Joseph-Henri baron de Jessé
Encyclopedia
Joseph-Henri baron de Jessé (1755–1794) was a French nobleman and government official, who served as President of the French National Constituent Assembly
from 30 August 1790 to 10 September 1790.
, in the Hérault
department of France
, on 21 August 1755.
Some sources give his year of birth as 1746, but most record it as 1755. His father was Antoine-Joseph Jessé baron de Levas (c1715-1794), Aide-Major of the Coastal Guard, and his mother was Marie-Charlotte de Nizeaux (died 1762). He had one sister, Victoire de Jessé.
He was a captain in the cavalry regiment Royal Picardie, the regiment having been reinstated under the military reforms of December 1762.
France at that time was still an autocracy
based on the divine right of kings
.
This meant the whole country belonged to the monarch, whose government was one of rights rather than obligations. The French nobility had certain privileges, with the rank of officer in the army and navy being restricted to those with at least two generations of nobility on either side.
He married Madeleine Rousset de Saint-Eloi, on 22 February 1788.
They had two children, Pauline de Jessé and Antoine de Jessé. Antoine served in the Garde du Corps of Louis XVIII, before giving up his military career in 1817 to devote himself to journalism, literature and good works; he died in December 1854.
In the year 1788, 49% of the national income was spent on paying the interest on outstanding loans.
On 24 January 1789, the Estates-General
was reluctantly convoked by King Louis XVI for the first time since 1614.
On 26 March 1789 Jessé was elected to the Estates-General by the sénéchaussée Béziers, to serve as a deputy of the nobility.
The Estates-General soon reached a deadlock. The Third Estate, or Commoners, broke away during June and formed its own assembly. Jessé was amongst those who helped persuade the three orders of Clergy, Nobility and Commoners to eventually reunite and form the National Constituent Assembly
, which was declared on 9 July 1789.
The Bastille was stormed, and fell on 14 July 1789.
The people of Paris believed that weapons and gunpowder were being stored in the Bastille, and fearing the city was about to be placed under military occupation by soldiers loyal to the King, the people decided to storm and occupy the fortress.
Jessé was admitted to sit in the National Constituent Assembly on 7 August 1789, as a replacement for the Marquis de Gayon, who had resigned.
He sided with the moderates and conservatives. When debating the newly drafted Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which was adopted by the National Assembly on 27 August 1789, Jessé had tried to convince the Assembly to abandon the principle of resistance to oppression. He also proposed that large quantities of silveware owned by the French Church should be melted down to provide funds for the relief of the poor.
In 1790 Jessé objected to the proposed annexation of Avignon
with France. Avignon had risen up and imposed the election of a new municipality: it expelled its papal vice-legate
on 17 June 1790, and demanded its integration with France. The National Assembly twice refused to ratify the annexation: on 22 August and 20 November 1790.
Jessé continued to vote with the supporters of the Old Regime.
In March 1791, Jessé proposed that only the King should have the power to appoint government ministers. A new constitution was accepted by King Louis XVI in September 1791, and he was renamed 'King of the French'. Under the new constitution, Louis could appoint ministers but the legislature could remove them; he was not able to propose laws and had a veto which only blocked legislation for a maximum of three years.
From late 1791 onwards, Jessé campaigned for the rights of émigrés, and the protection of their property.
Émigrés were French royalists who fled the country to escape the Revolution of 1789. From the safety of their self-imposed exile abroad, many émigrés conspired against the Revolutionary government. The Revolutionary leaders decreed that émigrés who failed to return to France by January 1792 would be declared to be traitors and would be sentenced to death in their absence. In October 1792 the state imposed perpetual banishment on all émigrés, and formally confiscated their property.
As the Revolution progressed, Jessé argued that France should become a constitutional monarchy, rather than a Republic. However, the monarchy was formally abolished on 21 September 1792, and King Louis XVI was executed in January 1793.
The Reign of Terror
began on 5 September 1793, with aristocrats and conservatives being deemed enemies of the state. Jessé was eventually arrested and incarcerated at Moulins. He was then transferred to the Conciergerie
in Paris, where he died of typhus
on 6 February 1794, the day before he was due to be guillotine
d.
His father also died in 1794, having been imprisoned with his family during the Terror. His father was arrested despite both his advanced age and the popularity he enjoyed among his countrymen.
National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
from 30 August 1790 to 10 September 1790.
Early life and family
Joseph-Henri de Jessé was born in BéziersBéziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
, in the Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
department of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, on 21 August 1755.
Some sources give his year of birth as 1746, but most record it as 1755. His father was Antoine-Joseph Jessé baron de Levas (c1715-1794), Aide-Major of the Coastal Guard, and his mother was Marie-Charlotte de Nizeaux (died 1762). He had one sister, Victoire de Jessé.
He was a captain in the cavalry regiment Royal Picardie, the regiment having been reinstated under the military reforms of December 1762.
France at that time was still an autocracy
Autocracy
An autocracy is a form of government in which one person is the supreme power within the state. It is derived from the Greek : and , and may be translated as "one who rules by himself". It is distinct from oligarchy and democracy...
based on the divine right of kings
Divine Right of Kings
The divine right of kings or divine-right theory of kingship is a political and religious doctrine of royal and political legitimacy. It asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving his right to rule directly from the will of God...
.
This meant the whole country belonged to the monarch, whose government was one of rights rather than obligations. The French nobility had certain privileges, with the rank of officer in the army and navy being restricted to those with at least two generations of nobility on either side.
He married Madeleine Rousset de Saint-Eloi, on 22 February 1788.
They had two children, Pauline de Jessé and Antoine de Jessé. Antoine served in the Garde du Corps of Louis XVIII, before giving up his military career in 1817 to devote himself to journalism, literature and good works; he died in December 1854.
French Revolution
By the late 1780s France was in a dire financial situation, the royal coffers having been declared insolvent in 1786.In the year 1788, 49% of the national income was spent on paying the interest on outstanding loans.
On 24 January 1789, the Estates-General
Estates-General of 1789
The Estates-General of 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General, a general assembly representing the French estates of the realm: the nobility, the Church, and the common people...
was reluctantly convoked by King Louis XVI for the first time since 1614.
On 26 March 1789 Jessé was elected to the Estates-General by the sénéchaussée Béziers, to serve as a deputy of the nobility.
The Estates-General soon reached a deadlock. The Third Estate, or Commoners, broke away during June and formed its own assembly. Jessé was amongst those who helped persuade the three orders of Clergy, Nobility and Commoners to eventually reunite and form the National Constituent Assembly
National Constituent Assembly
The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the French Revolution. It dissolved on 30 September 1791 and was succeeded by the Legislative Assembly.-Background:...
, which was declared on 9 July 1789.
The Bastille was stormed, and fell on 14 July 1789.
The people of Paris believed that weapons and gunpowder were being stored in the Bastille, and fearing the city was about to be placed under military occupation by soldiers loyal to the King, the people decided to storm and occupy the fortress.
Jessé was admitted to sit in the National Constituent Assembly on 7 August 1789, as a replacement for the Marquis de Gayon, who had resigned.
He sided with the moderates and conservatives. When debating the newly drafted Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, which was adopted by the National Assembly on 27 August 1789, Jessé had tried to convince the Assembly to abandon the principle of resistance to oppression. He also proposed that large quantities of silveware owned by the French Church should be melted down to provide funds for the relief of the poor.
In 1790 Jessé objected to the proposed annexation of Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
with France. Avignon had risen up and imposed the election of a new municipality: it expelled its papal vice-legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
on 17 June 1790, and demanded its integration with France. The National Assembly twice refused to ratify the annexation: on 22 August and 20 November 1790.
Jessé continued to vote with the supporters of the Old Regime.
In March 1791, Jessé proposed that only the King should have the power to appoint government ministers. A new constitution was accepted by King Louis XVI in September 1791, and he was renamed 'King of the French'. Under the new constitution, Louis could appoint ministers but the legislature could remove them; he was not able to propose laws and had a veto which only blocked legislation for a maximum of three years.
From late 1791 onwards, Jessé campaigned for the rights of émigrés, and the protection of their property.
Émigrés were French royalists who fled the country to escape the Revolution of 1789. From the safety of their self-imposed exile abroad, many émigrés conspired against the Revolutionary government. The Revolutionary leaders decreed that émigrés who failed to return to France by January 1792 would be declared to be traitors and would be sentenced to death in their absence. In October 1792 the state imposed perpetual banishment on all émigrés, and formally confiscated their property.
As the Revolution progressed, Jessé argued that France should become a constitutional monarchy, rather than a Republic. However, the monarchy was formally abolished on 21 September 1792, and King Louis XVI was executed in January 1793.
The Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
began on 5 September 1793, with aristocrats and conservatives being deemed enemies of the state. Jessé was eventually arrested and incarcerated at Moulins. He was then transferred to the Conciergerie
Conciergerie
La Conciergerie is a former royal palace and prison in Paris, France, located on the west of the Île de la Cité, near the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. It is part of the larger complex known as the Palais de Justice, which is still used for judicial purposes...
in Paris, where he died of typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
on 6 February 1794, the day before he was due to be guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
d.
His father also died in 1794, having been imprisoned with his family during the Terror. His father was arrested despite both his advanced age and the popularity he enjoyed among his countrymen.
See also
- French RevolutionFrench RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
- List of Presidents of the French National Assembly
- Old Regime and the Revolution
- Ancien Régime in FranceAncien Régime in FranceThe Ancien Régime refers primarily to the aristocratic, social and political system established in France from the 15th century to the 18th century under the late Valois and Bourbon dynasties...
External links
- Presidents of the French National Constituent Assembly 1789-1791 http://www.portalestoria.net/FRANCIA%2012.htm#Presidenti_dellAssemblea_Nazionale_Costituente_1789/1791
- National Assembly of France 1789-1791 (see page 13) http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/histoire/trombino-1789/91a100.pdf
- Avignon during the French Revolution http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/avignon-tourism/avignon-history/revolution-avignon.htm
- Pamphlet published by Jessé regarding the Conjuration of 14 July http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k406500.image.f4
- French National Assembly official website http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/histoire/presidents/an_constituante.asp