Essay

How far was the war responsible for the establishment of the Republic?

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Module
French Revolution 1774-1799

Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)

The responsibility for the establishment of the republic in France in 1792, from the 20th June to the 10th August, cannot be deemed to be caused by the outbreak of war in spring of that year. Although notable, other underlying problems led up to the establishment of the French republic in 1792. whi...

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How far was the war responsible for the establishment of the Republic?
The responsibility for the establishment of the republic in France in 1792, from the 20th June to the
10th August, cannot be deemed to be caused by the outbreak of war in spring of that year. Although
notable, other underlying problems led up to the establishment of the French republic in 1792.
which the war exacerbated. Acknowledging that a republican government involves the idea that
sovereignty rests with the people, where laws are made by elected representatives of the people, it
can be argued that the journée of the 10th August in 1792, in which the sans-culottes and Cordeliers
stormed the Tuileries Palace, is when the republic in France was established. This is ultimately what
led to Louis’ fall and his power being taken. However, one must consider what exactly drove the
sans-culottes to storm the palace. The breakdown of relations between the King and Legislative
Assembly, seen significantly from his vetoing of laws the Legislative Assembly made during the war,
which greatly angered the people and increased their calls for a republic that had first become
commonplace following the Flight to Varennes June 1791. It can be argued that the anger displayed
towards Louis’ vetoes may be unjustified as it was within his right as he had been given a suspensive
veto by the Constituent Assembly, displaying the underlying faults with the system of government
France was run by. Whilst the factors presented above certainly hold more weight over war as a
factor itself as they were long term problems that might have unravelled anyway, the exacerbation
that the war caused on the King’s declining relationship with the Assembly and people is significantly
notable; it is what led to the sans-culottes storming his palace and establishing the republic.

The war had a significant role in contributing to the establishment of the republic in 1792. In April
1792, France embarked on a revolutionary war with the country’s neighbour, Austria. Despite most
of the country’s insistence on war, except for Robespierre, who was strongly against it, France was
ill-equipped for it, which meant it started disastrously for them. Their armed forces were weakened
by the revolution and there was a lack of military officers, many of whom had fled after refusing to
swear an oath to the Constituent Assembly. The French army numbered less than 140,000, and
many of them were volunteers with little military training. When they invaded the Austrian
Netherlands on the 20th April 1792, panic swept over the army. This caused them to act in an
undisciplined manner, with some soldiers even killing their commanding officer, Theobald Dillon,
who had ordered his men to retreat from an outright battle with an Austrian army. He was accused
of treason by his men and bayonetted to death. This catastrophic start to the war increased fears of
counter-revolutionary activity in France and made the people even more distrustful of the royal
family, especially because of Marie Antoinette’s familial ties to Austria. The war perpetuated the
unrest in France as it led to the Duke of Brunswick, commander of the advancing Prussian army,
proclaiming to the French people, stimulating the demand for the abolition of the monarchy further
and causing the sans-culottes to take direct action by storming Tuileries. Known as the Brunswick
Manifesto, it was sent on the 25th July 1792, promising freedom to those who did not oppose
Brunswick’s armies, but strongly threatened those who opposed him or tried to harm the King. The
letter stated that all French soldiers must ‘return to their former loyalty and submit immediately to
the King.’ It also ordered the people of Paris to do the same and promised ‘unforgetting vengeance’
against those who commit the slightest violence against the Tuileries Palace. This manifesto was
incredibly inflammatory and was bound to heighten the unrest in Paris and rouse the Parisian mob
to hysteria. It did just that, spurring the sans-culottes to storm Tuileries, which in turn revealed the
Assembly’s reluctance to depose the King, further angering the sans-culottes. As well as this, the war
also caused the Assembly to pass laws to protect France against counter-revolutionary activity,
making Louis appear suspicious by vetoing the laws. It is evident that the war inherently acted as a
catalyst, worsening the existing tensions in France, especially between the King and Assembly, giving
it notable significance.

The relationship between the Assembly and the King is arguably more significant than the war as a
factor for why the Republic was established, due to the long-term tension that has existed between

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