Constitution-Making and Violence

Abstract

Contrary to a traditional view, constitutions are rarely written in calm and reflective moments. Rather, because they tend to bewritten in period of social unrest, constituent moments induce strong emotions and, frequently, violence. The paper examines two such cases: the Federal Convention of 1787 and the French Assemblee Constituante of 1789–1791. These involved state violence as well as popular violence. In the USA, the unequal political representation of the backcountry explains both the violent events leading to the Convention and its outcome. In France, the dismissal of the King’sMinister Necker explains the subsequent urban and rural violence, and ultimately the abolition of feudalism and the fall of the monarchy. L’anarchie est un passage effrayant, mais necessaire, et c’est le seul moment ou l’on peut arriver a un nouvel ordre des choses. Ce n’est pas dans des temps de calme qu’on prendrait des mesures uniformes. (“Anarchy is a frightening but necessary passage, and the only moment when one can establish a new order of things. It is not in calm times that one can adopt uniform measures”.) (Comte de Clermont-Tonnerre, AR 9, 461)