of the diplomatic committee during the Legislative Assembly. In fact, Gensonne was instrumental along with Brissot in formulating the Declaration of War on August 20, 1792. While Gensonne has been critical of the monarchy in the past, he has been troubled by the recent violence fomented by radical members of the Convention.
Powers: As a member of the committee on war, Gensonne is responsible for managing the ongoing war effort, a task that includes ensuring that the armed forces are well-equipped and staffed. As a result, he has access to all information pertaining to the war effort. At times he is asked to visit the troops in order to report back to the Convention and boost morale amongst the soldiers.
http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/GAG_GEO/GENSONNE_ARMAND_1758_1793_.html
Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud
Vergniaud is an important spokesman for the Girondin cause. Earlier on in the Revolution, Vergniaud opposed aristocratic and feudal power. He was also an early supporter of war, brilliantly speaking in favor of it as a member of the Legislative Assembly. He has been suspicious of the king’s true sympathies and has publicly declared that the king should no longer rule. Nevertheless, Vergniaud is hesitant to align with the Parisian masses, in concert with his Girondin brethren. As a result, he has recently tried to forge a secret alliance with the king in an effort to prevent riots in Paris.
Powers: As a member of the Oversight Committee, Vergniaud is responsible for ensuring that the Convention runs smoothly, and that the conduct of its members is in line with the high legal and moral standards demanded by the French people. As such, Vergniaud has a high degree of subpoena power and can issue subpoenas for information relevant to suspected illegal or immoral activities of the Convention.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-Victurnien-Vergniaud
Claude Fauchet
Fauchet is a church official. He was a royal pastor for some time before he was forced to leave because of the controversial content of his sermons. He soon became popular with the Parisian masses, preaching on several important occasions during the Revolution including the day of the storming of the Bastile. However, Fauchet has grown increasingly disenchanted with the radicalism of Paris. In addition, as a priest, he supports moderate reform of Church institutions and the role it plays in the state but is opposed to radical change of the Church and its place in society.
Powers: As a member of the committee of Religious Affairs, Fauchet is responsible for promoting the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and determining the relationship between Church and State. He is also tasked with the repurposing of seized Church properties, and with engaging in dialogue with devout citizens who oppose the reduction of the Church’s power and role in the country. As a result, he is especially privy to the situation in the Vendee and other regions upset by religious reforms.
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Fauchet,_Claude_(bishop)
Plain
Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes
Better known as Abbe Sieyes, this delegate is a church official made famous by his pamphlet, “What is the Third Estate?,” which argued that the Third Estate, which represented the vast majority of the populace, formed the essence of the country and thus had the right to control its future. As a theorist, he is also famous for his distinction between passive citizens, who cannot vote, and active citizens, who can vote. This distinction is based in property ownership and thus supports the political ambitions of the Bourgeois, rather than those of the nobility, peasants, or poor working class. He is very much devoted to the cause of the Bourgeois and wants to entrench and ensure their power rather than empower the working class. As a result, Abbe Sieyes is neither a Girondin nor a Montagnard.
Powers: As a member of the Committee on the Constitution, Abbe Sieyes is responsible for one of the broadest tasks of the Convention: deciding the role that the government plays in French society by setting its limits and determining its powers.
Montagnards
Maximilien Robespierre
Born in the French province of Artois, Robespierre studied to be a lawyer at the University of Paris. In school, Robespierre developed an admiration of the Roman Republic and has long aspired to emulate Rousseau’s philosophy of direct democracy leading to political sovereignty. Upon arriving in Paris in 1789 for the National Assembly, he joined the Jacobin Club is now one of its dominating members. Robespierre is largely focused on empowering the lower classes of France through his contributions to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and his support of insurrection against the monarchy.
Powers: As a member of the Committee on the Constitution, Robespierre is responsible for one of the broadest tasks of the Convention: deciding the role that the government plays in French society by setting its limits and determining its powers.
Louis de Saint-Just
Louis de Saint-Just wished to join the Revolution early on, but struggled to find a foothold because of his overbearing nature, jumping around from political satirist to militia leader and finally a deputy to the Convention. He has long been a champion of free trade, welfare, and voter’s rights in France, demonstrating his ambition to serve the poor. A close friend of Robespierre, Louis de Saint-Just is the youngest deputy elected to the National Convention at age 25. He has joined the Jacobin Club following his arrival to the Convention and has harshly critiqued the monarchy and the church throughout his education and career.
Powers: As member of the committee of the interior, Louis has control over the police and other law enforcement agencies of the country. He also has access to insider information on local governments and officials throughout the country, as it is his job to communicate with them on behalf of the central government. He is also in charge of immigration, and can control to large degree the flow of people into and out of the country.
Georges Couthon
Georges Couthon has been a vocal advocate of the poor since 1788. He came to Paris in 1791 as a member of the Revolution’s Legislative Assembly and is now a leading member of the Jacobin Club. Crippled by meningitis, he is confined to a wheelchair, but his powerful oratory skills in the Assembly remain unhindered. He has little sympathy for the monarchy and supports the dechristianization of France, and is an enemy of the Girondin deputies.
Powers: As a member of the committee on war, Couthon is responsible for managing the ongoing war effort, a task that includes ensuring that the armed forces are well-equipped and staffed. As a result, he has access to all information pertaining to the war effort. At times he is asked to visit the troops in order to report back to the Convention and boost morale amongst the soldiers.
Joseph Fouche
Fouche was trained by the Oratorians at Nantes and Paris, and was appointed principal of the college at Nantes as an attempt to control his increasingly revolutionary stances. At Nantes, he joined and became president of the Jacobin club, which strengthened his relationship with the people of Nantes and made him even more of a democrat. Elected a deputy to the Convention in 1791, Fouche is known for his efficiency and opportunism, and currently tends to side with the Girondins.
Powers: As a member of the committee of Religious Affairs, Fouche is responsible for promoting the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and determining the relationship between Church and State. He is also tasked with the repurposing of seized Church properties, and with engaging in dialogue with devout citizens who oppose the reduction of the Church’s power and role in the country. As a result, he is especially privy to the situation in the Vendee and other regions upset by religious reforms.
Georges Danton
Danton received his law degree in 1784 before starting a practice in Paris. When the revolution began in 1789, he joined the garde bourgeoisie (civic guard) and was elected president of his district, as well as starting the Cordeliers Club, earning him local fame. He has made numerous speeches at the Jacobin Club and has returned to Paris to take part in the elections to the Legislative Assembly.
Powers: As a member of the judiciary committee, Danton oversees the justice system in the country. He is responsible for unifying the many legal codes of the country, vestiges of the ancien regime, into a single unified legal code that ensures the equality of all French citizens before the law. He is also responsible for ensuring the conduct of judges throughout the country, and for overseeing the prosecution of crimes that are especially threatening to the state.
Camille Desmoulins
Desmoulins has become one of the most influential journalists in the Revolution after rising to fame as an orator and publishing the pamphlet La France Libre, which sums up the flaws within France’s ancien regime. His subsequent works include Discours de la lanterne aux Parisiens, which supports the democratic reforms of the National Assembly and republican ideas, as well as another newspaper that identifies issues impeding the democratic process. He has been working closely under Georges Danton in the Jacobin and Cordelier clubs.
Powers: As a member of the Oversight Committee, Desmoulins is responsible for ensuring that the Convention runs smoothly, and that the conduct of its members is in line with the high legal and moral standards demanded by the French people. As such, Desmoulins has a high degree of subpoena power and can issue subpoenas for information relevant to suspected illegal or immoral activities of the Convention.
Jacques Hebert
After settling in Paris in 1780, Hebert lived in poverty until joining the Revolution in 1789. He launched his career as a satirical Revolutionary journalist in 1790, and has started one of the most successful newspapers of the Revolution, Le Pere Duchesne, which writes scathing reviews of the cruelty of the aristocracy and figures within the church. He is a prominent member of the Cordeliers Club and supports the sans culottes, some of the most extremist supporters of the Revolution.
Powers: As member of the Labor committee, Hebert is responsible for ensuring the health and prosperity of workers. Workers include both urban laborers and rural farmers. He has the power to intervene when laborers are being exploited by employers. He also works closely with the Minister of Finance to ensure that workers have access to basic commodities and financial instruments.
Fabre d’Eglantine
Fabre d’Eglantine is a poet and dramatist known for his satirical political comedies, which often paint aristocrats as political dangers and Republicans as heroic and virtuous. He is a member of the Jacobin Club and serves as secretary of the Cordeliers Club, as well as Danton’s private secretary. He is a bitter enemy of the Girondins.
Powers: As a member of the finance committee, Fabre d’Eglantine oversees taxation, employment, and funding for the wide-ranging projects the government undertakes. He is also responsible for foreign and internal trade. The minister is responsible for monitoring the price of commodities and provisions, acting when needed to ensure that the French people have access to affordable goods. The Minister has access to information pertaining to these roles, as well as any information relevant to the economy and finances of the country.
Jean-Paul Marat
Marat is a politician, physician, and journalist, and is a leader of the Montagnards. In the 1770s, he served as a doctor in London, before returning to France and resigning as a physician in 1783 to focus on scientific and political writing. His political writings from the 1780s show his adoption of Revolutionary ideas in his criticism of the aristocracy, though through 1789 he retained his view that the monarchy might still be able to solve some of the nation’s problems. Within the Convention, Marat has a reputation as a radical, and urges the people to take violent action against the aristocracy in his essays while criticizing more moderate members of the Assembly. Marat has slowly been convinced that the monarchy should be abolished, and is a major figure within the Convention, backed by the support of the Parisian people.
Powers: As a member of the Committee for the Promotion of Education and Science, Marat is responsible for ensuring the viability of the next generation of French citizens. He is responsible for centralizing the educational system in a way that provides opportunity to all and teaches youth the ideals of the Revolution. In addition, he is responsible for promoting scientific progress that improves the quality of life of the French people and brings glory to the nation.
Pierre Gaspard-Chaumette
Gaspard-Chaumette came to Paris in 1790 as a medical student, hoping to become a surgeon, but soon abandoned this dream to join the Revolution. His oratory skills have allowed him to become a prominent member of the Jacobin Club, the Cordeliers Club, and the sans culottes movement within Parisian neighborhoods. He is passionate about the dechristianization of France and is an active opponent of the Girondins.
Powers: As a member of the diplomatic committee, Gaspard-Chaumette has access to intelligence on foreign countries. He can direct a spy network in order to obtain more information if it is necessary. Gaspard-Chaumette also has direct communication lines with representatives of other countries.
Bibliography
1. Doyle, William. The Oxford History of the French Revolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
2. "Girondin." Encyclopaedia Brittanica. April 25, 2017. Accessed July 30, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Girondin.
3. Hunt, Lynn Avery. Politics, Culture, and Class in the French Revolution. University of California Press, 2004.
4. Lefebvre, Georges. The French revolution. New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1962.
5. Llewellyn, Jennifer, and Steve Thompson. "The Girondins and Montagnards." Alpha History. 2015. Accessed July 26, 2017. http://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/girondins-and-montagnards/.
6. "Montagnard." Encyclopaedia Brittanica. November 27, 2012. Accessed July 30, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Girondin.
7. Patrick, Alison. "Political Divisions in the French National Convention, 1792-93." The Journal of Modern History 41, no. 4 (1969): 422-74. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1878003.
8. Patrick, Alison. The men of the First French Republic: political alignments in the National Convention of 1792. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1972.
