40 10 1079 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 Sire, 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? 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. 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. 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 sous 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. 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.* 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. * 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. Sortable Date 1789-01-01 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 The materials listed below appeared originally in The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History, translated, edited, and with an introduction by Lynn Hunt (Bedford/St. Martin's: Boston/New York), 1996, 60–63. Description 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 An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 472 Title A name given to the resource "Petition of Women of the Third Estate to the King" (1 January 1789) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/472/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource January 1, 1789 Economic Conditions Monarchy Public Opinion 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 Any textual data included in the document The success of the Journal des Dames allows us to triumph over those frivolous persons who have regarded this periodical as a petty work containing only a few bagatelles suited to help them kill time. In truth, Gentlemen, you do us much honor to think that we could not provide things that unite the useful to the agreeable. To rid you of your error, we have made our Journal historical, with a view to putting before the eyes of youth striking images that will guide them toward virtue; it is for virtue that we are formed, and only by aspiring to virtue can we be esteemed. An historical Journal des Dames! these Gentlemen reasoners reply. How ridiculous! How out of character with the nature of this work, which calls only for little pieces to amuse [ladies] during their toilette. Well! It is precisely this that I wish to avoid. A female philosopher seeks to instruct; she makes too little of the toilette, in order to contribute to its pleasures. Please, Gentlemen beaux esprits, mind your own business and let us write in a manner worthy of our sex; I love this sex, I am jealous to uphold its honor and its rights. If we have not been raised up in the sciences as you have, it is you who are the guilty ones; for have you not always abused, if I may say so, the bodily strength that nature has given you? Have you not used it to annihilate our capacities, and to enshroud the special prerogatives that this same nature has bounteously granted to women, to compensate them for the material strength that you have—advantages that we surely would not dispute you—to truly appreciate vivacity of imagination, delicate feelings, and that amiable politeness, well worth the strength that you parade about so. We would be well avenged, Gentlemen, if today, like our ancient Amazons, we could make you spin or make braids; especially you, the Frivolous Gentlemen, so enamoured of yourselves, just like Narcissus, you pass part of your time trying on the latest styles, artistically powdering and rouging yourselves, and placing beauty spots artistically; you chatter continually while you pick at your plates; yes, you are even more effeminate than the Coquettes you are seeking to please. Inasmuch as heaven has given you strength, do not debase it; use it in the service of the King and for the fatherland; become good Compatriots; Go to the battlefields, confront and confound our enemies; throw yourselves at the feet of the French Monarch, who is worthy to be king of the entire universe, and leave to us the task of cultivating belles lettres. We will prove to you that they are in good keeping in our hands. In this certitude, we will continue the new Journal des Dames and we will do everything in our power so to render it as to leave nothing to be desired in its execution. Sortable Date 1762-03-00 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 Reproduced from WOMEN, THE FAMILY, AND FREEDOM: THE DEBATE IN DOCUMENTS, vol. 1, 1750–1880, edited by Susan Groag Bell and Karen M. Offen, with the permission of the publishers, Stanford University Press. ©1983 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights are reserved by the publishers, 27–28. Description An account of the resource Madame de Beaumer (d. 1766) was the first of three women editors of the Journal des Dames, a newspaper founded in Paris in 1759 to encourage women to write seriously. Little is known about her, perhaps because she was a Calvinist and Calvinists in France had to marry and baptize their children clandestinely. In this editorial and in many others, Beaumer defended her sex against its detractors. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 471 Title A name given to the resource Madame de Beaumer, Editorial, Journal des Dames (March 1762) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/471/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1762 Middle Classes – Bourgeoisie Religion 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 Any textual data included in the document Sophie should be as truly a woman as Emile is a man, that is, she must possess all those characteristics of her species and her sex required to allow her to play her part in the physical and moral order. Thus let us begin by examining the similarities and differences between her sex and our own. Except for her sex, woman is like a man: she has the same organs, the same needs, the same faculties. The machine is constructed the same way, the pieces are the same, they work the same way, the face is similar. In whatever way one looks at them, the difference is only one of degree. Yet where sex is concerned woman and man are both complementary and different. The difficulty in comparing them lies in our inability to decide in either case what is due to sexual difference and what is not. From the standpoint of comparative anatomy and even upon cursory inspection one can see general differences between them which do not seem connected to sex. However, they are related, but by connections that elude our observations. How far such differences may extend we cannot tell; all we know for certain is that everything they have in common is from the species and that all their differences are due to sexual difference. Considered from these two standpoints, we find so many similarities and differences that it is perhaps one of the marvels of nature that two beings could be so alike and yet so different. These similarities and differences must have an influence on morals; this effect is apparent and conforms with experience and shows the futility of the disputes over the superiority or the equality of the sexes—as if each sex, arriving at nature's ends by its own particular route, were not on that account more perfect than if it bore greater resemblance to the other. In their common qualities they are equal; in their differences they cannot be compared. A perfect woman and a perfect man should resemble one another neither in mind nor in face, and perfection admits of neither less nor more. In the union of the sexes, each alike contributes to the common end, though in different ways. From this diversity springs the first difference that may be observed between man and woman in their moral relations. One should be strong and active, the other weak and passive; one must necessarily have both the power and the will, it is sufficient for the other to offer little resistance. This principle being established, it follows that woman was specifically made to please man. If man ought to please her in turn, the necessity is less direct. His merit lies in his power; he pleases simply because he is strong. I grant you this is not the law of love; but it is the law of nature, which is older than love itself. If woman is made to please and to be subjugated to man, she ought to make herself pleasing to him rather than to provoke him; her particular strength lies in her charms; by their means she should compel him to discover his own strength and put it to use. The surest art of arousing this strength is to render it necessary by resistance. Thus pride reinforces desire and each triumphs in the other's victory. From this originates attack and defense, the boldness of one sex and the timidity of the other and finally the modesty and shame with which nature has armed the weak for the conquest of the strong. Who can possibly suppose that nature has indifferently prescribed the same advances to the one sex as to the other and that the first to feel desire should also be the first to display it. What a strange lack of judgment! Since the consequences of the sexual act are so different for the two sexes, is it natural that they should engage in it with equal boldness? How can one fail to see that when the share of each is so unequal, if reserve did not impose on one sex the moderation that nature imposes on the other, the result would be the destruction of both and the human race would perish through the very means ordained for its continuance. Women so easily stir men's senses and awaken in the bottom of their hearts the remains of an almost extinct desire that if there were some unhappy climate on this earth where philosophy had introduced this custom, especially in warm countries where more women than men are born, the men tyrannized over by the women would at last become their victims and would be dragged to their deaths without ever being able to defend themselves. If female animals do not have the same sense of shame, what do we make of that? Are their desires as boundless as those of women, which are curbed by shame? The desires of animals are the result of need; and when the need is satisfied the desire ceases; they no longer pretend to repulse the male, they do so in earnest. . . . They take on no more passengers after the ship is loaded. Even when they are free their seasons of receptivity are short and soon over; instinct pushes them on and instinct stops them. What would supplement this negative instinct in women when you have taken away their modesty? When the time comes that women are no longer concerned with men's well-being, men will no longer be good for anything at all. The Supreme Being has deigned to do honor to the human race: in giving man unlimited desires, at the same time he provided the law that regulates them so he could be free and self-controlled; and while delivering him to these immoderate passions he added reason in order to govern them. In endowing woman with unlimited desires he added modesty in order to restrain them; moreover he has also given a reward for the correct use of their faculties, to wit, the taste one acquires for right conduct when one makes it the law of one's behavior. To my mind this is certainly as good as the instinct of the beasts. Whether the woman shares the man's desires or not, whether or not she is willing to satisfy them, she always repulses him and defends herself, though not always with the same vigor and not, therefore, always with the same success. For the attacker to be victorious, the besieged must permit or direct the attack. How adroitly she can force the aggressor to use his strength. The freest and most delightful of all the acts does not admit any real violence; both nature and reason oppose it; nature, in that she has given the weaker party strength enough to resist if she chooses; reason, in that real violence is not only the most brutal of all acts but defeats its own ends, not only because man thus declares war against his companion and gives her the right to defend her person and her liberty even at the expense of the aggressor's life, but also because the woman alone is the judge of the situation and a child would have no father if any man might usurp a father's rights. Thus the different constitution of the sexes leads us to a third conclusion, namely, that the strongest seems to be the master, but depends in fact on the weakest; this is not based upon a foolish custom of gallantry, nor upon the magnanimity of the protector but upon an inexorable law of nature. For nature, having endowed woman with more power to stimulate man's desire than he is able to satisfy, thus makes him dependent on woman's good will and compels him in turn to please her so that she may consent to yield to his superior strength. Is it weakness that yields to force or is it voluntary self-surrender? This uncertainty constitutes the chief delight of the man's victory, and the woman is usually cunning enough to leave him in doubt. In this respect women's minds exactly resemble their bodies; far from being ashamed of their weakness they revel in it. Their soft muscles offer no resistance; they pretend that they cannot lift the lightest loads; they would be ashamed to be strong. And why? This is not merely to appear delicate, they are too clever for that; they are providing themselves beforehand with excuses and with the right to be weak if need be. . . . There is no parity between man and woman as to the importance of sex. The male is only a male at certain moments; the female all her life, or at least throughout her youth, is incessantly reminded of her sex and in order to carry out its functions she needs a corresponding constitution. She needs to be careful during pregnancy; she needs rest after childbirth; she needs a quiet and sedentary life while she nurses her children; she needs patience and gentleness in order to raise them; a zeal and affection that nothing can discourage. She serves as liaison between the children and their father. She alone wins the father's love for the children and gives him the confidence to call them his own. How much tenderness and care is required to maintain the entire family in unity! Finally all this should not be a matter of virtue but of inclination, without which the human species would soon be extinct. The relative duties of the two sexes are not and cannot be equally rigid. When woman complains about the unjust inequalities placed on her by man she is wrong; this inequality is by no means a human institution or at least it is not the work of prejudice but of reason. She to whom nature has entrusted the care of the children must hold herself accountable for them. No doubt every breach of faith is wrong and every unfaithful husband who deprives his wife of the sole reward for the austere duties of her sex is an unjust and barbarous man. But the unfaithful wife is worse. She dissolves the family and breaks all the bonds of nature; by giving her husband children who are not his own she betrays both him and them and adds perfidy to faithlessness. . . . Thus it is not enough that a wife should be faithful, but that she should be so judged by her husband, by her neighbors and by the world. She must be modest, devoted, reserved and she should exhibit to the world as to her own conscience testimony to her virtue. Finally, for a father to love his children he must esteem their mother. For these reasons the appearance of correct behavior must be among women's duties; it repays them with honor and reputation that are no less indispensable than chastity itself. From these principles derives, along with the moral difference of the sexes, a new motive for duty and propriety that prescribes to women in particular the most scrupulous attention to their conduct, manners, and behavior. To advance vague arguments about the equality of the sexes and the similarity of their duties is to lose oneself in vain declamation and does not respond to my argument. Is it not illogical to cite exceptions in response to general laws so firmly established? Women, you say, are not always bearing children. Agreed, yet it remains their particular mission. What! Just because there are a hundred large towns in the world where women live licentiously and have few children, would you maintain that it is their business to have few children? And what would become of your towns if the remote countryside, where women live more simply and more chastely, did not offset the sterility of the ladies. There are plenty of provincial areas where women with only four or five children are reckoned unfruitful. In conclusion, if a woman here or there has few children, what difference does it make? Is it any the less a woman's business to be a mother? Does it not accord with general laws that nature and morals both contribute to this state of things? . . . I am quite aware that Plato, in his Republic, assigns to women the same exercises as to men. Having excluded individual families from his government, and not knowing what to do with women, he finds himself forced to make them into men. This great genius has thought of everything: he even responded to an objection that perhaps no one would ever have made, but he has resolved the real objection poorly. I am not speaking of that alleged community of wives about which the oft-repeated reproach proves that those who make it have never read him. I am speaking of that civic promiscuity that mixes the two sexes in the same tasks, in the same work, and cannot help but engender the most intolerable abuse. I am speaking of that subversion of the sweetest sentiments of nature, sacrificed to an artificial sentiment that can only subsist because of them—as though it did not require a natural hold to form the bonds of convention! as though the love one has for one's dear ones were not the principle for that love one owes to the state! as if it were not by the small fatherland! the family, that the heart becomes attached to the larger fatherland, as if it were not the good son, the good husband, the good father who makes the good citizen! Once it is demonstrated that man and woman are not, and should not be constituted the same, either in character or in temperament, it follows that they should not have the same education. In following the directions of nature they must act together but they should not do the same things; their duties have a common end, but the duties themselves are different and consequently also the tastes that direct them. After having tried to form the natural man, let us also see, in order not to leave our work incomplete, how the woman is to be formed who suits this man. If you would always be well guided, follow the indications of nature. All that characterizes sexual difference ought to be respected or established by nature. You are always saying that women have faults that we men do not have. Your pride deceives you; they would be faults in you but they are virtues in them, things would go less well if they did not have them. Prevent these so-called faults from degenerating, but beware of destroying them. Women, for their part, are always complaining that we raise them only to be vain and coquettish, that we keep them amused with trifles so that we may more easily remain their masters; they blame us for the faults we attribute to them. What stupidity! And since when is it men who concern themselves with the education of girls? Who is preventing the mothers from raising them as they please? There are no schools for girls—what a tragedy! Would God, there were none for boys! They would be raised more sensibly and more straightforwardly. Is anyone forcing your daughters to waste their time on foolish trifles? Are they forced against their will to spend half their lives on their appearance, following your example? Are you prevented from instructing them, or having them instructed according to your wishes? Is it our fault if they please us when they are beautiful, if their airs and graces seduce us, if the art they learn from you attracts and flatters us, if we like to see them tastefully attired, if we let them display at leisure the weapons with which they subjugate us? Well then, decide to raise them like men; the men will gladly agree; the more women want to resemble them, the less women will govern them, and then men will truly be the masters. All the faculties common to the two sexes are not equally divided; but taken as a whole, they offset one another. Woman is worth more as a woman and less as a man; wherever she makes her rights valued, she has the advantage; wherever she wishes to usurp ours, she remains inferior to us. One can only respond to this general truth by citing exceptions in the usual manner of the gallant partisans of the fair sex. To cultivate in women the qualities of the men and to neglect those that are their own is, then, obviously to work to their detriment. Shrewd women see this too clearly to be duped by it. In trying to usurp our advantages they do not abandon their own, but from this it comes to pass that, not being able to manage both properly on account of their incompatibility, they fall short of their own possibilities without attaining to ours, and thus lose half their value. Believe me, judicious mother, do not make a good man of your daughter as though to give the lie to nature, but make of her a good woman, and be assured that she will be worth more to herself and to us. Does it follow that she ought to be raised in complete ignorance and restricted solely to the duties of the household? Shall man make a servant of his companion? Shall he deprive himself of the greatest charm of society? The better to reduce her to servitude, shall he prevent her from feeling anything or knowing anything? Shall he make of her a real automaton? Certainly not! Nature, who has endowed women with such an agreeable and acute mind, has not so ordered. On the contrary, she would have them think, and judge, and love, and know, and cultivate their minds as they do their faces: these are the weapons she gives them to supplement the strength they lack and to direct our own. They ought to learn many things, but only those which it becomes them to know. Whether I consider the particular destination of the female sex or observe woman's inclinations, or take account of her duties, everything concurs equally to convince me of the form her education should take. Woman and man are made for each other, but their mutual dependence is not equal: men are dependent on women because of their desires; women are dependent on men because of both their desires and their needs. We men could subsist more easily without women than they could without us. In order for women to have what they need to fulfill their purpose in life, we must give it to them, we must want to give it to them, we must believe them worthy; they are dependent on our feelings, on the price we place on their merit, and on the opinion we have of their charms and of their virtues. By the very law of nature, women are at the mercy of men's judgments as much for themselves as for their children. It is not sufficient that they be thought estimable; they must also be esteemed. It is not sufficient that they be beautiful; they must please. It is not sufficient they be well behaved; they must be recognized as such. Their honor lies not only in their conduct but in their reputation. It is impossible for a woman who permits herself to be morally compromised ever to be considered virtuous. A man has no one but himself to consider, and so long as he does right he may defy public opinion; but when a woman does right, her task is only half finished, and what people think of her matters as much as what she really is. Hence it follows that the system of woman's education should in this respect be the opposite of ours: among men, opinion is the tomb of virtue; among women it is the throne. On the good constitution of mothers depends primarily that of the children; on the care of women depends the early education of men; and on women, again, depend their morals, their passions, their tastes, their pleasures, and even their happiness. Thus the whole education of women ought to be relative to men. To please them, to be useful to them, to make themselves loved and honored by them, to educate them when young, to care for them when grown, to council them, to console them, and to make life agreeable and sweet to them—these are the duties of women at all times, and should be taught them from their infancy. Unless we are guided by this principle we shall miss our aim, and all the precepts we give them will accomplish nothing either for their happiness or for our own. Sortable Date 1762-00-00 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 Reproduced from WOMEN, THE FAMILY, AND FREEDOM: THE DEBATE IN DOCUMENTS, vol. 1: 1750–1880, edited by Susan Groag Bell and Karen M. Offen, with the permission of the publishers, Stanford University Press, 43–49. ©1983 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights are reserved by the publishers. Description An account of the resource Rousseau was the most controversial and paradoxical of the writers of the Enlightenment. Born in Switzerland, he published important works on politics, music, and in Emile, education. He also wrote one of the most widely read novels of the century, Julie or the New Heloise. Although an advocate of new educational practices that emphasized the natural development of children’s abilities, Rousseau put all his own children in a foundling home because he could not support them. In Emile, he gave most of his attention to the education of boys. His section on the education of girls, centered on the character of Sophie, proved to be one of his most controversial writings; it underlined the importance of mothers in educating their children, but encouraged teaching girls to be entirely subordinate and dependent on their husbands. Rousseau’s book provoked responses from women and men well into the 1800s. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 470 Title A name given to the resource Jean–Jacques Rousseau, Emile (1762) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/470/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1762 Enlightenment Religion 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 Any textual data included in the document [Part One concerns medical and theological teachings on women.] The reproductive organs of men are absolutely similar to those of women. . . . The Anatomists are not the only ones who have observed that, in some fashion, women are "failed" men. . . . [Renaissance medical theorists] assure us that the generative property of each animal endeavors to produce a male as being the most perfect of its kind. However, basic nature sometimes calls for a female so that propagation, based on the collaboration of the two sexes, perfects the universe. The various biases on the point of view of man's superiority compared to women result from the periodic modification of the customs, political systems, and religions of ancient societies. I exempt the Christian religion from this charge because it established . . . a true superiority of man, while nevertheless preserving equal rights for women. . . . [Part Two concerns the legal status of wives in marriage.] Even though husband and wife have the same fundamental interests in society, it is nevertheless essential that governmental authority rests with either one or the other. The positive rights of civilized nations, like the laws and customs of Europe, now grant this authority unanimously and definitively to the male, who, being gifted with greater strength of mind and body, contributes more to the common good in matters both human and holy. Women then, must necessarily be subordinate to their husbands and obey his orders on all household issues. These are the opinions of legal advisors, both in olden times and now, as well as the unequivocal decision of legislators. . . . It would be difficult to demonstrate that the husband's authority [in marriage] comes from nature in that this principle is contrary to the natural equality of mankind. Even though we are likely to impose this authority, it does not necessarily mean that we have the right to do so. . . . It can thus be argued that there is no other subordination in the conjugal relationship than that of civil law, and consequently nothing prevents certain special agreements from changing the civil law, as long as natural law and religion determine nothing to the contrary. We don't deny that . . . a woman who knows the precepts of civil law and who entered into her marriage purely and simply, is, by that fact, tacitly subject to that civil law. But if some woman . . . stipulates the opposite of what the law purports, and in that has the consent of her spouse, should she not have, by virtue of natural law, the same power that her husband has been given by virtue of the Prince's law? . . . Nothing prevents . . . a woman from executing authority in a marriage between people of equal status in accordance with convention, unless a legislator has prohibited any exceptions to the law, without regard of the free consent of the parties involved. Marriage is by its nature a contract, and as with everything that is not prohibited by natural law, the contract committed to by husband and wife determines their mutual rights. [Part Three is on "morality" and on the "equality" of women and men.] . . . The character of women is mixed, intermediate or variable. Either education alters their disposition more that it does ours or the delicacy of their constitution renders their souls a mirror that takes in all objects, returns them swiftly, and keeps none. . . . Nature seems to have conferred on men the right to govern, whereas women have had recourse in art to free themselves. The two sexes have reciprocally exploited these assets of strength or beauty to make others suffer. Men have increased their natural strength through the laws that they have imposed. Women have increased the price of possessing them by the difficulty of obtaining them. It would not be difficult to say on which side servitude today lies. Whatever the case may be, the goal for which women strive [is to escape servitude] and [they] use love to achieve it while men lead them away from achieving their goal. To try to inspire men while feeling nothing themselves or at least hiding what they feel is the sum of women's politics and morals. But the more women perfected the art of making themselves desirable, hoped for, and pursued as a means of getting what they are resolved never to give, the more men multiplied their means by which to gain possession of it. The art of inspiring desire that one is not willing to satisfy, has, if nothing else, created the art of feigning unfelt emotions. . . . Finally there is another woman more securely happy. Her happiness consists of being unaware of that which the world calls pleasure. Her glory is to live in obscurity. Contained within her duties as wife and mother, she dedicates her days to the practice of obscure virtues. Occupied with governing her family, she reigns over her husband with kindness, over her children with gentleness, and over her servants with goodness. Her house is home to religious beliefs, to filial piety, to conjugal love, to maternal tenderness, to order, to inner peace, to deep sleep, and to good health. . . . [Part Four concerns the juridical status of women.] The condition of women is nevertheless, in general, different in several areas from that of men as such. Women are rather more nubile than men, reaching puberty at twelve years of age. Their mind is generally developed earlier than that of men. . . . Men, by the prerogative of their sex and by the strength of their temperament, are naturally capable of all sorts of uses and commitments, whereas women, either because of the fragility and delicate disposition of their sex are excluded from several roles, and are incapable of certain commitments. Sortable Date 1751-00-00 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 Denis Diderot and Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, eds., Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts, et des métiers par une societé des gens de lettres, 17 vols. (1751–65) (Paris: Briasson, 1756), 6:468–76. Description An account of the resource The article "Woman" was written by four contributors who considered the question from four angles: medicine and the history of opinions about women’s nature; writings about women’s place in the state and marriage; the social differences between men and women; and women’s legal status in different societies. Although the Encyclopedia, the fundamental compendium of the Enlightenment, repeated many traditional arguments for the subjugation of women, some of its authors argued that the subordination of women had its basis only in social convention and not in any natural differences between men and women. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 469 Title A name given to the resource Article from the Encyclopedia: "Woman" Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/469/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1751 Enlightenment Religion 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 Any textual data included in the document A large number of émigrés came back under assumed names. Madame d'Hénin returned as a merchant of fashionwear from Geneva. Miss Vauthier had been set up at Madame Poix's in Saint-Ouen. Madame de Staël, under the protection of the Director [Paul] Barras, found herself in Paris along with many others. Monsieur de Talleyrand asked us to come there, and urged my husband in particular to come. We started to speak of counterrevolution, in which everyone believed. The government had been established and the two assemblies, that of the Five-Hundred and that of the "Elders," included many royalists. Barras, the influential Director of whom the Duchess of Brancas had many nice things to say, had a salon where many royalists could be found. And, even though the other Directors did not seem disposed to follow their colleague's example. . . . We finally arrived at the end of our journey. Madame de Valence happily received me, and Madame de Montesson, who had still not left for the country, welcomed me most graciously. In Paris, something that is a little different still attracts attention, so I was immediately a hit. Getting down from my coach, since my husband and I had dined in Madame Valence's room, Monsieur de Talleyrand was announced. He was much relieved to see us, and after a moment said, "Alright Gouvernet, what do you plan on doing?" "Me," Monsieur de La Tour du Pin said, taken aback. "I'm only here to take care of some business." "Oh," said Monsieur de Talleyrand, "I thought . . . ." Then he changed the subject, and spoke of trivial matters. Addressing Madame de Valence a few moments later, he started to say with that nonchalant air that must be seen to be believed, "On that subject, you know that the ministry has changed personnel, the new ministers have been appointed." "Oh," she exclaimed, "and who are they?" Then, after a moment's hesitation, as if he had forgotten the names and was trying to remember, said "Ah, yes. Let's see: so-and-so at War, so-and-so at the Navy, so-and-so at Finance. . . ." And at the Foreign Ministry, I said . . . . "And at the Foreign Ministry? Well . . . me, no doubt!" Then, taking his hat, he left. My husband and I looked at each other without surprise since nothing about Monsieur de Talleyrand could be surprising, except possibly if he were to do something in bad taste. He remained the eminently great lord, all the while serving a government made from the dregs of the dregs. The next day, we found him ensconced at the Foreign Ministry, as if he had been in the job for ten years. The intervention of Madame de Staël, all-powerful at that time thanks to Benjamin Constant, had made him a minister. He had arrived at her house and, throwing his purse which contained only several louis onto the table, told her, "Here's the remainder of my fortune. Tomorrow I'm a minister, or I'll take my own life!" None of those words were true, but it was dramatic, and Madame de Staël liked drama. Besides, the appointment was not difficult to obtain. The Directory, and above all Barras, were honored to have such a minister. I will not recount the history of [the coup of] 18 Fructidor here. It can be read in all the memoirs of the times. The royalists had great hopes, and plots were woven in all directions. Many émigrés had returned. They wore rallying signs, all well-known by the police: the cape made of black velvet, a knot, I no longer remember what kind, at the corner of the handkerchief, etc. . . . And it was by these kinds of idiocies that we thought we could save France. Madame de Montesson came back from the countryside specifically to host a dinner for the deputies who favored our cause. Monsieur Brouquens, our great friend, was also one of the hosts of these dinners where we spoke with incredible carelessness. Every day my husband and I found ourselves with people we knew, and the unique nature of the life that I had led in America, and the desire I felt to return there, made me very popular for one month. Sortable Date 1796-00-00 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 Marquise de la Tour du Pin, Journal d'une femme de cinquante ans (1778–1815), 2 vols. (Paris: Berger-Levrault, 1925), 2:138–45. Description An account of the resource Born in 1770 and married to the only surviving son of one of the greatest noble families in France, the Marquise de la Tour du Pin endured humiliation, emigration, and Terror during the first part of the revolutionary decade. Upon her return to France with her husband in 1796, she was shocked at the aristocratic style and open royalism of many powerful government figures. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 465 Title A name given to the resource Diary of a Woman at Fifty Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/465/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1796 Economic Conditions Nobility 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 Any textual data included in the document Decree relative to Primary Schools 17 November 1794 (27 Brumaire, Year III) Chapter I. Institution of Primary Schools 1. The primary schools shall have as their aim the provision, for children of both sexes, of the instruction necessary for free peoples. 2. The primary schools shall be distributed throughout the territory of the Republic in proportion to population; accordingly, there shall be one primary school for every 1,000 inhabitants. 3. In places where the population is too scattered, a second primary school may be established, on the motivated request of the district administration, and following a decree of the National Assembly. 4. In places where the population is congested, a second school may be established only when the population increases to 2,000, a third for 3,000, and so on. 5. In all communes of the Republic, the former parsonages which have not been sold for the benefit of the Republic shall be placed at the disposal of the municipalities, in order to serve both as a lodging for the teacher and as a school building; accordingly, all existing leases are cancelled. 6. In communes where there are no longer any former parsonages at the disposal of the nation, an appropriate site for the primary school shall be granted on the request of the district administrations. 7. Each primary school shall be divided into two sections, one for boys and one for girls; accordingly, there shall be one man teacher and one woman teacher. Chapter II. Jury of Instruction 1. The teachers shall be chosen by the people; nevertheless, throughout the duration of the Revolutionary Government, they shall be examined, selected, and supervised by a jury of instruction, composed of three members designated by the district administration, and chosen from among the fathers of families of the district. 2. The jury of instruction shall be renewed by one-third every six months. The outgoing commissioner may be re-elected. Chapter III. Teachers 1. Appointments of teachers selected by the jury of instruction shall be submitted to the district administration. 2. If the administration refuses to accept the appointment made by the jury, the jury may make another choice. 3. When the jury persists in its appointment and the administration in its refusal, the latter shall designate for the vacant position the person whom it believes to merit the preference; the two choices shall be sent to the Committee on Public Instruction, which shall pronounce definitively between the administration and the jury. 4. Complaints against teachers shall be made directly to the jury of instruction. 5. When the complaint is a serious one, and after the accused has been heard, if the jury deems that there is ground for dismissal, its decision shall be referred to the general council of the district administration for confirmation. 6. If the decision of the general council is at variance with the opinion of the jury, the matter shall be referred to the Committee on Public Instruction, which shall pronounce definitively. 7. The teachers in primary schools shall be required to teach their pupils by means of the elementary books written and published by order of the National Convention. 8. They may not receive at their houses as boarders, or give special lessons to, any of their pupils: the teacher owes his entire self to all. 9. The nation shall grant to citizens who have rendered long service to their country in the profession of teaching a pension to provide for their old age. 10. The salary of teachers shall be uniform throughout the Republic; it is established at 1,200 livres for men, and 1,000 livres for women. Nevertheless, in communes where the population is in excess of 20,000 inhabitants, the pay of men teachers shall be 1,500 livres, and that of women 1,200 livres. Chapter IV. Instruction in and Regulation of Primary Schools 1. Pupils shall not be admitted to primary schools before the age of fully six years. 2. In both sections of each school the pupils shall be taught: 1st, reading and writing, and the reading selections shall make them conscious of their rights and duties; 2nd, The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, and the Constitution of the French Republic; 3rd, elementary instruction in republican morality; 4th, the elements of the French language, both spoken and written; 5th, the rules of simple calculation and land measurement; 6th, the elements of geography and of the history of free peoples; 7th, instruction concerning the major natural phenomena and the most common natural resources. They shall be taught the miscellany of heroic deeds and triumphal songs. 3. Teaching shall be done in the French language; the local idiom may be used only as an auxiliary device. 4. The pupils shall be instructed in those exercises most suitable for maintaining their health and for developing strength and agility of body; accordingly, the boys shall take military exercises, under an officer of the National Guard appointed by the jury of instruction. 5. If circumstances permit, they shall be trained in swimming. This exercise shall be directed and supervised by citizens appointed by the jury of instruction, on the recommendation of the respective municipalities. 6. Instructions shall be published to determine the nature and distribution of other gymnastic exercises suitable for producing strength and agility of body, such as running, wrestling, etc. 7. The pupils of the primary schools shall visit the nearest almshouses several times a year, with their teachers and under the guidance of a magistrate of the people. 8. On the same days they shall aid the old people and the relatives of defenders of the Patrie in their work in both house and field. 9. Occasionally they shall be taken to factories and shops, where merchandise for common use is manufactured, so that they will have some idea of the benefits of human industry and will acquire a taste for the useful arts. 10. A part of the time destined for the schools shall be devoted to useful and common handicrafts of different sorts. 11. An instruction to facilitate the execution of the two preceding articles shall be published, so as to render the visiting of shops and the handicrafts really useful to the pupils. 12. Prizes of encouragement shall be distributed annually to the pupils, in public, at the Festival of Youth. 13. The Committee on Public Instruction is responsible for publishing, without delay, regulations on the administration and the internal discipline of the primary schools. 14. Young citizens who have not attended said schools shall be examined, in public, at the Festival of Youth; and if it is apparent that they do not possess the knowledge necessary for French citizens, until they have acquired same, they shall be barred from all public functions. Sortable Date 1794-11-17 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 John Hall Stewart, A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution (New York: Macmillan, 1951), 616–19. Description An account of the resource During the period of revolutionary government, the Jacobins had introduced the idea of universal, free, secular education provided by the state. The Jacobins conceived of education not only as a means of improving the citizenry’s skill level for economic purposes but also, and more important, as a means of rooting out tradition (i.e., Christianity) and implanting enlightened, revolutionary values as a strategy of ensuring broad support for the Republic among future generations. The Thermidorean Convention and the Directory preserved and even expanded on this goal, legislating a system of public primary education for all girls and boys, to be taught by instructors chosen for their merit, paid by the state (rather than their students’ families), and committed to imparting knowledge and republican values. The decree creating primary schools, was promulgated by the Convention on 17 November 1794 [27 Brumaire, Year III]. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 464 Title A name given to the resource Primary Schools Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/464/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource November 17, 1794 Enlightenment Laws 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 1. The time prescribed by the decree of August 1793, for the use of the new weights and measures is extended, with regard to the obligatory provision, until the National Convention has decreed again thereon, in proportion to the progress of their manufacture; citizens are invited, however, to give proof of their devotion to the unity and indivisibility of the Republic by making use of the new measures henceforth in their calculations and commercial transactions. 2. There is only one standard of weights and measures for the entire Republic; there shall be a platinum ruler on which will be marked the meter, which has been adopted as the fundamental unit of the whole system of measurement. Said standard shall be executed with the greatest precision, according to the experience and observations of the commissioners responsible for the determination thereof, and it shall be deposited in the neighborhood of the Legislative Body, as well as the procès-verbal of the operations which have served in determining it, so that it may be verified at all times. 3. To each district seat there shall be sent a model conforming to the prototype standard just mentioned, and, moreover, a model of weight exactly deduced from the system of new measurements. Such models shall be used in the manufacture of all kinds of measures in the ordinary use of citizens. 4. Whereas the extreme precision which will be given to the platinum standard cannot affect the exactness of the ordinary measures, such measures shall continue to be manufactured in accordance with the length of the meter adopted by previous decrees. 5. Henceforth the new measures shall be designated by the name of republican measures; their nomenclature is definitively adopted as follows. They shall be called: Meter, the measure equal to one-ten millionth of the arc of the terrestrial meridian included between the north pole and the equator; Are, The measure of area for land, equal to a square, ten meters to a side; Stere, the measure intended particularly for firewood and equal to the cubic meter; Liter, the measure of volume, both for liquids and for dry material, the capacity of which shall be the cube of one-tenth of a meter; Gram, the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of one one-hundredth of a meter, at the temperature of melting ice. Finally the monetary unit shall take the name of franc, to replace the livre hitherto in use. 6. One-tenth of a meter shall be called a decimeter; and one one-hundredth thereof, a centimeter. A measure equal to ten meters shall be called a decameter, which furnishes a very convenient measure for surveying. Hectometer shall signify the length of 100 meters. Finally, kilometer and myriameter shall be the lengths of 1,000 and 10,000 meters, and shall designate principally the distances of roads. 7. The names of the measures of other types shall be determined in accordance with the same principles as those of the preceding article. Thus, a deciliter shall be a measure of volume one-tenth as large as the liter; a centigram shall be one one-hundredth the weight of a gram. Decaliter shall likewise be used to designate a measure containing ten liters, hectoliter for a measure equal to 100 liters; a kilogram shall be a weight of 1,000 grams. The names of all other measures shall be composed in an analogous manner. However, when tenths or hundredths of the franc, the monetary unit, are to be expressed, the words décime and centime, already accepted by virtue of previous decrees, shall be used. 8. In weights and measures of volume, each of the decimal measures of these two types shall have its double and its half, in order to give every desirable facility to the sale of divers items; therefore, there shall be double liter and demiliter, double hectogram and demihectogram, and so on with the others. 9. In order to render the replacement of former measures less burdensome and less costly, it shall be effected gradually and at different times. Such times shall be decreed by the National Convention, as soon as the republican measures have been manufactured in sufficient quantities and all provisions pertaining to the execution of such changes have been made. The new system shall first be introduced in the assignats and monies, then in the linear measures or those of length, and progressively extended to all others. 10. The work relating to the determination of units of measures of length and weight calculated from the size of the earth, which was begun by the Academy of the Sciences and continued by the temporary commission on measures in consequences of the decrees of 8 May and 22 August, 1790, and 1 August, 1793, shall be continued, until its entire completion, by individual commissioners selected principally from the savants who have collaborated thereon up to the present, and the list of whom shall be decreed by the Committee on Public Instruction. By the virtue of these provisions, the administration called the Temporary Commission of Weights and Measures is suppressed. 11. It shall be replaced by a temporary agency, composed of three members, which shall be responsible, under the authority of the Commission on Public Instruction, for everything pertaining to the renovation of weights and measures, apart from the work entrusted to the individual commissioners mentioned in the preceding article. The members of said agency shall be appointed by the National Convention on the advice of its Committee on Public Instruction. Their salary shall be regulated by said Committee in consultation with the Committee on Finance. 12. The principal duties of the temporary agency shall be: 1st, To investigate and employ the most appropriate means of facilitating the manufacture of the new weights and measures for the use of all citizens; 2nd, To provide for the construction and dispatch of the models which are to serve for verifying the measures in each district; 3rd, To have compiled and distributed instructions suitable for acquainting people with the new measures and their relation to former ones; 4th, To work on provisions which become necessary for regulating the use of republican measures, and to submit them to the Committee on Public Instruction, which shall make a report thereon to the National Convention; 5th, To settle the statements of expenses on all operations required in the determination and establishment of the new measures, in order that such expenses may be paid by the Commission on Public Instruction; 6th, Finally, to correspond with the constituted authorities and citizens throughout the entire Republic concerning whatever is useful for hastening the renovation of weights and measures. 13. The republican measures shall be manufactured, as far as is possible, by machines, in order to add facility and celerity to precision in the process, and consequently to make possible the purchase of the measures at a reasonable price for the citizens. 14. The temporary agency shall aid the search for the most suitable machines; it shall order some, if necessary, from the most skilled artisans, or offer them at competition, according to circumstances. It may also grant inducements, in the form of advancements, material, or machines, to contractors who take suitable contracts for any important part of the manufacture of the new weights and measures. But, in all such cases, the agency shall be required to obtain the authorization of the Committee on Public Instruction. 15. The temporary agency shall determine the forms of the different kinds of measures, as well as the materials whereof they are to be made, so that their use may be as beneficial as possible. 16. Each of the said measures shall be stamped with its particular name; in addition, each shall be marked with the stamp of the Republic, which will guarantee the exactness thereof. 17. In each district there shall be inspectors for such purpose, responsible for affixing the stamp. The determination of their number and their duties shall constitute a part of the rules which the agency shall prepare for submission to the National Convention by its Committee on Public Instruction. 18. The choice of measures suited to each type of merchandise shall be made in such fashion that, in ordinary cases, there will be no need for fractions smaller than hundredths. The agency shall investigate the means of accomplishing this purpose, discarding the less feasible commercial usages. 19. Instead of the tables of relationship between the old and the new measures, which were ordered by the decree of 8 May–22 August 1790, graphic scales shall be made, in order that such relations may be estimated without the necessity of any calculation. The agency is responsible for giving them the most convenient form, indicating their method, and distributing them as far as is necessary. 20. In order to facilitate commercial relations between France and foreign countries, a table indicating the relationship between France measures and those of the principal commercial cities of other nations shall be composed under the direction of the agency. 21. In order to defray all expenses relative to the establishment of the new measures, as well as the advances which are indispensable for the success of such work, there shall be granted provisionally a fund of 500,000 livres, which the National Treasury shall hold at the disposal of the Committee on Public Instruction for such purpose. 22. The provision of the law of 4 Frimaire, Year II [24 November 1793] requiring the use of the decimal division of the day and the parts thereof, is indefinitely suspended. 23. The articles of laws prior to the present decree and contrary thereto are abrogated. 24. Immediately after the publication of the present decree, all manufacture of former measures is forbidden in France, as well as any importation of said items from abroad, under penalty of confiscation, and of a fine of double the value of said items. The Commission on Civil Administration, Police, and Courts, and that on National Revenues, are responsible for the execution of the present article. 25. As soon as the prototype standard of the measures of the Republic has been deposited with the Legislative Body by the commissioners responsible for the manufacture thereof, a monument shall be erected to preserve it and to insure it against injury from the weather. The temporary agency shall occupy itself in advance with the plan of said monument, destined to consecrate, in the most indestructible manner, the creation of the Republic, the triumphs of the French people, and the state of progress in which enlightenment has come to their midst. 26. The Committee on Public Instruction is responsible for all matters of detail necessary for the execution of the present decree, and for the complete renovation of weights and measures throughout the entire Republic. It shall propose successfully to the Convention the legislative provisions which are to pertain thereto. 27. The temporary agency shall render an account of its activities to the Commission on Public Instruction and to the Committee of that name, with which it may correspond directly for expediting operations. 28. All constituted authorities, as well as public functionaries, are enjoined to cooperate with all their power in the important work of renovation of weights and measures. Sortable Date 1795-04-00 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 John Hall Stewart, A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution (New York: Macmillan, 1951), 555–60. Description An account of the resource Among its many lasting contributions to French and western history, the French Revolution initiated the metric system as a more rational and universally applicable way of conveying weights and measures than the various systems in place across France prior to 1789. For the Directory, which opposed broader political participation and increased social benefits as goals, such cultural changes as those in weights and measures (described in the passage below, excerpted from a decree of April 1795) and in the revolutionary calendar came to embody the gains of the Revolution. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 463 Title A name given to the resource Culture: Weights and Measures Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/463/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 1795 Enlightenment Laws 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 10 November 1799To the French PeopleFrenchmen! Once more the Republic has just escaped the violence of rebels, and your faithful representatives have shattered the dagger in those parricidal hands; but, after having averted the attacks with which you were immediately threatened, they felt that such eternal agitations ought finally to be prevented forever; and, acting only on their duty and their courage, they dare to say that they have shown themselves worthy of you. Frenchmen, your liberty, completely rent asunder and still bleeding from the attacks of the revolutionary government, has just sought refuge in the arms of a constitution which promises it at least some repose. The need of such repose was generally felt at the time: a profound terror of the crises which you barely escaped remained in every mind; your military glory could efface the most colossal memories of the past. With astonishment and admiration, the peoples of Europe trembled at your glory, and secretly blessed the aim of your exploits; finally, your enemies asked for peace; everything, in a word, seemed to unite to assure you finally of the peaceful enjoyment of liberty and happiness; happiness, and liberty which alone can guarantee it, seemed finally ready to reward so many generous efforts in a fitting manner. But seditious men ceaselessly attacked with audacity the weak parts of your constitution; they skillfully seized upon those parts which might provoke new disorders; the constitutional regime was soon only a succession of revolutions in every sense, in which the different parties successively gained power; even those who most sincerely desired the maintenance of that constitution were forced to violate it constantly in order to preserve it. From such a state of instability in legislation; and the most sacred rights of social man have been exposed to all the caprices of factions and events. It is time to put an end to these disorders; it is time to give substantial guarantees to the liberty of citizens to the sovereignty of the people, to the independence of the constitutional powers, and, finally, to the Republic, whose name has served only too often to sanction the violation of all principles. It is time that this great nation had a government worthy of it, a firm and wise government, which could give you a prompt and enduring peace, and enable you to enjoy real happiness. Frenchmen, such are the views which have dictated the vigorous decisions of the Legislative Body. In order to arrive more promptly at a definitive and complete reorganization of public institutions, a provisional government has been established. It is invested with power sufficient to have the laws respected, to protect peaceful citizens, and to suppress all conspirators and malevolent persons. Royalism shall not raise its head again; the hideous traces of the revolutionary government are erased; the Republic and liberty will cease to be vain names; a new era is about to begin. Frenchmen, rally round your magistrates; the zeal of those who have dared conceive such fine and lofty hopes for you will never slacken; all success now depends upon your confidence, your unity, your wisdom. Soldiers of liberty, you will close your ears to every perfidious insinuation; you will pursue the course of your victories; you will achieve the conquest of peace in order soon to return to the midst of your brothers to enjoy all the benefits which you have assured them, and to receive from public recognition the honors and rewards which have been reserved for your glorious work. Long live the Republic! Sortable Date 1799-11-10 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 John Hall Stewart, A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution (New York: Macmillan, 1951), 765–67. Description An account of the resource The Council of Five–Hundred, the lower house of the legislature under the Directory’s constitution, put up only token resistance to the coup of 18 Brumaire [9 November 1799]. By the following day, this body—in principle, made up of the representatives of the French people and the central institution of republican government—had concurred completely in Bonaparte’s revision to the constitution and issued this proclamation, which described the coup to be a victory for "the Republic and liberty" against royalism. Yet again, a regime had come to power claiming to be initiating a "new era" for "the peoples of Europe." Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 462 Title A name given to the resource The Council of Five–Hundred Concurs Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/462/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource November 10, 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte 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 10 November, 1799 (19 Brumaire, Year VIII) On my return to Paris, I found division among all the authorities, and agreement upon only one point: that the Constitution was half destroyed and could not save liberty. All parties came to me, confided to me their plans, disclosed their secrets, and asked for my support. I refused to be one party's man. The Council of Elders summoned me, and I went. An outline for general restoration had been planned by the men who the nation has become accustomed to regarding as the defenders of liberty, equality, and property. This plan needed to be looked at calmly, freely and away from any influences or fears. Consequently, the Council of Elders decided to transfer the Legislative Body to Saint-Cloud, and gave me control over the forces necessary to ensure its independence. I believed it my duty to accept the command, for my fellow citizens, for the soldiers being killed in our armies, and for the national glory acquired at the cost of their blood. The Councils assembled at Saint-Cloud. Republican troops guaranteed their security from without, but assassins created terror from within. Several deputies of the Council of Five-Hundred, armed with stilettos and firearms, made death threats to those around them. The plan which was to have been further developed, was put aside. The majority fell into disorganization, the boldest orators became disconcerted, and the futility of every wise proposition was obvious. I took my pain and indignation to the Council of Elders. I asked them to ensure the execution of their generous outline. I showed them the ills of the homeland . . . they agreed with me and demonstrated anew their steadfast will. I appeared before the Council of Five-Hundred just as I had before the Elders; alone, unarmed, my head uncovered, and was applauded. I had come to remind the majority of its will, and to assure them of their power. The stilettos that had threatened the deputies were instantly raised against their liberator. Twenty assassins rushed at me, aiming at my breast. The guards of the Legislative Body whom I had left at the door of the hall ran forward and placed themselves between the assassins and me. One of these brave guards had his clothes pierced by a stiletto. They escorted me to safety. At the same moment, cries of "outlaw" were raised against me, the defender of the law. It was the fierce cry of assassins against the power that was destined to suppress them. They crowded around the president, uttering threats and bearing arms, and commanded him to outlaw me. I was informed of this and ordered him to be rescued from their fury. Six guards of the Legislative Body grabbed hold of him. Immediately afterwards, guards of the Legislative Body charged into the hall and cleared it. The factions, intimidated, broke up and left. The majority, freed from their attacks, returned peaceably and upon their own will into the meeting hall, listened to the proposals on behalf of public safety, deliberated, and drafted the salutary resolution which is to become the new and provisional law of the Republic. Frenchmen, you will no doubt recognize this behavior as that of a zealous soldier of Liberty, a citizen devoted to the Republic. The rights of conservative, tutelary, and liberal ideas have been restored through the dispersal of the dissidents who oppressed the Councils. Sortable Date 1799-11-10 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 John Hall Stewart, A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution (New York: Macmillan, 1951), 763–65. (Slightly retranslated) Description An account of the resource Having seized power through the coup of 18 Brumaire [9 November 1799], Bonaparte—now First Consul—set out to win public support for yet another new government. His first public pronouncement was the proclamation reprinted below, in which he claims he had acted to defend liberty and the republic against internal enemies. The proclamation, accompanied by similar proclamations from all the new ministers of the government, elaborated Napoleon’s vaguer but more oft–cited statement to his fellow citizens that "reduced to the principles on which it had been started, the French Revolution is over!" Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 461 Title A name given to the resource Brumaire: Bonaparte’s Justification Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/461/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource November 10, 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte 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 Citizen commissioners, the approaching elections impose important tasks upon you, and I am going to speak to you about them. The Republic majestically arose amid the rubble of the throne. All types of tyranny have been replaced by the Constitution of the Year III [1795], and the just empire of laws has replaced the unrest and upheaval of the Revolution. The European powers joined together in a futile effort to return us to slavery. Their combined efforts shattered against the bravery of our invincible armies. The deployment of all their means, of all their forces, only succeeded in underscoring the brilliance of our victories, which ensured our borders, demonstrated for our neighbors where the secret of their independence lies, and everywhere lighted the sacred flame of patriotism. It is no longer by the force of arms that our enemies hope to defeat us. Their indecision has made this evident. Why do they hesitate before attacking us directly? Do not doubt it, they expect the crisis to come from the elections. They have already followed the same plan for two years in a row. The royalist movement took the elections of the Year V in several departments, and anarchy took hold during the elections held last year. The Republic was saved from the horrible rifts that should have resulted from the choices made under such dire auspices as these, by the laws of 19 Fructidor of the Year V [5 September 1797], 12 Pluviôse and 22 Floréal of the Year VI [31 January and 11 May 1798], and the surveillance and activities of the government. But our enemies have not given up joining together and planning their Machiavellian strategies. They are busy on every front, taking on any shape in order to gain control of the elections of the Year VII, and once again are corrupting the source of public power. The maneuvers that they are resorting to are not limited to one department or another. Their movements are not isolated, partial, or interrupted. They have a central field of action that encompasses the entire Republic. Will the mass of good citizens let itself be shackled by this demeaning chain of intrigue and plots? Will they applaud the voices of those who call again for a throne or the scaffolds? And the terrible lesson of past ills, will it not be sufficient to warn them to the two reefs between which we must sail in order to arrive at the port where peace and quiet and happiness await them? It is up to you Citizens, you who are the guardians of the Government, to demonstrate the misfortunes to which they are exposing themselves should they allow themselves to be influenced by factions. Never stop telling them of the sacred clause in our basic laws, the clause that reminds them that it is the soundness of choice in the primary and electoral assemblies upon which the duration, preservation, and prosperity of the Republic primarily depends. . . . After [the coup of] 18 Fructidor [4 September 1797], a large number of weak minds, ever quick to change direction, allowed themselves to be fooled by the hypocritical joy that some skillful anarchists feign when taking credit for the useful fruit of victory, without ever having taken part in the fighting. These weak minds believed that this memorable day foretold of the return, not of the rule of law, but of the reign of terror. Six months of experience would disillusion them. They should have been convinced that their fears and their childishness were baseless. But in spite of the notices, the proclamations, the hurried and repeated invitations of the Executive Directory, this mob, lacking foresight and inconsistent in their fears, did not come out in number during the last election. They did not appear in the primary assemblies due to their apprehension of meeting anarchists there and of seeing themselves being taken over by them. Consequently, still more insane than pusillanimous, they were afraid of the anarchists, and they did absolutely everything that they needed to in order to facilitate their success. Republicans! The time has come. Stop betraying yourselves and allowing your shameful and ridiculous fears to cede an easy victory to the villains. If from 18 Fructidor, every good person had appreciated what had been done for them, if they had closed ranks around the Directory, if they had sought out the civil service, if they had competed to assume those tasks, then no subversive anarchist would have obtained those positions and all of the inroads open to the plotters would have been closed. Citizens, it is time to repair that weakness. . . . No more anarchy in France! This cry must be so unanimous and so strong that it strikes fear in our enemies. It is their turn to have their blood run cold and to be forever frozen in fear. . . . Citizens, what must be done to forever defeat this pair of thousand-headed hydras of odious royalism and vile terrorism? Here, in two words, is the answer: Every suggestion that is motivated by revenge, revolt, or blood must be met with the unanimous cry: "No more anarchy in France!" In this way, by the mere influence of law and the mere credibility of virtue, you will reduce this crime to impotence and silence. Oh Citizens! The Republic and your Government are based on that sacred charter [the Constitution of the Year III]. These are no doubt the only means of salvation for us all. Therefore embrace the Republic and uphold its constitutional laws. Therefore, finally, help your Government with all your willpower. Therefore, and you can be sure of this, the first of Prairial (for which your enemies were waiting for as a day of division, crisis and misery), the first of Prairial will come as a period of rest and peace, and this day will herald the affirmation of republican law. Sortable Date 1799-03-04 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 Nicolas-Louis François de Neufchâteau, "Circulaire du ministre de l'Intérieur aux Commissaires du Directoire exécutif près des Administrations centrales de Département," 14 Ventôse, Year VII [4 March 1799], Archives Nationales de la France F1A 58. Description An account of the resource A former playwright and old regime colonial official, Nicolas–Louis François de Neufchâteau, twice Minister of the Interior under the Directory, here outlines the importance of elections for the Directory. In this circular letter sent to the chief agent of the central government in each department, he highlights the threat that a negative outcome could have for the existence of the Republic and exhorts local officials to be more zealous. Despite such sentiments, the Directory overturned electoral results three years in a row, heightening disaffection and apathy. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 460 Title A name given to the resource Circular on Elections Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/460/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 4, 1799 Provinces Public Opinion Text