Edmond Louis Alexis Dubois-Crancé | |
|---|---|
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| 12th President of the National Convention | |
| In office 21 February – 7 March 1793 (1793-02-21 –1793-03-07) | |
| Preceded by | Jean-Jacques Bréard |
| Succeeded by | Armand Gensonné |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1747-10-14)14 October 1747 |
| Died | 28 June 1814(1814-06-28) (aged 66) Rethel, Ardennes, France |
| Party | The Mountain |
Edmond-Louis-Alexis Dubois de Crancé, dit Dubois-Crancé (French:[ɛdmɔ̃lwialɛksidybwakʁɑ̃se]; 14 October 1747 – 28 June 1814), was a Frenchmusketeer, general, and revolutionary politician who served for a few months asminister of war.
Born inCharleville,Ardennes, he was at first amusketeer, then alieutenant of theMarchaux (guardsmen of theAncien Régime), and embracedLiberalism.[1][2]
At the start of theFrench Revolution in 1789, he was elected deputy to theStates-General by theThird Estate ofVitry-le-François, and joined theNational Assembly.[3] (His portrait stands in the foreground inJacques-Louis David's celebrated sketch of theOath of the Tennis Court.)
In theConstituent Assembly, of which he was named secretary in November, Dubois-Crancé carried out activities in support of military reforms. He aimed for the replacement of the old military system, one of promotions on the basis ofaristocratic origin and reliance onmercenaries, replaced by an organization ofNational Guards in which all citizens should be admitted. In his report, submitted on 12 December 1789, he plumped for a true national army in a speech that called for every citizen to be a soldier and every soldier a citizen.[4][5] He was the first[citation needed] to promote the idea ofconscription, which he opposed to therecruiting system practiced; however, the document was not adopted. He succeeded in securing the Assembly's vote that anyAfrican slave who touched French soil should become free.[citation needed]
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After the Constituent, Dubois-Crancé was namedmaréchal-de-camp, but he refused to be placed under the orders of theMarquis de La Fayette and preferred to serve as a simplegrenadier.
Elected to theFrench Republic'sNational Convention by theArdennesdépartement, he sided withThe Mountain, but without following any one leader - eitherGeorge Danton orMaximilien Robespierre. During the trial ofKingLouis XVI, Dubois-Crancé voted forthe death penalty without delay orappeal. On the 21 February 1793, he was named president of the Convention.
On May 29, 1793,fighting broke at in Lyon as royalists attempted to overthrow the National Convention. Dubois-Crancé, being a member of the convention, took to the task of trying to resolve the dispute diplomatically with the royalists, but the royalists refused his entreaties and the revolt was brutally crushed.[6]
Although he was a member of the two committees of general defence which preceded theReign of Terror'sCommittee of Public Safety, he did not belong to the latter at its creation. Instead, he composed an important report on the state of theFrench Revolutionary Army, recommending two measures which contributed largely to its success - the rapid advancement of thelower officers, which opened the way for the most successful generals of the Revolution, and the fusion of thevolunteers with theveteran troops.
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In August 1793, Dubois-Crancé was designated representative on mission to the army of theAlps, to direct the siege ofLyon, which had revolted against France's government. Accused of "lack of zeal", he was replaced byGeorges Couthon. On his return he defended himself, but was excluded from theJacobin Club at the instance of his rival Robespierre on 11 July 1794. Consequently, he was approached to take part in theThermidor Coup that toppled Robespierre at the end of the month. However, he would not join theRoyalist reaction which followed, and was one of the Committee of Five which had to oppose the Royalist insurrection known as13 Vendémiaire (in October 1795).
It was also during this period that Dubois-Crancé was named a member of the Committee of Public Safety, already much reduced in importance. After the Convention, under theDirectory, Dubois-Crancé was a member of theCouncil of Five Hundred, and was appointedInspector General ofinfantry, then, in 1799, minister of war. In November, he also opposedNapoleon Bonaparte'scoup d'état (the18 Brumaire), and lived in retirement duringConsulate and theEmpire, dying inRethel.
It came to be known--every one talked of it and after every one had talked about it, the Notables, drawn from the upper classes and practically a ministerial assembly, separated on May 25 without having done or decided anything. During their deliberations Calonne was replaced by Loménie de Brienne, Archbishop of Sens.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dubois-Crancé, Edmond Louis Alexis".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 625.It cites as a reference:| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Minister of War 14 September 1799 - 10 November 1799 | Succeeded by |
French Directory (2 November 1795 to 10 November 1799) | |||||||||||||||
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