The “Non-Aligned Status” of French Emigrés and Refugees in Philadelphia, 1793-1798

The key pieces of anti-emigre legislation, passed by the Convention on 28 March 1793 defined seven categories of emigres but made little distinction between the intentions of nearly 150,000 French men and women that fled war, Terror, and political upheaval during the Revolution. All were deemed “traitors” and “unpatriotic” (impatriotes) and faced the death penalty upon return to France as well as the confiscation of their property along with other penalties borne by their families. Added to t...