How the Directory failed in the French Revolution

The French Revolution was a time of great upheaval and change. Following the call of the Estates General in 1789 by King Louis XVI, a new political body, known as the National Assembly, took power away from the monarchy.

Instead of a king in charge, individual politicians and their parties wrestled for control between themselves.

By 1792, the National Assembly was restructured and replaced by a new body called the National Convention, but the internal conflict between different political groups continued. 

Each side suspected the other of undermining the sucess of the young revolution. In 1793, the National Convention set up a group known as the Committee of Public Safety, which was tasked with investigating threats to the revolution.

By 1793, this power struggle descended into a period of bloodshed known as The Reign of Terror, where the leaders of the Committee of Public Safety, like Maximilien Robespierre, removed threats to their own power by condemning rivals to death.

By July 1794, over 16,000 people became victims to the killing.

By the end of the Terror, it was recognised that a new political body needed to be created.

This resulted in the establishment of the Directory in 1795. This new government marked a turning point for France, and it would have a lasting impact on the country.

The National Convention created a new constitution, called the Constitution of Year III, on the 22nd of April 1795.

For the first time, the declaration of rights had a list of duties added to it. The Constitution of Year III declared that all male taxpayers over 21 years of age were considered 'citizens'.

Also, the constitution put into place the Directory, a new form of government in France. 

The new government created by the constitution was made up of two councils, the 'upper' Council of Elders, who voted on new laws, and the 'lower' Council of 500, who proposed the new laws.

The members of these councils were elected by the citizens.

Above these two councils sat a group known as 'The Directory', which was made up of five members that were elected by the legislature.

These members were known as “directors”. They held office for a term of two years and were responsible for executive power.

The Directory had a lot of power and was able to pass laws without approval from the legislature. They also had the power to declare war and make peace.

The Directory was intended to be a more stable form of government than the previous two governments, the Convention and the Committee of Public Safety.

The Directory was responsible for executive power, while the legislature retained control over laws and regulations.

This system of government was unique at the time, and it helped to stabilize France after the turbulent years of the Terror.

The Directory represented a shift in power away from the Jacobins and towards the more moderate factions.

This change was reflected in both domestic and foreign policy. Domestically, the Directory put an end to the Reign of Terror and worked to restore order to France.

They also enacted some reforms, such as creating a centralized bank and establishing a public education system.

However, they were not able to implement all of their desired reforms due to opposition from both the Jacobins and the Royalists.

The Directory oversaw a period of significant economic growth in France. This was due in part to the fact that they encouraged private enterprise and allowed businesses to flourish.

They also implemented a series of reforms that made France more efficient and effective.

These reforms helped to solidify the country's position as a leading European power.

When the National Convention voted to adopt the new Directory system, many people in Paris were not happy with the new constitution, as they felt that power was controlled by too few and did not really represent the people of France.

Before the Convention had time to vote for the new members of the Directory, there were rumours of an armed revolt by Royalists on the streets of Paris.

Afraid of the discontent in the city, the government ordered army troops into Paris to discourage any violent response.

On the 5th of October, 1795, 20,000 people, attempted to overthrow the National Convention.

However, 6000 French troops guarded a series of strategic bridges throughout the city, under the command of two men, Barras and Napoleon Bonaparte.

The uprising was quickly crushed by the army and the rebel leaders were arrested. This event became known as the Vendémiaire Uprising.

The Vendémiaire Uprising demonstrated the Directory's vulnerability and helped to consolidate power within the government.

It also showed that the people of France were still very divided on political issues.

Once the Directory was finally in place, two major political factions tried to dominate them.

These groups were the Jacobins, who were the more radical group, and the Royalists, who wanted to restore the monarchy.

The Directory was able to keep these two groups in check, but they were not always successful.

These political divisions led to a number of uprisings and protests throughout France.

To maintain control, the new government had to lean on army support repeatedly.

The most significant of these was the Coup of 18 Fructidor. In March and April of 1797, elections were held to replace the members of the first Directory and the councils, which was accordance with the new constitution.

However, in these elections, there was an overwhelmingly swing in favour of Royalists, who replaced most of the old members.

Afraid of losing the power that they had enjoyed for the last two years, the former members of the Directory decided to ignore the election results and use the French army to seize back control once more.

The former Directory members sent soldiers to arrested the successful Royalists and seized back power once more.

This coup further solidified the old Directory's power within the government and demonstrated the continued divisions within French society.

However, many French people knew that these actions were illegal and in clear violation of how the Directory system was supposed to work.

Discontent grew, but as a long as the army sided with the Directory, there was little the people could do.

This stage is known as the Secondary Directory, and those in power continued to manipulate elections in order to keep their hold on the government.

They also expanded France's power internationally, by sending Napoleon to Egypt in May 1798 with an invasion force to take control of the country from Britain.

Then, on the 18th June 1799, the Council of 500 grew dissatisfied with the Directory and used their power to force the five directors out of office.

They replaced them with their own preferences. This was known as the Coup of Prairial.

However, not everyone benefited from the Directory's policies. The poor and working class were often overlooked, and they struggled to make ends meet.

This led to a growing sense of discontent among the people. In 1799, this discontent boiled over into a new revolution, which overthrew the Directory and ushered in a new era of French history.

The Coup of 18 Brumaire was a successful coup d'état that was led by Napoleon Bonaparte.

He had arrived back in Paris on the 16th of October 1799 as a victorious general. Due to his famous battles across Europe, Egypt, and in Syria on behalf of the various revolutionary governments, the people and the army loved him.

As a result, the Directory's reliance on the army to hold their power was under threat. Many feared that the soldiers were more loyal to Napoleon than the Directory.

On the 9th of November, Bonaparte confronted the councils and demanded that a new government be formed to prevent further corruption.

In response to this demand, a scuffle broke out and Napoleon was scratched. A story then spread that the councils had attacked France's most famous general.

In response, Napoleon and two other men seized control of the councils and set up a provisional government in order to force changes through.

These three men, Roger Ducos, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyés, and Bonaparte, had control of the provisional government.

This event became known as the Coup of Brumaire.

The Directory system was disbanded and a new system, known as the Consulate was created. In this new government, three 'consuls' held the most power, and the three men that led the coupe took these roles.

Napoleon would be given the role of First Consul in the new government, and he would go on to rule France for over a decade. The Directory was over.