Eleanor Finch
The Constitution of 1791 was the first of several attempts to create a written constitution for France. It was inspired by Enlightenment theories and foreign political systems, including the American and British systems. The Marquis de Lafayette, for instance, proposed a combination of the two, introducing a bicameral parliament with the king having suspensive veto power, modelled on the authority recently vested in the President of the United States. The Constitution of 1791 was drafted by a committee of the National Assembly, a group of moderates who hoped to create a better form of royal government.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of creation | 1791 |
| Country | France |
| Type of government | Constitutional monarchy |
| Inspired by | Enlightenment theories, foreign political systems, and the United States Constitution |
| Main authors | Committee of the National Assembly, including Antoine Barnave, Adrien Duport, and Charles de Lameth |
| Rights protected | Rights of citizens, including freedom to speak, write, print, and worship |
| Powers defined | Structures and powers of government, rules and instructions for its operation |
| Legislative branch | National Assembly |
| Executive branch | King and royal ministers |
| Judicial branch | Independent judiciary |
| Local administration | Territory divided into several administrative units with a centralist principle |
| Bicameral legislature | Proposed by Marquis de Lafayette, with the king having a suspensive veto |
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What You'll Learn
- The French Constitution of 1791 was inspired by Enlightenment theories
- The US Constitution was drafted in 1787, four years before France's
- The French Constitution was also influenced by foreign political systems
- The British monarchy's power was constrained by its nobility and parliament
- The French Constitution was drafted by a committee of the National Assembly
The French Constitution of 1791 was inspired by Enlightenment theories
The French Constitution of 1791 was the first written constitution in France, created after the collapse of the absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime. It was drafted by a committee of the National Assembly, a group of moderates who aimed to create a better form of royal government, rather than something radically new.
The Constitution of 1791 was inspired by Enlightenment theories and foreign political systems. Enlightenment philosophers like John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Thomas Paine believed that governments must be founded on rational principles and organised in a way that best serves the people. They advocated for a written constitution that defined the structures and powers of government, as well as rules for its operation. The French revolutionaries looked to the American Constitution, which had recently been drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1788, as a model for their own. The American Constitution embraced several Enlightenment ideas, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's popular sovereignty and Montesquieu's separation of powers.
The French Constitution of 1791 aimed to redefine the organisation of the French government, citizenship, and the limits of governmental powers. It established the National Assembly as the legislative body, with the king and royal ministers forming the executive branch, and an independent judiciary. The constitution also amended King Louis XVI's title from 'King of France' to 'King of the French', signifying that his power emanated from the people and the law, rather than divine right or national sovereignty. The king retained certain powers, such as the right to form a cabinet and appoint ministers, and was granted a suspensive veto, which allowed him to deny assent to bills for up to five years.
The Constitution of 1791 faced controversies regarding the level of power granted to the king and the form of the legislature. The Constitutional Committee initially proposed a bicameral legislature, but this was defeated in favour of a unicameral system. The question of citizenship was also a complex issue, with a distinction made between 'active citizens' with political rights and 'passive citizens' with only civil rights. Despite these controversies and the rise of more radical political factions, the Constitution of 1791 represented a significant step towards constitutionality and popular sovereignty in France.
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The US Constitution was drafted in 1787, four years before France's
The US Constitution's first three articles embody the doctrine of the separation of powers, dividing the federal government into three branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. The legislative branch consists of the bicameral Congress, the executive branch consists of the president and subordinate officers, and the judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. The US Constitution also established a republican political system with an elected president as its chief executive, rather than a monarch.
The French Constitution of 1791, on the other hand, was inspired by Enlightenment theories and foreign political systems, including the US Constitution. The French Constitution was drafted by a committee of the National Assembly, a group of moderates who hoped to create a better form of royal government. It redefined the organisation of the French government, citizenship, and the limits to the powers of the government. The National Assembly asserted its legal presence in the French government by establishing its permanence in the Constitution and forming a system for recurring elections.
The French Constitution of 1791 gave the king a suspensive veto, allowing him to deny assent to bills for up to five years. This was intended to balance the interests of the people and the king, as the National Assembly feared that representative democracy would weaken the king's executive authority. However, by the time the French Constitution was adopted in 1791, it was already outdated due to the ongoing revolution and growing political radicalism.
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The French Constitution was also influenced by foreign political systems
The French Constitution of 1791 was the first of several attempts to create a written constitution for France. It was influenced by Enlightenment theories and foreign political systems, including those of Britain and the United States. The United States Constitution, drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1788, served as a working model for the French revolutionaries, embracing and codifying Enlightenment ideas such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's popular sovereignty and Montesquieu's separation of powers. The French Constitution aimed to redefine the organisation of the French government, citizenship, and the limits of governmental powers.
The Marquis de Lafayette, a member of the Constitutional Committee, proposed combining the American and British systems. This proposal included a bicameral parliament with the king retaining a suspensive veto power over the legislature, modelled on the authority of the President of the United States at the time. The committee's greatest controversy surrounded the issue of citizenship and whether every subject of the French Crown would be granted equal rights.
The Constitution of 1791 was drafted by a committee of the National Assembly, a group of moderates who sought to improve royal governance rather than implement radical changes. The National Assembly, as constitution-framers, allowed the king a suspensive veto to balance the interests of the people, recognising that representative democracy would weaken the king's executive authority. This constitution distinguished between propertied active citizens and poorer passive citizens, and it did not grant women rights and liberties, such as education, freedom of speech, writing, printing, and worship.
The National Assembly's belief in a sovereign nation and equal representation was reflected in the constitutional separation of powers. The Assembly formed the legislative branch, the king and royal ministers constituted the executive branch, and the judiciary remained independent. The Constitution of 1791 was accepted by King Louis XVI in September of that year, but it faced challenges due to the ongoing revolution and growing political radicalism.
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The British monarchy's power was constrained by its nobility and parliament
The French Constitution of 1791 was the first of several attempts to create a written constitution for France. Inspired by Enlightenment theories and foreign political systems, it was drafted by a committee of the National Assembly, a group of moderates who wanted to improve royal government rather than create something entirely new. The Constitution of 1791 was influenced by the American Constitution, which had been drafted in 1787 and ratified by the American states the following year, in the aftermath of the American Revolution. The American Constitution incorporated and codified several Enlightenment ideas, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau's popular sovereignty and Montesquieu's separation of powers.
The French Constitution of 1791 was also modelled after the British system, which had no written constitution, but the power of the British monarchy was constrained by its nobility and parliament. The British system embraced a balance of power between the monarch, parliament, aristocracy, and judiciary. The Marquis de Lafayette, for example, proposed a blend of the American and British systems, introducing a bicameral parliament with the king having suspensive veto power over the legislature, modelled on the authority recently vested in the President of the United States.
The idea that political power would sort itself out over time was not acceptable to Enlightenment philosophers. Philosophers such as John Locke, Baron de Montesquieu, and Thomas Paine believed that government must be founded on rational principles and organised in a way that defined and limited its power while protecting the rights of its citizens. The National Assembly in France shared this belief, and their constitution separated powers by establishing the legislative body, the executive branch led by the king and royal ministers, and an independent judiciary.
The Constitution of 1791 was not egalitarian by modern standards, as it distinguished between propertied active citizens and poorer passive citizens, and women lacked liberties such as education, freedom of speech, writing, printing, and worship. The constitution was reluctantly accepted by King Louis XVI in September 1791, and it redefined the organisation of the French government, citizenship, and the limits of governmental powers. However, by the time it was adopted, the constitution was already outdated due to the rapid pace of the revolution and the rise of political radicalism.
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The French Constitution was drafted by a committee of the National Assembly
The French Constitution of 1791 was the first of several attempts to create a written constitution for France. It was drafted by a committee of the National Assembly, a group of moderates who aimed to create a better form of royal government, rather than something radically new. The deputies of the Third Estate believed that any reforms to the French state must be outlined in and guaranteed by a written constitution. This document would become the fundamental law of the nation, defining and limiting the power of the government and protecting the rights of citizens.
The committee included two members from the First Estate (Champion de Cicé, Archbishop of Bordeaux, and Talleyrand, Bishop of Autun), two from the Second (the Comte de Clermont-Tonnerre and the Marquis de Lally-Tollendal), and four from the Third (Jean Joseph Mounier, Abbé Sieyès, Nicholas Bergasse, and Isaac René Guy le Chapelier). Talleyrand, Abbé Sieyès, and Le Chapelier were also part of the second Constitutional Committee, which quickly replaced the first. This new committee included five new members, all from the Third Estate: Gui-Jean-Baptiste Target, Jacques Guillaume Thouret, Jean-Nicolas Démeunier, François Denis Tronchet, and Jean-Paul Rabaut Saint-Étienne.
The greatest controversy faced by the second committee was the issue of citizenship. Would every subject of the French Crown be given equal rights, as the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen seemed to promise, or would there be some restrictions? The March on Versailles on 5–6 October, led by women from marketplaces around Paris, made this question even more complicated. In the end, a distinction was made between active citizens (over 25 years old, male, and paying direct taxes equal to three days' labour) with political rights, and passive citizens, who had only civil rights.
The constitution was not egalitarian by today's standards. It distinguished between propertied active citizens and poorer passive citizens, and women lacked rights and liberties such as education, freedom of speech, writing, printing, and worship. The National Assembly threaded between two options when drafting the Constitution: they could modify the existing, unwritten constitution centred on the three estates of the Estates General, or they could start over and rewrite it completely.
The Constitution of 1791 was inspired by Enlightenment theories and foreign political systems, particularly the American and British models. The French revolutionaries had a recent working model of a national constitution with the United States Constitution, which had been drafted in 1787 and ratified by the American states the following year, in the wake of the American Revolution. The Marquis de Lafayette proposed a combination of the American and British systems, introducing a bicameral parliament with the king having suspensive veto power over the legislature, modelled on the authority recently vested in the President of the United States.
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Frequently asked questions
The French Constitution of 1791 was inspired by Enlightenment theories and foreign political systems. It was influenced by the American and British systems, with the former providing a written model that codified several Enlightenment ideas, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's popular sovereignty and Montesquieu's separation of powers.
The Constitution of 1791 established a constitutional monarchy in France, with King Louis XVI reluctantly accepting the document in September of that year. It redefined the organisation of the French government, citizenship, and the limits of governmental power. It abolished many institutions that were deemed to be "injurious to liberty and equality of rights".
One of the main controversies was the issue of citizenship and whether every subject of the French Crown would be granted equal rights. Ultimately, a distinction was made between 'active citizens', who held political rights, and 'passive citizens', who had only civil rights. This distinction was based on property ownership, gender, and age, with women and poorer citizens lacking many rights and liberties.
By the time the Constitution of 1791 was adopted, it was already outdated due to the rapidly evolving events of the French Revolution and the rise of political radicalism. The document's attempt to balance representative democracy and monarchical power led to a constitutional impasse, as the king's suspensive veto power allowed him to veto legislative decrees and paralyse the Assembly.
