The Society of the Friends of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Société des Amis des droits de l'homme et du citoyen), mainly known as Cordeliers Club (french: Club des Cordeliers), was a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

political club during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

from 1790 to 1794, when the Reign of Terror ended and the

Thermidorian Reaction The Thermidorian Reaction (french: Réaction thermidorienne or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term, in the historiography of the French Revolution, for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespie ...

began. The club campaigned for

universal male suffrage Universal manhood suffrage is a form of voting rights in which all adult male citizens within a political system are allowed to vote, regardless of income, property, religion, race, or any other qualification. It is sometimes summarized by the slo ...

and direct democracy, including the referendum. It energetically served as a watchdog looking for signs of abuse of power by the men in power. By 1793, it was challenging the centralization of power by Robespierre and his Committee of Public Safety. They responded by arresting the leadership, charging them with conspiring to overthrow the Convention. The leaders were guillotined, and the club disappeared.

History

The club had its origins in the Cordeliers district, a famously radical area of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

called, by

Camille Desmoulins Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (; 2 March 17605 April 1794) was a French journalist and politician who played an important role in the French Revolution. Desmoulins was tried and executed alongside Georges Danton when the Committee ...

, "the only sanctuary where liberty has not been violated".Rachel Hammersley, ''French Revolutionaries and English Republicans: The Cordeliers Club 1790–1794,'' p 19. Under the leadership of Georges Danton, this district had played a significant role in the

Storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At ...

and was home to several notable figures of the Revolution, including Danton himself, Desmoulins and Jean-Paul Marat—on whose behalf the district placed itself in a state of civil rebellion, when in January 1790 it refused to allow the execution of a warrant for his arrest that had been issued by the Châtelet. Having issued in November 1789 a declaration affirming its intent to "oppose, as much as we are able, all that the representatives of the

Commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

may undertake that is harmful to the general rights of our constituents",Hammersley, 25. the Cordeliers district remained in conflict with the Parisian government throughout the winter and spring of 1790. In May and June 1790, the previous division of Paris into 60 districts was by decree of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

replaced by the creation of 48 sections. This restructuring abolished the Cordeliers district. Anticipating this dissolution, the leaders of the Cordeliers district founded in April 1790 the ''Société des Amis des droits de l’homme et du citoyen'', a popular society which would serve as an alternative means of pursuing the goals and interests of the district. This society held its meetings in the Cordeliers Convent and quickly became known as the ''Club des Cordeliers''. It took as its motto the phrase ''

Liberté, égalité, fraternité ''Liberté, égalité, fraternité'' (), French for "liberty, equality, fraternity", is the national motto of France and the Republic of Haiti, and is an example of a tripartite motto. Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution, i ...

'', and because its aim was to keep an eye on the government its emblem was an open eye. The membership fees of this society were fixed low and thus affordable to a more diverse range of citizens than those of many other political clubs at the time, including the Jacobin Club. There were no other restrictions on membership. The Cordeliers presented themselves as exceptionally populist and they prided themselves on counting working men and women among their members. A contemporary account describes one meeting:

About three hundred persons of both sexes filled the place; their dress was so unkempt and so filthy that one would have taken them for a gathering of beggars. The
Declaration of the Rights of Man The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revolu ...
was stuck on the wall, crowned by crossed daggers. Plaster busts of
Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...
and
William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...
were placed on each side, as if expressly to guard the Declaration. Facing, behind the tribune, as supporters, there appeared busts of
Mirabeau Mirabeau may refer to: People and characters * Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), second President of the Republic of Texas French nobility * Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau (1715–1789), French physiocrat * Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, com ...
and Helvétius, with
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
in the middle.Rose, 97.

However, the preponderance of Cordeliers were members of the bourgeoisie and its leadership was largely drawn from the educated middle classes.Rose, 106. From 1791 the Cordeliers met in a hall in the Rue Dauphine. On 21 June of that year, following an attempt by the royal family to flee Paris, the Cordeliers moved to draft a petition which offered the National Assembly a choice between the immediate deposition of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

or a national referendum on the future of the monarchy. The Cordeliers actively moved against the majority interests in this case. Large demonstrations in support of this and similar petitions led to civil unrest, and culminated in the Champ de Mars Massacre on 17 July. The National Guard, led by the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

, fired on the protestors, resulting in the deaths of at least dozen of them. Subsequent action taken against the Cordeliers included the closing of the Cordeliers Convent to them and the issuing of arrest warrants for Danton and Desmoulins. Despite these measures, the society remained a highly influential force in Parisian politics. The Cordeliers participated significantly in the planning and execution of the 10 August 1792 insurrection. Danton, at this time perhaps the most powerful figure within the Cordeliers Club, acted—in

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

's words—as "the organizer and chief of the insurrection"Belloc, 167. and was appointed Minister of Justice in the government that resulted, with Desmoulins and

Fabre d'Églantine Philippe François Nazaire Fabre d'Églantine (, 28 July 1750 – 5 April 1794), commonly known as Fabre d'Églantine, was a French actor, dramatist, poet, and politician of the French Revolution. He is best known for having invented the names of ...

—both prominent members of the Cordeliers Club—as his secretaries. Subsequent to this insurrection and to the

September Massacres The September Massacres were a series of killings of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792, from Sunday, 2 September until Thursday, 6 September, during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by '' fédérés'', gu ...

that followed closely on its heels, the Cordeliers Club became increasingly the province of ultra-revolutionary factions, particularly the Hébertists, who advocated extreme measures to intensify the Terror. In December 1793, Desmoulins began publishing a journal entitled the '' Vieux Cordelier'' or "Old Cordelier", which attempted to reclaim the title of the society from those who had associated it with extremism. In the seven numbers of the journal, Desmoulins attacked the Hébertists and called for an end to the Terror, comparing revolutionary Paris to Rome under the

tyrants A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to rep ...

. The Hébertists were arrested and on 24 March 1794 and executed, but less extreme Desmoulins, Danton and the "Old Cordeliers" of the Dantonist faction quickly followed them to the guillotine. Their execution took place on April 16 (April 5). The Cordeliers Club, deprived of its most important members, initially played no role in the further course of the revolution. After the Jacobin Club closed in November 1794, its most vehement representatives (so-called Cretans) joined the Cordeliers. In response, the Thermidorians arranged for its final closure on the 20th of Pluviose III (February 20, 1795).

Bibliography

The papers emanating from the Cordeliers are enumerated in Jean Maurice Tourneux, ''Bibliographie de l'histoire de Paris pendant la Révolution'' (1894), i. (on the trial of the Hébertists) Nos. 4204–4210, ii. Nos. 9795–9834 and 11,813. See also A. Bougeart ''Les Cordeliers, documents pour servir a l'histoire de la Révolution'' (Caen, 1891); G. Lenotre, ''Paris révolutionnaire'' (Paris, 1895); G. Tridon, ''Les Hébertistes, plainte contre une calomnie de l'histoire'' (Paris, 1864). The last-named author was condemned to four months' prison; his work was reprinted in 1871. The inventory of the pictures found in 1790 in the Cordeliers Convent was published by J. Guiffrey in ''Nouvelles archives de l’art français'', viii., 2nd series, iii. (1880).

Factions and members

* Hébertists or Exaggerateds ( radicalism) ** Jacques René Hébert (leader) ** Antoine-François Momoro **

Charles-Philippe Ronsin Charles-Philippe Ronsin (1 December 1751 – 24 March 1794) was a French general of the Revolutionary Army of the First French Republic, commanding the large Parisian division of ''l'Armée Révolutionnaire''. He was an extreme radical leader ...

** Pierre Gaspard Chaumette **

Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gobel Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gobel (1 September 1727 – 13 April 1794) was a French Catholic cleric and politician of the Revolution. He was executed during the Reign of Terror. Biography Gobel was born in the town of Thann in Alsace to a lawyer ...

Marie-Joseph Chénier Marie-Joseph Blaise de Chénier (11 February 1764 – 10 January 1811) was a French poet, dramatist and politician of French and Greek origin. Biography The younger brother of André Chénier, Joseph Chénier was born at Constantinople, but ...

** François-Nicolas Vincent **

Jean Baptiste Noël Bouchotte Jean Baptiste Noël Bouchotte (25 December 1754 – 8 June 1840) was a minister in the French government. He was born in Metz. At the outbreak of the Revolution he was a captain of cavalry, and his zeal led to his being made colonel and given the ...

* Dantonists or Indulgents ( moderatism) **

Georges Jacques Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In August ...

(leader) **

** Pierre Philippeaux **

Bertrand Barère Bertrand Barère de Vieuzac (, 10 September 175513 January 1841) was a French politician, freemason, journalist, and one of the most prominent members of the National Convention, representing the Plain (a moderate political faction) during the F ...

** Pierre-François-Joseph Robert **

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos (; 18 October 1741 – 5 September 1803) was a French novelist, official, Freemason and army general, best known for writing the epistolary novel '' Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (''Dangerous Liaisons'' ...

* Non-affiliated extremists ** Jean-Paul Marat (leader) **

Jean-Baptiste Carrier Jean-Baptiste Carrier (, 16 March 1756 – 16 December 1794) was a French Revolutionary and politician most notable for his actions in the War in the Vendée during the Reign of Terror. While under orders to suppress a Royalist counter-revolutio ...

François Chabot François Chabot (23 October 1756 – 5 April 1794) was a French politician. Early life Born in Saint-Geniez-d'Olt (Aveyron), Chabot became a Capuchin friar in Rodez before the French Revolution, while continuing to be attracted to the works ...

** Stanislas-Marie Maillard ** Theroigne de Mericourt

Notes

{{Authority control 1790 establishments in France 1794 disestablishments in France Groups of the French Revolution Left-wing populism in France Populist parties Political parties disestablished in 1794 Political parties established in 1790 Far-left politics in France Radical parties in France

History

Bibliography

Factions and members

See also

Further reading

Notes