Why it was possible and even inevitable may be
gathered from a survey of political conditions in France during 1792,--
at once the year of trial for limited monarchy and the year of
transition to the republic.
[Sidenote: Sources of Opposition to the Limited Monarchy]
By no means did all Frenchmen accept cheerfully and contentedly the
work of the National Constituent Assembly. Of the numerous dissenters,
some thought it went too far and some thought it did not go far enough.
The former may be styled "reactionaries" and the latter "radicals."
[Sidenote: Reactionaries]
[Sidenote: 1. The Emigres]
The reactionaries embraced the bulk of the formerly privileged nobility
and the non-juring clergy. The nobles had left France in large numbers
as soon as the first signs of violence appeared--about the time of the
fall of the Bastille and the peasant uprisings in the provinces. Many
of the clergy had similarly departed from their homes when the
anticlerical measures of the Assembly rendered it no longer possible
for them to follow the dictates of conscience.
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