Social Structure
Louis Accepts the Constitution (14–25 September 1791)
Even after the debacle of the flight to Varennes, the King’s brothers—the Counts of Provence and of Artois—continued to plot from exile for a military strike that would dispel the National Assembly before it could adopt the new constitution.
Press Reports of the King’s Flight: Révolutions de Paris (25 June 1791) and Père Duchesne (1791)
The news of the King’s flight and subsequent arrest provoked strong responses in the press, most of which attacked Louis as a traitor and questioned the National Assembly’s acceptance of his excuse that he had been "kidnapped." The Revolutions of Paris, previously somewhat supportive of the King,
Louis Apologizes (27 June 1791)
Louis’s unsuccessful flight polarized opinion on the powers the King should have under the new constitution. For the first time, some deputies seriously proposed doing away with the monarchy altogether and declaring a republic.
The Flight to Varennes (21–23 June 1791)
After a late start, the royal family followed a circuitous route through a series of small towns in the countryside. However, things started to go awry near the city of Châlons, where the loyal soldiers due to escort the royal family were not to be found.
The King Flees Paris (20 June 1791)
After 14 July, some of the King’s entourage had urged him to flee so that he would not have to approve a new Constitution.
Desmoulins: A Radical’s View of the Constitutional Monarch (May 1790)
In the spring of 1790, there was much debate in the Constituent Assembly and in the press over who should have the power to declare war or peace under the new constitution—the King or the legislature?
The October Days (1789)
In the fall of 1789, speeches filled the air in Versailles, and a river of pamphlets and newspapers flooded Paris; however, grain remained in short supply. On 5 October, several hundred women staged a protest against the high price of bread at the City Hall.
Marat: The King Is a Friend of the People (29 December 1790 and 17 February 1791)
Through his newspaper, the Friend of the People, Jean–Paul Marat was one of the leading radical voices of the early years of the Revolution.
The New World and the Old: An American at the Opening of the Estates–General (May 1789)
On 5 May 1789, the deputies of all three orders convened before the King as the Estates–General. In attendance, among other visiting foreign dignitaries, was the American Gouverneur Morris, who recorded his observations in a diary.
The King Seeks Foreign Assistance (20 November 1790)
Despite a show of support for the Revolution, by the fall of 1790, the royal family and its entourage increasingly felt that the changes of the past eighteenth months had cost them their dignity and power.