98-762: The Legislative Assembly (French: Assemblée législative ) was the legislature of the Kingdom of France 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 . Legislative Assembly saw an unprecedented turnover of four ministers of Justice , four ministers of Navy , six ministers of
196-418: A quorum . Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are usually delegated to committees made up of a few of the members of the chamber(s). The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties ; the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs. Legislatures vary widely in
294-519: A function under the government instead of the Catholic Church . The new laws introduced adoption and gave illegitimate children inheritance rights equal to those of legitimate children. 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: The new divorce laws were not sexually discriminatory as both
392-554: A hero of the revolution, and he became seen as a hero of the Commune itself. This insurrection sparked by the Jacobins led to a new Montagnard governing force, the defeat of their Girondin enemies, and a completely new revolutionary government for France. From 4 December 1793, the Commune of Paris and the revolutionary committees in the sections had to obey the law, the two Committees, and the convention. Within three weeks majority of
490-518: A key part of the Parisian bourgeois intellectual culture. Amidst this anger and the wider contemporary social upheavals in France, on 25 June 1789, 12 representatives from three different parts of the city voted in favour of creating a united Parisian municipality. Further reforms proposed by Nicolas de Bonneville aimed to create a Parisian Bourgeois Guard that would later become a National Guard (and
588-612: A legislature. The insurrectionary commune had elected Sulpice Huguenin during the night as its first President. On 10 August and the following days, all 48 districts of Paris decided to elect representatives with unlimited powers (28 districts jointly made this decision on the eve of the assault on the Tuileries, whilst the remaining 20 joined them over the days that followed). The 11th district, covering an area which included Place Vendôme , elected Maximilien de Robespierre as its representative. At this time, 52 representatives formed
686-664: A legislature: One of the major functions of a legislature is to discuss and debate issues of major importance to society. This activity can take place in two forms. In debating legislatures, such as the Parliament of the United Kingdom , the floor of the legislature frequently sees lively debate. In contrast, in committee-based legislatures like the United States Congress , deliberation takes place in closed committees. While legislatures have nominally
784-794: A letter to throughout the provincial societies encouraging them to demand the recall of the appellants, which resulted in the Convention demanding he be put before a Revolutionary Tribunal. Outraged by this, most of the Parisian sections sent an outraged petition threatening the Girondins with an effective insurrection. In response to this, the Girondins launched a political assault on the Paris Commune as an institution, arresting Hébert for an inflammatory article he had published in his paper, and two other Jacobin Communards. This then triggered
882-581: 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
980-649: 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 king vetoed many of the Assembly's bills throughout its existence such as these: 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
1078-516: A rational framework or administration that could function efficiently without agents of the state. In the earlier days of the Commune, Feuillants and then Girondin bourgeois Republican forces had dominated, but an ascendant Jacobin presence amongst the Parisian political class became increasingly militant in its desire to establish control of the Commune, and it succeeded in doing so formally as part of an organised seizure of power in August 1792. As
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#17327578549051176-626: A result of this, the Paris Commune became insurrectionary in the summer of 1792, essentially refusing to take orders from the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI . On the night of 9 August 1792 (spurred by the issue of the Brunswick Manifesto on 25 July) a new revolutionary Commune, led by Georges Danton , Camille Desmoulins and Jacques Hébert took possession of the Hôtel de Ville . Antoine Galiot Mandat de Grancey ,
1274-424: A sharp protest in the sections. On 27 July the Paris Commune gave orders to close the gates (and to ring the tocsin), and summoned an immediate meeting of the sections to consider the dangers threatening the fatherland. The Paris Commune was in league with the Jacobins to bring off an insurrection, asking them to send over reinforcements from the galleries, ‘even the women who are regulars there’. At around 10 p.m.,
1372-526: A single unit is unicameral , one divided into two chambers is bicameral , and one divided into three chambers is tricameral . In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is usually considered the upper house , while the other is considered the lower house . The two types are not rigidly different, but members of upper houses tend to be indirectly elected or appointed rather than directly elected, tend to be allocated by administrative divisions rather than by population, and tend to have longer terms than members of
1470-682: A way to be politically proactive. Maximilien Robespierre , a member of the Jacobin Club, rose to power in 1792, and his popularity is largely attributed to his female supporters. Robespierre, however, was not an advocate for women’s rights, and a lot of contemporary female activists opposed his policies. Among those activists was Madame Roland who held salons for the Girondins , bourgeois republicans, around 1791. Her party’s political disagreements with Robespierre had led to their falling out. Olympe de Gouges , another prominent activist on
1568-435: Is indirectly elected within the context of a one-party state . Legislature size is a trade off between efficiency and representation; the smaller the legislature, the more efficiently it can operate, but the larger the legislature, the better it can represent the political diversity of its constituents. Comparative analysis of national legislatures has found that size of a country's lower house tends to be proportional to
1666-554: 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 powers of government . Legislatures can exist at different levels of government–national, state/provincial/regional, local, even supranational (such as the European Parliament ). Countries differ as to what extent they grant deliberative assemblies at
1764-664: The Americas have more independence in drafting and amending bills. The origins of the power of the purse which legislatures typically have in passing or denying government budgets goes back to the European assemblies of nobility which the monarchs would have to consult before raising taxes. For this power to be actually effective, the legislature should be able to amend the budget, have an effective committee system, enough time for consideration, as well as access to relevant background information. There are several ways in which
1862-489: The Committee of Public Safety decided that the ultra-left Hébertists would have to perish or their opposition within the committee would overshadow the other factions due to its influence in the Commune of Paris. In Summer 1794 the commune had to solve serious problems in the cemeteries because of the smell. On 23 July the Commune published a new maximum, limiting the wages of employees (in some cases by half) and provoking
1960-714: The European Union . The upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments – as in the European Union and in Germany and, before 1913, in the United States – or be elected according to a formula that grants equal representation to states with smaller populations, as is the case in Australia and the United States since 1913. Tricameral legislatures are rare;
2058-497: The Federal Parliament of Somalia ) tied for least powerful. Some political systems follows the principle of legislative supremacy , which holds that the legislature is the supreme branch of government and cannot be bound by other institutions, such as the judicial branch or a written constitution . Such a system renders the legislature more powerful. In parliamentary and semi-presidential systems of government ,
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#17327578549052156-512: The Hotel de Ville , and on 28 July, the Convention forces succeeded in capturing Robespierre and the supporters who remained with him and executed them on the same day. Almost half of the Paris Commune (70 members) were executed on 29 July, as were many members of Jacobin club who had supported Robespierre - marking the beginning of the White Terror . With the execution of most of its members,
2254-673: The Massachusetts Governor's Council still exists, but the most recent national example existed in the waning years of White-minority rule in South Africa . Tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. The only legislature with a number of chambers bigger than four was the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia ; initially established as a Pentacameral body in 1963, it
2352-684: The Ministers of the French National Convention and the decision of the Commissioners of the Committee of Public Safety in 1794 to take charge of administrative departments, but the increased and consolidated power of the National Convention by 1794 now meant that they could challenge the insurrectionary and often hostile power of the Paris Commune. The ousting of Robespierre on 27 July 1794 (or 9 Thermidor year II in
2450-844: The National Assembly in July 1790, known as the Civil Constitution of the Clergy . 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
2548-530: The National Convention was established after the insurrection of 10 August just the month before. The Legislative Assembly entrenched the perceived left–right political spectrum that is still commonly used today. There were 745 members. 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 , whose chief leaders, Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette and Antoine Barnave , remained outside
2646-719: The National Guard to disperse a riotous assembly in the Champ de Mars (17 July 1791). By 1792, the Commune was dominated by the Jacobins who were not in the Legislative Assembly due to the Self-Denying Ordinance . The new Commune meant that there was a revolutionary challenge to the Legislative Assembly , though its practical victories were limited and temporary. The violence provoked by
2744-544: The cube root of its population ; that is, the size of the lower house tends to increase along with population, but much more slowly. Paris Commune (French Revolution) The Paris Commune ( French : Commune de Paris ) during the French Revolution was the government of Paris from 1789 until 1795. Established in the Hôtel de Ville just after the storming of the Bastille , it consisted of 144 delegates elected by
2842-401: The executive is responsible to the legislature, which may remove it with a vote of no confidence . On the other hand, according to the separation of powers doctrine, the legislature in a presidential system is considered an independent and coequal branch of government along with both the judiciary and the executive. Nevertheless, many presidential systems provide for the impeachment of
2940-421: The "sanguinary outbursts in the press" promoted by Marat and notes that the massacres marked a watershed in a troubled history between the people and the political elite in a new combination of forces unleashed by revolution, counter-revolution, and the support of both amongst conflicting popular and elite forces. William Doyle further argues that Danton's irresponsibility in provoking the violence served to devalue
3038-662: The 18th Century Commune, given how the 19th Century one restored institutions such as the Committee of Public Safety of 1793–1794. In 1791, the French Revolutionary Constitution attributed women to the category of "passive" citizens. Later, in 1793, the Jacobin Constitution did not allow women to vote. In 1795 some men lost their right to vote and the notion of "passive" citizenship was no longer in use, meaning that women lost their rights to be called citizens at all. The lack of rights
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3136-533: The 60 divisions of the city. Before its formal establishment, there had been much popular discontent on the streets of Paris over who represented the true Commune, and who had the right to rule the Parisian people. The first mayor was Jean Sylvain Bailly , a relatively moderate Feuillant who supported constitutional monarchy. He was succeeded in November 1791 by Pétion de Villeneuve after Bailly's unpopular use of
3234-477: The Commune decided to create a revolutionary army of 20,000 men to protect and defend Paris. On Saturday 1 June the Commune gathered almost all day. Unsatisfied with the result the commune demanded and prepared a "Supplement" to the revolution for the next day. Hanriot was ordered to march his National Guard from the town hall to the National Palace . "The armed force", Hanriot said, "will retire only when
3332-547: The Commune demanded that Hébert be released. The president of the Convention Maximin Isnard , who had enough of the tyranny of the Commune, threatened with the total destruction of Paris. "If the Commune does not unite closely with the people, it violates its most sacred duty", Robespierre said. In the afternoon the Commune demanded the creation of a Revolutionary army of sansculottes in every town of France, including 20,000 men to defend Paris. The next day
3430-415: The Commune on 25 July 1792 as the Commune became increasingly Jacobin in its orientation, and ideas of full citizenship were beginning to take root. The theoretical basis for the establishment of the Commune meant that administrative power could be brought closer to the people in a revolutionary manner, and Paris could achieve localisation of revolutionaries to modernise the city and country, alongside creating
3528-573: The Commune was effectively a proxy of the National Convention, and subject to its direct rule. In response to this, Francois-Noel Babeuf and democratic militants associated with him - organised through a newly created Electoral Club - demanded the restoration of the Commune, but were unsuccessful in achieving their aims. The government of the republic was then succeeded by the French Directory in November 1795, formally ending
3626-460: The Commune's political commitment to the Cult of Reason . As the Commune became increasingly radical and Jacobin-dominated it aligned itself with radical left Montagnard ideas and policies, and was headed by Pierre Gaspard Chaumette and Hébert himself from November 1792 – some of the most extreme voices within the Commune – until their overthrow and eventual execution, along with 91 other members of
3724-618: The Commune, as part of the Thermidorian coup in July 1794. The internal politics of the Commune and its political culture had a huge impact on the Insurrection of 31 May - 2 June 1793 and the fall of the Girondins . The Jacobin dominance of the Commune existed in strong tension with the much more moderate Girondins who dominated the Legislative Assembly . When the National Convention effectively replaced it in September 1792,
3822-481: The Commune, but its after-effects remained strong in the Parisian imagination, and the memory of the 18th Century Commune provided inspiration for the later Communards of the Paris Commune of 1871. However, with that later Commune of 1871, and his traumatic experiences of it, Hippolyte Taine writing in L'Origine de la France Contemporaine critically expressed the idea that there were strong reverberations of
3920-486: The Convention has delivered to the people the deputies denounced by the Commune." The insurrection was organized by the Paris Commune and supported by Montagnards. The tribunal presided over the arrest, trial, and execution of the Girondins (see Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793 ), and the enactment of the law of General Maximum on 29 September 1793. It played an essential role in the revolutionary wars following 1793, forming militias and providing weaponry to many of
4018-550: The Departmental Council of the Commune. On 16 August, Robespierre presented a petition to the Legislative Assembly from the Paris Commune to demand the establishment of a provisional Revolutionary Tribunal that had to deal with the "traitors" and " enemies of the people ". On 21 August, it succeeded in dissolving the separate department of Paris; the Commune took its place, combining local and regional power under one body. The all-powerful Commune demanded custody of
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4116-752: The French political arena at the time, had published the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen (1791) addressing the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen . In her work, she criticised the revolution for not addressing gender inequality. Similar to Mme Roland, Olympe de Gouges was associated with the bourgeois republicans and has favoured the idea of the constitutional monarchy, causing her to criticise Robespierre and
4214-500: The Girondins be blamed for France's disintegration. Girondin deputies attempting to leave were arrested as the Convention was stormed, and the President of the Convention came out to plead with Hanriot to remove the troops, but he refused to do so, and under this pressure, the Convention itself ended upvoted for the arrest of those 22 leading Girondins – effectively destroying them as a political force. Marat and Couthon hailed Hanriot as
4312-476: The Girondins remained more powerful than the radical left Montagnards , and most of the Convention's power and control over most of France remained in their hands. But by 1793, massive challenges to the legitimacy and reputation of the Girondins, such as the wars with Austria and Prussia, and the insurrectionary War in the Vendée began to destroy their popular support. The massacres of tens of thousands of people in
4410-506: The House because of their ineligibility for re-election. They were staunch constitutional monarchists, firm in their defence of the king against the popular agitation. The leftists were of 136 Jacobins (still including the party later known as the Girondins or Girondists) and Cordeliers . Its most famous leaders were Jacques Pierre Brissot , the philosopher Condorcet and Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud . The Left drew its inspiration from
4508-471: The Jacobins and the Paris Commune itself through speeches, arguing for its suppression, but as the Vendée fell to rebels, inspiring revolutionary outrage, Francois Hanriot ordered the National Guard to march on the convention and join those Communard forces to oust the Girondins who had lost the faith of republicans. The Convention, now having the National Guard around it, demanded that the ousting of
4606-506: The Jacobins and their excesses meant that the power of the Commune would end up being limited by increasing support for more moderate revolutionary forces until the Thermidorian Reaction and the execution of its leaders led to its disestablishment in 1795. When Louis XVI ascended to the throne, he initially sought to establish better relations with a Paris that had felt subordinated by Versailles , and in 1774 he restored
4704-575: The Legislative Assembly were re-elected. The Convention met on 20 September 1792 and became the new government of France. There were numerous reforms passed by the Legislative Assembly that addressed various topics including divorce , émigrés , and the clergy . The Legislative Assembly implemented new reforms to help create a society of independent individuals with equal rights. These reforms included new legislation about divorce, government control over registration, and inheritance rights for children. The registration of births, marriages, and deaths became
4802-554: 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 . On 10 August 1792, a resolution was adopted to summon a new National Convention, to be elected by universal suffrage . Many who had sat in the National Constituent Assembly and many more who had sat in
4900-543: The Montagnards after the execution of Louis XVI . De Gouges’ criticism of the revolutionary movement in her writing and her affiliation to the Girondins led to her being convicted of treason and she was executed along with other party members (including Madame Roland) in November 1793. During the Reign of Terror activism began to decline. Most clubs and salons were closed in 1794 and women were prohibited from going into
4998-509: The Parliament of Paris – a court of nobles that had previously been abolished. However its powers were limited, and economic pressures meant that Versailles imposed austerity measures on the military and policing structures of Paris, incentivising disloyalty to the crown amongst soldiers and the police. This coupled with the perceived frivolity of royal spending encouraged popular anger, and radical pamphleteering and meetings started to become
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#17327578549055096-702: The amount of political power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries , militaries , and executives . In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary powers index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures. The German Bundestag , the Italian Parliament , and the Mongolian State Great Khural tied for most powerful, while Myanmar's House of Representatives and Somalia's Transitional Federal Assembly (since replaced by
5194-475: The bloodiest consequences of the Paris Commune was the September Massacres , and their exact origins continue to be a source of historical debate around the internal politics of the Paris Commune. Between 2 and 6 September, an estimated 1,100–1,600 people were killed by around 235 forces loyal to the Commune who had been responsible for guarding the prisons of Paris, and it is estimated that half of
5292-547: The commander of the Paris National Guard and in charge of defending the Tuileries where the royal family resided, was assassinated and replaced by Antoine Joseph Santerre . The next day insurgents assailed the Tuileries . During the ensuing constitutional crisis, the collapsing Legislative Assembly of France was heavily dependent on the Commune for the effective power that allowed it to continue to function as
5390-572: 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
5488-835: The country. Among the earliest recognised formal legislatures was the Athenian Ecclesia . In the Middle Ages , European monarchs would host assemblies of the nobility, which would later develop into predecessors of modern legislatures. These were often named the Estates . The oldest surviving legislature is the Icelandic Althing , founded in 930 CE. Democratic legislatures have six major functions: representation, deliberation, legislation, authorizing expenditure, making governments, and oversight. There exist five ways that representation can be achieved in
5586-678: The culture of revolutionary terror also prompted an opportunistic desire for revenge, and all of this coupled with the instability of the state and location of power, and the precarity of ordinary Parisian life fuelled a culture of extreme fear and paranoia that would eventually fuel the mass violence which was rationalised as a pre-emptive act. On 2 September, Danton gave a speech in the Legislative Assembly specifically singling out internal enemies, and called for volunteers to take arms against them and assemble together in Paris immediately. He insisted "any one refusing to give personal service or to furnish arms shall be punished with death", and claimed that
5684-472: The declaration of an open Jacobin uprising, and Robespierre called upon the people to join in the revolt. A popular revolutionary army of around 20,000 men inside the Commune was formed, and the sections formed an insurrectionary committee. On 31 May, an uprising attempt began unsuccessfully, and the smaller than expected forces who gathered were unable to take the Convention in any meaningful way, and Jean-Francois Varlet accused Hébert and Dobson of weakness at
5782-418: The departments of France were reorganized; the Paris Commune was divided up in 48 revolutionary sections of Paris and allowed to discuss the election of a new mayor. Louis XVI himself gave permission for this on 21 May 1790. Each section was granted its own popular militia, civil committee, and revolutionary committee. These sections acted as intermediaries between local populations (largely sans-culottes ) and
5880-403: The duration of their entire term, or for just those related to their legislative duties. A legislature may debate and vote upon bills as a single unit, or it may be composed of multiple separate assemblies , called by various names including legislative chambers , debate chambers , and houses , which debate and vote separately and have distinct powers. A legislature which operates as
5978-425: The evening meeting of the Commune for the poorly-planned attempt at ousting the Girondins. In response to this, the Commune gathered all day on 1 June, with the understanding that a Sunday uprising would mean a much better attendance of sans-culottes. After a full day of Communard planning, in the evening 40,000 troops surrounded the Convention, trapping the Girondins inside. They spent much of 2 June fiercely denouncing
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#17327578549056076-405: The event of religious disturbances. 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 , represented by the Feuillants , who felt that the revolution had already achieved its goal. The other group was the democratic faction, for whom
6174-421: The executive are also used, particularly for bicameral legislatures featuring an upper house . The name used to refer to a legislative body varies by country. Common names include: By names: By languages: Though the specific roles for each legislature differ by location, they all aim to serve the same purpose of appointing officials to represent their citizens to determine appropriate legislation for
6272-406: The executive for criminal or unconstitutional behaviour. Legislatures will sometimes delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies . Legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators , who vote on proposed laws. A legislature usually contains a fixed number of legislators; because legislatures usually meet in a specific room filled with seats for
6370-446: 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". The 27 August 1791 Declaration of Pillnitz already threatened France with an attack by its neighbors. King Louis XVI favored war hoping to exploit
6468-430: The influence of the Commune because the sections had exhausted the searches. The Assembly, tired of the pressures, declared the Commune illegal and suggested the organization of communal elections. On Sunday morning 2 September the members of the Commune, gathering in the town hall to proceed the election of deputies to the National Convention, decided to maintain their seats and have Rolland and Brissot arrested. One of
6566-422: The interior , seven ministers of foreign affairs , and eight ministers of war . The National Constituent Assembly dissolved itself on 30 September 1791. Upon Maximilien Robespierre 's motion , 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 , lasted until 20 September 1792 when
6664-584: The king could no longer be trusted, represented by the new members of the Jacobin Club that claimed that more revolutionary measures were necessary. Independent Feuillants Club Jacobin Club [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Montague, Francis Charles (1911). " French Revolution, The ". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 11 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. Legislature A legislature
6762-409: The legislative Paris Commune, and initially tended to deal with legal and civil concerns, but the sections were becoming increasingly radicalised and focused on political issues and struggles. On 24 February 1792 the Conseil Général de la Commune was installed: it consisted of 24 members, under whom were Etienne Clavière , Pierre-Joseph Cambon , Sergent-Marceau , René Levasseur and the King. Manuel
6860-446: The legislators, this is often described as the number of "seats" it contains. For example, a legislature that has 100 "seats" has 100 members. By extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a "seat", as, for example, in the phrases " safe seat " and " marginal seat ". After election, the members may be protected by parliamentary immunity or parliamentary privilege , either for all actions
6958-436: The legislature can hold the executive branch (the administration or government) accountable. This can be done through hearings, questioning , interpellations , votes of confidence , the formation of committees. Parliaments are usually ensured with upholding the rule of law, verifying that public funds are used accountably and efficiently as well as make government processes transparent and actions so that they can be debated by
7056-406: The lower house. In some systems, particularly parliamentary systems , the upper house has less power and tends to have a more advisory role, but in others, particularly federal presidential systems , the upper house has equal or even greater power. In federations , the upper house typically represents the federation's component states. This is also the case with the supranational legislature of
7154-404: 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 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
7252-441: The massacres were severe, and the assassination of Marat by Charlotte Corday (a Girondin sympathiser) on 13 July 1793, who blamed him for the violence, triggered an even further wave of radicalisation amongst Jacobins, as a cult of martyrdom emerged around him. Blame for the massacres remains controversial, but Danton and his inflammatory rhetoric is the most frequent figure emphasised by historians. However, Gwynne Lewis emphasises
7350-407: The mayor Jean-Baptiste Fleuriot-Lescot appointed a delegation to go and convince Robespierre to join the Commune movement. After a whole evening spent waiting in vain for action by the Commune, losing time in fruitless deliberation, without supplies or instructions, the armed sections began to disperse. It was not until 1792 that the government had a formal cabinet in place, with the appointment of
7448-409: The minister of war Jean-Nicolas Pache who sought to disseminate the profoundly anti-clerical work of Jacques Hébert by purchasing thousands of copies of his books and his radical newspaper Le Père Duchesne for free distribution to the public. The Hébertists amongst the Communards managed to successfully transform Notre-Dame and numerous other churches into Temples of Reason , further entrenching
7546-423: 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
7644-545: The more radical tendency of the Enlightenment , regarded the émigré nobles as traitors and espoused anticlericalism . They were suspicious of Louis XVI , some of them favoring a general European war, both to spread the new ideals of liberty and equality 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 ( La Plaine ). They were committed to
7742-408: 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
7840-496: The popularity of the revolution on a local, domestic, and international level. It called for the reinstatement of the Revolutionary Tribunal to try political opponents, and on 10 March 1793, the tribunal was restored. On 18 April the Commune announced an insurrection against the convention after the arrest of Jean-Paul Marat . Mid May Marat and the Commune supported Robespierre publicly and secretly. On 25 May,
7938-453: The prison population of Paris was massacred by the evening of 6 September. A culture of fear had emerged amidst the ongoing wars with Austria and Prussia, and the Jacobins had propagated a culture of conspiracy and revenge which singled out a potentially disloyal prison population; fearing that political prisoners and the many Swiss prisoners in Parisian jails would side with either an advancing foreign or counter-revolutionary army. Furthermore,
8036-488: The public and its representatives. Agora notes that parliamentary systems or political parties in which political leaders can influence or decide which members receive top jobs can lead to passivity amongst members of the party and less challenging of leadership. Agora notes that this phenomenon is acute if the election of a member is dependant on the support of political leadership. In contrast to democratic systems, legislatures under authoritarianism are used to ensure
8134-433: The punishments that would correspond with each class. The first class was composed of the princes and other people of high birth who "formed [emigration’s] rallying point and controlled both its recruiting in France and its organization abroad". The second class was composed of officials in public office, soldiers and other members of society with less organizational clout than members of the nobility yet more influence than
8232-406: The revolutionary armies during the Reign of Terror . The Commune took charge of routine civic functions but is best known for mobilizing the people towards direct democracy and insurrection when it deemed the Revolution to be in danger, as well as for its campaign to dechristianize the country. This campaign of dechristianization was spearheaded by many prominent figures within the Commune, such as
8330-443: The revolutionary calendar), marked a huge organised counter-revolution against the radical left and Robespierre himself from the National Convention, and this naturally spelled trouble for the Paris Commune. When he was detained, the troops of the Paris Commune under Hanriot who were largely loyal to him organised an attempt to liberate him, which was in turn met by a counter-attack from Convention forces. They barricaded themselves into
8428-482: The royal family, imprisoning them in the Temple fortress. A list of "opponents of the Revolution" was drawn up, the gates to the city were sealed, and on 28 August the citizens were subjected to domiciliary visits, ostensibly in a search for muskets. A sharp conflict developed between the Legislative and the Commune and its sections. On 30 August the interim minister of Interior Roland and Guadet tried to suppress
8526-483: The royalist Vendée uprising exposed just how deep the divides between urban and rural France were, how little practical control the Girondins had over a unified French republic, and how ineffective they were at holding true to democratic principles. France was effectively moving into the Civil War, and republicans were increasingly switching loyalty to the Montagnards. Amidst this crisis, in the Paris Commune, Marat sent
8624-433: The salvation of France rested upon ordinary citizens taking up arms against potential traitors. The very next day the massacres began, and within 24 hours, 1,000 people had been killed. Jean-Paul Marat , heading the surveillance committee of the Commune, immediately started the mass dissemination of a notice imploring all patriots to eliminate counter-revolutionaries themselves as soon as possible, and Jean-Lambert Tallien ,
8722-495: The secretary of the commune, called for an expansion of the mass action beyond Paris as a patriotic duty. A huge wave of violence followed, often organised through revolutionary sections, and the prison population was halved through the massacres. However, for all the rhetoric of dangerous political prisoners posing a threat to Paris, only a minority were political prisoners, and the vast majority were not political prisoners (72%), in fact some of them were children. The after-effects of
8820-411: The sole power to create laws, the substantive extent of this power depends on details of the political system. In Westminster-style legislatures the executive (composed of the cabinet) can essentially pass any laws it wants, as it usually has a majority of legislators behind it, kept in check by the party whip, while committee-based legislatures in continental Europe and those in presidential systems of
8918-400: The stability of the power structure by co-opting potential competing interests within the elites, which they achieve by: Each chamber of the legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a certain number of legislators present to carry out these activities; this is called
9016-442: The subnational law-making power, as opposed to purely administrative responsibilities. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as primary legislation. In addition, legislatures may observe and steer governing actions, with authority to amend the budget involved. The members of a legislature are called legislators. In a democracy, legislators are most commonly popularly elected , although indirect election and appointment by
9114-526: Was an upheaval in women’s political involvement which started with the Parisian Women's March on Versailles in 1789. Women were also involved in political discussions. For example, the Jacobin Club was for men only, however, their public meetings were open to everyone. Even though women did not speak on the stage, attending and voicing their support of or disagreement with certain speakers was
9212-551: Was appointed as procureur of the commune , representing the King, gave a speech warning against anarchy. Early March the Paris Department was placed above the Commune in all matters of general order and security. According to Jan ten Brink it had the right to suspend the Commune's decisions and to dispose of the army against her in case of emergency. The distinctions between an active and passive citizen were abolished by
9310-527: Was composed of 48,000 citizens) and a Commune that would have its own assembly which named itself L'Assemblée Générale des Électeurs de la Commune de Paris and was established on 11 July, just days before the Bastille was stormed on 14 July. On 20 July, each district of Paris elected 2 representatives, creating an assembly of 120 representatives who primarily came from the Third Estate . In Spring 1790
9408-452: Was not unusual at the time for most working-class and middle-class women, however, it significantly influenced those more wealthy who liked to be involved and could exercise some influence through their salons or their husbands. The 1791 Constitution acknowledged that marriage was a civil contract, and with time divorce became a possibility. In the early 1790s women also gained an opportunity to legally inherit property. In general, there
9506-427: 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
9604-519: Was turned into a hexacameral body in 1967. Legislatures vary widely in their size. Among national legislatures , China's National People's Congress is the largest with 2,980 members, while Vatican City 's Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7. Neither legislature is democratically elected: The Pontifical Commission members are appointed by the Pope and the National People's Congress
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