Vote to End Privileges
Beauharnais voted for abolition of privilege, legal equality and equal eligibility for public office during the August reforms.
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1789 in France — Page 10
Explore 704 historical events and records for France in 1789.
Historical records for France in 1789
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August
August Decrees
Any kind of tithes, as well as any substitution for them are abolished. All seigneurial justices are abolished with no compensation.
August Decrees
Contemporary reports described collapsing tax collection, feudal dues and local authority as unrest spread through parts of France.
August Decrees
It was reportedly prompted by the reading of a report on the misery and disorder which prevailed in the provinces.
August Decrees
Reports from the provinces described attacks on chateaux, convents and farms, reinforcing pressure for the Assembly's August reforms.
August Decrees
Selling judicial and municipal offices is abolished, justice should be dispensed freely & all such magistrates are to do their duty until further instructions from the National Assembly.
August Decrees
Selling judicial and municipal offices is abolished, justice should be dispensed freely and all such magistrates are to do their duty until further instructions from the National Assembly.
August Decrees
The Assembly responded to the crisis by abolishing several long-standing privileges and abuses.
August Decrees
The abolition of the feudal system took place during the famous night session of the National Assembly on August 4th 1789.
August Decrees
The report declares that 'g Letters from all the provinces indicate that property of all kinds is a prey to the most criminal violence. on all sides chateaux are being burned, convents destroyed, and farms abandoned to pillage.
August Decrees
The taxes, the feudal dues, all are extinct. the laws are without force, and the magistrates without authority." With the hope of pacifying and encouraging the people, the Assembly, in a fervour of enthusiasm and excitement.
August Decrees
straightway abolished many of the ancient abuses.
August decrees begin formal drafting
After the famous overnight debate, the Assembly began converting sweeping declarations into legal articles. Bailly presided during the critical transition from symbolic renunciation to enforceable legislation.
Bailly comments on abolition of privileges
Bailly welcomed the Assembly's dramatic renunciation of feudal privilege as a major revolutionary achievement. The municipal leader saw the legislation as evidence of the new order's capacity for reform.
National Assembly
The National Assembly abolished the feudal system and judicial privileges, preparing the way for wider constitutional reforms.
Petion Press Freedom Proposal during Rights Debate
Petion supports explicit legal protection for freedom of the press while the Assembly debates civil liberties.
Press Freedom Motion
Petion supported explicit legal protection for freedom of the press during debates on civil liberties.
Compensation preserved for some land dues
The August settlement distinguished abolished personal burdens from certain property-based payments considered redeemable. For landholders and peasants alike, this compromise postponed the full end of feudal dues.
Ecclesiastical tithe rights removed
The August legislation struck at compulsory tithes paid to the Church. Talleyrand and other clerical deputies faced the resulting need to rethink the financial foundations of worship.
Legal articles codify abolition of feudal regime
The Assembly approved a series of articles articulating the destruction of the feudal order and specifying which rights would be abolished or redeemed. The text revealed that ending seigneurialism remained legally complex.
Merit replaces birth as qualification for office
Alexandre de Beauharnais participated in an Assembly dismantling aristocratic restrictions on public advancement. Equal eligibility to civil and military employment challenged the political privileges of birth.
Personal feudal rights terminated without payment
The Assembly enacted the abolition of some personal servitudes without compensation. Such provisions marked a decisive rejection of coercive rights inherited from feudal jurisdiction.
Seigneurial justice suppressed in reform package
Legislation stripped lords of the right to exercise private jurisdiction over local inhabitants. Ordinary courts would eventually replace institutions based on inherited estate authority.
Bailly confronts disorder surrounding grain trade
The municipality faced popular suspicion of grain merchants and alleged hoarders. Bailly had to reconcile demands for affordable bread with the protection of commercial activity and public safety.
Lafayette Sieyes and Sixth Bureau Texts Chosen
The Assembly decides to use the projects of Lafayette, Sieyes and the Sixth Bureau as the principal basis for renewed drafting.
Sixth Bureau Text Becomes Main Drafting Base
The Assembly adopts most provisions of the Sixth Bureau project as the immediate basis for article-by-article debate.
Article by Article Rights Voting Begins
The Constituent Assembly begins voting on the declaration article by article.
Religious Freedom Debate
Robespierre spoke during debates on rights and religious liberty as the Assembly shaped the Declaration of Rights.
Robespierre Religious Liberty Debate during Declaration
Robespierre participates in debate over religious liberty as the Assembly shapes the final Declaration of Rights.
Article 1 Freedom and Equality in Rights
Article 1 establishes that men are born and remain free and equal in rights, while allowing distinctions based on common utility.
Article 10 Freedom of Opinion and Religion
Article 10 protects opinions, including religious beliefs, provided their expression does not disturb public order established by law.
Article 11 Freedom of Expression and Press
Article 11 protects speaking, writing and printing while allowing legal responsibility for abuses of that liberty.
Article 12 Public Force Serves the Community
Article 12 states that public force exists for the benefit of all rather than the private advantage of those controlling it.
Article 13 Equal Contribution to Public Expenses
Article 13 requires public taxation to be distributed among citizens according to their ability to contribute.
Article 14 Citizen Consent and Control of Taxation
Article 14 recognizes citizens' right to consent to taxation and supervise its amount, basis, collection, duration and use.
Article 15 Accountability of Public Officials
Article 15 gives society the right to demand an account of administration from every public official.
Article 16 Rights Guarantees and Separation of Powers
Article 16 states that a society without guaranteed rights and defined separation of powers has no constitution.
Article 17 Property as an Inviolable Right
Article 17 protects property from deprivation except for legally established public necessity with just prior compensation.
Article 2 Natural and Imprescriptible Rights
Article 2 identifies liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression as natural and imprescriptible rights.
Article 3 National Sovereignty Principle
Article 3 locates the principle of sovereignty in the nation rather than in a monarch, estate or individual.
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.