Meanwhile Danton was infusing new life and new spirit into the French
armies. Dumouriez replaced Lafayette in supreme command. And on 20
September the allies received their first check at Valmy.
[Sidenote: Valmy: the First Military Success of the Revolutionaries]
[Sidenote: Proclamation of the First French Republic]
The very day on which news reached Paris that it was saved and that
Brunswick was in retreat, the National Convention met. Amid the wildest
enthusiasm, it unanimously decreed "that royalty is abolished in
France." Then it was resolved to date from 22 September, 1792, Year 1
of the Republic. A decree of perpetual banishment was enacted against
the emigres and it was soon determined to bring the king to trial
before the Convention.
[Sidenote: The National Convention 1792-1795]
The National Convention remained in session for three years (1792-
1795), and its work constituted the second great phase of the
Revolution. This work was essentially twofold: (1) It secured a series
of great victories in the foreign war, thereby rendering permanent the
remarkable social reforms of the first period of the Revolution, that
between 1789 and 1791; and (2) it constructed a republican form of
government, based on the principle of democracy.
Pages:
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071