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10
172
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Text
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<p>Sire:</p> <p>To discover whether it is expedient to establish municipalities in those cantons of France where they do not exist, whether it is necessary to improve or change those already in existence, and how to constitute those it is deemed necessary to create does not involve going back to the origin of municipal administrations, giving an historical account of the vicissitudes they have undergone, or even analyzing in great detail the diverse forms they exhibit today. In deciding what must be done in serious matters, it has been much too frequent a practice to revert to the examination and example of what our ancestors did in times of ignorance and barbarism. This method serves only to lead justice astray in the multiplicity of facts presented as precedents; and it tends to make princes disgusted with their most important functions, by persuading them that it is necessary to be prodigiously learned in order to discharge these functions with success and glory. However, it is really only necessary to understand thoroughly and to weigh carefully the rights and interests of men. These rights and interests are not very numerous, so that the science which comprises them, based upon the principles of justice that each of us bears in our heart, and on the intimate conviction of our own sensations has a very great degree of certainty and yet is not at all extensive. It does not require the effort of long study, nor is it beyond the capabilities of any man of good will. . . .</p> <p>This nation is numerous. That it obey is not everything. It is necessary to make sure that it can be commanded effectively. In order to succeed in this, it would first seem necessary to know, in fairly great detail, the nation's situation, its needs, its capabilities. This knowledge would doubtless be more useful than historical accounts of past positions. . . .</p> <p>The cause of the evil, Sire, stems from the fact that your nation has no constitution. It is a society composed of different orders badly united, and of a people among whose members there are but very few social ties. In consequence, each individual is occupied only with his own particular, exclusive interest; and almost no one bothers to fulfill his duties or to know his relationship to others. As a result, there is a perpetual war of claims and counterclaims which reason and mutual understanding have never regulated, in which Your Majesty is obliged to decide everything personally or through your agents. Everyone insists on your special orders to contribute to the public good, to respect the goods of others, sometimes even to make use of his own goods. You are forced to decree on everything, in most cases by particular acts of will, whereas you could govern like God by general laws if the various parts composing your realm had a regular organization and clearly established relationship.</p> <p>Your realm is made up of provinces. These provinces are composed of cantons or districts which (depending on the province) are called bailliages, e'lections, vigueries, or some other such name. These districts are made up of a certain number of towns and villages, which are in turn inhabited by families. To them belong the lands which yield products, provide for the livelihood of the inhabitants, and furnish the revenues from which salaries are paid to those without land and taxes are levied to meet public expenditures. The families, finally, are composed of individuals, who have many duties to fulfill towards one another and towards society, duties justified in terms of the benefits they have received, and which they continue to receive daily.</p> <p>But individuals are educated poorly regarding their duties within the family and not at all regarding those which link them to the state.</p> <p>Families themselves scarcely know that they depend on this state, of which they form a part: they have no idea of the nature of their relationship to it. They consider the levying of the taxes required for the maintenance of public order as nothing but the law of the strongest; and they see no other reason to obey than their powerlessness to resist. As a result, everyone seeks to cheat the authorities and to pass social obligations on to his neighbors. Incomes are concealed and can only be discovered very imperfectly by a kind of inquisition which would lead one to say that Your Majesty is at war with your people. And in this type of war which, were it only apparent, would always be destructive and deadly, no one has an interest in taking the government's part, and anyone who did so would be regarded with hostility. There is no public spirit because there is no known and visible common interest. The villages and towns, whose members are thus disunited, have no more links between them in the districts to which they belong. They are unable to get together on any of the public works that might be necessary for them. The same applies to the various divisions of the provinces, and to the provinces themselves in relation to the realm as a whole.</p> <p>Some of these provinces do, however, have a kind of constitution, assemblies, a sort of public will; they are called <i>pays d'Etats</i>. But since these Estates are composed of orders with very diverse claims, and with interests that are very separate one from another and from that of the nation, they are still far from producing all the good to be desired for the provinces in which they form part of the administration.</p> <p>These local half-benefits are perhaps an evil; provinces enjoying them are less sensitive to the necessity for reform. But Your Majesty can bring them to recognize that necessity by giving the other provinces, which have no constitution at all, a constitution better organized than that which at present makes the <i>pays d'Etats</i> so full of pride. It is by means of example, Sire, that they can be brought to desire that your power authorize them to change what is defective in their present form.</p> <p>In order to dissipate this spirit of disunity, which vastly increases the work of your servants and of Your Majesty, and which necessarily and prodigiously diminishes your power; in order to substitute instead a spirit of order and union which would mobilize the forces and means of your nation for the common good, gathering them together in your hand and making them easy to direct, it would be necessary to conceive of a plan that would link individuals to their families, families to the village or town to which they belong, towns and villages to the district of which they form part, districts to their province, and provinces finally to the state. This plan would involve instruction that would be compelling, a common interest, deliberating about it and acting according to it. . . .</p> <p><i>The Means of Preparing Individuals and Families to Enter Effectively into a Well-Constituted Society</i></p> <p>The first and perhaps the most important of all the institutions which I would believe necessary, Sire, that which would seem to me the most fitting to immortalize Your Majesty's reign and which would have the greatest influence on the kingdom as a whole, would be the formation of a council on national instruction responsible for the direction of the academies, universities, and secondary and elementary schools.</p> <p>The first bond of nations is custom; the first foundation of custom is the instruction received from childhood regarding all the duties of man in society. It is astonishing that this science is so little advanced. There are methods and institutions for training grammarians, mathematicians, doctors, painters. There are none for training citizens. There would be, if national instruction were directed by one of Your Majesty's councils, in the public interest and according to uniform principles.</p> <p>There would be no need for this council to be very large, because it would be necessary for it to be united in spirit. In accordance with this spirit, it would commission textbooks systematically planned and written in such a way that one would lead to another, and that the study of the duties of the citizen, as member of a family and of the state, would be the basis for all other studies, which would be organized in relation to their usefulness to society.</p> <p>This council would supervise the entire organization of education and it could render literary bodies useful for that purpose. The present efforts of these bodies tend only to create savants, poets, men of wit and taste; those unable to aspire to this goal are neglected and count for nothing. A new system of education, which can only be established by Your Majesty's entire authority, seconded by a well-chosen council, would lead to the formation, among all classes of society, of virtuous and useful men, just souls, pure hearts, and zealous citizens. Those among them who then wished to devote themselves particularly to sciences and letters, and were capable of doing so, would be diverted from frivolous matters by the importance of the first principles which they had received, and would approach their work in a more vigorous and determined spirit. Taste itself would improve, as would the national tone: it would become more serious and more elevated, but, above all, more concerned with virtuous things. This would be the fruit of the uniformity of patriotic attitudes that the council on instruction would disseminate in all the teaching given to youth.</p> <p>There is at present only one type of instruction that has any uniformity: religious instruction. Even here, this uniformity is not complete. Textbooks vary from one diocese to another; the Paris catechism is not the same as the Montpellier catechism, and neither is identical to that of Besancon. This diversity of textbooks is unavoidable in an educational system that has several independent heads. The instruction organized by your council on instruction would not have that drawback. It would be all the more necessary in that religious instruction is limited to heavenly things. The proof that this instruction is not sufficient for the morality to be observed between citizens, and especially between different groups of citizens, lies in the multitude of issues arising every day in which Your Majesty sees one part of your subjects seeking to vex another by exclusive privileges; with the result that your Council is forced to quash these requests and proscribe as unjust the pretexts they invoke.</p> <p>Your kingdom, Sire, is of this world. It is over the earthly conduct of your subjects, towards one another and towards the state, that Your Majesty is obliged to watch for the sake of your conscience and the welfare of your crown. I do not wish to place any obstacle in the way of that instruction which has a higher object, and which already has its rules and ministers completely established. Quite the contrary. Nevertheless, I do not believe I can propose anything more advantageous for your people, more conducive to the maintenance of peace and good order and to the encouragement of all useful works, more fitting to make your authority cherished and your person daily more dear to the hearts of your subjects, than to provide them all with an education which clearly shows them their obligations towards society and towards your power which protects it, the duties which these obligations impose upon them, and the interest they have in fulfilling these duties for the public good, as for their own. This moral and social instruction demands textbooks written expressly for the purpose, in open competition and with great care, and a schoolmaster in each parish who will teach them to the children, together with reading, writing, arithmetic, measurement, and the principles of mechanics.</p> <p>More learned instruction, progressively embracing the knowledge necessary for the citizens whose position requires more extensive enlightenment, would be taught in the secondary schools. But it would follow the same principles, more fully developed according to the functions which the rank of the students fits them to fill in society.</p> <p>If Your Majesty approves this plan, Sire, I shall submit for your consideration a special memorandum containing the relevant details. But I dare to assert that ten years from now, your nation would be unrecognizable; and that, by virtue of its intelligence, its good customs, its enlightened zeal for your service and for that of the country, it would be infinitely superior to all other peoples past and present. Children who are now ten years old would then find themselves men of twenty, prepared for the state, attached to the country, submissive to authority not from fear, but by reason supportive of their fellow citizens, accustomed to knowing and respecting the justice which is the first foundation of societies.</p> <p>Such men will act well within their families, and will doubtless raise families that will be easy to govern in the villages to which they belong.</p>
Sortable Date
1775-00-00
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Gustave Schelle, ed., <i>Oeuvres de Turgot</i>, 4 vols. (Paris: F. Alcan, 1913–23), 4:568–628.
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In 1774, on the accession of Louis XVI, Anne–Robert Turgot was named controller general. In this position, he became responsible for royal finances, and hence for administrative policies relating to taxation, the economy, and local government. With his recent experience as an <i>intendant</i> in mind, Turgot directed his secretary (the economist, Pierre–Samuel Dupont de Nemours) to draft a long memorandum diagnosing the problems of provincial administration and outlining the plans for national regeneration that the controller general intended to submit to the King. Although this <i>Mémoire sur les Municipalités</i> was written in 1775, Turgot fell from power before it could be presented to Louis XVI. But its arguments exercised a powerful influence on administrative thinking in the remaining years of the old regime.
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598
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"Memorandum on Local Government" (1775)
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/598/
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1775
Enlightenment
Nobility
Peasants
Provinces
Public Opinion
Text
-
Text
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<p>On 24 January 1785, the Cardinal of Rohan came to our store—Bohmer & Bassanges—and asked us to show him various jewels. We took advantage of this opportunity to show him a big diamond necklace—a unique and rare piece of its kind. After having examined it, this Prince told us he had heard about this jewel and that he had come because he was given the responsibility of checking the price. We told him that we wanted to sell the necklace because it had become a heavy burden on us. It cost 1,600,000 <i>livres </i>even though it cost us more to make it. Nevertheless we were determined to sell the necklace, and told him that we would be very happy that Her Majesty the Queen wear the jewel. . . .</p> <p>The Prince told us that he would mention the meeting he had with us [to the Queen], and also that he would be responsible for buying the necklace. . . .</p> <p>Two days later, the Prince asked us to come to his house and he told us that he could negotiate with us if we would keep everything secret. We promised we would, and he informed us of proposals to acquire the necklace. . . . After having read these proposals, he asked us if they would be suitable for us, and we answered yes. . . .</p> <p>On the morning of February 1st, the Prince wrote us a letter without signing it: "I would like Monsieur Bohmer and his partner to come to my house as soon as possible with the object in question." We immediately went, and brought him the famous necklace. During the meeting, he told us that Her Majesty the Queen was going to acquire the jewel, and he showed us that the proposals we had accepted were signed by Marie Antoinette of France. We showed our joy and satisfaction, and the Prince assured us that he would deliver the necklace during the day. At the same time he told us that Her Majesty could not meet with them as mentioned in the proposals, but he hoped that we would receive the interest we claimed and he would represent them, as he considered our request fair. This is how ended the third meeting.</p> <p>The same day, we received a letter from the Prince, written and signed by him: "Monsieur Bohmer, Her Majesty the Queen's intentions were that the interest due after the first payment at the end of August, be paid successively with capital until everything is paid for. Signed by the Cardinal Prince of Rohan." Paris, 1 February 1785.</p> <p>A few days after we received this letter, we met the Prince who told us that as soon as we had the opportunity to meet Her Majesty the Queen, we should thank her for buying the necklace. But we never had the opportunity to meet her. We waited until July, when the Prince asked us to come to his house. He told us that the necklace was too expensive for the Queen. Her Majesty had the intention to give it back to us, unless we considered lowering its price to 200,000 <i>livres</i>. . . .</p> <p>We were filled with sorrow and consternation after hearing this. We told the Prince of the misfortune these events were leading us into since, on one hand, we had refused to sell the jewel to the Spanish Court, where it had been asked for several times. On the other hand, we had committed ourselves to several creditors after the Prince had assured us that we would receive the first payments from Her Majesty.</p> <p>The Prince promised us that he would mention these facts to the Queen. A few days later, he told us that Her Majesty had accepted our last settlements, and instead of receiving 400,000 <i>livres</i>, we would soon receive 700,000 <i>livres</i>, which would allow us to honor our commitments. At the same time, the Prince told us to thank the Queen. For fear that we would not be able to tell her verbally, we wrote her a thank you note, which was delivered by Bohmer to Her Majesty.</p> <p>The end of July was the time of the first payment we were supposed to receive; the Prince asked us to come over and told us that this first payment could not be made; it was to be postponed to October 1st. Meanwhile, we received 30,000 <i>livres</i> in the interest. We gave him a receipt saying that we had received this amount from Her Majesty the Queen.</p> <p>Signed Bohmer and Bassanges</p>
Sortable Date
1786-00-00
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"Mémoire rémis à S. M. La Reine," in Anonymous, <i>Réceuil de pièces authentiques et intéressants, pour servir d'éclaircissement à l'affaire concernant le cardinal prince de Rohan </i>(1786)..
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An account of the resource
Controversy surrounding the Queen reached a fever pitch in 1785–86 in what was known as the "diamond–necklace affair." A court schemer, Jeanne de la Motte, wove a complex web of intrigue, in which she convinced Cardinal Louis de Rohan—an aristocrat from a long–standing noble family who was determined to become the Queen’s lover—to purchase for Marie Antoinette an elaborate jewel necklace (made by two highly reputed jewelers) on which she had supposedly set her sights. In reality, the Queen had no knowledge of either the jewel or Rohan’s purchase, and de la Motte was able to make off with both Rohan’s money and the necklace. When the scheme came to light several months later, the cardinal was arrested along with de la Motte; during the ensuing trial, numerous pamphlets were published speculating on and mocking the Queen’s potential involvement in the intrigue, further damaging her reputation. This pamphlet, supposedly from the jewelers, describes their difficulties in obtaining payment from Rohan and asking the Queen herself to intervene.
Identifier
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263
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"Memorandum to Her Majesty the Queen Concerning the Diamond Necklace Affair" (1786)
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/263/
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1786
Monarchy
Public Opinion
Text
Women
-
Text
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<p>Sire,</p> <p>At a time when the different orders of the state are occupied with their interests; when everyone seeks to make the most of his titles and rights; when some anxiously recall the centuries of servitude and anarchy, while others make every effort to shake off the last links that still bind them to the imperious remains of feudalism; women—continual objects of the admiration and scorn of men—could they not also make their voices heard midst this general agitation?</p> <p>Excluded from the national assemblies by laws so well consolidated that they allow no hope of infringement, they do not ask, Sire, for your permission to send their deputies to the Estates General; they know too well how much favor will play a part in the election, and how easy it would be for those elected to impede the freedom of voting.</p> <p>We prefer, Sire, to place our cause at your feet; not wishing to obtain anything except from your heart, it is to it that we address our complaints and confide our miseries.</p> <p>The women of the Third Estate are almost all born without wealth; their education is very neglected or very defective: it consists in their being sent to school with a teacher who himself does not know the first word of the language [Latin] he teaches. They continue to go there until they can read the service of the Mass in French and Vespers in Latin. Having fulfilled the first duties of religion, they are taught to work; having reached the age of fifteen or sixteen, they can earn five or six <i>sous</i> a day. If nature has refused them beauty they get married, without a dowry, to unfortunate artisans; lead aimless, difficult lives stuck in the provinces; and give birth to children they are incapable of raising. If, on the contrary, they are born pretty, without breeding, without principles, with no idea of morals, they become the prey of the first seducer, commit a first sin, come to Paris to bury their shame, end by losing it altogether, and die victims of dissolute ways.</p> <p>Today, when the difficulty of subsisting forces thousands of them to put themselves up for auction [prostitution], when men find it easier to buy them for a short time than to win them over forever, those whom a fortunate penchant inclines to virtue, who are consumed by the desire to learn, who feel themselves carried along by a natural taste, who have overcome the deficiencies of their education and know a little of everything without having learned anything, those, finally, whom a lofty soul, a noble heart, and a pride of sentiment cause to be called prudes, are obliged to throw themselves into cloisters where only a modest dowry is required, or forced to become servants if they do not have enough courage, enough heroism, to share the generous devotion of the girls of Vincent de Paul.*</p> <p>Also, many, solely because they are born girls, are disdained by their parents, who refuse to set them up, preferring to concentrate their fortune in the hands of a son whom they designate to carry on their name in the capital; for Your Majesty should know that we too have names to keep up. Or, if old age finds them spinsters, they spend it in tears and see themselves the object of the scorn of their nearest relatives.</p> <p>To prevent so many ills, Sire, we ask that men not be allowed, under any pretext, to exercise trades that are the prerogative of women—whether as seamstress, embroiderer, millinery shopkeeper, etc., etc.; if we are left at least with the needle and the spindle, we promise never to handle the compass or the square.</p> <p>We ask, Sire, that your benevolence provide us with the means of making the most of the talents with which nature will have endowed us, notwithstanding the impediments which are forever being placed on our education.</p> <p>May you assign us positions, which we alone will be able to fill, which we will occupy only after having passed a strict examination, following trustworthy inquiries concerning the purity of our morals.</p> <p>We ask to be enlightened, to have work, not in order to usurp men's authority, but in order to be better esteemed by them, so that we might have the means of living safe from misfortune and so that poverty does not force the weakest among us, who are blinded by luxury and swept along by example, to join the crowd of unfortunate women who overpopulate the streets and whose debauched audacity disgraces our sex and the men who keep them company.</p> <p>We would wish this class of women might wear a mark of identification. Today, when they adopt even the modesty of our dress, when they mingle everywhere in all kinds of clothing, we often find ourselves confused with them; some men make mistakes and make us blush because of their scorn. They should never be able to take off the identification under pain of working in public workshops for the benefit of the poor (it is known that work is the greatest punishment that can be inflicted on them). . . . [in text] However, it occurs to us that the empire of fashion would be destroyed and one would run the risk of seeing many too many women dressed in the same color.</p> <p>We implore you, Sire, to set up free schools where we might learn our language on the basis of principles, religion and ethics. May one and the other be offered to us in all their grandeur, entirely stripped of the petty applications which attenuate their majesty; may our hearts be formed there; may we be taught above all to practice the virtues of our sex: gentleness, modesty, patience, charity. As for the arts that please, women learn them without teachers. Sciences? . . . [in text] they serve only to inspire us with a stupid pride, lead us to pedantry, go against the wishes of nature, make of us mixed beings who are rarely faithful wives and still more rarely good mothers of families.</p> <p>We ask to take leave of ignorance, to give our children a sound and reasonable education so as to make of them subjects worthy of serving you. We will teach them to cherish the beautiful name of Frenchmen; we will transmit to them the love we have for Your Majesty. For we are certainly willing to leave valor and genius to men, but we will always challenge them over the dangerous and precious gift of sensibility; we defy them to love you better than we do. They run to Versailles, most of them for their interests, while we, Sire, go to see you there, and when with difficulty and with pounding hearts, we can gaze for an instance upon your August Person, tears flow from our eyes. The idea of Majesty, of the Sovereign, vanishes, and we see in you only a tender Father, for whom we would give our lives a thousand times.</p> <p>* St. Vincent de Paul organized communities for women who served as schoolteachers, nurses, and the like. They took simple vows, did not wear religious costumes, and worked outside in the community rather than staying in their convent. These communities often appealed to poor women but demanded hard work.</p>
Sortable Date
1789-01-01
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The materials listed below appeared originally in <i>The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History, </i>translated, edited, and with an introduction by Lynn Hunt (Bedford/St. Martin's: Boston/New York), 1996, 60–63.
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An account of the resource
Little is known about women’s grievances or feelings in the months leading up to the meeting of the Estates–General. They did not have the right to meet as a group, draft grievances, or vote (except in isolated individual instances) in the preparatory elections. Nevertheless, some women did put their thoughts to paper, and though little evidence exists about the circumstances or the identities of those involved, the few documents offering their views bear witness to their concerns in this time of ferment. In this document working women addressed the King in respectful terms and carefully insisted that they did not wish to overturn men’s authority; they simply wanted the education and enlightenment that would make them better workers, better wives, and better mothers. The petitioners expressed their deep apprehensions about prostitution and the fear that they would be confused with them; like prostitutes, working women did not stay at home but necessarily entered the public sphere to make their livings. Most of all, however, the women wanted to be heard; they saw the opening created by the convocation of the Estates–General and hoped to make their own claims for inclusion in the promised reforms.
Identifier
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472
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"Petition of Women of the Third Estate to the King" (1 January 1789)
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/472/
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January 1, 1789
Economic Conditions
Monarchy
Public Opinion
Text
Women
-
https://revolution.chnm.org/files/original/7e95034df4e824343a731ae61fc3403c.jpg
afa0e951cb53cc192071515849cace2d
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Cornell Nap.51
Description
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As in other caricatures, foreigners tried to humiliate Napoleon, once again using mice to represent those who would now attend him.
Identifier
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171
Title
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"The Great Heroism of the Nineteenth Century"
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http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/171/
Image
Napoleon Bonaparte
Public Opinion
-
https://revolution.chnm.org/files/original/73908f2447df85cf0c052f28754b8ab5.jpg
b9df35c6e6ae27ef94d48d5c8f3fb581
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Engraving
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15.3 x 22 cm
Title (French)
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Des grossen Mannes kleine Hofhaltung auf der Glückseligen Insel
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<span>Bibliothèque Nationale de France</span>
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German cartoonists tried to reduce Napoleon down to size, in this case, the size of mice! Here the mice serve as courtiers.
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None Identified
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Public Domain
Format
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JPEG
Language
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French
Title
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"The Great Man"
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http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/169/|Collection de Vinck. <em>Un siècle d'histoire de France par l'estampe, 1770-1870</em>. Vol. 75 (pièces 9730-9816), Restauration et Cent-Jours
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169
Image
Napoleon Bonaparte
Public Opinion
-
Text
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<p>From the Dedication to M. Talleyrand-Perigord</p> <p>Contending for the rights of woman, my main argument is built on this simple principle, that if she be not prepared by education to become the companion of man, she will stop the progress of knowledge and virtue; for truth must be common to all, or it will be inefficacious with respect to its influence on general practice. And how can woman be expected to co-operate unless she know why she ought to be virtuous? Unless freedom strengthen her reason till she comprehend her duty, and see in what manner it is connected with her real good? If children are to be educated to understand the true principle of patriotism, their mother must be a patriot; and the love of mankind, from which an orderly strain of virtues spring, can only be produced by considering the moral and civil interest of mankind; but the education and situation of woman, at present, shuts her out from such investigations.</p> <p>In this work I have produced many arguments, which to me were conclusive, to prove that the prevailing notion respecting a sexual character was subversive of morality, and I have contended, that to render the human body and mind more perfect, chastity must more universally prevail, and that chastity will never be respected in the male world till the person of a woman is not, as it were, idolized, when little virtue or sense embellish it with the grand traces of mental beauty, or the interesting simplicity of affection.</p> <p>Consider, Sir, dispassionately, these observations—for a glimpse of this truth seemed to open before you when you observed, "that to see one half of the human race excluded by the other from all participation of government, was a political phaenomenon that, according to abstract principles, it was impossible to explain." If so, on what does your constitution rest? If the abstract rights of man will bear discussion and explanation, those of woman, by a parity of reasoning, will not shrink from the same test: though a different opinion prevails in this country, built on the very arguments which you use to justify the oppression of woman—prescription.</p> <p>Consider, I address you as a legislator, whether, when men contend for their freedom, and to be allowed to judge for themselves respecting their own happiness, it be not inconsistent and unjust to subjugate women, even though you firmly believe that you are acting in the manner best calculated to promote their happiness? Who made man the exclusive judge, if woman partake with him the gift of reason?</p> <p>In this style, argue tyrants of every denomination, from the weak king to the weak father of a family; they are all eager to crush reason; yet always assert that they usurp its throne only to be useful. Do you not act a similar part, when you force all women, by denying them civil and political rights, to remain immured in their families groping in the dark? for surely, Sir, you will not assert, that a duty can be binding which is not founded on reason? If indeed this be their destination, arguments may be drawn from reason: and thus augustly supported, the more understanding women acquire, the more they will be attached to their duty—comprehending it—for unless they comprehend it, unless their morals be fixed on the same immutable principle as those of man, no authority can make them discharge it in a virtuous manner. They may be convenient slaves, but slavery will have its constant effect, degrading the master and the abject dependent.</p> <p>But, if women are to be excluded, without having a voice, from a participation of the natural rights of mankind, prove first, to ward off the charge of injustice and inconsistency, that they want reason—else this flaw in your NEW CONSTITUTION will ever shew that man must, in some shape, act like a tyrant, and tyranny, in whatever part of society it rears its brazen front, will ever undermine morality.</p> <p>I have repeatedly asserted, and produced what appeared to me irrefragable arguments drawn from matters of fact, to prove my assertion, that women cannot, by force, be confined to domestic concerns; for they will, however ignorant, intermeddle with more weighty affairs, neglecting private duties only to disturb, by cunning tricks, the orderly plans of reason which rise above their comprehension.</p> <p>Besides, whilst they are only made to acquire personal accomplishments, men will seek for pleasure in variety, and faithless husbands will make faithless wives; such ignorant beings, indeed, will be very excusable when, not taught to respect public good, nor allowed any civil rights, they attempt to do themselves justice by retaliation. . . .</p> <p>From Chapter V, Section V</p> <p>To prevent any misconstruction, I must add, that I do not believe that a private education can work the wonders which some sanguine writers have attributed to it. Men and women must be educated, in a great degree, by the opinions and manners of the society they live in. In every age there has been a stream of popular opinion that has carried all before it, and given a family character, as it were, to the century. It may then fairly be inferred, that, till society be differently constituted, much cannot be expected from education. It is, however, sufficient for my present purpose to assert, that, whatever effect circumstances have on the abilities, every being may become virtuous by the exercise of its own reason; for if but one being was created with vicious inclinations, that is positively bad, what can save us from atheism? or if we worship a God, is not that God a devil?</p> <p>Consequently, the most perfect education, in my opinion, is such an exercise of the understanding as is best calculated to strengthen the body and form the heart. Or, in other words, to enable the individual to attain such habits of virtue as will render it independent. In fact, it is a farce to call any being virtuous whose virtues do not result from the exercise of its own reason. This was Rousseau's opinion respecting men: I extend it to women, and confidently assert that they have been drawn out of their sphere by false refinement, and not by an endeavour to acquire masculine qualities. Still the regal homage which they receive is so intoxicating, that till the manners of the times are changed, and formed on more reasonable principles, it may be impossible to convince them that the illegitimate power, which they obtain, by degrading themselves, is a curse, and that they must return to nature and equality, if they wish to secure the placid satisfaction that unsophisticated affections impart. But for this epoch we must wait—wait, perhaps, till kings and nobles, enlightened by reason, and, preferring the real dignity of man to childish state, throw off their gaudy hereditary trappings: and if then women do not resign the arbitrary power of beauty—they will prove that they have less mind than man. . . .</p> <p>I know that a kind of fashion now prevails of respecting prejudices; and when any one dares to face them, though actuated by humanity and armed by reason, he is superciliously asked whether his ancestors were fools. No, I should reply; opinions, at first, of every description, were all, probably, considered, and therefore were founded on some reason; yet not unfrequently, of course, it was rather a local expedient than a fundamental principle, that would be reasonable at all times. But, moss-covered opinions assume the disproportioned form of prejudices, when they are indolently adopted only because age has given them a venerable aspect, though the reason on which they were built ceases to be a reason, or cannot be traced. Why are we to love prejudices, merely because they are prejudices?[1] A prejudice is a fond obstinate persuasion for which we can give no reason; for the moment a reason can be given for an opinion, it ceases to be a prejudice, though it may be an error in judgment: and are we then advised to cherish opinions only to set reason at defiance? This mode of arguing, if arguing it may be called, reminds me of what is vulgarly termed a woman's reason. For women sometimes declare that they love, or believe, certain things, because they love, or believe them. . . .</p> <p>Chapter VI: The Effect Which an Early Association of Ideas Has upon the Character.</p> <p>Educated in the enervating style recommended by the writers on whom I have been animadverting; and not having a chance, from their subordinate state in society, to recover their lost ground, is it surprising that women everywhere appear a defect in nature? Is it surprising, when we consider what a determinate effect an early association of ideas has on the character, that they neglect their understandings, and turn all their attention to their persons? </p>
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Mary Wollstonecraft, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," in Mary Wollstonecraft,<i> The Rights of Woman </i>(London: Scott, 1891), xxvi–xxix,17–18, 155–56, 159.
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The English writer Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–97) argued against both Burke and Rousseau, defending the notion of natural rights, particularly rights for women, such as equal education. She insisted that women could not become virtuous, even as mothers, unless they won the right to participate in economic and political life on an equal basis with men. Although she did not specifically demand the right to vote for women, her emphasis on women’s rights made her an object of ridicule for some, heroism for others.
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579
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<i>A Vindication of the Rights of Woman</i>
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1792
Enlightenment
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The US and Great Britain in Revolution
Women
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<p> Because of successive losses that he had experienced, the King had emptied the Parc-Aux-Cerfs [the location for the harem] and yielded himself entirely to grief [over the loss of his wife and children from 1765 to 1768]. Advancing age and the ability of a great prince to satisfy all his passions had dulled his attraction towards women. But this need, though diminished, continued; and the courtiers judged it necessary to distract His Majesty from the long and grievous spectacle which the illness of the Queen had created. The doctors assured the King that it was dangerous to give up so abruptly a pleasure necessary for his existence. The monarch believed his doctors since the decline of the state and the loss of his companion, (such as he called the Queen in his letter to the archbishop to tell him of her death) had left him despondent. </p><p>He told the Sieur le Bel to take care of this responsibility. This very zealous servant often undertook research to better serve His Majesty. It was on one of these hunting trips that le Bel spoke to the Count du Barry of his fatigue from these efforts. The latter, who had a sure sense in such matters and who was also known by le Bel as a man who could be useful, had no trouble in coming to his assistance. Le Bel told him of his despair of having found nothing in all these trips which could be desirable for his master. . . . -- "No," the impudent Count said to him, "I’ve got your business for you. You know I don’t lack taste. Trust me: you come to dinner at my house and tell me that I’m a cad if I don’t give you the most beautiful woman, the most fresh, the most seductive; a true morsel for a king." The King’s purveyor, enchanted with a proposition so consoling, embraced him and promised to go to find a convenient time. Du Barry had nothing more pressing than to return to his house and getting Mademoiselle l’Ange [the Angel] all dressed up. (This nickname, "the angel" was used by Mademoiselle Vaubernier following the practice of courtesans who also took a nom de guerre when they entered and displayed themselves before the world.) Du Barry taught her the role she had to play, giving her the hope that he regarded as chimerical but which was, however, realized. He gave her the picture of a brilliant destiny: he declared to her that it wasn’t a question of simply appearing at Versailles and satisfying incognito the desires of the King; he wished to make her mistress in title and to have her replace Madame du Pompadour. For this, it was necessary that she pretend to le Bel that she was his sister-in-law, married to his fat brother. She had to sustain well this persona, while deploying all the coquetterie and gracefulness that she had at her disposal. In such a case, all would go well.</p><p>Mademoiselle L’Ange, for a joke, had already posed several times with the title Countess du Barry. It’s a current usage among kept girls to esteem themselves with the titles of their lovers. It was scarcely difficult to take on this persona with Sieur le Bel, who delighted by the face of this young person, who by her playfulness, by her lascivious look and various remarks, soon understood how to rejuvenate the old man. Through his experience he conceived what a happy effect a woman with such resources would have on his master. The dinner was exceptionally delightful, and the valet would have been glad to try himself so that he could vouch for his discovery. The Sieur du Barry profited from the enthusiasm of this lecher to make him understand that his sister-in-law could not be presented to the King like a common prostitute. And that she could not be simply disposed of without difficulty. This was a woman of quality who would doubtless be very honored with the bed of a prince or of such a desirable great king. However, she had the ambition to conquer his heart, as she already felt a terrific attachment for his sacred person -- an attachment which could only grow with greater intimacy. The valet was not too love struck to not see immediately this truth and thus to lend himself to all the arrangements which would appear necessary. It was decided from this moment that the so-called Countess would be a sacred morsel for the King. And that the Sieur le Bel would report to the monarch what he had seen. He would represent to His Majesty the desire of the woman in question to please him and the entire devotion of her husband to the will of the sovereign. Further, he would tell of the happiness that this faithful couple aspired to add to his pleasures. However, this beauty flattered herself to be able to be able to prove her love over a long time. And she would have the right to expect the same from her august lover and the general exclusion of all competitors. Evil courtiers have claimed that, according to the conversation, the valet was permitted to take possession of this future mistress in the name of the King. Others avow that du Barry induced the ambassador by promising a reward were he successful in presenting the woman. Whatever it be, as he was very smitten himself and he placed in his story to the King so much heat and energy that he strongly excited the love of the prince. But to inflame him more and before His Majesty had actually had an encounter, he proposed to have him see the object without the woman knowing of it, so that the King would be in a position to judge himself.</p><p>The valet had a small house arranged where he invited the Countess to dine. It appears that the latter was warned of the secret observer who was to be there. The company fitted the scene, and the meal so voluptuous that the monarch couldn’t hold back. On that very night, he had Mademoiselle L’Ange come to him and he found in her possession more secret charms than exterior ones. In effect, those who preceded the King in this sexual pleasure unanimously attest that she had all that was necessary to reanimate the dullest existence. And she was effective with this jaded lover, overcoming the general disgust that he found with women who, up to then even in the middle of his pleasures were restrained by respect and adoration. Thus he really didn’t know the diverse resources that he could find in a new world of voluptuousness which offered him inexhaustible delights. In such a situation, what discovery, what treasure!</p><p>Without doubt there had been in the bed of the prince, women as instructed as Mademoiselle L’Ange, but they did not have a character so free, so true, so adventurous that they could flaunt their savoir-faire and dare to use it. On the contrary, this ingenue, candid and focused, was also led by a man experienced in the most refined libertinage. He anticipated that this prodigious sensation would produce a striking contrast between the lessons that he had given his student and the cold and inhibited caresses of the initial mistresses of the King. All he had to do was await the effect of this indoctrinated nymph; the success of the first triumph would marvelously encourage her to deploy the total extent of her art. If men accustomed to the techniques of prostitutes with their lively and energetic style still feel with them sensations of pleasure, what an impression must these powerful methods produce on a voluptuous person who had never experienced them! Such was the case of the monarch, according to the courtesans who knew the most of his private life and secret amusements.</p><p>This daughter of Venus was so able that the King could no longer do without her, and he had to take her along through the entire trip to Compiègne. She was totally incognito, because His Majesty being still in official mourning over the Queen, did not find it convenient to publicize his pleasures. Besides the King was very committed to appearances, in that on the exterior his behavior would comport to the maintenance of good morals. But these little inconveniences only aroused his passion and gave it more force to the point that Sieur le Bel, seeing the decided taste that his master took for Mademoiselle l’Ange and that things were going much farther than he would have believed, somewhat repented having become involved in the Count’s maneuver, especially as he understood it. He believed it was his duty, before this new favorite could be set up, to throw himself at the knees of the King and to declare to him how he had discovered this beauty: that he had been surprised; that she was no woman of quality; and that she wasn’t even married. "So what!" exclaimed the King, following the usual tradition among the courtiers. "So what! Let someone marry her promptly, so that one could keep me from having an indiscretion." Someone added that his counsel [the valet] wanted to go into more details, but that a severe look from the King obliged him to be silent. Struck with grief to have produced such a creature and envisioning the results that such a violent passion could create in a prince who approached old age, this zealous servant developed a grief that led him to the grave. Others claimed that in order to prevent indiscreet revelations that he could make, his enemies had him poisoned.</p><p>Whatever the case may be, the words of the King greatly heated up the hopes of the Count du Barry, called the Great du Barry to distinguish him from his brothers. He had one sibling, that we will name the Fat du Barry, a drunkard, a pig, wallowing night and day in the dirtiest debauchery. It was decided that he would be the one who would marry Mademoiselle l’Ange. He was warned in advance, and he had no trouble accepting, as he easily understood that this willingness on his part would allow him to lead more freely the kind of life which agreed with him and would procure him all the money that he would need. This hope would have been able to corrupt a less vile soul. He submitted to the ceremony, and the marriage was made in the parish Saint-Laurent September 1, 1768. The notary Pot of Auteil drew up the contract. He did not yet know the high destiny of the beauty whose civil alliance he constructed. But struck by her charms and her graces, he wished to enjoy the customary privilege among his colleagues in such a situation: he gallantly advanced to embrace the young person who, not expecting this, resisted as her role of maiden required. Her future brother-in-law encouraged her to permit this public officer to brush her cheeks, and then said to him, "Remember this favor well, sir, because it is the last that you will receive from Madame."</p><p>The august lover was enchanted to learn that the ceremony was complete. He appeared to yield himself with more confidence to the new Countess; and each day his passion, far from diminishing through pleasure, so augmented that the du Barry brothers raised their expectations to the most vast ambition. But they had to carefully direct the favorite, the new Madame du Barry. And this plan demanded a lot of care and circumspection.</p><p>Madame du Barry had no inclination for this, especially a sense of intrigue that her position demanded. One sees by the course of her adventures up to the moment of her elevation, that she was lacking the ploys that are found commonly among courtesans and which serve them well in their attack on men. As she was neither self-interested nor ambitious, she was not caught up in the powerful webs of these two passions, so energetic in most spirits. Rather the new Countess carried in the role that she undertook a quality that was perhaps better: it is a sort of good sense to adopt the opinions that one gave her to make the situation worthwhile and to profit from it. In a word, she had a marvelous docility to the counsels of her brother-in-law whose success in the project that he had developed assured more than ever the confidence of his sister-in-law. The only point of difficulty was then concealing from the eyes of the courtiers the secret wire managing the favorite. Too much assiduousness on his part might have made the monarch suspicious of her and would lay her open to the malignity of the courtiers, yet the unexpected expulsion of this counselor would leave the favorite unprotected and in the position of making a lot of foolish mistakes.</p><p>The Count du Barry imagined then a plan of conduct that one can regard as a political chef d’oeuvre. This was to appear to absolutely abandon his sister-in-law to her brilliant destiny and to not show himself at court. At the same time he placed near her Mademoiselle du Barry, his sister, that he judged totally proper for the job he wanted her to do. The latter was too ugly to awaken any jealousy in the Countess, nor would she involve herself in the amorous intrigues which would turn her away from her principal object. She had besides some spirit; it was a certain virtuosity which evidenced itself in literary talent and she had even had a letter published in the Mercure. She was very ingratiating and did not hesitate to master the favorite, which was essential. There was thus established a continual circulation from brother to sister, from the latter to the Countess, from the Countess back to Mademoiselle du Barry, and then from sister to brother. Young emissaries, trained by the Count, were continually on the road from Versailles and carried his orders, verbal or written, according to circumstances. The messengers were multiplied as needed; and by that, the favorite was led from minute to minute. Sometimes she made little trips to Paris where not having a house, she lodged at that of her brother-in-law and received general instructions which she applied in particular circumstances.</p><p>[The story continues and leads Madame du Barry to increasing heights. Here she is credited with felling the ministry of Choiseul and replacing it with the anti-Parlement Triumvirate that would exile the magistrates in 1770.]</p><p>It was especially at Fontainebleau that the Countess du Barry triumphed in all her glory and humiliated the Duke of Choiseul. The regiment of the King had come to camp near this city to be reviewed by His Majesty. This review required the minister of war. Madame du Barry assisted, escorted by the Duchess of Valentinois and the Marquise of Montmorency. The Court du Châtelet, a lieutenant colonel, held a supper party in his tent with these women in attendance. Madame du Barry sat beside His Majesty and replaced the Dauphine who was supposed to be there but did not arrive. This was the first spectacular schism between her and the favorite. The Duke of Choiseul, who was beside himself with rage, claimed to be indisposed to avoid the review and the meal. [Yet] the King; even in the most minor things showed the interest that he took in all that concerned his charming mistress. . . .</p><p>All these little individual favors were only a prelude to the important acheivement that Madame du Barry was going to develop in the revolution [a change in the ministry] which was going to occur, and to which the Duke of Aiguillon and the Chancellor worked together, to serve separately their respective ambitions. Both used the Countess as the person most able to get the King to agree to the plan. They made her understand that it was absolutely necessary that she second their views for her own interest; and that she would not be secure at all as long as Choiseul remained in place. Further, he could not be sacked until he became suspect to the King because of his connections to the Parlement. Finally, to blacken him better, it was necessary to blacken this company and to represent it to the monarch as an ambitious body, always ready to trash and invade his authority and to usurp the rights of the throne. His expulsion would produce first the attack on the Duke and then, not less essential, of facilitating taxes, and consequently the general appreciation of her by her august lover. So many advantages, presented under a point of view so sensitive and seductive, strongly alienated the favorite from the magistracy. She soon made pass into the heart of the monarch the hate that she had conceived for the Parlement and to which he was already strongly disposed. At this point, this feeble prince, who had no free will, finally took the decision to relax the new law that emerged as the famous edict of December 1770, registered by a lit de justice the third of that month. [This effectively quashed the political powers of all parlements.]</p><p>But the Chancellor and the Duke of Aiguillon knew well the pusillanimous character of the monarch and did not at all rely on his apparent firmness. They profited from it only by making the important coups that they contemplated, in order to go so far that it was impossible to withdraw. Madame du Barry served them marvellously in that. As the King supped almost every evening with her, they warned her what she had to say to him. When her lover -- his mind muddled from the exquisite wines she poured him, and his heart burning from love as he rested in her arms -- begged for her ultimate favors and could do nothing to refuse her, she extorted the fatal signatures and nothing went to the council for discussion. At least the other ministers complained loudly to have no knowledge of these violent acts, exerted against the Parlement of Paris. Thus as well was finally expedited the lettre de cachet [direct arrest by monarchical order] of the Duke of Choiseul. This was a letter signed several times in moments of drunken love-making, and the king repented [too late] the next day.</p><p>[And the memoir heads toward its end with the following passages.]</p><p>It was time that so many depredations be stopped; France tended toward inevitable ruin if the death of Louis XV had not changed the face of the kingdom. What is most unusual about the event is that it issued from those who had the most reason to save him.</p><p>His Majesty was the most despondent in some time. The sudden death of the Marquis of Chauvelin, one of his favorites, enjoying a flourishing health, a friend in all the King’s pleasure parties, had died right before his eyes. He ceaselessly thought about it. The death of the Marshal of Armentières, very similar to Chauvelin and the same age as the King, had augmented the melancholy. He was also racked by the remorse created in his heart by the Bishop of Senes, from a sermon that was extremely strong and pathetic. The committee of the favorite decided that it was necessary to redouble their efforts to draw the King from this condition, even by lively orgies that could give a shake to his system. Consequently, it was decided to propose a voyage to the Trianon [a small palace on the Versailles grounds], where they would be more at ease inspired by the liberty of the place. One noticed that the King had admiringly lusted over a little daughter of a carpenter. They sent for the child, cleaned her up, perfumed her, introduced her to the bed of the august lecher. This morsel would have been hard from him to digest if they hadn’t administered some strong stimulants. For the moment this gave him sweet assistance, and procured more pleasure than a libertine in his sixties might ordinarily experience. This child, unfortunately was already sick, and had a lot of trouble doing what one demanded, and only went through with it because of threats and in the hope of receiving a fortune. No one knew that she had the smallpox germ which soon developed in her in the cruelest manner, and she promptly died. The venom was communicated to the King and on the next day His Majesty felt sick without foreseeing its cause. Consequently, they advised Madame du Barry to keep him there and to remain in charge of him. But the sieur La Martinière, his first surgeon, insisted that he be immediately transported to Versailles. The next day everyone knew that the King had smallpox. It was easy to see he would not recover.</p>
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1775-00-00
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[Pidansat de Mairobert], <i>Anécdotes sur la comtesse du Barry</i>, Nouvelle édition augmentée et corrigée (London [Paris], [1775] 1776).
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Since the royal family’s ability to procreate was crucial to the perpetuation of the reign and thus to the continuity of the monarchy, the obsession shown in pamphlets about the bodies and sexual activities of King and Queen must be seen as having not just prurient interest for readers but also political overtones.This particular pamphlet, by a journalist named Mathieu Pidansat de Mairobert who had been an active supporter of the pro–<i>Parlement</i> party in the magistrates’ recent conflicts with the crown, was published anonymously early in the reign of Louis XVI. It purportedly described the liaison between the recently deceased Louis XV and his long–term mistress, the "Countess" of Barry, a common courtesan who had supposedly been procured to satisfy the aging King’s lusts. The entire book could be (and was) read as a parody of the mounting problems facing Louis XV, all of which center on the disorder he had created at Versailles by giving such a prominent place to a wholly inappropriate person, a woman, a courtesan, and a commoner.Whether or not the "anecdotes" were true is of less historical interest than the wide readership they drew and the negative influence they had on the reputation of the current King, Louis XVI, and the Queen, Marie Antoinette.
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261
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<i>Anecdotes on the Countess du Barry</i> (1775)
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/261/
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1775
Enlightenment
Monarchy
Public Opinion
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Women
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<p>The Society of Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen [Cordeliers Club] to the Representatives of the Nation (21 June 1791)</p> <p>Petition of the Cordelier Club (14 July 1791)</p> <p>We were slaves in 1789, we believed ourselves free in 1790, we are free at the end of June 1791. Legislators! You had allocated the powers of the nation you represent. You had invested Louis XVI with excessive authority. You had consecrated tyranny in establishing him as an irremovable, inviolable and hereditary king. You had sanctioned the enslavement of the French in declaring that France was a monarchy.</p> <p>Good citizens lamented and opinions clashed vehemently. But the law existed and we obeyed it, waiting for the progress of enlightenment and philosophy to bring us our salvation.</p> <p>It seemed that this so-called contract between a nation that gives everything, and an individual who gives nothing, had to maintained. Until that time when Louis XVI had become an ungrateful traitor, we believed that we had only ourselves to blame for our ruined work.</p> <p>But times have changed. This so-called convention between a people and its king no longer exists. Louis has abdicated the throne. From now on Louis is nothing to us, unless he become our enemy. . . .</p> <p>The Society of Friends of the Rights of Man considers that a nation must do everything, either by itself or through removable officers chosen by it. It [the Society] considers that no single individual in the state should reasonably possess enough wealth and prerogatives to be able to corrupt the agents of the political administration. It believes that there should be no employment in the state that is not accessible to all the members of that state. And finally, it believes that the more important a job is, the shorter and more transitory its duration should be. Convinced of this truth and of the greatness of these principles, it can no longer close its eyes to the fact that monarchy, above all hereditary monarchy, is incompatible with liberty. Such is its opinion, for which it stands accountable to all Frenchmen.</p> <p>It anticipates that such a proposition shall give rise to a host of opponents. But did not the Declaration of Rights itself encounter opposition? Nevertheless, this question is important to deserve serious debate by the legislators. They have already botched the revolution once because of lingering deference for the phantom of monarchy . . . let us therefore act without fear and without terror, and try not to bring it back to life. . . .</p> <p>Legislators, you have a great lesson before your eyes. Consider well that, after what has happened, it is impossible for you to inspire in the people any degree of confidence in an official called "king." We therefore call upon you, in the name of the fatherland, to declare immediately that France is no longer a monarchy, but rather that it is a republic. Or at a minimum, wait until all the departments and all of the primary assemblies have expressed their opinion on this important question before you consider casting the fairest empire in the world into the chains and shackles of monarchism for a second time.</p> <p>The society has decided that the present petition shall be printed, posted, and then sent to all the departments and patriotic societies of the French empire.</p> <p>Petition of the Jacobin Club (16 July 1791)</p> <p>The Frenchmen undersigned, members of the sovereign;</p> <p>Considering that in matters affecting the safety of the people, it has the right to express its desire in order to enlighten and direct the representatives who have received its mandate; that there has never been a more important question than that concerning the king's desertion; that the decree passed on 15 July contains no provision regarding Louis XVI; that while obeying this decree, it is important to decide promptly the matter of this individual's fate; that this decision must be based on his conduct; that Louis XVI, after having accepted the duties of kingship and sworn to defend the constitution, has deserted the post entrusted to him, has protested against this constitution by a declaration written and signed by his own hand, has sought to paralyze the executive power by his flight and orders, and to overthrow the constitution by his complicity with the men today accused of attacking it; that his betrayal, his desertion, protestation (to say nothing of all the other criminal acts preceding, accompanying, and following these) entail a formal abdication of the constitutional crown entrusted to him; that the National Assembly has judged him to this effect in taking over the executive authority, suspending the king's powers, and holding him under arrest; that new promises to observe the constitution on Louis XVI's part could not offer a sufficient guarantee to the nation against a new betrayal and a new conspiracy;</p> <p>Considering, finally, that it would be as contrary to the majesty of the outraged nation as to its interests to entrust the reins of the empire to a perfidious, traitorous fugitive;</p> <p>Formally and expressly demands that the National Assembly accept, in the nation's name, Louis XVI's abdication on 21 June of the crown delegated to him, and provide for his replacement by all constitutional means.</p> <p>The undersigned declare that they will never recognize Louis XVI as their king, unless the majority of the nation expresses a desire contrary to that contained in the present nation.</p>
Sortable Date
1791-07-14
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Albert Mathiez,<i> Le Club des Cordeliers pendant la crise de Varennes et le massacre du Champ de Mars</i> (Geneva: Slatkine, 1975), 45–47, 135–36.
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In the aftermath of the King’s failed flight in June 1791, the more radical clubs circulated petitions calling on the National Assembly to depose the King rather than grant him executive power as a constitutional monarch, under the new constitution. Below are excerpts from two such petitions, from the Cordeliers and Jacobin clubs, respectively; note that these efforts technically violated a law passed the previous 10 May, which had proscribed the circulation of petitions by clubs.
Identifier
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390
Title
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<i>Champ de Mars</i>: Petitions of the Cordelier and Jacobin Clubs
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/390/
Date
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July 14, 1791
Clubs
Popular Politics
Public Opinion
Text
-
Text
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<p>Chabot: " . . . [in text] This is the moment to tell the whole truth about these allegedly revolutionary women. I'm going to lay bare for you the intrigues that stir them up, and I promise you'll be shocked. I know what risks you run when you embitter a woman, and all the more so when you embitter a large number of them, but I'm not afraid of their intrigue or their remarks of their threats.</p> <p>A few days ago I was summoned by the head of these women, <i>Citoyenne</i> Lacombe, who asked me what we had in mind for the former Mayor of Toulouse. I answered that I was shocked that she would petition on behalf of a former noble, a man who had had patriots thrown into prison. She retorted that he gave bread to the poor. Ah, I replied—but that's how counterrevolution is hatched. Finally, she threatened me with the full censorship of the Revolutionary Women if I, along with the Committee of General Security, didn't order his release. I admit that I let out a swear word, and I left.</p> <p>The next day she appeared at my house again to repeat what she said the day before, the same thing. Madame Lacombe—I just can't consider her a <i>citoyenne</i>—confessed to me that she wasn't so much concerned about Monsieur de Ray [the Mayor of Toulouse] as about his nephew. I—who am accused of allowing myself to be led about by women—told her: "I will never do for them [women] what men make you do, and all the women in the world will never get me to do anything but what I want to do for the Republic." Madame Lacombe then treated me to the most reactionary [Feuillant] remarks. She claimed that one didn't keep men in prison like that; that Revolution or no Revolution, they had to be questioned within twenty-four hours, released if they were innocent, and sent to the guillotine at once if they were guilty—in short, all the remarks that you hear aristocrats mouthing all the time when we arrest one of their friends. It's because I like women that I don't want them to be forming a body apart and calumniating even virtue. They've dared attack Robespierre, calling him Monsieur Robespierre [aristocratic form]. I ask that you take forceful measures against the Revolutionary Women to check this crazy mania that's seized them. I ask that they purge themselves of all the schemers they're protecting in their midst and that they be mandated by letter to do it."</p> <p>I answered the most patriotic Monsieur Chabot. First of all it is true that I had him called out of the Jacobins on Friday, the thirteenth of this month. Here is the speech I held forth with; it is a bit different from the one which he put into my mouth.</p> <p>"Chabot, I am here to ask you to do a favor to yourself, to yourself . . . [in text], not me. What's at issue is the Mayor of Toulouse, whom you removed from office three months ago along with two administrators. I have learned that these latter two have been ordered back in, and as the Mayor was removed on the same grounds, I was surprised to learn that this was a victim whom you reserved the right to sacrifice. Therefore, I am here to ask you, for yourself, to give him the same justice that his colleagues obtained. Either he is guilty along with them, or, along with them, he is innocent."</p> <p>"He is guilty," Chabot answered. "He had patriots imprisoned, seventeen of them in Toulouse." "I will not believe it," I said, "until you give me palpable proofs." "Besides," he said, "he is rich enough to live in Paris." "I know," I told him, "that his having a fortune is charged against him as a crime, but it is true nonetheless that he has used it only to succor the unfortunate since the Revolution. He is cherished by all the people of Toulouse. That is how the aristocrats behave to deceive the people. They do them good."</p> <p>"Besides," he retorted, raising his voice, "he is a nobleman." "There is the best proof you could give me of his innocence," I told him, "because as he was not removed on account of his nobility, you are making a big war horse out of him. I say to you, as a true Republican Woman, that if you do not give him the justice that is due him, I will go to the bar of the National Convention to obtain it for him". . . .</p> <p>"You are a women's society," he replied, "which wants to get involved in [public] affairs, and you're being misled." I repeated my first answer, that "neither cajoleries nor <i>assignats</i> would ever tempt the Revolutionary Women. We are interested only in the oppressed, and I look upon the Mayor as a victim you felt like sacrificing. That is so true that you have had offers made to his nephew, whom you know is a fine patriot and who, from the time of his uncle's disgrace, has not left him for a single instant. I tell you that in order to destroy the uncle all the more easily, you have had positions offered to him [the nephew] three times in order to get him away from Paris and in this way deprive the uncle of the only consolation left to him. Is this the way men should comport themselves towards their fellows? I dare to assure you that if you don't give the Mayor the justice he has a right to expect, I'll argue for it myself at the bar of the Convention, and we'll see whether you have the right—you powerless dictator—to sacrifice patriots while you give preferential treatment to counterrevolutionaries every day. I warn you that if I go before the bar [of the Convention] I will tell some truths that will not be to your advantage.</p> <p>At that point Monsieur Chabot composed himself, turning towards me with his hypocritical air, and fixing me with his cockroach eyes, he said: "Do you want that? Okay, I'll have the report drawn up tonight, and tomorrow the Mayor can leave, only he'll no longer be Mayor. We'll send him to his place of residence, because if we send him to Toulouse, the people would reelect him. I can't deny that he accomplished an infinite amount of good for the people, and besides, he has some excellent qualities, but he has too much influence at Toulouse. He mustn't go back there". . . .</p> <p>I continue with the meeting of the Jacobins. . . [in text] Bazire says: . . . [in text] "And I am also all sickly, as you see me here, I have tangled with the Revolutionary Women." (There is laughter.) Renaudin says, "Do not laugh, this can turn out to be more serious than you think." Bazire: "I will explain myself. The other day, seven to eight Revolutionary Women came to the Committee of General Security to demand the liberty of a man named Sémandy. It [the deputation] was informing itself concerning the reasons for his detention so that if he were not guilty, justice might be obtained by having him released by the Tribunal, which must take cognizance of [this situation]—all of which is quite different [from what Bazire alleged]. He lies when he dares to say that our <i>commissaires</i> asked him for permission to visit all the prisons in order to inform themselves about the reasons for the prisoners' arrests so as to be able to force their release should they deem this appropriate . . . [in text]. The Revolutionary Women know the LAW, and it is only in conformity with it [the law] that we would have come to the aid of oppressed patriots . . . [in text]. He lies with the shameless audacity natural to him when he says that our <i>commissaires </i>called him a sucker. The Revolutionary Women know the meaning of words too well to have addressed such an insignificant one to Monsieur Bazire. I would like to believe that he latched onto it out of modesty.</p> <p>You lie, Monsieur Bazire, when you dare to say that our <i>commissaires</i> called Robespierre "Monsieur." We keep watch over all public figures. And far be it from us to confuse Citizen Robespierre with the Bazires of the day. Be careful, Robespierre. I noticed that those accused of having lied believe they can sidestep the denunciation by accusing those who denounce them of having spoken ill of you. Be careful lest those who are forced to wrap themselves in your virtues also pull you with them over the precipice. As for you, Monsieur Bazire, the big war horse which you've built out of the word "Monsieur" Robespierre, which you've placed in the mouths of our <i>commissaires</i>, proves nothing except that you are a miserable liar. . . .</p> <p>And finally, we are accused of being counterrevolutionaries. The request is made that I be brought before the Committee of General Security. Following several motions, one more extravagant than the other, to destroy the Society of Revolutionary Women—because it must be destroyed, no matter what the price—the proposal was made that the papers at my house be sealed. But Monsieur Chabot, who until then had treated me as one of the chiefs of the counterrevolutionaries, was so convinced that he had been nothing more than a base calumniator that he didn't hesitate to say that this last proposition was a trap set for the Jacobin Society; that if, when the seals were lifted, they found only patriotic papers at my place, it would be easier for me to justify myself; but that he held me to be a counterrevolutionary and that it was necessary that I be imprisoned immediately. The orders of Monsieur Chabot were not followed point by point, but three guards were sent to me in the gallery—all the more indecent, as there were only women in this gallery. So there I was, seated in the middle of them, placed under arrest in the presence of four thousand people. I told one of the guards that if he had orders to take me somewhere, he could let me know; that I was ready to submit to the laws. He told me that it was not time yet; that we had to stay there. As I had nothing to reproach myself with, it was not surprising that my face showed the calm of innocence. Who will believe it? This very calm attracted the grossest insults. I heard someone say, "Look at this new Corday. What a front she puts up; nothing can unsettle such people." To console me, one of the guards said to me, "It's sad to sleep in prison." "Why sadder for me than for others? I will add but one more to their number."</p>
Sortable Date
1793-09-00
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From <i>Women in Revolutionary Paris, 1789–1795,</i> edited and translated by Darline Gay Levy, Harriet Branson Applewhite, and Mary Durham Johnson. Copyright 1979 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Used with the permission of the University of Illinois Press, 187–194.
Description
An account of the resource
Claire Lacombe, an actress and one of the leaders of the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women, published a pamphlet to counter charges made against her and the club. By September 1793 the revolutionary government had begun to harass the leaders of the club.
Identifier
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485
Title
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<i>Citoyenne</i> Lacombe’s "Report to the Society of Revolutionary Republican Women Concerning What Took Place 16 September at the Jacobin Club"
Relation
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/485/
Date
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September 1793
Clubs
Public Opinion
Sans-culottes
Text
Women
-
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Text
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<p>After having heard that the Queen and the Dauphin were coming to Paris, thefishwives gathered, drank some wine and Mrs. Tripodin, after having bowed,said in a loud voice: . . . "why should not we talk now? And only those whohave pride will not say a word. . . . When the Queen comes, we will go inthe middle of the street, surround her coach, compliment her, and ask if wecould raise the Dauphin the way we do with our kids. . . .</p><p></p><p>"He is so nice. When he was born, I sent him flowers. We will take goodcare of him, because these doctors kill our Princes while they think theyare curing them.</p><p> </p><p></p><p>"We will take care of him as if he was a bird, he will become as happy as apinch-mark. We will be his governesses. And you can trust me that thingswill go much better with us than with all these Court Ladies who frolicabout all day long, while the young Prince yawns his head off and looks assad as the oven of a kitchen where there is no fire.</p><p></p><p>"I saw this charming Prince. People called him Monsieur; he was like arelic which you praises and that does not answer.</p><p></p><p>"When we take care of him, he will chatter like a magpie; he will jump likea kid, and he will eat everything we give him, sometimes good, sometimesbad. We will make him have a royal heart, but his stomach will be likeours. He will eat potatoes and drink some wine like we do when we feel likedrinking some. We will protect him."</p><p></p><p>Everybody applauded this proposal, as the People want a Prince like them.</p><p></p><p>"Our good King," they all say while laughing, "will be so satisfied that hewill thank us. He is good the way he is, but if we had raised him, he wouldhave thrown out of the window all the Secretaries that have tied him up."</p><p> </p><p>"Oh!" said one of them, "I will take this friendly Prince to listen to ourpriest's sermon, so he will hear about God. Because at the Court, there areonly soft sermons, in which nothing is said, and no piety to be found. Hewill have friends who will flatten his pride, and also they will take himto see some craftsmen so he will see the sweat going down their foreheadand this will teach him something when he becomes King." . . .</p><p></p><p>The gathering ate soup on a huge table. They drank to the King's, theQueen's, the Prince's and the Nation's health. Each fishwife had a funnelon their mouth where plenty of wine was going through.</p><p> </p><p></p><p>They ended the session by making a proposal whose object was to marry allfisher-women, daughters or widows, to Soldiers of the French Guard, inorder to perpetuate the Parisian race.</p>
Sortable Date
1785-00-00
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The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
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Anonymous, Motion curieuse des dames de la place Maubert (Paris:Guillaume, 1785)..
Description
An account of the resource
As a result of the "libels" against the court and especially the Queen, asense was spreading that the monarchy was not fulfilling its obligations inruling over France. Demonstrating that sentiment, this pamphlet is writtenin the voice of Parisian working women from the open–air market of theplace Maubert. It describes how such hardworking, salt–of–the–earth,honest, family–oriented women could do a better job raising the Dauphinthan the Queen, thus suggesting that the future of the realm should beentrusted to its people rather than the royal family.
Identifier
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264
Title
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<i>Curious Proposal of the Women of the Maubert Marketplace</i> (1785)
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https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/264/
Date
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1785
Popular Politics
Public Opinion
Text
Women