Rights in the Constitution of 1791
The French Constitution of 1791 was the first-ever constitution of France. It was drafted after the collapse of the monarch of the Ancient Regime due to the French Revolution. The task of drafting the constitution was laid down on a committee of 12 members including two members each from the First and Second Estate and four members from the third estate.
Features of the French Constitution of 1791
The main features of the French Constitution of 1791 are as follows:
- The feudal system was abolished and limited the power of the king. The feudal system was a type of social and political system in which the landholder or the landowner provided land to tenants in exchange for their loyalty and services. It limited the power of the king by forming the judiciary, Legislature, and Executive. Making the monarch only a title and now having authority in France.
- The king came under the supervision of the government making France a constitutional monarchy. This made the king a regular person, removing any rights he had and making him accountable to the government and answerable to the law.
- All the citizens were treated equally removing any division levels that previously existed like the first estate, second estate, and third estate. This means that the privileges of the nobles and the clergy were stripped off and they were treated as normal citizens.
- Earlier in the French Revolution, the church collected a separate tax from citizens other than the monarch. This tax was abolished and all the land owned by the churches was confiscated.
- Any new law could not be made by the monarch, the power to make new laws was given to the national assembly.
- To avoid the concentration of power with one person it was distributed among the judiciary, the executive, and the legislature. The Judiciary deals with the justice system, the Legislature deals with the decision-makers and the executives represent the people who execute the rules.
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What rights did constitution of 1791 have?
The French Constitution of 1791 guarantees the right to life, freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, and also equality before the laws. The Constitution of 1791 has been created by the Constitution of French in the National Assembly in 1791. It came to retain the monarchy, however, the sovereignty was effectively resided in the Legislative Assembly, which was elected by a certain system of indirect voting.