Reform and Revolution: what, if anything, distinguishes one from the other?

What kinds of “reform” were proposed, debated, and introduced in Europe after 1760?

Is revolution simply reform brought about by violent means?

The Enlightenment and Reform, 1750-1788

Nature as Guide and Object of Imitation

Rousseau’s Emile 1762

The Good Mother

Unnatural restrictions, 17th century

Natural freedom

“Here is the rule of nature” from

Rousseau‘s Emile

The child-centered family

Who is this mother?

1. Lady Marlbourough2. An idealized portrait of an

aristocratic mother & children3. Queen Charlotte, wife of George III4. Vigee le Brun 5. Marie-Antoinette, Queen of

France

Varieties of Political Reform in the later 18th century

Catherine the Great (1762-1796)

Russia: Catharine II's Charter of the Nobility, 1785

1. The noble calling is the result, rising out of the qualities and virtues of men who held high office in the past, and distinguished themselves by their merits, by which they transformed the service itself into a dignity, and won for their descendants the noble appellation.2. It is not only useful for the empire and the throne, but also just, to preserve and firmly establish the honorable estate of the well -born no bility; and hence the dignity of nobility shall remain inalienable from oldest times to the present, and for all time by inheritance to the descendants of those families that now enjoy it, as follows:3· The nobleman transmits his noble status to his wife.4· The nobleman transmits his well- born noble status by inheritance to his children.8. Without judicial proceedings no well - born person can lose noble. status.9- Without judicial proceedings no well - born person can lose his honor.1 o. Without judicial proceedings no well -born person can lose his life;.11. Without judicial proceedings no well-born person can lose his property.12. The well - born person can be judged only by his peers.15. Corporal punishment may not be inflicted on any well-born person.16. Noblemen serving in the lower ranks of our Army shall be liable only to such punishments as our military regulations prescribe for higher officers.17. We guarantee independence and freedom to the Russian nobility for all time, by inheritance in future generations. .18. We guarantee to noblemen, now in our service, the right either to con tinue in service or to apply for release from it according to regulations now in effect.19- We guarantee permission to noblemen to enter the service of otherEuropean powers allied with us, and to travel in foreign lands.20 [Duty of nobles to defend the state. .]21. The well - born person has the right to sign his name [as owner of a landed estate 33· Well - born persons, in accordance with the ukaz of June 28, 1ih are confirmed in the right to possess, not only the surface of the lands be longing to them, but also whatever minerals or plants may be present in the depths beneath the soil or waters, and likewise , all metals extracted therefrom. . . .34 Well-born persons are confirmed in the right to possess the forests on their estates, and in the right of free use of these forests. . . ..35· In the villages the house of the lord shall be exempt from military quar tering.36 The well - born person is himself freed from personal taxes.

From the Grand Instructions, 17689. The Sovereign is absolute; for there is no other Authority but that which centers in his single Person, that can act with a Vigour proportionate to the Extent of such a vast Dominion.12. Another Reason is: That it is better to be subject to the Laws under one Master, than to be subservient to many.34. The Equality of the Citizens consists in this; that they should all be subject to the same Laws.39. The political Liberty of a Citizen is the Peace of Mind arising from the Conscious ness, that every Individual enjoys his peculiar Safety; and in order that the People might attain this Liberty, the Laws ought to be so framed, that no one Citizen should stand in Fear of another; but that all of them should stand in Fear of the same Laws.

Frederick II, King of Prussia (1740-88)The Prussian General Code, 1791

77. The welfare of the state in general, and of its inhabitants in particular, is the aim of civil society and the general objective of the laws.79. The laws and ordinances of the state should restrict ~he natural liberty and rights of citizens no further than the general welfare demands.89. The rights of man arise from his birth, from his estate, and from actions and arrangements with which the laws have associated a certain determinate effect.

Part II: Title IX: On tilt: Duties and Rights of the Noble EstateI. The nobility, as the first estate in the state, most especially bears the obligation, by its distinctive destination, to maintain the defense of the state, both of its honor without and of its constitution within.PRIVILEGES OF THE NOBILITY34. Persons of the nobility are normally subject to the jurisdiction only of the highest court in the province.35. The nobleman has an especial right to places of honor in the state for which he has made himself fit.36. But the sovereign retains the power to be the judge of fitness and make selection from among candidates.37. Only the nobleman has the right to possess noble properly.40. Only the resident nobility normally have the right to appear in the noble assemblies of circles and provinces, and to have a voice on matters under consideration there.51. Persons of the burgher estate cannot own noble property except by permission of the sovereign.

From Frederick II. Essay on the Forms of GovernmentPrinces, sovereigns, and kings have not been given supreme authority in order to live in luxurious self-indulgence and debauchery. They have not been elevated by their fellow-men to enable them to strut about and to insult with their pride the simple-mannered, the poor, and the suffering. They have not been placed at the head of the State to keep around themselves a crowd of idle loafers whose uselessness drives them towards vice. The bad administration which may be found in monarchies springs from many different causes, but their principal cause lies in the character of the sovereign. A ruler addicted o women will become a tool of his mistresses and favorites. and these will abuse their power and commit wrongs of every kind, will protect vice, sell offices, and perpetrate every infamy . ...The sovereign is the representative of his State. He and his peopleform a single body. Ruler and ruled can be happy only if they arefirmly united. The sovereign stands to his people in the same relationin which the head stands to the body. He must use his eyes and hisbrain for the whole community, and act on its behalf to the commonadvantage.

Jean Jacques Rousseau(1712-1778)

The Unnaturalness of InequalityDiscourse on the Origins of Inequality (1752)

What was Rousseau’s definition of freedom?

1. The right to do anything that does not harm another.

2. The right to secure one’s property and person against arbitrary actions of a monarch or state?

3. The right to resist unjust laws.4. None of the above.

Jean Jacques Rousseau(1712-1778)

Social Contract 1762

“I wish to enquire whether, taking men as they arc and laws as they can be made, it is possible to establish some just and certain rule of administration in civil affairs. In this investigation I shall always strive to reconcile what right permits with what interest prescribes, so that justice and utility may not be severed ....”

“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. Many a one believes himself themaster of others, and yet he is a greater slave than they. How has this change comeabout? I do not know. What can render it legitimate? I believe that I can settle thisquestion.”

"Each of us puts in common his person and his whole power under the supreme direction of the general will; and in return we receive every member as an indivisible part of the whole.“

“Now, the sovereign, being formed only of the individuals that compose it, neitherhas nor can have any interest contrary to theirs; consequently the sovereign powerneeds no guarantee towards its subjects, because it is impossible that the body shouldwish to injure all its members; and we shall see hereafter that it can injure no one asan individual.”

“that whoever refuses to obey the general will shall be constrained to do so by the whole body; which means nothing else than that he shall be forced to be free;

Other key ideas:

Freedom: the duty to obey laws one has had a hand in making.

The General Will: “Thus, by the nature of the compact, every act of sovereignty, that is, every authentic act of the general will, binds or favours equally all the citizens; so that thesovereign knows only the body of the nation, and distinguishes none of those thatcompose it.”

Reduction of inequality: Because great degrees of inequality will weaken the social contract and undermine the General Will, the state should intervene when necessary to reduce inequality.

The Unnaturalness of InequalityDiscourse on the Origins of Inequality (1752)

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen- 1789 Approved by the National Assembly of France, August 26, 1789 Articles:1. Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good. 2. The aim of all political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression. 3. The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body nor individual may exercise any authority which does not proceed directly from the nation. 4. Liberty consists in the freedom to do everything which injures no one else; hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which assure to the other members of the society the enjoyment of the same rights. These limits can only be determined by law. 5. Law can only prohibit such actions as are hurtful to society. Nothing may be prevented which is not forbidden by law, and no one may be forced to do anything not provided for by law. 6. Law is the expression of the general will. Every citizen has a right to participate personally, or through his representative, in its foundation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities, and without distinction except that of their virtues and talents. 7. No person shall be accused, arrested, or imprisoned except in the cases and according to the forms prescribed by law. Any one soliciting, transmitting, executing, or causing to be executed, any arbitrary order, shall be punished. But any citizen summoned or arrested in virtue of the law shall submit without delay, as resistance constitutes an offense. 8. The law shall provide for such punishments only as are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one shall suffer punishment except it be legally inflicted in virtue of a law passed and promulgated before the commission of the offense. 9. As all persons are held innocent until they shall have been declared guilty, if arrest shall be deemed indispensable, all harshness not essential to the securing of the prisoner's person shall be severely repressed by law. 10. No one shall be disquieted on account of his opinions, including his religious views, provided their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law. 11. The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law. 12. The security of the rights of man and of the citizen requires public military forces. These forces are, therefore, established for the good of all and not for the personal advantage of those to whom they shall be entrusted. 13. A common contribution is essential for the maintenance of the public forces and for the cost of administration. This should be equitably distributed among all the citizens in proportion to their means. 14. All the citizens have a right to decide, either personally or by their representatives, as to the necessity of the public contribution; to grant this freely; to know to what uses it is put; and to fix the proportion, the mode of assessment and of collection and the duration of the taxes. 15. Society has the right to require of every public agent an account of his administration. 16. A society in which the observance of the law is not assured, nor the separation of powers defined, has no constitution at all. 17. Since property is an inviolable and sacred right, no one shall be deprived thereof except where public necessity, legally determined, shall clearly demand it, and then only on condition that the owner shall have been previously and equitably indemnified.

Rousseau and the French Revolution

Which of the following ideas of Rousseau were incorporated in the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789? Rousseau’s idea of

1. freedom2. participation3. Inequality/equality4. the General Will5. public interest vs. private interest6. all of the above

Enter the number (s) for all that you think were incorporated.

Causes of the French Revolution1. International: struggle for hegemony and Empire outstrips the fiscal resources of the state2. Political conflict: conflict between the Monarchy and Aristocrats over the “reform” of the tax system led to paralysis and bankruptcy.3. The Enlightenment: impulse for reform intensifies political conflicts; reinforces traditional aristocratic constitutionalism, one variant of which was laid out in Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws; introduces new notions of good government, the most radical being popular sovereignty, as in Rousseau’s Social Contract [1762])4. Social antagonisms between two rising groups: the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie5. Ineffective ruler: Louis XVI6. Economic hardship, especially the agrarian crisis of 1788-89 generates popular discontent and disorders caused by food shortages.

Which do you think are the four most important causes from this list? (enter the numbers)