Historical Context for DDFC

The National Assembly tries to establish a new France by applying the principles derived from the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (DDHC), notably:

• the law above all (with the implementation of a fundamental law that applies to everyone and defines the organization of power, the political system, and the rights of citizens)
• the sovereignty of the nation
• fundamental freedoms

This society was particularly hierarchical and organized as it was divided into 3 estates: the clergy, the nobility, and the third estate:

• the clergy: "those who pray"
• the nobility: "those who fight"
• the third estate: "those who work"

The storming of the Bastille puts an end to the authority of the king and his submission to the decisions of the National Assembly. Indeed, he is forced to accept the creation of a National Guard led by General Lafayette, the appointment of Bailly as mayor of Paris, the withdrawal of royal troops from Paris, the recall of Necker, and he is also forced to wear the revolutionary cockade.

Following this event, the deputies during the night of August 4th to 5th then abolished the privileges of the nobility and the clergy, as well as feudal rights. This marks the end of the Estates system in favor of equality.

By enunciating new principles, the DDHC puts an end to the old regime that had already been established by the Tennis Court Oath and the abolition of privileges. The DDHC proposes a political rebuild since the king is no longer sovereign, but the nation is through the National Assembly. The DDHC also proposes a social rebuild since the individual is no longer a subject of the king but a citizen of the nation, the Estates system no longer exists, and fundamental rights and freedoms are enunciated such as equality (before the law) and freedom of opinion, expression, belief...

On October 5th and 6th, 1789, Parisians go to Versailles because they have social demands (they want bread), symbolic demands (recognition of the patriotic cockade as a symbol of the revolutionary process), and political demands (acceptance by signatures of the constitution, the abolition of privilege, the DDHC, and the transfer of political institutions and the king to Paris).

During the night of June 20th to 21st, 1791, the king, who did not accept the limitation of his powers, flees. He is recognized and arrested the next day in Varenne. This marks the beginning of political divisions between the supporters of the king, the Royalists, and those who demand the establishment of a republic, including the sans-culottes. The sans-culottes are those who wear the pants and breeches of the nobility.