Just as the bourgeois
Constituent Assembly destroyed the inequalities arising from the
privileges of the "old regime," so the popular Convention sought to put
an end to the inequalities arising from wealth. Under its new leaders,
the Revolution assumed for a time a distinctly socialistic character.
The property of the emigres was confiscated for the benefit of the
state. A maximum price for grain was set by law. Large estates were
broken up and offered for sale to poorer citizens in lots of two or
three acres, to be paid for in small annual installments. All ground
rents were abolished without compensation to the owners. "The rich,"
said Marat, "have so long sucked out the marrow of the people that they
are now visited with a crushing retribution."
Some of the reforms of the Convention went to absurd lengths. In the
popular passion for equality, every one was to be called "Citizen"
rather than "Monsieur." The official record of the expense of Marie
Antoinette's funeral was the simple entry, "Five francs for a coffin
for the widow of Citizen Capet.
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