In the era of the Great French Revolution, when the society was divided into many opposing sides, people’s movements began to appear in the country. Some of them gained enough power, and some were not very large. The two most influential political trends in the France of the 18th century were the Jacobins and the Girondins, the communities that are fundamentally different in their ideology and the ways of achieving ultimate goals. One of Jenkins’s quotes describes the French political course as “Order versus Movement, Reaction versus Progress, Catholicism versus Anti-clericalism, Right versus Left” (118). This quote can be considered as the basis of the opposition in French society, and by its example, it is possible to descry the division into main political movements.
The Main Ideas of the Girondins and Jacobins
On the day of victory at the Valme, the events of the National Convention began to take place in the French capital. This body was elected on the principles of universal suffrage. Since the very beginning of the Convention, there were sharp battles between the Jacobins and the Girondins. The Girondins represented the interests of an upper middle class, which could dictate its economic and political ideas to the state at that time. They were afraid of popular unrest and wanted to curtail the revolutionary movement by any means. As Mirante notes, the Girondins called their opponents anarchist demagogues and predicted that they would cause the ruination of France (10). At the same time, the Girondins controlled the activities of the Provisional Executive Council; they also held key posts in the Convention.
The Jacobins saw the future in support of a lower middle class, which in cooperation with urban and rural people could develop a revolutionary movement. The strength of the Jacobins was that they did not ignore the French people’s wishes but tried in every possible way to find allies and supporters among them and acted as a coordinator of the revolutionary movement. Ellul compares the Jacobins with Washington and calls them the representatives of “dead democracies” (212). One of the most significant figures of the Jacobin movement was Maximilien Robespierre, the leader of the Revolution.
Jenkins’s Terms Regarding the Girondins and Jacobins
If we apply Jenkins’s famous quotation to these two French political movements, some of the statements are likely to be their description. For example, the comparison of Right and Left can describe both of them. The liberal-minded Jacobins are obviously the Left party, those who are the adherents of revolutionary ideas and see ideal future only through fundamental changes. According to Kates, the Jacobins believed that the French king must be tortured and sentenced to death by the Convention (257). The Girondins, the supporters of the right-wing looks, tried in every possible way to oppose revolutionary methods, they were afraid of mass uprisings and tried to stop the riots.
Another Jenkins’s slogan is “Order versus Movement.” The Girondins sought to achieve legitimized power and preserve the republic in integrity. The Jacobins acted differently and counted on the transformation of the state system through the French Revolution. They managed to achieve political dominance in Paris, and the party remained in the top position. It is considered one of the founders of modern French political culture (Güttner 7). The Jacobins carried out several significant reforms, established a centralized system of government, and provided the people of France with substantial benefits. They lowered prices, abolished slavery, and provided jobs to all the needy.
French Political Divisions in Comparison with the US Context
The modern political culture of the United States has some common, albeit insignificant, features with what was happening in France in the late 18th century. The primary positions in today’s American society are occupied by two main parties: the Democrats and the Republicans. If we draw an analogy with the French movements, it is possible to see that the Democrats in the United States are more reminiscent of the Jacobins because of their liberal orientation and the desire for effective actions. The Republicans-conservators have more in common with the Girondins, who sought to maintain the current political system and tried to counteract any changes through global transformations.
However, the fact that the Girondins occupied the leading positions in the Convention also played a role. Dawson notes that both the Jacobins and the Girondins supported the ideas of the Revolution but in different ways (75). The only distinction was that the methods of the former party were perhaps less tolerant than those of the latter. While in power, the Girondins controlled the government; nevertheless, with the advent of the Jacobins, their positions were almost entirely lost. The current president of the United States Donald Trump represents the interests of the Republican Party, and this course of the development of America is unlikely to be similar to the one that could be observed in the France of the 18th century.
Thus, the quotation of Jenkins can be regarded as an assertion determining the peculiarities of French policy in the period of the Revolution. The confrontation between the Girondins and the Jacobins conveys the general character of that era and applies to Jenkins’ statement. The current policy of America has not much in common with those directions that were relevant at the time, but the general type of device in the form of dividing into two main parties allows for some analogy.
Works Cited
Dawson, Christopher. The Gods of Revolution. The Catholic University of America Press, 2015.
Ellul, Jacques. The Political Illusion. Translated by Konrad Kellen, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2015.
Güttner, Darius von. The French Revolution. Edited by Tony Taylor, Cengage Learning, 2015.
Jenkins, Brian. “French Political Culture: Homogeneous of Fragmented?” Contemporary French Cultural Studies, edited by William Kidd and Sian Reynolds, Routledge, 2014, pp. 111-123.
Kates, Gary. The Cercle Social, the Girondins, and the French Revolution. Princeton University Press, 2014.
Mirante, Rand. Medusa’s Head. Archway Publishing, 2014.