15 10 347 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 Any textual data included in the document It really gets under my skin to see a bunch of rascals build castles in the air, sacrifice honor and country, and risk the guillotine in order to become rich. Who is served by this wealth? He who has a lot of gold and houses, does he dine twice? Hell! If we could only read the minds of all the poor devils who have piled sous upon sous to fill their coffers; if we understood the stupors of all these misers who skin fleas in order to get their hides, if you could see them always on their guard, always sleeping with one eye open, scared down to the marrow of their bones by the slightest noise, screaming for mercy when they hear judgments being shouted out against some crooks, tearing their hair out when the rich are forced to loosen the purse strings to help their country, burying their gold, dying of fright at the mere sound of the name of the revolutionary army! Is there, in the whole world, a worse torture than this? What a damn difference there is between the fate of this pathetic character and that of the honest sans-culotte, who lives from day to day by the sweat of his brow. As long as he has a four-pound loaf in his bread box and a glass of red wine, he's content. As soon as he wakes up, he's as happy as a lark, and at the end of the day, he takes up his tools and sings his revolutionary song, "La Carmagnole." In the evening, after he has worked hard all day, he goes to his section. When he appears there among his brothers, they don't look at him as if he were a monster, and he doesn't see everyone whispering to each other and pointing their fingers at him like a nobleman or a moderate would. They shake his hand, pat him on the shoulder, and ask him how he's doing. He doesn't worry about being denounced; he is never threatened with raids on his house. He holds his head high everywhere he goes. In the evening, when he enters his hovel, his wife rushes to greet him, his small children hug him, his dog bounds up and licks him. He recounts the news that he heard at the section. He's as happy as a clam when telling about a victory over the Prussians, the Austrians, or the English. He tells how a traitorous general, a follower of Brissot, was guillotined. While telling his children about these scoundrels, he makes them promise to always be good citizens and to love the Republic above all else. Then he eats dinner with a hearty appetite, and after his meal, he entertains his family by reading to them from Le Grande colère du Père Duchesne [The Great Wrath of Father Duchesne] or La Grande joie du Père Duchesne [The Great Joy of Father Duchesne]. His wife laughs till she's hoarse when listening to him tell about the arguments between his neighbor Jacqueline and the religious zealots whining to the patron saints of the rich. The little rug-rats erupt with joy on hearing the four-letter words I use. Sortable Date 1794-00-00 Dublin Core 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Père Duchesne, no. 313 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1794), 3–6. Translated by Exploring the French Revolution project staff from original documents in French found in John Hardman, French Revolution Documents 1792–95, vol. 2 (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1973), 218–19. Description An account of the resource The sans–culotte [without the breeches of the wealthy] became the symbol of the committed, patriotic revolutionary everyman. This newspaper article describes the ideal sans–culotte, emphasizing his industriousness as a handicraft worker, his honesty, his simplicity, his willingness to act directly, and above all his commitment to sacrifice for the Revolutionary cause. This description is from a radical newspaper, "Father Duchesne" was, like the sans–culotte, a figure drawn from popular culture: a good–hearted, honest–speaking, hard–working stove repairman who would report to his companions in layman’s terms the strange doings of the wealthy he overheard while in their homes to fix stoves, a luxury item in the eighteenth century. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 373 Title A name given to the resource Père Duchesne Idealizes the Sans–culottes Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/373/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1794 Clubs Text 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 Any textual data included in the document I noticed that after the 13th of Vendemiaire (5 October 1795) the majority of the people were tired of a Revolution whose every fluctuation and movement had had fatal results. The fact that the Revolution had "royalized" them can not be ignored. In Paris I saw that the ordinary, uneducated masses had really been led by the enemies of the people into a deep contempt for the Republic. . . . I told myself that, barring a salutary stroke of genius, the Republic was lost. I was certain that the monarchy would not hesitate to seize us once again. I looked around me and saw many demoralized people, even among those patriots who had once been so fervent, so brave, and who had had such success in their efforts to strengthen Liberty. It was a scene of universal discouragement with the people almost totally muzzled (if it can be put that way), and which was followed by witnessing the disbanding and the stripping away of all the guarantees that the people had once been given against any undertakings by their rulers. Together with the scars left by the chains recently worn by almost all these energetic men, the near conviction (of many people who seemed to me not to have thought through the reasons for their convictions) that the Republic might really be, after all, something other than a blessing, had very nearly brought the peopleÕs spirit to a state of total resignation, and everyone seemed ready to bend under the yoke. I saw now who was in a position to revive the courageous mood of earlier days. And yet, I told myself, the same zealous turbulence and love of mankind still exists. Perhaps there are still ways to keep the Republic from being lost. Let every man gather his strength and do what he can. As for myself, I am going to do all that is within my power. I vented my words in my Tribune of the People. I said to everyone: "Listen: I have to admit that those of you who seem to believe, after this long series of public disaster, that the Republic is worthless and that the Monarchy might be preferable, are right." I made it a banner headline: WE WERE BETTER OFF UNDER THE KINGS THAN UNDER THE REPUBLIC. But you must understand of which Republic I was speaking. A Republic such as the one we see is, without a doubt, totally worthless. But this, my friends, is not a true Republic. A true Republic is something you are not yet familiar with. Very well. If you wish I will try to tell you something about it, and am almost certain you will idolize it. The Republic is not a wordÑor even several wordsÑempty of meaning. The words Liberty and Equality, which have continuously echoed in your ears, cast a spell over you in the early days of the Revolution because you thought that they would mean something favorable for the People. Now they mean nothing to you at all because you see that they are nothing more than empty statements and the embellishments of deceitful expressions. You must learn once again, however, that these two words can and should stand for something that is very valuable for most people. Continuing to address the people, I went on to say that the Revolution should not be an action that produces only useless results. It was not merely to worsen the lot of the people that so much blood was spilled. People revolt because the injustice of deceitful institutions has pushed the best impulses of a society to the limits such that the majority of its functioning constituents can no longer go on as before. The society then feels uncomfortable in this situation, and feeling the need to change, takes the required actions. And that society is right to do so because the only reason it was instituted in the first place was to make the bulk of its members as happy as possible. The purpose of society is the common well-being. . . . The aim of the Revolution also is the well-being of the greatest number; therefore, if this goal has not been achieved, if the people have not found the better life that they were seeking, then the Revolution is not over. This is true despite what those who want only to substitute their own rule for somebody else's say, or hope it to be. Otherwise, if the Revolution is really over, then it has been nothing more than a great crime. Sortable Date 1797-02-20 Dublin Core 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Victor Advielle, Histoire de Gracchus Babeuf et du Babouvisme, vol. 1 (Geneva: Slatkine, 1978), 28–30. Description An account of the resource Long after sans–culotte influence on the government had waned, social conflicts continued to drive some revolutionary events. Throughout 1794 and 1795, urban and rural radicals alike demanded "bread and the constitution of 1793," meaning that the government should feed the people and grant universal male suffrage. One such radical, who took the name Gracchus Babeuf, supposedly organized the "Conspiracy of Equals," a secret group that he hoped to lead in a surprise insurrection to take power and use it to distribute land equally among all citizens. When the "conspiracy" was betrayed, Babeuf was arrested and tried. Before being sentenced and executed, Babeuf offered a statement of his principles and a defense of his action. His attack on private property scandalized many at the time, but others later called him the first socialist. In short, to those who would look back to the Revolution as the unsuccessful birth of socialist movements, Babeuf would remain an inspiration. To his contemporary critics, who were influenced in part by the Directory’s successful propaganda, Babeuf’s conspiracy demonstrated the instability of the Republic and the need for forceful government repression of popular political activity. In their view, such an approach would ensure stability and prevent a return to the chaos of the Terror. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 374 Title A name given to the resource Babeuf’s Trial Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/374/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 20, 1797 Economic Conditions Laws Popular Politics Sans-culottes Text 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 Any textual data included in the document Upper Alsace, Bailliage de Belfort To His Grace, Monsieur Necker, Minister of Finances Statement concerning the unjust, onerous, and humiliating dues and other unheard of burdens which the undersigned inhabitants of the seigneury of Montjoye-Vaufrey are made to endure by the Count of Montjoye-Vaufrey. The seigneury of Montjoye-Vaufrey is small with almost inaccessible mountains, covered in large part by forests of beech and fir trees. The soil is naturally barren and produces nothing but brambles and thorn bushes. It is part of Upper Alsace and enclosed by the diocese of Basle, lying on the kingdom's border. Close to one thousand individuals live in this region, which is almost wild because of its location. There they stagnate, living in misery, crushed beneath the entire weight of the most inhumane and detestable feudal system and the victims of the thousands of abuses that the seigneur of Montjoye heaps upon them. The truth of these statements will be found to be more than convincing once we have outlined the rights that the [seigneur] claims to have over them and the manner in which these rights are exercised. The Tithe of the Sixth Sheaf The seigneur demands one of every six sheaves produced on the majority of the lands of the seigneury. The other sheaves are left to the owner, who uses one and a half sheaves for seed because the soil only yields four sheaves for every sheaf planted. The remaining three and a half sheaves constitute his only profit from sowing and are used to feed himself and to pay other seigneurial dues. The Right of Mortmain The same lands on which the seigneur collects this unusual tithe are also subject to mortmain [death duty], and he exercises this right with such cruelty that the poor unfortunate owner cannot sell his land, even when reduced to a state of destitution deserving of the greatest compassion. We have seen infirm persons, possessing land, but forbidden to sell it by the seigneur, who are led by their charitable fellow-citizens from village to village begging for alms. Gardens, houses, and orchards were once exempt from this duty, but today he takes everything in case the owner dies without an heir. Corvées It would seem that the owners of these same lands should be left to enjoy their produce in peace, obliged as they are to submit to such an outrageous tithe and to the odious exercise of the right of mortmain. But far from it. In addition, this seigneur requires five days of work from them, and if he obliges them to perform this service in actual labor, he assigns the work when it is convenient for him. It is often the case that those subject to the corvée are not able to fulfill their tasks in a day, whereupon they are obliged to continue their work the next day, even though only one day of work is counted. If he does not require actual labor from them, someone who has two oxen is forced to pay him six livres. . . . Some people have preferred to endure this additional charge rather than to provide the actual labor, but the worker with no beasts of burden performs the corvée with his own hands. Or, if he wants to commute his work into money, he is forced to pay three livres fifteen sols, whereas before he would only have paid thirty-three sols. Poor beggars are not exempt. They are seen going from door to door asking for bread in order to go and work for the seigneur, because recently he refuses all food to those required to work at the corvée. Taxes, Hens, the Sale of Wine, Residence Rights For each journal of land [a measure of land equal to the amount a plowman could plow in a day] he takes eight deniers in taxes, three hens for each hearth, and the poor are no more exempt than the richest inhabitant. He collects a tenth of the wine sold in inns, whereas the king only takes a twentieth. He makes each person who moves to a new community pay a florin a year for this right. Outsiders are also subject to this payment. Withholding Right For approximately ten years, he has assumed a withholding right with respect to most of the land sold in the seigneury. He sells this right to whomever he wants; therefore the heir can be banished from the land. The rights of family are held in just as much contempt as those of humanity. Communal Forests His greed leads him to appropriate all of the communal forests, selling them for his own profit. This usurpation has already been seen in the communities of Montjoye, Monnoiront, and Les Choseaux. He gives them to whomever he pleases. The distribution is never in proportion to the needs of the individual, demonstrating his absolute mastery. However, individuals pay royal taxes and even the subsidy, a tax which in Alsace is particularly heavy on forests. Communal Pasturelands The same observations can be made with regard to communal pasturelands. The seigneur does not allow land to be cleared at all unless one agrees to plant and give him a sixth of what is produced. Otherwise it is forbidden to touch the smallest bramble or thorn. Sometimes he seizes certain portions of these pasturelands that meet his needs, and at other times he cedes them to different individuals. Beating the Woods Nothing demonstrates the slavery in which he holds these unfortunate people, and the odious use that he makes of his power, more than their obligation to cater to his whims. When it pleases him, and as often as it pleases him, he obliges them to beat the woods in order to satisfy his desire to hunt. As he does all of the others, he exercises the right arbitrarily. The farmer who is thus forced to wander through the woods for a whole day receives neither sustenance, nor a bonus, nor payment. If he refuses to do this work, the seigneur levies a fine to compensate for his loss of recreation, and his judge never fails to rule in favor of the plaintiff. . . . For more than a century, they have taken their seigneur to court in order to oblige him to produce the legal titles which give him the right to oppress them. To thwart these just measures, the predecessors of the current seigneur had the deputies of the leading communities clapped in irons and imprisoned, charging them with insubordination and holding them in custody at the seigneur's will. The current seigneur has again outdone his predecessors. For two months, he has kept . . . an entire family composed of six heads of household in prison, and he has charged each fifteen gold louis. He has had several others imprisoned. This kind of violence holds all of these unfortunate people in the cruelest fear and slavery. Until now, each imprisonment has been the signal for the creation of a new tax, and it is in this very unusual manner that he perpetuates these different humiliations and creates new ones. Sortable Date 1789-00-00 Dublin Core 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Patrick Kessel, La Nuit de 4 août 1789 (Paris: Arthaud, 1967), 307–12. Description An account of the resource The petitions from rural communities decried the abuse of seigneurial dues that peasants owed to lords in exchange for which they were supposed to receive protection and supervision. But by 1789, as these excerpts demonstrate, peasants had come to see their lords not as protectors, but as creditors, constantly turning the screws on them for ever more rent or other payments. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 375 Title A name given to the resource Cahiers from Rural Districts: Attack on Seigneurial Dues Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/375/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1789 Nobility Peasants Provinces Text 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 Any textual data included in the document Certain enemies of the People, as well as certain laws, have misled some of the inhabitants of our countryside and terrorized others into joining their schemes and their thievery. There is no longer either liberty or security in several of our markets. The People's magistrates are reduced to either authorizing these excesses because they exist, or being massacred when they call for the implementation of the laws. Such attempts should have been, and indeed were, denounced to the King and the National Assembly. Every French heart trembled with horror and indignation at the realistic scene that was described. The call was immediately answered by citizens armed by the law and for the law, as well as voluntary national guardsmen from Paris, ever faithful to the principles [of the Revolution] and to freedom. They marched in order to reestablish the public peace, to maintain respect for property, and to ensure that those who had already been found guilty be punished and not escape the law's vengeance. The national guard of Versailles and the majority of the national guardsmen of the Department, now occupied with maintaining the peace in their homes, if necessary will rush to assist their efforts. . . . Citizens, the markets should be free under the protection of the laws and the police. Any armed mob, without the authorization of law, is but a rabble of highwaymen, who should be, and will be, punished without fail. Being peaceful men, farmers will always flee at the sight of these mobs, and they will use any means to keep their goods and property out of their hands. The buyer must not have the right to tax the price of the merchandise that he is buying, and if he taxes it, he is nothing but a thief. No one but the owner has the right to propose a price and to bargain freely with the buyer. If, of their own authority, citizens or communities were going to search the barns and granaries located in their own community, they would be breaking the law and infringing on liberty and property. If they were going to search the barns and granaries located in other communities, and if they claimed they were going to take the grain by force, the communities that harvested that grain would consequently want to keep all that they had harvested from their land for themselves. This is what is now occurring. The communities that don't harvest enough to feed themselves, and the towns that don't harvest anything, will get smaller or die off from famine, or arm themselves to procure the sustenance they lack. From then on, there will be nothing but highwaymen and killers. And the French, who used to be so well known for their calm demeanor and character, would be nothing more than ferocious savages among whom there would be neither commerce nor a society, and who would soon devour and destroy one another. What must citizens do then for their own good and the common good? Respect the law, respect property, and maintain the peace. Then everything would take its natural course: jobs would multiply; the workers would find employment and income; the property owner would improve his possessions; and this culture would spread and increase available sustenance. Sortable Date 1792-03-09 Dublin Core 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived J. Mavidal and E. Laurent, eds., Archives parlementaires, 1st ser., 82 vols. (Paris, 1862–96), 39:518. Translated by Exploring the French Revolution project staff from original documents in French found in J.M. Roberts, French Revolution Documents, vol. 1 (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1966), 427–28. Description An account of the resource Despite the radical measures taken by the National Assembly, such as the abolition of nobility and the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, social conflicts continued to manifest themselves after the National Assembly completed its work in 1791. In the document below, we see evidence of continued friction over the circulation of grain and bread. Peasants continued to believe they were not getting all that was due them from urban merchants who bought their grain, while city dwellers continued to attribute the high cost of bread to the hoarding of grain by large landowners in the countryside. The government, seeking always to serve "the people," found itself caught between conflicting constituencies. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 376 Title A name given to the resource Proclamation of the Department of the Seine–et–Oise (9 March 1792) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/376/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 9, 1792 Economic Conditions Peasants Provinces Text The Terror 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 Any textual data included in the document Blood was flowing in the Faubourg St-Antoine in Paris. Five or six thousand workers, stirred up by a diabolical cabal that aimed to destroy the ministry and prevent the Estates from meeting, gathered at ten o'clock in the morning. Armed with clubs, they furiously attacked the house of a man named Réveillon, who is the manager of a royal factory at the Porte St. Antoine that makes fine wallpaper. Howling, and screaming that they wanted to murder Réveillon, his wife and his children, the rioters scaled the walls and broke down the doors. They looted everything they could find, burned the wallpapers and the designs and even bonds, ransacked the gardens and cut down trees. The house was splendidly furnished—mirrors, books, chests, tables, everything was smashed and thrown out the windows. Réveillon and his wife and children escaped over the garden wall. The Garde Française fired several rounds, but this only stirred up the mob even more. They climbed up onto houses and threw stones at the troops. The Garde Française advanced with cannons killing many. The rioting lasted until four in the morning and there were as many as seven or eight hundred dead. The Garde Française lost a few soldiers. Another body of five or six hundred workers were scattered throughout neighboring streets. They stopped carriages and asked everyone they encountered if they belonged to the Third Estate, heaped vulgar insults at them before taking their money and their watches. Three hundred and fifty nobles had gathered at the archbishop's palace in order to choose deputies for the nobility. The rabble set off in that direction. Luckily most of them were drunk and they soon changed their minds and continued to roam the streets. The Duke de Luynes was stopped, coming back from the races and compelled to shout, Long live the king and the Third Estate!' Nobles and even bourgeois were appalled. All this makes one tremble for the unhappy kingdom. It is a tissue of horrors and abominations. Everyone can guess who stuck this blow, May Providence protect the king. Sortable Date 1789-04-28 Dublin Core 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Marquis de Ferrières, Correspondence inédite, 1789, 1790, 1791, ed. H. Carré (Paris, 1932), 37–41. Description An account of the resource The "manufactory" owned by Jean–Baptiste Réveillon in the Saint–Antoine neighborhood of Paris made decorative wallpaper, a lucrative luxury item that required highly skilled (and generally well–paid) workers. When a rumor circulated about Réveillon’s ill–timed speech in which he linked reduced wages and lower prices, the animosity of many guildsmen to Réveillon erupted in violence. When troops intervened to suppress the protest by force, bloodshed ensued. To some observers, such as the nobleman the Marquis de Ferrières from whose letter the following passage is excerpted, this "riot" suggested a dangerous environment of popular unrest on the eve of meeting of the Estates–General. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 377 Title A name given to the resource The Réveillon Riot (28 April 1789) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/377/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 28, 1789 Economic Conditions Popular Politics Text 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 Any textual data included in the document To return to the matters in your letter, I will say straightaway that with regard to the Bastille, there are two areas of concern: the commandant himself and the type of garrison. To obviate these difficulties I have advised His Majesty to instruct the Count de Puységur to confer with Monsieur de Villedeuil [Minister for the King's Household and Paris] and recommend a good senior officer who can be entrusted with commanding the Bastille. You must dispatch 30 Swiss Guards, today if you can but certainly tomorrow to augment the garrison. . . . Make sure that they are under a very steady officer. As soon as the artillery regiment arrives, you must send in a small detachment of gunners to determine if the cannons are in good working order and to use them if it comes to that. This would be extremely unfortunate, but happily it is highly unlikely. Sortable Date 1789-07-05 Dublin Core 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Pierre Caron, "La tentative de Contre-Revolution de juin–juillet 1789," Révue d'histoire moderne, vol. 8 (1906), 26. Description An account of the resource In this excerpt from a letter of 5 July 1789, the Marshal de Broglie, head of the royal army who led a conservative faction at court, expresses his fears that amid the current unrest, the royal garrison and prison at the Bastille might come under attack. He advocates stationing reinforcements there to suppress an uprising. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 378 Title A name given to the resource Fears for the Bastille: A General’s Concern Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/378/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 5, 1789 Popular Politics Text 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 Any textual data included in the document MORRIS: JULY 12TH: Dine with the Maréchal de Castries who enquires very kindly the State of my Business. As I am going away he takes me aside and informs me that M. Necker is no longer in Place. He is much affected at this Intelligence, and indeed so am I. Urge him to go immediately to Versailles. He says he will not; that they have undoubtedly taken all their Meassures before this Movement and therefore he must be too late. I tell him that it is not too late to warn the King of his Danger which is infinitely greater than he imagines. That his Army will not fight against the Nation, and that if he listens to violent Counsels the Nation will undoubtedly be against him. That the Sword has fallen imperceptibly from his Hand, and that the Sovereignty of this Nation is the National Assembly. He makes no precise Answer to this but is very deeply affected . . . all agreeably to my Promise on Mme de Flahaut. Learn that the whole Administration is routed and M. Necker banished. Much Alarm here. Paris begins to be in Commotion, and from the Invalid Guard of the Louvre a few of the Nobility take a Drum and beat to Arms. Monsr de Narbonne, the friend of Mme de Stahl (Necker's daughter), considers a civil War as inevitable and is about to join his Regiment, being as he says in a Conflict between the Dictates of his Duty and of his Conscience. I tell him that I know of no Duty but that which the Conscience dictates. I presume that his Conscience will dictate to join the strongest Side. The little hunchbacked Abbé Bertrand, after sallying out in a Fiacre, returns frightened because of a large Mob in the Rue St. Honoré, and presently comes in another Abbé who is of the Parliament and who, rejoicing inwardly at the Change, is confoundedly frightened at the Commotions. I calm the Fears of Madame, whose Husband is mad and in a printed List, it seems, of fiery Aristocrats. Offer to conduct the Abbés safely Home, which Offer Bertrand accepts of. His Terror as we go along is truly diverting. As we approach the Rue St. Honoré his Imagination magnifies the ordinary Passengers into a vast Mob, and I can scarcely perswade him to trust his Eyes instead of his Fears, Having set him down, I depart for Mr. Jefferson's (the American Ambassador); in riding along the Boulevards, all at once the Carriages, Horses, and Foot Passengers turn about and pass rapidly. Presently after we meet a Body of Cavalry with their Sabres drawn, and coming Half Speed. After they have passed us a little Way they stop. When we come to the Place Louis Quinze observe the People, to the Number of perhaps an hundred, picking up Stones, and on looking back find that the Cavalry are returning. Stop at the Angle to see the Fray, if any. The People take Post among the Stone which lies scattered about the whole Place, being hewn for a Bridge now building. The Officer at the Head of this Party is saluted by a Stone and immediately turns his Horse in a menacing Manner towards the Assailant. But these Adversaries are posted in Ground where the Cavalry cannot act. He pursues his Route therefore and the Pace is soon encreased to a Gallop amid a Shower of Stones. Sortable Date 1789-07-12 Dublin Core 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Georges Pernoud and Sabine Flaissier, The French Revolution, translated by Richard Graves (New York: Capricorn Books, 1970), 24–5. Description An account of the resource Gouverneur Morris, an American in Paris, wrote about the street protests that followed the King’s dismissal of the royal minister of finance, the popular Jacques Necker. Many Parisians considered Necker the man most able to enact reforms that might solve France’s fiscal and economic problems. His dismissal left many skeptical about the King’s interest in substantive reforms. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 379 Title A name given to the resource Street Demonstrations of Support for Necker (12 July 1789) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/379/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 12, 1789 Popular Politics Text The US and Great Britain in Revolution 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 Any textual data included in the document Dearest father, I can now write to you. . . . How things have changed over the last three days! Last Sunday, Paris was dismayed at the dismissal of M. Necker. Although I was getting people worked up, no one would take up arms. About three o'clock I went to the Palais-Royal. I was deploring our lack of courage to a group of people when three young men came by, holding hands and shouting Aux armes! (To arms!) I joined them and since my enthusiasm was quite obvious, I was surrounded and pressed to climb up on a table. Immediately six thousand people gathered around me. . . . I was choking from the hundreds of ideas that overwhelmed me and, my thoughts a jumble, I spoke: "To arms!' I cried, "To arms! Let us all wear green cockades, the color of hope." . . . I grabbed a green ribbon and was the first to pin it to my hat. My action spread like wildfire! The noise from the tumult reached the camp; the Cravates, the Swiss, the Dragoons, the Royal-Allemand all arrived. Prince Lambesc, leading the regiment of Royal-Allemands, entered the Tuileries on horseback. He personally cut down an unarmed French guardsman with his sword, and knocked over women and children. The crowd became furious, and from that point on, there was but a single cry heard across Paris: To Arms! Sortable Date 1789-07-11 Dublin Core 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Jules Claretie, ed., Oeuvres de Camille Desmoulins, 2 vols. (Paris: Charpentier, 1906), 2:329–31. Description An account of the resource Camille Desmoulins, an aspiring journalist and author of an anti–aristocratic pamphlet, had been closely following political events. Like many observers, he interpreted Necker’s dismissal as evidence that the King would soon use the troops stationed in Paris to dispel the Estates–General and suppress any demonstrations. Upon receiving the news, he headed to the Palais Royal, a gathering place for the politically aware to exchange news and give speeches. In this letter, he describes how he called upon the people of Paris to act decisively by giving a rousing speech that inspired a crowd to "take arms" and defend the Estates–General against royal troops. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 380 Title A name given to the resource Desmoulins on His Own Role Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/380/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 11, 1789 Popular Politics Text 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 Any textual data included in the document On the eve of the fourteenth of July, Besenval, who is responsible for public order, is embarrassed. . . . The insurrection of the 12th assumed an alarming aspect. Fearing that the different cavalry posts detailed to maintain order in the faubourgs might be insufficient or that under provocation they might infringe the express orders they had received, I sent them word to proceed to Place Louis XV (Place de la Concorde). A strong detachment of Swiss Guards with four pieces of Artillery was already in the Champs-Elysées. . . . On their way to Place Louis XV the troops were the target of insulting cries, stone-throwing and pistol-shots. Several men were severely wounded, but not a single menacing gesture was made by the soldiers, so great was their respect for the order that not a drop of their fellow-citizens' blood was to be shed. The disorder increased hourly and with it my misgivings. What decision was I to take? If I engaged my troops in Paris, I should start a civil war. Blood, precious from whatever veins it flowed, would be shed without achieving any result likely to restore calm. The crowds were tampering with my men, almost under my eyes, seeking to seduce them with the usual promises. I received alarming reports concerning their loyalty. Versailles ignored my cruel situation and persisted in regarding a rising of three hundred thousand men as an unlawful assembly and the revolution as a riot. With all these considerations in mind, I thought the wisest course was to withdraw the troops and to leave Paris to itself. . . . On the evening of the 13th I was at the Invalides. M. de Sombreuil, the Governor brought me deputations from two districts, who came to ask me to leave them the fifty-two thousand muskets stored in the hospital. They expressed the liveliest alarm saying that they were surrounded by brigands who threatened their homes with fire and pillage. . . . Although the spokesmen of these deputations had prepared their arguments cleverly, it was easy for me to see that they had been put up to it and that they wanted the arms rather for the purpose of attacking us than defending themselves. . . . On the 14th at 5 a.m. a man came into my room. This man (whose name I learnt later) with his fiery eyes, his swift incisive speech, his bold demeanor and rather handsome face, made a striking impression on me. He said, "M. le Baron, I must warn you to avoid a useless resistance. Today the barriers of Paris will be burnt. I am sure of this and neither you or I can do anything to prevent it. Do not try to do so. You will sacrifice your men without extinguishing a single torch." Sortable Date 1789-07-14 Dublin Core 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Georges Pernoud and Sabine Flaissier, eds., The French Revolution, trans. Richard Graves (New York: Capricorn Books, 1961), 29–31. Description An account of the resource As demonstrations spread across Paris on the morning of 14 July, Pierre–Victor Besenval, commander of the royal soldiers stationed in the capital, contemplated ordering his men to suppress the protests. However, as reports poured in from across the city, he realized that the situation was moving beyond his control. As he describes below, his primary concern was to refrain from taking any action that could lead to widespread and unnecessary violence. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 381 Title A name given to the resource Parisian Riots on 14 July Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/381/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 14, 1789 Popular Politics Text 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 Any textual data included in the document Veteran armies inured to War have never performed greater prodigies of valour than this leaderless multitude of persons belonging to every class, workmen of all trades who, mostly ill-equipped and unused to arms, boldly affronted the fire from the ramparts and seemed to mock the thunderbolts the enemy hurled at them. Their guns were equally well served. Cholat, the owner of a wine shop, who was in charge of a cannon installed in the garden of the Arsenal was deservedly praised, as was Georges a gunner who arrived from Brest that same morning and was wounded in the thigh. The attackers having demolished the first drawbridge and brought their guns into position against the second could not fail to capture the fort. The Marquis de Launay (Governor of the Bastille) could doubtless have resisted the capture of the first bridge more vigorously, but this base agent of the despots, better fitted to be a gaoler, than the military commander of a fortress lost his head as soon as he saw himself hemmed in by the enraged people and hastened to take refuge behind his massive bastions. . . . The people infuriated by the treachery of the Governor, who had fired on their representatives, took these offers of peace for another trap and continued to advance, firing as they went up to the drawbridge leading to the interior of the fort. A Swiss officer addressing the attackers through a sort of loop-hole near the drawbridge asked permission to leave the fort with the honours of war. "No, no," they cried. He then passed through the same opening a piece of paper, which those outside could not read because of the distance, calling out at the same time that he was willing to surrender, if they promised not to massacre his troops. . . . The French Guards, who kept their heads in the hour of danger, formed a human barrier on the other side of the bridge to prevent the crowd of attackers from getting on to it. This prudent maneuver saved the lives of thousands of persons who would have fallen into the fosse. About two minutes later one of the Invalides opened the gate behind the drawbridge and asked what we wanted. "The surrender of the Bastille," was the answer, on which he let us in. . . . The Invalides were drawn up in line on the right and the Swiss on the left. They had stood their arms up against the wall. They clapped their hands and cried "bravo" to the besiegers, who came crowding into the fortress. Those who came in first treated the conquered enemy humanely and embraced the staff officers to show there was no ill-feeling. But a few soldiers posted on the platforms and unaware that the fortress had surrendered, discharged their muskets whereupon the people, transported with rage, threw themselves on the Invalides and used them with the utmost violence. One of them was massacred, the unfortunate Béquart, the brave soldier who had deserved so well of the town of Paris, when he stayed the hand of the Governor at the moment when he was on the point of blowing up the Bastille. Béquart, who had not fired a single shot throughout the day suffered two sword thrusts and had his hand cut off at the wrist by the stroke of a saber. Afterwards they carried in triumph round the streets this very hand to which so many citizens owed their safety. Béquart himself was dragged from the fortress and brought to la Grève. The blind mob mistaking him for an artilleryman bound him to a gibbet where he died along with Asselin, the victim, like him, of a fatal mistake. All the officers were seized and their quarters were invaded by the mob, who smashed the furniture, the doors and the windows. In the general turmoil the people in the courtyard fired on those who were in the private quarters and on the platforms. Several were killed. The gallant Humbert received a musket ball as he stood on the platform and one of his comrades was killed in his arms. Then Arné, a brave fellow, fixed his grenadier's headdress on the point of his bayonet and showed himself over the top of the parapet, risking his life in order to stop the firing. . . . In the intoxication of victory the unfortunate inmates of the dungeons of the Bastille had been forgotten. All the keys had been carried off in triumph and it was necessary to force the doors of the cells. Seven prisoners were found and brought to the Palais Royal. These poor fellows were in transports of pleasure and could scarcely realize they were not the dupes of a dream, soon to be dispelled. But soon they perceived the dripping head of their tormentor stuck up on the point of a pike, above which was a placard bearing the words: "de Launay, Governor of the Bastille, disloyal and treacherous enemy of the people." At this sight tears of joy flowed from their eyes and they raised their hands to the skies to bless their first moments of liberty. The keys were handed to M. Brissot de Warville, who, a few years before, had been thrown into these caverns of despotism. Three thousand men were sent to guard these hated towers pending the issue of a decree ordering their destruction in accordance with the will of the people. Sortable Date 1789-07-14 Dublin Core 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/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Georges Pernoud and Sabine Flaissier, eds., The French Revolution, trans. Richard Graves (New York: Capricorn Books, 1961), 31–37. Description An account of the resource Having assembled at the traditional protest place in front of the City Hall, known as place des grèves (meaning sandbar, which it was, but which has come to mean "strike"), the crowd set off in search of ammunition. Eventually arriving at the Bastille, the crowd demanded that the few guardians of the fortress surrender. One participant, Keversau, here describes in heroic terms the event that came to symbolize the outbreak of the Revolution—the "taking of the Bastille." Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 382 Title A name given to the resource A Conqueror of the Bastille Speaks Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/382/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource July 14, 1789 Popular Politics Text