The First Constitution was drawn by the National Assembly,
the former Third Estate. It created a constitutional monarchy, abolished the nobility as
a class, and adopted the metric system. Religious freedom was granted to Jews and
Protestants and the property of the Catholic church was nationalized. Only the economic
upper half of adult males were entitled to vote for or serve in the National
Assembly.
The Second Constitution resulted from the radical
elements in the National Assembly which declared war on Austria with disastrous results.
The threat of invasion led to Patriotic fervor which resulted in a Second Constitution
and the Declaration of the Republic of France in September, 1792. The Assembly under the
new constitution abolished the monarchy, declared universal male suffrage, and adopted
the Revolutionary Calendar as an attempt to create an entirely new culture. Under the
constitution, Louis was convicted of Treason and executed; and the Committee on Public
Safety began its bloody work to prevent another
revolution.
The third convention was written by the
National Convention in 1795. It provided for the population to vote for electors who
would then elect a five member council, the Directory. It fought a number of foreign
wars in an attempt to end unemployment; however royalist insurrections ultimately
brought it down and gave rise to the reign of Napoleon
Bonaparte.
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