Policing Public Opinion in the French Revolution : The Culture of Calumny and the Problem of Free Speech

In the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , French revolutionaries proclaimed the freedom of speech, religion, and opinion. Censorship was abolished, and France appeared to be on a path towards tolerance, pluralism, and civil liberties. A mere four years later, the country descended into a period of political terror, as thousands were arrested, tried, and executed for crimes of expression and opinion. In Policing Public Opinion in the French Revolution , Charles Walton traces the origins of this reversal back to the Old Regime. He shows that while early advocates of press freedom sought to abolish pre-publication censorship, the majority still firmly believed injurious speech--or calumny--constituted a crime, even treason if it undermined the honor of sovereign authority or sacred collective values, such as religion and civic spirit. With the collapse of institutions responsible for regulating honor and morality in 1789, calumny proliferated, as did obsessions with it. Drawing on wide-ranging sources, from National Assembly debates to local police archives, Walton shows how struggles to set legal and moral limits on free speech led to the radicalization of politics, and eventually to the brutal liquidation of "calumniators" and fanatical efforts to rebuild society's moral foundation during the Terror of 1793-1794. With its emphasis on how revolutionaries drew upon cultural and political legacies of the Old Regime, this study sheds new light on the origins of the Terror and the French Revolution, as well as the history of free expression. "In the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, French revolutionaries proclaimed the freedom of speech, religion, and opinion. Censorship was abolished, and France appeared to be on a path toward tolerance, pluralism, and civil liberties. A mere four years later, the country descended into a period of political terror during which thousands were arrested, tried, and executed for crimes of expression and opinion." "With the collapse in 1789 of institutions responsible for regulating honor and morality, calumny proliferated, as did obsessions with it. Drawing on wideranging sources, from National Assembly debates to local police archives, Walton shows how struggles to set legal and moral limits on free speech led to the radicalization of politics, and eventually to the brutal liquidation of "calumniators" and fanatical efforts to rebuild society's moral foundation during the Terror of 1793-1794." "With its emphasis on how revolutionaries drew upon cultural and political legacies of the Old Regime, this study sheds new light on the origins of the Terror and the French Revolution, as well as the history of free expression."--Jacket Contents......Page 12 List of Abbreviations......Page 14 Introduction......Page 18 Part I: The Old Regime......Page 30 ONE: Policing in the Old Regime......Page 32 TWO: The Culture of Calumny and Honor......Page 54 THREE: Imagining Press Freedom and Limits in the Enlightenment......Page 66 FOUR: From the Cahiers de doléances to the Declaration of Rights......Page 88 Part II: The French Revolution......Page 110 FIVE: From Lèse-Nation to the Law of Suspects: Legislating Limits......Page 112 SIX: Oaths, Honor, and the Sacred Foundations of Authority......Page 152 SEVEN: From Local Repression to High Justice: Limits in Action......Page 174 EIGHT: Policing the Moral Limits: Public Spirit, Surveillance, and the Remaking of Mœurs......Page 208 Conclusion......Page 242 Notes......Page 254 Works Cited......Page 308 B......Page 332 C......Page 333 D......Page 336 F......Page 337 G......Page 338 I......Page 339 L......Page 340 M......Page 342 O......Page 343 P......Page 344 R......Page 345 S......Page 347 U......Page 348 Y......Page 349 In Policing Public Opinion In The French Revolution, Charles Walton Traces The Problem Of Freedom Of Expression From The Old Regime To The French Revolution. He Shows How Obsessions With Honor, Religion, And Morality Persisted After The Declaration Of Free Speech In 1789, Contributing To Radicalization And, Eventually, The Reign Of Terror.