Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: tion of the people, as well as of the Assembly, was aroused, and the National Guard was at once enrolled as an army for the defence of the country. This was in August, 1791. By September of the same year the constitution was completed. The suspension was removed from Louis XVI, and the constitution was presented to him by sixty deputies. The king declared in writing that he accepted it and engaged to maintain it at home and defend it from all T attacks abroad. This letter excited general approbation. On the 29th of September the king made a patriotic and congratulatory speech which was heartily applauded, and the Constituent Assembly then declared its mission accomplished, and terminated its sitting. Section II. The Legislative Assembly. The Opening of the Assembly. ? The Constitution of 1791, as it is called, was not as democratic as that of the United States, yet its provisions, could they have been carried out, would have assured an excellent government and happiness for the French people. But, unfortunately, there had been aroused feelings of hatred between the mass of the people and those who had formerly been the superior classes, which, together with the attack of Europe, brought on by the
emigrants, made it impossible for an ordinary government to proceed. The Legislative Assembly, which met the 1st of October, 1791, was composed entirely of men unacquainted with the workings of a constitutional government, and who labored under the disadvantage of being obliged to gain their experience in times of great excitement and danger. In order to convince the country that they were not desirous of prolonging their power, the Constituent Assembly had voted that no member of that body or of the administration should be eligible for reelection. For the most part, the…