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French Revolution flashcards on the Directory
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- The French Revolution
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AQA A-level history French Revolution flashcards on the Directory
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a) The 1798 election resulted in the Radical left controlling 106 seats & the
president of the Council of 500 becoming Chénier.
France The Directory convinced the Council of 500 to annul the election results
in 53 departments, leading to almost 130 deputies losing their seats.
Success of the Directory b)
These were then replaced by individuals chosen by the Directory.
Threats from the Left If this trend continued, the radical left would continue to grow in
power. This would allow them to incr their criticisms that undermined
Law of 22 Floreal (11 May 1798) the Directory & potentially allow them to reinstate another
Robespierrian gov.
a) Details [2] c)
Prevented a full-on radical left revival & meant that the Directory
b) Was it a threat? [=1] could govern w/o facing hostile councils.
Again undermined the principles of a parliamentary gov & the Consti
c) Management of the threat [=1, =2] of Yr III, weakening the stability of the Directory.
Again showed voters that they wouldn’t be listened to – helped push
them to resort to violent rather than diplomatic/political methods to
achieve their aims.
a)
Prevent a return to the monarchy
Prevent a dictatorship like that of the CPS
Control the common ppl (e.g. sans culottes)
France b)
France was rules by a committee of 5 called the
The Establishment of the Directory Directory.
a) Aims [3] o The members were chosen by the Elders
b) Political structure [5] from a list provided by the 500.
The convention was replaced by 2 councils
o Council of 500 initiated legislation
o Council of Elders approved or amended
legislation
a)
There were fewer threats of internal revolt.
The war was now going well for France – it had even managed
to extend its borders.
The power of the sans-culottes had been greatly weakened.
France 2 council system & directors meant it was less likely that any 1
The Establishment of the Directory group would have complete power – less chance of
dictatorship.
Prospect of Stability b)
a) Good [4] Yearly elections led to instability.
No mechanism to resolve disputes between the directors &
b) Bad [5] the 2 councils.
War was costly & difficult to bring to an end.
The White terror showed that the problems from the Terror &
previous govs still needed to be dealt w.
Corruption in the government still existed.
a)
1797 elections - monarchists won 180 of the 260 seats contested,
meaning there were now 330 monarchists in the councils.
France 3 Sep 1797 - 2 directors cancelled the elections in 49 deps, removing 177
deputies (mostly monarchists) & deported leading royalists.
The Directory b)
Undermined the principles of a parliamentary gov & the Consti of Yr III,
Threats to the Directory
weakening the stability of the Directory.
Showed voters that they wouldn’t be listened to – helped push them to
The Coup of Fructidor
resort to violence.
Partially helped lead to the Law of 22 Floreal (where the radical left
a) Details [2] obtained 106 seats & incr control)
o To remove the royalist deputies, the Directory had to rely on
b) A threat [5] support from the left.
o This gave the left more power & confidence, & they began to
a) Not a threat [1] criticise the Directory for the reintro of indirect taxes.
c)
Supressed the monarchist revival - meant that the Directory could govern
w/o facing hostile councils.
, a)
If not solved, there would be no public confidence in the gov,
which would make borrowing v difficult.
The same problem was what led to the French Rev in the first
France place.
b)
Success of the Directory The Directory declared bankruptcy on 2/3 of the debt in Sep
The Economy 1797 but assured payment on the 1/3. This stabilised the
currency
Public debt But this also made the gov v unpop w ppl who held large
quantities of gov bonds.
a) Was it a threat? [=2] The gov refrained from adding taxes on wine & salt, which had
b) Management of the threat [=3, =1] helped cause the 1789 rev, but added new taxes on property
owners, gold & silver, playing cards, tobacco, & other luxury
products.
These measures brought about a relative stability of finances
which continued through the Directory & Consulate.
a)
W the string of defeats, France could no longer pay
France for the war by seizing foreign assets.
A forced loan on the rich was decreed in 1799 to
Success of the Directory raise 100 mill livres.
The Economy b)
Economic Impacts of the War This meant the wealthy might have to give up
3/4 of their income – weakened their support for
a) Details [2] the gov.
b) Management of the threat [=2] By November only 10 mill livres of the forced
loan had been collected – undermined the
Directory’s authority.
a)
On 24 Jun 1795, soon after the death of Louis XVI’s son, the
Comte de Provence, Louis XVI's brother in northern Italy,
proclaimed himself Louis XVII and issued the Verona
France Declaration.
Success of the Directory Louis promised to restore 'stolen properties', such as those
taken from the Church & the émigrés. This antagonised those
Threats from the Right who had bought biens nationaux & who had benefited from
the abolition of the tithe & seigneurial dues.
Verona Declaration (24 Jun 1795) b)
a) Details [2] This provided the royalists w a potential figurehead, making
a revival of the constitutional monarchist movement easier.
b) Was it a threat? [=1, =2] The Verona Declaration turned out to be a great boost to
those who favoured a Republic.
o As a result the Verona Declaration failed to attract
much support for the royalist cause.
a)
The Directory took power @ a time of immense economic hardship – the
national Treasury was completely empty & assignats were almost
France b)
worthless.
Success of the Directory If not solved, there would be no public confidence in the gov, which
would make borrowing v difficult.
The Economy
c)
Many previous govs were toppled in part by economic hardship.
Inflation The new gov continued to print assignats, but it could not print them
fast enough; even 100 mill a day only covered 1/3 of the gov’s needs.
a) Details [1] In Dec 1795, the gov resorted to a forced loan of 600 mill from wealthy
citizens – this made the gov unpopular the nobility.
b) Was it a threat? [=2] To fight inflation, the gov began minting more gold & silver coins,
which had real value. When supplies ran low, it obtained more through
c) Management of the threat [=2, =2] military campaigns.
o These measures reduced inflation & on 19 Feb 1796, the gov
held a ceremony to destroy the printing presses which had
been used to produce assignats.
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