The Legislative Assembly () was the

legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

of the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

from 1 October 1791 to 20 September 1792 during the years of the French Revolution. It provided the focus of political debate and revolutionary law-making between the periods of the National Constituent Assembly and of the

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

. Legislative Assembly saw an unprecedented turnover of four ministers of Justice, four ministers of Navy, six ministers of the interior, seven ministers of foreign affairs, and eight ministers of war.

History

Background

The National Constituent Assembly dissolved itself on 30 September 1791. Upon

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre ferv ...

motion In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an o ...

, it decreed that none of its members would be eligible for the next legislature. Its successor body, the Legislative Assembly, operating over the liberal

French Constitution of 1791 The French Constitution of 1791 () was the first written constitution in France, created after the collapse of the absolute monarchy of the . One of the basic precepts of the French Revolution was adopting constitutionality and establishing po ...

, lasted until 20 September 1792 when the

was established after the insurrection of 10 August just the month before. The Legislative Assembly entrenched the perceived

left–right political spectrum The left–right political spectrum is a system of classifying political positions, ideologies and political parties, parties, with emphasis placed upon issues of social equality and social hierarchy. In addition to positions on the left and on ...

that is still commonly used today. There were 745 members.

Elections

The elections of 1791, held by census suffrage, brought in a legislature that desired to carry the Revolution further. The rightists within the assembly consisted of 264

Feuillants Feuillant and its plural Feuillants, a French word derived ultimately from the Latin for "leaf", can refer to the following: * Les Feuillants Abbey, also known as Feuillant Abbey (), a Cistercian monastery in Labastide-Clermont, France * Congregati ...

, whose chief leaders, Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette and

Antoine Barnave Antoine Pierre Joseph Marie Barnave (, 21 September 176129 November 1793) was a French politician, and, together with Honoré Mirabeau, one of the most influential orators of the early part of the French Revolution. He is most notable for corre ...

, remained outside the House because of their ineligibility for re-election. They were staunch constitutional monarchists, firm in their defence of the

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

against the popular agitation. The

leftists Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

were of 136

Jacobins The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential List of polit ...

(still including the party later known as the

Girondin The Girondins (, ), also called Girondists, were a political group during the French Revolution. From 1791 to 1793, the Girondins were active in the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention. Together with the Montagnards, they initiall ...

s or Girondists) and

Cordeliers The Society of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen ( ), mainly known as Cordeliers Club ( ), was a Populism, populist List of political groups in the French Revolution, political club during the French Revolution from 1790 to 179 ...

. Its most famous leaders were

Jacques Pierre Brissot Jacques Pierre Brissot (, 15 January 1754 – 31 October 1793), also known as Brissot de Warville, was a French journalist, abolitionist, and revolutionary leading the political faction, faction of Girondins (initially called Brissotins) at the ...

, the philosopher

Condorcet Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis of Condorcet (; ; 17 September 1743 – 29 March 1794), known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher, political economist, politician, and mathematician. His ideas, including suppo ...

and Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud. The Left drew its inspiration from the more radical tendency of the Enlightenment, regarded the émigré nobles as traitors and espoused

anticlericalism Anti-clericalism is opposition to clergy, religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secul ...

. They were suspicious of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, some of them favoring a general European war, both to spread the new ideals of

liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

and

equality Equality generally refers to the fact of being equal, of having the same value. In specific contexts, equality may refer to: Society * Egalitarianism, a trend of thought that favors equality for all people ** Political egalitarianism, in which ...

and to put the king's loyalty to the test. The remainder of the House, 345 deputies, generally belonged to no definite party. They were called The Marsh (''Le Marais'') or

The Plain The Plain (), also known as the Marsh (), was the majority of independent deputies in the National Convention during the French Revolution. They were the most moderate and the most numerous group (around 400 deputies) of the National Conventio ...

(''La Plaine''). They were committed to the ideals of the Revolution, hence generally inclined to side with the Left, but would also occasionally back proposals from the Right. The king's ministers, named by him and excluded from the Assembly, are described by the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as "mostly persons of little mark".

Formation

The 27 August 1791 Declaration of Pillnitz already threatened France with an attack by its neighbors. King Louis XVI favored war hoping to exploit a military defeat to restore his absolute power—the Assembly was leaning toward war and to spread the ideals of the Revolution. This led in April 1792 to the first of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

. The king vetoed many of the Assembly's bills throughout its existence such as these: * Legislation declaring the ''émigrés'' guilty of conspiracy and prosecuted as such was passed on 8 November 1791, but vetoed by Louis. * Enforcement of the

Civil Constitution of the Clergy The Civil Constitution of the Clergy () was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that sought the Caesaropapism, complete control over the Catholic Church in France by the National Constituent Assembly (France), French gove ...

: on 29 November 1791, the Assembly decreed that every nonjuring clergyman who did not take the civic oath within eight days would lose his pension and—if any troubles broke out—he would be deported. Louis vetoed the decree as a matter of conscience. Louis XVI formed a series of cabinets, veering at times as far left as the Girondins. However, by the summer of 1792, amid war and insurrection, it had become clear that the monarchy and the now-dominant Jacobins could not reach any accommodation. On 11 July 1792, the Assembly formally declared the nation in danger because of the dire military situation. On 9 August 1792, a new revolutionary Commune took possession of Hôtel de Ville and early on the morning of 10 August the insurgents assailed the Tuileries, where the royal family resided. Louis and his family sought asylum with the Legislative Assembly. The Assembly stripped Louis, suspected of intelligence with the enemy, of all his royal functions and prerogatives. The king and his family were subsequently imprisoned in the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

. On 10 August 1792, a resolution was adopted to summon a new National Convention, to be elected by

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

. Many who had sat in the National Constituent Assembly and many more who had sat in the Legislative Assembly were re-elected. The Convention met on 20 September 1792 and became the new government of France.

Reforms

There were numerous reforms passed by the Legislative Assembly that addressed various topics including

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

, émigrés, and the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

. The Legislative Assembly implemented new reforms to help create a society of independent individuals with equal rights.Popkin, Jeremy. A Short History of the French Revolution. 6th ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: Pearson Education, INC, 2015. pp. 43–61. These reforms included new legislation about divorce, government control over registration, and inheritance rights for children. The registration of births, marriages, and deaths became a function under the government instead of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. The new laws introduced adoption and gave illegitimate children inheritance rights equal to those of legitimate children.Phillips, Roderick. "Women and Family Breakdown in Eighteenth-Century France: Rouen 1780–1800." Social History 1, no. 2 (1976): 197–218
JSTOR
/ref> Before 1791, divorces could only be granted for adultery and other violations of the marriage contract, but under the new reform a couple could also get divorced if they met one or more of the following: * If there was mutual consent of both spouses * If there was a unilateral incompatibility of character * If the couple had been formally separated before and needed a legalized divorce * If there was dissolution of marriage due to "insanity, condemnation to an infamous punishment, violence or ill-treatment, notoriously dissolute morals, desertion for at least two years, absence without news for at least five years, and emigration" The new divorce laws were not sexually discriminatory as both the man and woman had the right to file for a divorce—the women petitioned for the most divorce decrees. The émigrés, mainly members of the

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

and public office who fled France after the events of the Revolution turned violent, were a major focus of the Legislative Assembly. In their decree on 9 November 1791, the Legislative Assembly established a three-class hierarchy of émigrés as well as the punishments that would correspond with each class. The first class was composed of the princes and other people of high birth who "formed migration’srallying point and controlled both its recruiting in France and its organization abroad".Mitchell, C. J. "Emigrés and the Refractory Clergy." In The French Legislative Assembly of 1791, 43–60. Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1988. Retrieved fro
Google Books
pp. 45–46. The second class was composed of officials in public office,

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word ...

and other members of society with less organizational clout than members of the nobility yet more influence than the common people. The third and final class of recognized émigrés encompassed the average French citizens who left France yet commanded little to no direct influence over emigration proceedings. In twelve articles, the decree outlined the economic and political punishments of the first and second classes—particularly assigning deadlines by which time emigration would be classified as an act of treason. Article 3 dictated that first class émigrés still abroad after 1 January would be "impeached for treason and punished with death" and articles 6 through 10 imposed a loss of position, salary, and even citizenship for second class émigrés still abroad after 14 September. Along with the declaration that emigration could result in the loss of active citizenship, article 6 established the Assembly's right to sequester first class émigrés' revenues and article 11 classified émigré soldiers as deserters. As the Legislative Assembly considered third class émigrés to be faultless victims of trickery and seduction by the other two classes, the legislators' decree explicitly avoided issuing punitive measures against third class émigrés—whereas the other classes were to be financially and socially punished, third class émigrés were to be treated with "sympathy and understanding". The émigrés decree was vetoed by the king three days later. The laws regarding the clergy were mostly made in response to a reform passed by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

in July 1790, known as the

. In this decree, the National Assembly took the power to appoint bishops and curés away from the king. Many members of the Catholic clergy objected to this ruling. In response, the National Assembly required a public oath of fidelity from the clergy if they wanted to retain their positions in the Catholic Church. This decision was not well received by a substantial portion of the clergy, which is why the Legislative Assembly felt it was necessary to address the issue. Those unwilling to take the oath were known as non-juring members. On 29 November 1791, the Legislative Assembly decreed that any who refused to take the oath were committing a political crime and were liable to punishments including loss of pension and expulsion from their homes in the event of religious disturbances.

Political groups

The Legislative Assembly was driven by two opposing groups. The members of the first group were conservative members of the bourgeoisie (wealthy middle class in the Third Estate) that favored a

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

, represented by the

, who felt that the revolution had already achieved its goal. The other group was the democratic faction, for whom the king could no longer be trusted, represented by the new members of the Jacobin Club that claimed that more revolutionary measures were necessary.Jean-Paul Bertaud, ''La Révolution française'', Perrin 1989 « rééd. coll. Tempus », 2004, pp. 81–133.

Presidents

; Political parties

Journal of Debates

* (October 1791) * (November 1791) * (December 1791) * (January 1792) * (February 1792) * (March 1792) * (April 1792) * (May 1792) * (June 1792) * (July 1792) * (August 1792) * (September 1792)