Jean- Jacques Rousseau, while not a native of France, was another writer who influenced the French Revolution. He advocated a government in the interests of the people. His Social Contract was particularly influential during the Terror of 1793-1794, under Robespierre and the Jacobins.26 His ideas about the General Will being the criterion of government made it possible for an individual to submit to the law on the basis that those laws were in his/her best interests. The duty of the government was to instill virtue in the people, and to teach them to put the good of the whole above their own personal desires.27
The Enlightenment, especially its most prominent contributors, was important because it created a climate of opinion in which revolution was possible. The philosophes had no unified theory; however, they were masters of criticism and dissent and were full of hope for change. They created in France a ‘political culture’ made up of a clientele of activists centered in the Paris salons, provincial academies, and in the Masonic order.28
While not directly generating the ideas of nationalism, certain aspects began to emerge in Enlightenment-era France, specifically that of la nation.
Because of the political and economic instability, nobles and clergy demanded the convocation of the Estates-General in 1787. When this demand was ignored, and the Parlement of Paris was exiled to the provinces, the regional parlementaires incited the local people to violent protest. This made it difficult for tax collectors to do their job and find resources for the state treasury. On top of this, the Assembly of the Clergy showed their support of the parlements and voted to give the King an insultingly small don gratuit.29 In August of 1788, the king announced that he would call a meeting of the Estates-General for May 1789.
A growing sense of unity within the country foreshadowed the nationalism expressed during the revolution. Nationalism developed during the subsequent French Revolution as a driving force within revolutionary governments. This emerging national consciousness was expressed in the General Cahiers of 1789. These were a compilation of the cahiers de doléances, or lists of grievances, submitted by every electoral assembly throughout France. There was a marked similarity among the généralités’ (the administrative divisions of France) demands. Even within the three rival estates, many expressed the same fundamental goals and desires…
While there was a desire to keep the traditions and the culture of France, there was also a desire to break with parts of tradition. From this framework came a new political culture of unity and continuity. Constant references to the ‘new;’ the Nation, the community, and the general will, helped create a stronger sense of national purpose within France. These revolutionary values and emerging symbols became powerful because so many people from different parts of the nation began to act on them. They brought about a revolutionary culture that was distinct from that of the Ancient Regime.39 These Revolutionary practices also incorporated the traditions of the large populations from the provinces that resided in Paris and surrounding cities. Revolutionary culture was unique in that it combined both urban and rural traditions.
Politics frequently reflect the current cultural and social climate; a changing Revolutionary culture was also reflected in a change in political thinking. Influence from Enlightenment thinkers, as well as the ideology of the American Revolution, came to bear upon politics at the beginning of the French Revolution. Some of the political and social questions that arose during the revolution were, how to balance the power of the individual within society, what that meant for society, and how does one reconcile a loss of individual freedom within the benefits of an established state.40
