Thi article is about a legislative body and constitutional convention during the French Revolution. The term national convention also refers, in the United States, to the presidential nominating conventions.

During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from September 20, 1792 to October 26, 1795 (the 4th of Brumaire of the year IV). It was succeeded by the Directory, commencing November 2, 1795. The History of France has been divided into a series of separate historical articles navigable through the template to the right. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (Latin Gallia, Greek Galatia) was the region of Western Europe occupied by present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river. ... Gaul in the Roman Empire Roman Gaul consisted of an area of provincial rule in what would become modern day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and western Germany. ... For other uses, see Franks (disambiguation). ... France in the Middle Ages roughly corresponds to modern day France from the death of Charlemagne in 814 to the middle of the 15th century. ... Early Modern France is the portion of French history that falls in the early modern period from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century (or from the French Renaissance to the eve of the French Revolution). ... The history of France in Modern Times I (1792-1920) extends from the fall of the Ancien Régime and the proclamation of the First French Republic on 1792 September 21 to the demission of the French wartime Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau on 1920 January 18. ... The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a pivotal period in the history of French, European and Western civilization. ... The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 (French: Etats-Généraux de 1789) was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly consisting of representatives from all but the poorest segment of the French citizenry. ... During the French Revolution, the National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale) was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly that existed from June 17 to July 9 of 1789. ... Combatants French government Parisian militia (ancestor of Frances National Guard) Commanders Bernard-René de Launay† Prince de Lambesc Camille Desmoulins Strength 114 soldiers, 30 artillery pieces 600 - 1,000 insurgents Casualties 1 98 The Storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789 was an important symbolic development in the... The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on July 9, 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. ... The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on July 9, 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. ... The French Revolution was a period in the history of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church perforce underwent radical restructuring. ... The French Revolution was a period in the history of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church perforce underwent radical restructuring. ... During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from October 1, 1791 to September 1792. ... The French Revolution was a period in the history of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church perforce underwent radical restructuring. ... The Reign of Terror (5 September 1793 – 28 July 1794) or simply The Terror (French: la Terreur) was a period in the French Revolution characterized by brutal repression. ... Executive Directory (in French Directoire exécutif), commonly known as the Directory (or Directoire) held executive power in France from November 2, 1795 until November 10, 1799: from the end of the Convention to the beginning of the Consulate. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This is a glossary of the French Revolution. ... Timeline of the French Revolution. ... Combatants Kingdom of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Spain, Russia, Sardinia France The French Revolutionary Wars occurred between the outbreak of war between the French Revolutionary government and Austria in 1792 and the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. ... This is a partial list of people involved in the French Revolution. ... The historiography of the French Revolution stretches back two hundred years to the event itself. ... The First French Empire, commonly known as the French Empire or the Napoleonic Empire, covers the period of the domination of France and much of continental Europe by Napoleon I of France. ... Following the ouster of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1814, the Allies restored the Bourbon Dynasty to the French throne. ... The July Monarchy was established in France with the reign of Louis Philippe of France. ... The French Second Republic (often simply Second Republic) was the republican regime of France from February 25, 1848 to December 2, 1852. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... The French Third Republic, (in French, La Troisième République, sometimes written as La IIIe République) (1870/75-10 July 1940) was the governing body of France between the Second French Empire and the Vichy Regime. ... The History of France from 1914 to the present, includes the later years of the Third French Republic (1871-1941), the Vichy Regime (1940-1944), the years after Libération (1944-1946), the French Fourth Republic (1946-1958) and the French Fifth Republic (since 1958) and also includes World War... A constitutional convention is a gathering of delegates for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. ... The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a pivotal period in the history of French, European and Western civilization. ... Speeches by important party figures are key features of the convention; here, former President Jimmy Carter addresses the 2004 Democratic National Convention. ... The French Revolution (1789–1799) was a pivotal period in the history of French, European and Western civilization. ... Assembly may refer to the following things: In politics, any body meeting together to discuss matters, a parliament or a legislative assembly such as the French revolutionary Legislative Assembly, or a body more designed to mediate between otherwise independent bodies, such as the United Nations General Assembly. ... September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining. ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Executive Directory (in French Directoire exécutif), commonly known as the Directory (or Directoire) held executive power in France from November 2, 1795 until November 10, 1799: from the end of the Convention to the beginning of the Consulate. ... November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

Formation

During the insurrection of 10 August 1792, when the populace of Paris stormed the Tuileries and demanded the abolition of the monarchy, the Legislative Assembly decreed the provisional suspension of King Louis XVI and the convocation of a "national convention" which should draw up a constitution. At the same time it was decided that the deputies to that convention should be elected by all Frenchmen 25 years old or more, domiciled for a year and living by the product of their labour. The National Convention was therefore the first French assembly elected by universal male suffrage, without distinctions of class. The age limit of the electors was further lowered to 21, and that of eligibility was fixed at 25 years. On August 10, 1792, during the French Revolution, a mob – with the backing of a new municipal government of Paris that came to be known as the insurrectionary Paris Commune – besieged the Tuileries palace. ... August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) Administration Subdivisions 20 arrondissements Département Paris (75) Région ÃŽle-de-France Mayor Bertrand Delanoë (PS) City (commune) Characteristics Land Area 86. ... Up to 1871 the Tuileries Palace was a palace in Paris, France, on the right bank of the River Seine. ... Places where monarchies maintain rule appear in blue. ... During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to September 1792. ... Louis XVI (23 August 1754–21 January 1793) was King of France and Navarre from 1774 until 1791, and then King of the French from 1791 to 1792. ... Metro Toronto Convention Centre, late 2004. ...

The first session was held on 20 September 1792. The following day royalty was abolished: the formal end of the French monarchy. A little over a year later, 22 September would become the base date of the new French Revolutionary Calendar, the beginning of the Year I of the French Republic. September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... The French Revolutionary Calendar or French Republican Calendar is a calendar proposed during the French Revolution, and in use by the French government for 13 years from 1793. ... The term Year One can just mean the beginning of something, but in political history it usually refers to the institution of radical, revolutionary change. ...

Revolutionary government

The Convention lasted for three years. The country was at war, and it seemed best to postpone the implementation of the new constitution until peace should be concluded. At the same time as the Convention prolonged its powers it extended them considerably in order to meet the pressing dangers which menaced the Republic. Combatants Kingdom of Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Spain, Russia, Sardinia France The French Revolutionary Wars occurred between the outbreak of war between the French Revolutionary government and Austria in 1792 and the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. ... In a broad definition, a republic is a state or country that is led by people whose political power is based on principles that are not beyond the control of the people of that state or country. ...

Though a legislative assembly, it took over the executive power, entrusting it to its own members. This "confusion of powers", contrary to the philosophical theories — those of Montesquieu especially — which had inspired the Revolution at first, was one of the essential characteristics of the Convention. The series of exceptional measures by which that confusion of powers was created constitutes the "Revolutionary government" in the strict sense of the word, a government which was principally in vigour during the period called the "Reign of Terror". It is thus necessary to distinguish, in the work of the Convention, the temporary expedients from measures intended to be permanent. The executive is the branch of a government charged with implementing, or executing, the law and running the day-to-day affairs of the government or state. ... Portrait of Montesquieu in 1728. ... The Reign of Terror (5 September 1793 – 28 July 1794) or simply The Terror (French: la Terreur) was a period in the French Revolution characterized by brutal repression. ...

Structure and membership

The Convention held its first session in a hall of the Tuileries, then it sat in the Salle du Manège, and finally from 10 May 1793 in that of the Spectacles (or Machine), an immense hall in which the deputies were but loosely scattered. This last hall had tribunes for the public, who often influenced the debate by interruptions or by applause. Before the French Revolution, the Salle du Manège (Hall of Manège) at Tuileries Palace in Paris was home to the royal equestrian academy. ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Tribune (from the Latin: tribunus; Greek form tribounos) was a title shared by several elected magistracies and other governmental and/or (para)military offices of the Roman Republic and Empire. ...

The members of the Convention came from all classes of society, but the most numerous were lawyers. Seventy-five members had sat in the National Constituent Assembly, 183 in the Legislative Assembly. The full number of deputies was 749, not counting 33 from the colonies, of whom only some arrived in Paris. Besides these, however, the newly-formed départements annexed to France from 1792 to 1795 were allowed to send deputations. Many of the original deputies died or were exiled during the Convention, but not all their places were filled by suppléants. Some members proscribed during the Terror returned after 9 Thermidor. Finally, many members were sent away, either to the départments or to the armies, on missions which lasted sometimes for a considerable length of time. For all these reasons it is difficult to find out the number of deputies present at any given date, for votes by roll-call were rare. During the Terror the number of those voting averaged only 250. The National Constituent Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale constituante) was formed from the National Assembly on July 9, 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. ... During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from 1 October 1791 to September 1792. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to English counties. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Thermidorian Reaction. ...

According to its own ruling, the Convention elected its president every fortnight. He was eligible for re-election after the lapse of a fortnight. Ordinarily the sessions were held in the morning, but evening sessions also occurred frequently, often extending late into the night. Sometimes in exceptional circumstances the Convention declared itself in permanent session and sat for several days without interruption. For both legislative and administrative purposes the Convention used committees, with powers more or less widely extended and regulated by successive laws. The most famous of these committees included the Committee of Public Safety (Comité de salut public), the Committee of General Security (Comité de sûreté générale), and the Committee of Education, (Comité de l’instruction). A committee is a (relatively) small group that can serve one of several functions: Governance: in organizations too large for all the members to participate in decisions affecting the organization as a whole, a committee (such as a Board of Directors) is given the power to make decisions. ... The Committee of Public Safety (French: Comité de salut public), set up by the National Convention on April 6, 1793, formed the de facto executive government of France during the Reign of Terror (1793 - 1794) of the French Revolution. ... The Committee of General Security (French: Comité de sûreté générale) was the committee set up by National Convention during the French Revolution for surveillance of the police force. ...

Legacy

The article on the Convention in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica concludes, "The Convention achieved immense changes in all branches of French public affairs. To appreciate its work without prejudice, one should recall that this assembly saved France from a civil war and invasion, that it founded the system of public education (Museum, École Polytechnique, École Normale Supérieure, École des Langues orientales, Conservatoire), created institutions of capital importance, like that of the Grand Livre de la Dette publique, and definitely established the social and political gains of the Revolution." Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ... A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight for political power or control of an area. ... For other Écoles Polytechniques, see École Polytechnique de Montréal and École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. ... The quadrangle at the main ENS building on rue dUlm is known as the Cour aux Ernests – the Ernests being the goldfish in the pond. ... A music school or conservatory is an institution dedicated to teaching the art of music, including playing of musical instruments, musical composition, musicianship, music history and music theory. ...

See also

• The Legislative Assembly and the fall of the French monarchy
• Girondist
• The Mountain
• Georges Jacques Danton
• Maximilien Robespierre
• Marat

The French Revolution was a period in the history of France covering the years 1789 to 1799, in which republicans overthrew the Bourbon monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church perforce underwent radical restructuring. ... The Girondists (in French Girondins, and sometimes Brissotins), comprised a political faction in France within the Legislative Assembly and the National Convention during the French Revolution. ... The Mountain (in French La Montagne) refers in the context of the history of the French Revolution to a political group, whose members, called Montagnards, sat on the highest benches in the Assembly. ... Georges Jacques Danton (October 26, 1759 - April 5, 1794) was a leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution. ... Anonymous Portrait of Maximilien Robespierre c. ... Jean-Paul Marat Marat redirects here. ...

External links

• Presidents of the National Convention: 1792-1795

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, in turn, gives the following references:

References from the 1911 Britannica article

The Convention published a Procès-verbal of its sessions, which, although lacking the value of those published by later assemblies, forms an official document of capital importance. Copies of it are rare, however, and it has been too much neglected by historians. See:

• F. A. Aulard, Recueil des actes du comité de Salut Public avec la correspondance officielle des représentants en mission, et le registre du conseil exécutif provisoire (Paris, 1889 et seq.)
• M. J. Guillaume, Procès-verbaux du comité d’Instruction Publique de la Convention Nationale (Paris, 1891 - 1904, 5 vols. 4to)
• F. A. Aulard, Histoire politique de la Révolution francaise (Paris, 1903)
• Mortimer-Ternaux, Histoire de la Terreur (1862 - 1881), a work based on and comprising documents, but written with strong royalist bias
• Eugene Despois, Le Vandalisme révolutionnaire (1868), for the scientific work of the Convention.

A detailed bibliography of the documents relating to the Convention is given in the Repertoire général des sources manuscrites de l'histoire de Paris pendant la Revolution française, vol. viii. &c. (1908), edited by A. Tueléy under the auspices of the municipality of Paris. For a more summary bibliography see Jean Maurice Tourneux, Bibliographie de l'histoire de Paris pendant la Revolution française, i. 89-95 (Paris, 1890). François Victor Alphonse Aulard (July 19, 1849 - October 23, 1928), was a French historian. ... Jean Maurice Tourneux (July 12, 1849 - 1917), French man of letters and bibliographer, son of the artist and author JFE Tourneux, was born in Paris. ...