Constitution of the Year III
혁명력 3년 헌법
Constitution adopted by the National Convention on 22 August 1795 (5 Fructidor Year III). It divided the legislature into the Council of Ancients and the Council of Five Hundred and entrusted executive power to a five-member Directory. It remained the basic law of the Directory until the coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799).
In depth
It was approved by plebiscite on 6 September. Its prefatory Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and of the Citizen listed the rights of man in society as liberty, equality, security and property, and Article 8 of the duties said that cultivation, production and the whole social order rest on the maintenance of property. Article 8 of the constitution granted citizenship only to those who paid a direct tax. The declaration has no counterpart to the 1793 articles on public relief, education or insurrection. Splitting the legislature in two and the executive among five was meant to prevent concentration of power and slow the wild swings of legislation.
Related historical events
Sources
- /commulingo/docs/france-directoire-consulat-1795-1799
- Wikipedia (EN)
- /commulingo/docs/france-national-assembly-terror-guide-1793-1794