Louis 1789: A Summary And Analysis

Yolo now characterize it as a duplicitous and hysterical over-reaction which deliberately made capital out of a private tragedy in the royal family. Other historians have argued that given political tensions in France at that time, the deputies ' fears, even if wrong, were reasonable and that the importance of the oath goes above and beyond its context.[3]
The deputies pledged to continue to meet until the constitution had been written, despite the royal prohibition. The oath was both a revolutionary act, and an assertion that political authority derived from the people and their representatives rather than from the monarch himself. Their solidarity forced Louis XVI to order the clergy and the nobility to join with the Third Estate in the
National Assembly.[1]
Significance[edit source]
The Oath signified the first time that French citizens formally stood in opposition to Louis XVI, and the National Assembly 's refusal to back down forced the king to make concessions.
The Oath also inspired a wide variety of revolutionary activity in the months afterwards, ranging from rioting across the French countryside to renewed calls for a written French constitution. Likewise, it reinforced the Assembly 's strength and forced the King to formally request that voting occur based on head, not order.[citation needed]
Moreover, the Oath communicated in unambiguous fashion the idea that the deputies of the National Assembly were declaring themselves the supreme state power. From this point forward, Louis XVI would find the Crown increasingly unable to rest upon monarchical traditions of divine right. In terms of his political sympathies, Louis XVI was noticeably more liberal than any of his predecessors or immediate family. However, given personal circumstances and the death of his son, he had badly mismanaged the mood of the Assembly.[4]
As well as bolstering the Left and reformist movement, the Oath also galvanized the French Right. In royalist and conservative circles, the oath was seen as an indicator of the Assembly 's commitment to anarchy and it was felt that a more robust form of counter-revolutionary politics were needed to ensure the survival of the
monarchy.[3]
Painting[edit source]
Christophe Antoine Gerle is one of the three men in the middle, with whom he discussed the balance between state and religion. The only deputy recorded as not taking the oath was Joseph Martin-Dauch from Castelnaudary.[5] He can be seen on the right of David 's sketch, seated with his arms crossed and his head bowed.[citation needed] This drawing was originally intended to be a print for a commissioned painting, but the painting was never finished.[citation needed]
References[edit source]

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a b Doyle, William (1990). The Oxford History of the French Revolution. Oxford University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0192852212.
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^ Thompson, Marshall Putnam (1914). "The Fifth Musketeer: The Marquis de la Fayette". Proceedings of the Bunker Hill Monument Association at the annual meeting. p. 50. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
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a b Osen, James L. (1995). Royalist Political Thought during the French Revolution. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313294419.
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^ Hardman, John (1994). Louis XVI. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300060775.
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^ Hanson, Paul R. (2004). Historical Dictionary of the French Revolution. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810850521.