Constitutional Father Essays - French First Republic,

Constitutional Father Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, better known as Abbe Sieyes, is considered by some scholars, the leader of the early Revolution in France; however, others consider him a selfish, jealous man. No matter what one believes, there are some indisputable facts about Abbe Sieyes. Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes was born on May 3rd, 1748 in Frejus. His father was a postmaster and collector of king's dues, while his mother was connected to the lower ranks of nobility. Sieyes' parents gave him the best education they could afford, first at home under a tutor, then in the Jesuits' College at Frejus. Most graduates of the college attended military academies and Sieyes expected the same, but was forced into a different occupation. Emmanuel's parents pushed him into Holy Orders in the hope that he would support the family, especially his two brothers. The Bishop of Frejus was a family friend and helped Emmanuel's parents send him to Paris to study at the Seminary of St. Sulpice. His studies lasted for ten years and he was ordained a priest in 1773. Two years after his ordination, Abbe Sieyes became secretary to the Bishop of Treguier. His advancement in the priesthood was hindered of course, because he came from a middle-class family that lacked nobility. Then in 1784, he became vicar general and chancellor to the Bishop of Chartres. Abbe Sieyes then became a member of the Provincial Assembly of Orleans in 1787. When the Estates General was called in late 1788, Abbe Sieyes wrote his most famous pamphlet, Qu'est-ce que le Tiers Etat? "What is the Third Estate?" With its publishing in January 1789, Sieyes became a prominent figure at the Estates General. On June 12, 1789, Sieyes brought about the vote to allow the privileged to join the Third. Then on June 17, he brought about the vote that transformed the Third into the National Assembly. One year later, Sieyes was voted president of the Assembly and of the Jacobian Club. During the next three years, Sieyes simply survived the Terror. Later in his career he was a member of the Committee of Public Safety, a member of the Council of Five Hundred, and received membership to the Directory, but denounced it, and finally was named a Consul in 1799. Sieyes left Paris for the Restoration and returned after the revolution of 1830. He lived six more years and died on June 20, 1836. That was Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes' life, but scholars have written various interpretations of it and its impact (Clapham 4 - 10). The first scholarly interpretation I examined was that of John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton. Acton wrote Lectures on the French Revolution. Acton states that, "Sieyes was essentially a revolutionist, because he held that political oppression can never be right, and that resistance to oppression can never be wrong...he (Sieyes) sacrificed equality by refusing the vote to those who paid no taxes"(Acton 161). Acton treats Sieyes as an important figure to the Revolution, especially in its early stages. He makes Sieyes out to be a student of the Locke. He also states that Sieyes controlled France twice, by sheer political power. This political power did not derive from public opinion, but from Sieyes' political thoughts. To Acton, Sieyes was a political thinker, the best of his time, but he lacked the pulse of the people and therefore was a poor politician. The next interpretation I examined was that of J. M. Thompson. Thompson sees Sieyes as a philosopher with one major flaw. In Leaders of the French Revolution, Thompson states, "In both those acts (the creation of the National Assembly and the Constitution of Brumaire) Sieyes did well by his country, and did so because he was human enough to forget, for the moment, he was a philosopher"(Thompson 15). Thompson interprets this ignorance as Sieyes' major weakness. He thinks Sieyes could not philosophically detach himself from a situation. Thompson also thinks Sieyes was unfit for the priesthood and was closer to the philosophes' movements. Overall, Thompson believes that Sieyes is responsible for the National Assembly, the National Guard, and the Departmental System and in effect a great political thinker. The third interpretation I read was that of Henri Beraud. In Beraud's book, Twelve Portraits of the French Revolution, he sees Sieyes as a secondary figure to the revolution, "a man who internally struggled with respect for monarchy and the love of liberty"(Beraud 299). Beraud's interpretation of Abbe Sieyes differs form the first two because he sees Sieyes political thoughts as part of his problem. To Beraud, Sieyes was concerning himself more