Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, 1817, by Jacques-Louis David

Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès (May 3, 1748 – June 20, 1836) (pronounced [sjejɛs] or [sijɛs]) was a French abbé and statesman, one of the chief theorists of the French Revolution, French Consulate, and First French Empire. Jacques-Louis David (August 30 1748 &ndash December 29 1825 was a highly influential French painter in the Neoclassical style considered to be Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Year 1748 ( MDCCXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 451 - Battle of Chalons: Flavius Aetius ' defeats Attila the Hun. Year 1836 ( MDCCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Abbé (from Latin Abbas, in turn from Greek αββας =  abbas Father, from Aramaic abba) is the French word for The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or His 1789 pamphlet What is the Third Estate? became the manifesto of the Revolution that helped transform the Estates-General into the National Assembly in June 1789. Qu'est-ce que le tiers état? is a pamphlet written by Abbé Sieyès in January 1789 In 1799, he was the instigator of the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire, which brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power. 18 Brumaire, the coup of 18 Brumaire or sometimes simply Brumaire refers to the Coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. He was also a pioneer of the social sciences, and was the first to use the term "sociologie" (French for "sociology"). Sieyès and his party spoke the language of democracy, unlike Jean Joseph Mounier and his party the Monarchiens. Jean Joseph Mounier ( November 12, 1758 - 28 January, 1806) was a French Politician. Monarchiens is a derogatory term used to describe one of the revolutionary factions in the earliest stages of the French Revolution.

Early life

He was born in Fréjus in the south of France, and was educated for priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church at the Sorbonne. Fréjus can also refer to the Fréjus Road Tunnel and the Fréjus Rail Tunnel in the Alps A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities This article is about the Collège de Sorbonne. For other uses of the name see Sorbonne. While there, he became influenced by the teachings of John Locke, Étienne Bonnot de Condillac, the Encyclopédistes, and other political thinkers, all in preference to theology. John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704 was an English Philosopher. Étienne Bonnot de Condillac (30 September 1715 - 3 August 1780 was a French Philosopher. Encyclopédie ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences des arts et des métiers (Encyclopedia or a systematic dictionary of the sciences arts and crafts was a general Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective

Despite this embrace of Enlightenment thinking, he was ordained to the priesthood, and was rapidly promoted to vicar general and chancellor of the diocese of Chartres. The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century A vicar general (often abbreviated VG) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority See also Chancellor (disambiguation Two quite distinct officials of some Christian Churches have the title Chancellor.

What Is the Third Estate? and the Declaration

In 1788, the King proposed convocation of the Estates-General of France after the interval of more than a century and a half, and the invitation of Jacques Necker to writers to state their views as to the organization of the Estates, enabled Sieyès to publish his celebrated January 1789 pamphlet, Qu’est-ce que le tiers état? ("What Is the Third Estate?") He begins his answer:

"What is the Third Estate? Everything. The Estates-General (or States-General) of 1789 (Les États-Généraux de 1789 was the first meeting since 1614 of the French Estates-General Jacques Necker ( September 30, 1732 &ndash April 9, 1804) was a French statesman of Swiss origin and finance A pamphlet is an unbound Booklet (that is without a hard cover or binding) The Estates of the realm were the broad divisions of society usually distinguishing Nobility, Clergy, and Commoners recognized in the Middle Ages What has it been hitherto in the political order? Nothing. What does it desire? To be something. "

This phrase, which was to remain famous, is said to have been inspired by Nicolas Chamfort. Nicolas Chamfort (April 6 1741, Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne France - April 13, 1794, Paris) was a French The pamphlet was very successful, and its author, despite his clerical vocation (which made him part of the First Estate), was elected as the last (the twentieth) of the deputies the Third Estate of Paris to the Estates-General. The Estates of the realm were the broad divisions of society usually distinguishing Nobility, Clergy, and Commoners recognized in the Middle Ages Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city He played his main role in the opening years of the Revolution, drafting the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen, expanding on the theory of national sovereignty, popular sovereignty, and representation implied in his pamphlet, with a distinction between active and passive citizens that justified suffrage limited to male owners of property. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the belief that the legitimacy of the State is created by the will or consent of its people, who Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning "voting tablet" and figuratively "right to vote" probably from suffrago "hough" and originally

Significance of "What Is the Third Estate?" to the French Revolution

The contributions of Sieyès’s pamphlet were indispensable to the revolutionary thought that projected France down the slippery slope that became the French Revolution. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an In his pamphlet he outlined the desires and frustrations of the alienated class of people that made up the third estate. In many senses of the expression, he was the force that ripped the band-aid off the Ancien Régime in France, there by revealing the fraudulent nobility and more importantly the overburdened and despondent working class on which they preyed. Ancien Régime ( pronounced: /ɑ̃sjɛ̃ ʁeʒim/ refers primarily to the aristocratic social and political system established in The pamphlet was essentially the rallying cry that united a voiceless class, whose subjugation by an elitist and self-serving French political culture gave way to an unheard-of political force, nonetheless, a force with outlined and clearly stated grievances that for the first time were not to be overlooked in the convocation of the Estates General.

The pamphlet redefined the meaning of “public service,” against the conventional wisdom. The aristocracy defined themselves as an elite ruling class charged with the “arduous” task of maintaining the social order in France. On the contrary, Sieyès saw public service as a function performed not by the first or second but rather the third estate. Expression of radical thought at its best, the pamphlet placed sovereignty not in the hands of the uninformed, self-serving aristocrats, but instead defined the nation of France by its working class, whose daily trials and tribulations “are the activities which support society. ” The French Revolution could not have been what it was without this patriotic and “radical” message, more importantly one so eagerly dispersed by the rising revolutionary politics within the third estate.

Furthermore, by defining the third estate as the primary mechanism of public service, he deliberately called into question the role of the aristocracy, alternatively portraying their role as foreign to the nation of France. The aristocratic arrogance and their ability to act absolutely and without query were precisely the grounds upon which Sieyès justified noble privilege as “treason to the commonwealth. ” This being perhaps the most daunting of his rhetorical repertoire, Sieyès essentially used the nobility’s own arrogance and self-imposed privileges to establish the aristocracy as an alien body acting outside of the general will and the nation of France. Ironically, it was for these exact self-serving means that the Parlement of Paris pressured the king to call the Estates general. This article is for the Ancien Régime institution For the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution see French Parliament. As a consequence, the resulting conflict between the orders inspired the proper political sphere from which the revolution grew.

Perhaps most significant was the influence of Sieyès’s pamphlet on the structural concerns that arose surrounding the convocation of the Estates general. Specifically, the third estate demanded their representation be made up of members from the third estate, that the number of deputies for their order be equal that of the two privileged orders combined, and most controversially “that the States General Vote, Not by Orders, but by Heads. ” The pamphlet took these issues to the masses and their partial appeasement was met with revolutionary reaction. By addressing the issues of unjust representation directly, Sieyès inspired resentment and agitation that united the third estate against the feudalistic traditions of the Ancien Régime.

Assemblies, Convention, and Terror

Although not noted as a speaker (he spoke rarely and briefly), Sieyès had major influence, and he recommended the decision of the Estates to reunite its chamber as the National Assembly, although he opposed the abolition of tithes and the confiscation of Church lands. The National Assembly of France is the lower legislative house under the French Fifth Republic. A tithe (from Old English teogoþa "tenth" is a one-tenth part of something paid as a (usually voluntary contribution or as a Tax or levy Elected to the special committee on the constitution, he opposed the right of "absolute veto" for the King of France, which Honoré Mirabeau unsuccessfully supported. A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is A veto, Latin for "I forbid" is used to Denote that a certain party has the right to stop unilaterally a certain piece of Legislation. List of Queens and Empresses of France Wikipedia_talkFeatured_lists#Proposed_change_to_all_featured_lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below Honoré Gabriel Riqueti Comte de Mirabeau ( March 9, 1749 &ndash April 2, 1791) was a French writer popular orator and statesman He had considerable influence on the framing of the departmental system, but, after the spring of 1790, he was eclipsed by other politicians, and was elected only once to the post of fortnightly president of the Constituent Assembly. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division The National Constituent Assembly (Assemblée nationale constituante was formed from the National Assembly on 9 July 1789, during the first stages of the

Like all other members of the Constituent Assembly, he was excluded from the Legislative Assembly by the ordinance, initially proposed by Maximilien Robespierre, that decreed that none of its members should be eligible for the next legislature. During the French Revolution, the Legislative Assembly was the legislature of France from October 1 1791 to September 1792. Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (maksimiljɛ̃ fʁɑ̃swa maʁi izidɔʁ də ʁɔbɛspjɛʁ ( 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) He reappeared in the third national Assembly, known as the National Convention of the French Republic (September 1792 - September 1795). During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the Constitutional and legislative assembly The First Republic in France, officially the French Republic (République française was proclaimed on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. He voted for the death of Louis XVI, but not in the contemptuous terms sometimes ascribed to him^[1]. Louis XVI ( 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) Louis-Auguste de France, ruled as King of France and Navarre Menaced by the Reign of Terror, and offended by its character, Sieyès even abjured his faith at the time of the installation of the Cult of Reason, and afterwards he characterized his conduct during the period in the ironic phrase, J'ai vécu ("I survived"). Saint justjpg|thumbnail|200px| Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just]] The Reign of Terror' (5 September 1793 &ndash 28 July 1794 or simply The Terror (la Terreur was Abjuration is the solemn repudiation abandonment or renunciation by or upon Oath, often the renunciation of Citizenship or some other Right or Privilege The Cult of Reason (Culte de la Raison was a creed based on Secularism and Atheism devised during the French Revolution by Jacques Hébert

Directory and intrigue

In 1795 he went on a diplomatic mission to The Hague, and was instrumental in drawing up a treaty between the French and Batavian republics. Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting Negotiations between representatives of groups or states The Batavian Republic (Bataafse Republiek was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. He resented the constitution of 1795 (that of the Directory), and refused to serve as a Director of the Republic. The Constitution of 1795, Constitution of 22 August 1795, Constitution of the Year III, or Constitution of 5 Fructidor was a national Constitution The Executive Directory ( Directoire exécutif) was a body of 5 single-male Directors that held executive power in France following In May 1798 he went as the plenipotentiary of France to the court of Berlin, in order to try to induce Prussia to ally with France against the Second Coalition; despite his efforts, this was not to happen. The word plenipotentiary (from the Latin, plenus + potens, full + power has two meanings Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state The " Second Coalition " ( 1799 &ndash 1802) was the second attempt by other European powers to contain or eliminate Revolutionary His prestige grew, and he was Director of France in place of Jean-François Rewbell in May 1799. Jean-François Rewbell ( October 8, 1747 &mdash November 23, 1807) was a French lawyer diplomat and politician of the Revolution

Nevertheless, Sieyès was considering ways to overthrow the Directory, and is said to have taken in view the replacement of the government with unlikely rulers such as Archduke Charles of Austria and Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand of Brunswick (a major enemy of the Revolution). Archduke Charles of Austria Duke of Teschen ( de: Erzherzog Karl von Österreich Herzog von Teschen, also known as Karl von Österreich-Teschen Charles William Ferdinand Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel-Bevern ( Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand Herzog zu Braunschweig-Lüneburg Fürst von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern He attempted to undermine the constitution, and thus caused the revived Jacobin Club to be closed while making offers to General Joubert for a coup d'état. The Jacobin Club was the largest and most powerful political club of the French Revolution. Barthélemy Catherine Joubert ( April 14, 1769 &mdash August 15, 1799) was a French general

Brumaire, Empire, and later life

The death of Joubert at the Battle of Novi, and the return of Napoleon Bonaparte from the Egypt campaign put an end to this project, but Sieyès resumed it by reaching a new understanding with Bonaparte. The Battle of Novi was a Battle near Novi Ligure, Italy. It was fought on August 15, 1799 in the French Revolutionary Wars Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Egypt was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1517 Egypt was always a difficult province for the Ottoman Sultans to control After 18 Brumaire, Sieyès produced the constitution which he had long been planning, only to have it completely remodelled by Bonaparte, who thereby achieved a coup within the coup - the Constitution of the Year VIII favored by the latter became the basis of the Consulate. 18 Brumaire, the coup of 18 Brumaire or sometimes simply Brumaire refers to the Coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew The Constitution of the Year VIII was a national Constitution of France, adopted December 24 1799 (during the Year VIII of the French Revolutionary The Consulate was the government of France between the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799 until the start of the

Sieyès soon retired from the post of provisional Consul, which he had accepted after Brumaire, and became one of the first senators; pasquinades at the time linked this concession to the large estate at Crosne that he received from Napoleon. Consul (abbrev cos; Latin plural consules) was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire The Senate (Sénat is the Upper house of the Parliament of France, presided over by a president. For other uses see Estate. An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds ^[2] After the plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise in late December 1800, Sieyès the senator defended the arbitrary and illegal proceedings whereby Bonaparte rid himself of the leading Jacobins. The plot of the Rue Saint-Nicaise, also known as the Machine infernale ( English: Infernal machine) plot was an Assassination attempt on the

During the Empire (1804-1814) Sieyès rarely emerged from his retirement. The Empire of the French (1804-1814 also known as the Empire of France, Greater French Empire, First French Empire, French Empire, or When Napoleon briefly returned to power in 1815 he was named to the Chamber of Peers. The Hundred Days was the period between Napoleon Bonaparte 's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the restoration After the Second Restoration Sieyès was expelled from the Academy in 1816 by Louis XVIII. Following the ousting of Napoleon I of France in 1814 the Allies restored the Bourbon Dynasty to the French throne Louis XVIII (17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824 Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, was a King of France and Navarre. He then moved to Brussels, but returned to France after the July Revolution of 1830. Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution, saw the overthrow of King Charles X, the French He died in Paris in 1836.

Sieyès and the Social Sciences

1795 Sieyès became one of the first members of the class of moral and political sciences, the future Academy of Moral and Political Sciences of the Institute of France. When the the French Academy was reorganized in 1803, he was elected in the second class replacing, in armchair 31, Jean Sylvain Bailly, who had been guillotined November 12, 1793 during the Reign of Terror. L'Académie française, or the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. Jean-Sylvain Bailly ( September 15, 1736 &ndash November 12, 1793) was a French astronomer and Orator, one of Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days Year 1793 ( MDCCXCIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Saint justjpg|thumbnail|200px| Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just]] The Reign of Terror' (5 September 1793 &ndash 28 July 1794 or simply The Terror (la Terreur was After the second Restoration, however, in 1815, he was expelled for his role in the execution of King Louis XVI, and was replaced by the Marquis of Lally-Tollendal, who was named to the Academy by a royal decree.

The recent publication of his unpublished works shows that he was the first to use the term 'sociologie' in 1780, ^[3] although the term was some fifty years later again introduced as a neologism by Auguste Comte who helped to popularize the concept to refer to the science of society. Auguste Comte (full name Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte; 17 January 1798 – 5 September 1857 was a French thinker who is generally credited for having

Notes

1. ^ "La Mort, sans phrases" ("Death, without rhetoric") being his supposed words during the debate on Louis' fate
2. ^ Crosne, Essonne, had belonged to the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, with a seigneurie that descended in the family of Brancas; both came to the French State with the Revolution. Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. The Benedictine Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, just beyond the outskirts of early medieval Paris, was the burial place of Merovingian kings of
3. ^ Des Manuscrits de Sieyès. 1773-1799, Volumes I and II, published by Christine Fauré, Jacques Guilhaumou, Jacques Vallier et Françoise Weil, Paris, Champion, 1999 and 2007

See also

• Les Neuf Sœurs

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Les Neuf Sœurs (The Nine Sisters established in Paris in 1776 was a prominent French Masonic Lodge of the Grand Orient de France that was influential The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

External links

• Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911: Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes
• Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes, What is the Third Estate? (Excerpts)
• What is the third estate?
• Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès at Find A Grave