The Plain
The Plain La Plaine | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 6 September 1791 |
| Dissolved | 2 November 1795 |
| Headquarters | Tuileries Palace,[citation needed]Paris |
| Newspaper | Journal des débats[citation needed] |
| Ideology | Political syncretism |
| Colors | Grey |
The Plain(French:La Plaine), also known asThe Marsh(French:Le Marais), was the majority of independent deputies in theFrench National Conventionduring theFrench Revolution.[1][2][3][4]They sat between theGirondistson theirrightandMontagnards( "The Mountain" ) on theirleft.Their name arises from the fact their benches were by the debating floor, lower down from the Montagnards.[3][4]Its members were also known asMaraisards,or derogatorilyToads(French:"crapauds du Marais") as toads live in marshes.[5]
None of these three groups was anorganized partyas is known today. The Mountain and the Girondists did consist of individuals with similar views and agendas who socialized together and often coordinated political plans. However, The Plain consisted of uncommitted delegates that did not adhere to a single ideology,[6]were not part of any political club[3]and lacked leadership.[3]They constituted the majority of delegates to the Convention at 389 of 749[6]and voted with the Girondists or the Mountain depending on the persuasiveness of arguments on single issues,[4]current circumstances and mood of the Convention. They initially sided with the Girondists,[6]but by 1793 many backed the Mountain[6]in executingLouis XVIand inaugurating theTerror.The January 4 address by Plain memberBertrand Barère[4]is credited in part for rallying undecided fellow members against the king.[7]
Nearly all those elected to theCommittee for Public Safetyin 1793 were members of The Plain, including the popular Barère.[8]
Later in 1794 disaffected members of the Mountain led byJean-Lambert Tallienmade a pact with leaders of the PlainJulien-François Palasne de Champeaux,François Antoine de Boissy d'AnglasandPierre-Toussaint Durand de Maillaneto end the Terror,[9][10][11]ultimately inaugurating theThermidorian Reaction.
Other notable members in 1792 includedEmmanuel Joseph Sieyès,[4]Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès,Antoine Claire Thibaudeau,Henri Grégoire,Philippe-Antoine Merlin de Douai,Louis Gustave le Doulcet de Pontécoulant,Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux,dramatistMarie-Joseph ChénierandJacques-Antoine Dulaurewho later sat with the Girondists.[12]Pierre Claude François Daunouwho associated with the Girondists has also been regarded as part of The Plain.[12]
Electoral results[edit]
| Legislative Assembly | |||||
| Election year | No. of overall votes |
% of overall vote |
No. of overall seats won |
+/– | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1791 | 1,978,000 (1st) | 46.3 | 345 / 745
|
New
|
|
| National Convention | |||||
| 1792 | 1,747,200 (1st) | 51.9 | 389 / 749
|
 44 |
|
| Legislative Body | |||||
| 1795 | Did not participate | Did not participate | 200 / 750
|
 189 |
|
References[edit]
Notes
- ^Gabourd, Amédée (1859).Histoire de la révolution et de l'empire(in French). Vol. 3. Paris: Jacques Lecoffre et Cie. p. 4.
- ^Guadet, J (1889).Les Girondins: leur vie privée, leur vie publique, leur proscription et leur mort(in French). Paris: Perrin et Cie. p. 244.
- ^abcdBernard, Jack F. (1973).Talleyrand: a biography.New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. p. 106.ISBN0-399-11022-4.
- ^abcdeSchama, Simon(1989).Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution.New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 648.ISBN0-394-55948-7.
- ^Gabourd 1859,p. 456.
- ^abcdLlewellyn, Jennifer; Thompson, Steve (August 13, 2020)."Girondins and Montagnards".Alpha History.Retrieved April 16, 2021
- ^Schama 1989,p. 661.
- ^Gershoy, Leo (1962).Bertrand Barère: A Reluctant Terrorist.New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 156.
- ^Durand de Maillane, Pierre Toussaint (1825).Histoire de la Convention nationale(in French). Paris: Baudouin frères. p. 199.
- ^Vivien, L. (1842). P.M. Pourrat freres (ed.).Histoire generale de la revolution francaise, de l'empire, de la Restauration, de la monarchie de 1830, jusques et compris 1841(in French). Vol. 3. Paris: Bourgogne et Martinet. pp. 317–8.
- ^Mathiez, Albert (1985).La Révolution française: La Terreur(in French). Vol. 3. Paris: Éditions Denoël. pp. 242–3.Retrieved April 16, 2021
- ^abGabourd 1859,p. 7.
Bibliography
- WillandAriel Durant(1975).The Age of Napoleon.New York: Simon and Schuster.
- Sylvia Neely (2008).A Concise History of the French Revolution.Lanham – Boulder – New York – Toronto – Plymouth, United Kingdom: Rowman Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
- Simon Schama(1989).Citizens.New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
