National Constituent Assembly 192078 218110605 2008-06-09T05:26:36Z King of Hearts 258000 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/59.95.184.244|59.95.184.244]] to last version by King of Hearts (using [[WP:HG|Huggle]]) {{French Revolution}} The '''National Constituent Assembly''' ([[French language|French]]: ''Assemblée nationale constituante'') was formed from the [[National Assembly (French Revolution)|National Assembly]] on [[9 July]] [[1789]], during the first stages of the [[French Revolution]]. It dissolved on [[30 September]] [[1791]] and was succeeded by the [[French Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly]]. ==Background== [[Image:Berthault - Le serment de Jeu de Paume.jpg|thumb|300px|left|''Le serment de Jeu de Paume''. Copper plate by Pierre-Gabriel Berthault after a drawing by Jean-Louis Prieur (1789). The representatives swore not to depart until they had given France a new constitution.]] The [[Estates-General of 1789]], which convened on [[5 May]], had reached a deadlock in its deliberations by [[6 May]]. The representatives of the [[Third Estate]] therefore attempted to make the whole body more effective; they met separately from [[11 May]] as the ''Communes''. On [[12 June]], the ''Communes'' invited the other Estates to join them: some members of the [[First Estate]] did so the following day. On [[17 June]] the ''Communes'' declared themselves the [[National Assembly (French Revolution)|National Assembly]] by a vote of 490 to 90. Elements of the First Estate, primarily the parish priests who were closer in wealth to the Third Estate compared to the bishops who were closer in wealth to the Second Estate, joined the assembly on [[19 June]]. A legislative and political agenda unfolded. Following attempts by King [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] and the [[Second Estate]] to prevent the delegates from meeting, the new assembly was forced to relocate to a tennis court on [[20 June]]; there, it swore the [[Tennis Court Oath]], promising that it would not adjourn until it had drafted a new [[constitution]] for France. Failing to disperse the delegates, Louis started to recognize their validity on [[27 June]]. The Assembly re-named itself the ''National Constituent Assembly'' on [[9 July]], and began to function as a governing body and a constitution-drafter. However, it is common to refer to the body even after this date as the "National Assembly" or alternatively, "Constituent Assembly." ==Structure in the summer of 1789== Following the [[storming of the Bastille]] on [[14 July]], the National Constituent Assembly became the effective government of France. In the words of historian [[François Mignet]], "The assembly had acquired the entire power; the [[corporation]]s depended on it; the national guards obeyed it... The royal power, though existing of right, was in a measure suspended, since it was not obeyed, and the assembly had to supply its action by its own." [http://www.outfo.org/literature/pg/etext06/8hfrr10.txt] The number of the Estates-General increased significantly during the election period, but many deputies took their time arriving, some of them reaching Paris as late as [[1791]]. According to Timothy Tackett's ''Becoming a Revolutionary'', there were a total of 1177 deputies in the Assembly by mid-July [[1789]]. Among them, 278 belonged to the Nobles, 295 the Clergy, and 604 were representatives of the Third Estate. For the entire duration of the Assembly a total of 1315 deputies were certified, with 330 for the Clergy, 322 nobles and 663 deputies of the Third Estate. According to his research, Mr. Tackett noted that the majority of the Second Estate had a military background, while the Third Estate was dominated by men of legal professions. Some of the leading figures of the Assembly at this time included: * The conservative foes of the revolution, later known as the "[[right-wing politics|Right]]": ** [[Jacques Antoine Marie de Cazalès]] — a forthright spokesman for [[aristocracy]] ** the abbé [[Jean-Sifrein Maury]] — a somewhat inflexible representative of the Church * The "Royalist democrats" (later known as "Constitutionals" or "Monarchicals") allied with [[Jacques Necker]], inclined toward arranging France along lines similar to the [[Constitution of the United Kingdom|British constitutional]] model with a [[House of Lords]] and a [[British House of Commons|House of Commons]]: ** [[Pierre Victor, baron Malouet]] ** [[Trophime-Gérard, marquis de Lally-Tollendal]] ** [[Stanislas Marie Adelaide, comte de Clermont-Tonnerre]] ** [[Jean Joseph Mounier]] * The "National Party," at this time still relatively united in support of [[revolution]] and [[democracy|democratization]], representing mainly the interests of the [[middle class]]es, but strongly sympathetic to the broader range of the common people. In this early period, its most notable [[leadership|leader]]s included [[Honoré Mirabeau|Mirabeau]], the [[Marquis de Lafayette]], and [[Jean-Sylvain Bailly]] (the first two coming from aristocratic backgrounds). Mignet also points to [[Adrien Duport]], [[Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie Barnave]], and [[Alexander Lameth]] as leaders among the "most extreme of this party" in this period, leaders in taking "a more advanced position than that which the revolution had [at this time] attained." Lameth's brother [[Charles Lameth|Charles]] also belonged to this group. To this list one must add the Abbé [[Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès]], foremost in proposing legislation in this period, and the man who, for a time, managed to bridge the differences between those who wanted a constitutional monarchy and those who wished to move in more democratic (or even [[republic]]an) directions. ==Proceedings== For a detailed description of the proceedings in the National Constituent Assembly and related events, please see the following articles: *[[French Revolution from the abolition of feudalism to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy]] *[[French Revolution from the summer of 1790 to the establishment of the Legislative Assembly]] For a list of presidents of the National Constituent Assembly, see: [[List of Presidents of the French National Assembly]]. For a partial list of members of the National Constituent Assembly, see: [[Alphabetical list of members of the National Constituent Assembly of 1789]]. ==Dissolution== After surviving the vicissitudes of a revolutionary two years, the National Constituent Assembly dissolved itself on [[30 September]] [[1791]]. The following day the [[French Constitution of 1791|Constitution of 1791]] went into effect, granting power to the [[French Legislative Assembly|Legislative Assembly]]. ==References== {{Mignet}} [[Category:1789 establishments]] [[Category:1791 disestablishments]] [[Category:French Revolution]] [[Category:Historical legislatures|France 1789]] [[bg:Учредително събрание (Франция)]] [[br:Bodadenn bonreizhañ broadel]] [[cs:Ústavodárné národní shromáždění]] [[de:Konstituante]] [[fr:Assemblée constituante de 1789]] [[he:האספה המכוננת הלאומית]] [[lb:Assemblée constituante]] [[nl:Nationale Grondwetgevende Vergadering]] [[pt:Assembléia Nacional Constituinte Francesa]]