la rivalité de Fran?ois I. et de Charles Quint, 1875; Nouveaux éloges historiques, 1877.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Character of the French revolution--Its results, its progress--Successive forms of the monarchy--Louis XIV. and Louis XV.--State of men's minds, of the finances, of the public power and the public wants at the accession of Louis XVI.--His character--Maurepas, prime minister--His policy--Chooses popular and reforming ministers--His object--Turgot, Malesherbes, Necker-- Their plans--Opposed by the court and the privileged classes--Their failure--Death of Maurepas--Influence of the Queen, Marie-Antoinette-- Popular ministers are succeeded by court ministers--Calonne and his system--Brienne, his character and attempts--Distressed state of the finances--Opposition of the assembly of the notables, of the parliament, and provinces--Dismissal of Brienne--Second administration of Necker-- Convocation of the states-general--Immediate causes of the revolution.
CHAPTER I
FROM THE 5TH OF MAY, 1789, TO THE NIGHT OF THE 4TH OF AUGUST
Opening of the states-general--Opinion of the court, of the ministry, and of the various bodies of the kingdom respecting the states--Verification of powers--Question of vote by order or by poll--The order of the commons forms itself into a national assembly--The court causes the Hall of the states to be closed--Oath of the Tennis-court--The majority of the order of the clergy unites itself with the commons--Royal sitting of the 23rd of June--Its inutility--Project of the court--Events of the 12th, 13th, and 14th of July--Dismissal of Necker--Insurrection of Paris--Formation of the national guard--Siege and taking of the Bastille--Consequences of the 14th of July--Decrees of the night of the 4th of August--Character of the revolution which had just been brought about.
CHAPTER II
FROM THE NIGHT OF THE 4TH OF AUGUST TO THE 5TH AND 6TH OF OCTOBER, 1789
State of the constituent assembly--Party of the high clergy and nobility-- Maury and Cazales--Party of the ministry and of the two chambers: Mounier, Lally-Tollendal--Popular party: triumvirate of Barnave, Duport, and Lameth--Its position--Influence of Sieyès--Mirabeau chief of the assembly at that period--Opinion to be formed of the Orleans party--Constitutional labours--Declaration of rights--Permanency and unity of the legislative body--Royal sanction--External agitation caused by it--Project of the court--Banquet of the gardes-du-corps--Insurrection of the 5th and 6th October--The king comes to reside at Paris.
CHAPTER III
FROM THE 6TH OF OCTOBER, 1789, TO THE DEATH OF MIRABEAU, APRIL, 1791
Results of the events of October--Alteration of the provinces into departments--Organization of the administrative and municipal authorities according to the system of popular sovereignty and election--Finances; all the means employed are insufficient--Property of the clergy declared national--The sale of the property of the clergy leads to assignats--Civil constitution of the clergy--Religious opposition of the bishops-- Anniversary of the 14th of July--Abolition of titles--Confederation of the Champ de Mars--New organization of the army--Opposition of the officers-- Schism respecting the civil constitution of the clergy--Clubs--Death of Mirabeau--During the whole of this period the separation of parties becomes more decided.
CHAPTER IV
FROM APRIL, 1791, TO THE 30TH SEPTEMBER, THE END OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
Political state of Europe before the French revolution--System of alliance observed by different states--General coalition against the revolution-- Motives of each power--Conference of Mantua, and circular of Pavia--Flight to Varennes--Arrest of the king--His suspension--The republican party separate, for the first time, from the party of the constitutional monarchy--The latter re-establishes the king--Declaration of Pilnitz--The king accepts the constitution--End of the constituent assembly--Opinion of it.
THE NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
CHAPTER V
FROM THE 1ST OF OCTOBER, 1791, TO THE 21ST OF SEPTEMBER, 1792
Early relations between the legislative assembly and the king--State of parties: the Feuillants rely on the middle classes, the Girondists on the people--Emigration and the dissentient clergy; decree against them; the king's veto--Declarations of war--Girondist ministry; Dumouriez, Roland-- Declaration of war against the king of Hungary and Bohemia--Disasters of our armies; decree for a camp of reserve for twenty thousand men at Paris; decree of banishment against the nonjuring priests; veto of the king; fall of the Girondist ministry--Petition of insurgents of the 20th of June to secure the passing of the decrees and the recall of the ministers--Last efforts of the constitutional party--Manifesto of the duke of Brunswick-- Events of the 10th of August--Military insurrection of Lafayette against the authors of the events of the 10th of August; it fails--Division of the assembly and the new commune; Danton--Invasion of the Prussians-- Massacres of the 2nd of September--Campaign of the Argonne--Causes of the events under the legislative assembly.
THE NATIONAL CONVENTION
CHAPTER VI
FROM THE 20TH OF SEPTEMBER, 1792, TO THE 21ST OF JANUARY, 1793
First measures of the Convention--Its composition--Rivalry of the Gironde and of the Mountain--Strength and views of the two parties--Robespierre: the Girondists accuse him of aspiring to the dictatorship--Marat--Fresh accusation of Robespierre by Louvet; Robespierre's defence; the Convention passes to the order of the day--The Mountain, victorious in this struggle, demand the trial of Louis XVI.--Opinions of parties on this subject--The Convention decides that Louis XVI. shall be tried, and by itself--Louis XVI. at the Temple; his replies before the Convention; his defence; his condemnation; courage and
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