In the New Society, Resistance Necessitated a Radical Response

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The new society unfolded in three distinct stages. The first, moderate stage(1789-1791) was essentially free from resistance, but when small turning points of resistance occurred, they foreshadowed a second, radical phase. This faced interlocking resistance, necessitating extreme responses to safeguard the revolution. Once resistance and thus the need for radical government subsided, a third conservative phase was introduced, devoid of violence The first moderate stage of the new society(1789-1791) saw reform met with broad acceptance, rather than resistance. Firstly, The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen(26/8/1789) ensured men were afforded ‘liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression,’ ensuring the basic human rights of all. Secondly, France’s chaotic jumble of administration was rationalised and decentralised into a equal system(26/2/1790), evoking almost universal acceptance, with support for a fairer system. These, added to judicial reform, where all men were equal under a fairer legal system, helped usher in a new era of support in France. However, the moderate stage of the new society was threatened by emerging turning points. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy(12/7/1791) created a crisis of conscience for religious Frenchmen, becoming the ‘first sign of popular resistance’(Rees) This, and and the attempted Flight to Varennes of Louis and his family(21/6/1791), catalysed the Champ De Mars massacre(17/7/1791), foreshadowing a new radical era, where growing resistance was met with radical responses. The second radical stage (1792-4) of the new society saw interlocking challenges and resistance, a force necessitating a violent and radical response to safeguard the revolution. War against Prussia and Austria, and the Brunswick Manifesto(25/7/1792), instilled fear into the people of Paris, a fear compounded by civil war in the

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