From October, 1789, to September, 1791, this
Assembly was in session in Paris, endeavoring to bring order out of
chaos and to fashion a new France out of the old that was dying of
exhaustion and decrepitude. Enormous was the task, but even greater
were the achievements. Although the work of the Assembly during the
period was influenced in no slight degree by the Parisian populace,
nevertheless it was attended by comparative peace and security. And the
work done was by far the most vital and most lasting of the whole
revolutionary era.
Leaving out of consideration for the time the frightened royal family,
the startled noblemen and clergy, the determined peasantry, and the
excited townsfolk, and not adhering too closely to chronological order,
let us center our attention upon the National Assembly and review its
major acts during those momentous years, 1789-1791.
[Sidenote: 1. Legal Destruction of Feudalism and Serfdom]
The first great work of the Assembly was the legal destruction of
feudalism and serfdom--a long step in the direction of social equality.
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