Prelude to Power Censer, Jack Richard Published by Johns Hopkins University Press Censer, Jack Richard. Prelude to Power: The Parisian Radical Press, 1789-1791. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976. Project MUSE. doi:10.1353/book.71700. https://muse.jhu.edu/. For additional information about this book https://muse.jhu.edu/book/71700 [ Access provided at 1 Oct 2021 22:14 GMT with no institutional affiliation ] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. HOPKINS OPEN PUBLISHING ENCORE EDITIONS Jack Richard Censer Prelude to Power The Parisian Radical Press, 1789–1791 Open access edition supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities / Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Program. © 2019 Johns Hopkins University Press Published 2019 Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 www.press.jhu.edu The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. CC BY-NC-ND ISBN-13: 978-1-4214-3393-6 (open access) ISBN-10: 1-4214-3393-1 (open access) ISBN-13: 978-1-4214-3391-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 1-4214-3391-5 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-1-4214-3392-9 (electronic) ISBN-10: 1-4214-3392-3 (electronic) This page supersedes the copyright page included in the original publication of this work. PRELUDE TO POWER Jack Richard Censer .RELUDE TO POWER THE PARISIAN RADICAL PRESS 1789-1791 THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY PRESS Baltimore and London This book has been brought to publication with the generous assistance of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Copyright© 1976 by The Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, xerography, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Manufactured in the United States of America The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 The Johns Hopkins University Press Ltd., London Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 76-7968 ISBN 0-8018-1816-8 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data will be found on the last printed page of this book. TO MY PARENTS Contents Preface XI l. Introduction: The Problem Defined 2. The Papers and the Journalists 13 3. The Ideology of Popular Sovereignty 37 4. The Range of Reporting: The Treatment of Events in the Radical Press 73 5. The Treatment of Individuals and Institutions in the Radical Press 92 6. Conclusion 124 Appendixes A. Methodology: An Examination of Events in the Radical Press 132 B. Tables: Events in the Radical Press 136 C. Articles for Week of August 10-16, 1790 140 D. The Paris Municipality, Bailly, Lafayette, the King, and the National Assembly in the Radical Press 144 E. Titles and Dates of Appearance of the Different Versions of the Mercure National 145 No�s 147 Vlll CONTENTS Selected Bibliography 169 Index 179 FIGURES 1.1 Papers Published in Paris, 1789-91 (By Month) IO 1.2 Duration of Six Radical Newspapers, I 789-92 12 4.1 Pattern of Interest of the Journals A. Percentage of Newsprint Devoted to Legally Constituted Bodies 82 B. Percentage of Newsprint Devoted to Informal Political Groups 82 C. Percentage of Newsprint Devoted to Selected Activities 82 4.2 Attention of Journalists (Percentage of Newsprint Devoted to Selected Activities and Sources) 83 4.3 Coverage of "Dominant" Events 89 5.1 The Paris Municipality in the Radical Press 109 5.2 Mayor S. Bailly in the Radical Press 109 5.3 Lafayette in the Radical Press 110 5.4 The Monarch in the Radical Press 112 5.5 The National Assembly in the Radical Press 116 5.6 Percentage of Radical Newspapers Praising, Wavering, or Attacking Selected Institutions and Individuals, 1789-91 122 PLATES 1. Revolutions de Paris, September 26, 1789 23 2. Revolutions de Paris, October 10, 1789 24 3. Orateur du Peuple, 1791 30 TABLES 1.1 Parisian Newspapers, 1789-91 9 2.1 A Profile of the Six Newspapers 34 4.1 Deviations in Coverage (By Week) 85 4.2 Coverage of Events in an Average Week 88 5.1 "Key" Events of the Paris Revolution 108 CONTENTS lX 5.2 Percentage of Newspapers Praising, Wavering, or Attacking Institutions 122 A. I Percentage of Newsprint Devoted to Sources and Types of Activities (By Week 136 A.2 Percentage of Newsprint Devoted to Sources and Types of Activities (By Newspaper) 137 A.3 Percentage of Event-Oriented Articles Devoted to Sources and Types of Activities 138 A.4 Percentage of Event-Oriented Articles of Each Source Devoted to Each Different Type of Activity 138 A.5 Coverage of Events by Number of Papers Covering that Event 139 A.6 Coverage of Events by Length of Coverage 139 A.7 Corroborative Study-Pattern of Interest of the Journal Universe/ 140 Preface From 1789 to 1792 many revolutionary politicians, both aspiring and successful, published newspapers in order to disseminate their ideas and concerns. With little police interference and few professional standards to restrain these editors, they were able to concentrate in their newspapers upon those events, individuals, institutions, and ideas that interested them. Historians of the French press, from Hatin to Godechot, have therefore used these journals-correctly I believe-to examine the per­ sonalities of political journalists. The press, however, can tell us much more. Studied collectively, the newspapers of the French Revolution illuminate the common concerns of a very important group of opinion makers and constitute the most important source of information for the public at that time. At the beginning of the Revolution, politicians shied away from structured parties, and journalists with established forums could dominate informed opinion. Public opinion was, likewise, dominated by the press. Lacking other regular sources of news and opinion, Frenchmen turned to news­ papers. Those who could not read or could not afford to subscribe listened to street readers or joined reading societies, while their wealthier and better-educated neighbors purchased their own journals. Although a complete survey of revolutionary newspapers could lead to important conclusions about publicists, politicians, and the public, no such survey could be undertaken by a single scholar. Over 2,000 revolu­ tionary periodicals still exist, and any individual wishing to study the newspapers collectively must be content to examine a subgroup. Personal and academic interests dictated my choice of the Parisian radical press, XI xii PREFACE 1789-91. These particular journalists, embattled outcasts, intrigued me. Inspired by the new revolutionary freedoms, they expressed themselves as they wished, although they were continually, if ineffectually, harassed by the local authorities. On the other hand, I was discouraged from studying provincial journalists because, generally, they were too diffuse geographi­ cally or politically to constitute a coherent group. The provincial journal­ ists were also less interesting because so much of their material was borrowed unchanged from Parisian newspapers. Furthermore, I chose to conclude my monograph with the dissolution of the National Assembly in October 1791. With new elections, old enemies and friends of the radicals departed, and any examination of the radicals' interests would have to cope with this almost complete turnover of personnel. Consequently, logic, personal interests, and limitations of time and space demanded that this individual's study of a collective group of journalists be restricted to the Parisian radical press, 1789-91. The message of the radical press, reflecting the interests of the journalists, focused primarily on the promulgation of an ideology. Events, individuals, and institutions were, of course, important, but they were reported in such a manner as to make them subordinate to ideas. A detailed content analysis makes it apparent that the events that were printed were those that symbolized the commitment of the radicals to their ideology. Indeed, the events that counted most for the radi­ cals-those that accompanied and presumably caused some change in opinion-were a host of isolated occurrences of 1790. The insignificance of these events leads one to the conclusion that such occurrences were relatively unimportant in themselves and merely reflected the develop­ ment of the ideological predispositions that sprang from the intellectual milieu of the publicists. Further, the radicals, in their descriptions of the men and institutions of the Revolution, drew heavily from the stereotypes provided by their ideology. In fact, the effect of such remarks was as much a reemphasis of their ideology as it was an accurate characterization of a certain group or individual. Thus, this investigation should and does focus on the theoretical stance of the radicals. In brief, the radicals believed that a moral, egalitarian peuple had developed, who were opposed by a selfish and self-indulgent aristocratie. This aristocratie wished to preserve by any means, including violence, their old power and luxuries and to monopolize any new positions created by the Revolution. To oppose the "aristocratic" menace to the social ideal of the peuple, the radicals suggested a literal adherence to popular sovereignty. The infallible peuple, already imbued with a morality of concern for their fellows, would ensure that government could do nothing contrary to their PREFACE Xlll wish. Government would be left weak, with vigorous action reserved to the peuple themselves, who could be trusted never to abuse their power. Also, cultural life would be similarly organized, with the peuple fully able to express their opinions and with the aristocratie severely restricted. However, in the realm of economics, the radicals were more hesitant to redefine existing institutions. While they believed in equal fortunes, they could not bring themselves to advocate proposals (such as an end to free trade) that might actually destroy the fortunes of the aristocratie.