Media and propaganda have provided the basis for a free society, overthrown governments, and incited wars throughout history. It was a key element of the French Revolution, and was used by revolutionaries to inspire and unite the French people. Persuasive newspapers and pamphlets featured opinion pieces that convinced people of the drastic economic, social and political changes that were needed. Subtle revolutionary themes such as martyrdom and national pride were displayed through art, which could be visited in museums and also mass distributed through prints. Music and festivals were effective in making people feel valued and creating a sense of dedication to the revolution. The use of media and propaganda in the French Revolution systematically distributed revolutionary ideas to the people and altered the course of the movement.
Propaganda first began to be associated with the political system during the French Revolution (Hunt). A strong effort was made to turn people against the monarchy and toward revolutionary ideas through music, festivals, art, cards, posters and prints (Hunt). The French Revolution led to the stringent censorship laws imposed by the French monarchy to be destroyed. Before, ideas that the government deemed unfit, such as slanderous works offensive to the monarchy, were illegal and scarcely available. The liberation of the printing press led to the mass distribution of thoughts and opinions which were often opinionated and called for change (Bernstein). This allowed for people to have constant access to media that advocated for revolutionary interests.
Discontent with Louis XVIII and the French monarchy made people more willing to believe propaganda. France was plagued by rampant starvation, inflation and a lack of funds in 1789. While the people toiled in poor conditions, rumors spread about the royal family having massive banquets and spending exorbitant amounts of money on jewelry and gardens. The most famous quote attributed to Marie Antoinette is “let them eat cake”, even though she never said those words. It was her supposed response to reports about the astronomical prices of bread leading to rampant starvation among the people. Closer examination reveals that there is no historical record of Marie Antoinette ever uttering those words. They were first mentioned in Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions and linked to “a great princess” but revolutionaries inspired by Rousseau’s work misinterpreted it as referring to Antoinette and used it as propaganda (Cunningham). Those words became a rallying cry against the corruption in the monarchy. It became perhaps one of the most effective pieces of propaganda because it illustrated the degree to which the monarchy was out of touch with the people. True or not, the people believed it because of the dismissive conduct of the French monarchy toward the hardships that they faced.
Newspapers and pamphlets were some of the most common forms propaganda and helped spread revolutionary ideas to the mainstream populace. Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès wrote “What is the Third Estate?”, an influential pamphlet which advocated for more power and rights for the common French person. Rejected from the Church because of his non-aristocratic birth, persuasive writing was his method of fighting against the system that discriminated against him. Sieyès argued that the structure of the government oppressed the common man and needed to fundamentally change to represent the interests of the majority and not just a privileged few (Corzine, p. 33). At the time, the clergy and nobility controlled the majority of the Estates General and the rest of the French population rarely had any power in influencing social policy. He stated that the Third Estate was the entire nation and anything that did not uphold the interests of the Third Estate should not be in the nation at all (Halsall). This combative writing helped to empower disenfranchised people and inspired uprising and calls for revolution. Once this injustice was pointed out, more people turned against the corrupt system and revolutionary ideas spread quickly.
Jean Paul Marat used his newspaper, L’Ami du Peuple, to stoke the fears of the French people and incite violence. He strongly supported the revolution and advocated for achieving success in a radical and violent way, famously calling for “200,000 heads to roll”. While Marat’s paper was highly opinionated, many began to take it for absolute truth, which inspired them to support the revolution. The paper’s name, Friend of the People, reflected Marat’s standing with the population. Marat was regarded as a man of the people and was highly popular among the Third Estate. Common people viewed him as someone who was watching out for them in a time where the government and social structure seemed to be suppressing their interests (Silva-Grondin). He often encouraged nationalism by creating fear of conspirators and urging people to unite to expose traitors. He even published lists of people who were suspected counter-revolutionaries to create paranoia. He was a brilliant strategist because he knew how to channel people’s anger to fight for a cause that he believed in (Siegel).
While Marat was beloved by the people, historians generally look upon him as an instigator of violence and hold him responsible for some of the bloodshed. Many people blame him for inciting the September Massacre, which killed over one thousand people. At the time, he was blamed by the moderate Girondins along with Maximilien de Robespierre for promoting the killing. His radical writing consistently called for execution and bloodshed and gradually led the revolution to take a violent turn.
Art was a more subtle, yet perhaps just as effective form of propaganda that revolutionaries used to influence the French people. They did not explicitly state opinions in the work like newspapers and instead relied on people’s interpretation of images. Newspapers and written propaganda were effective but still had one key fault. They could not reach or impact illiterate people, which represented a portion of the masses. Art is universal, meaning it could be appreciated and understood by the entire French population, regardless of education level or socioeconomic status. Revolutionary artists formed an organization called the Popular and Republican Society of the Arts, through which they advocated for nationalistic paintings and sculptures. Jacques Louis David’s “Marat Assassinated” became an influential symbol of the revolution. He depicted Marat as a martyr and glorified his death. Marat was portrayed as a Christ figure, his suffering clearly evident in the painting (Dowd). It also provided people with a graphic image of the death of their beloved writer, which created more hatred and a desire for revenge.
One problem with art as propaganda was that it could sometimes only be seen in museums. This meant that poorer people would not have the same accessibility to the art as a rich bourgeoise citizen. The revolutionaries solved this problem through the use of prints and engravings. Reproductions were made of revolutionary works and sold cheaply in shops across the country, which exposed people of all economic status to these themes. Revolutionary symbols were engraved onto plates and heavily used by the French populace. David’s painting was not just in one location but in households across the country.
The revolutionaries recognized the nationalist sentiment that could be created from paintings and sculpture and seized upon it eagerly. Georges Danton, one of the leaders of the Revolution, called for artistic projects to “inspire the love of liberty and of the fatherland” (Dowd). Representatives from all political groups recognized the potential that propaganda possessed in helping to spread their ideas. As the revolution progressed, the paintings started to become more violent and featured death more. The paintings delivered a strong message to the people of the necessity of fighting and the terrible consequences of being idle and not taking a side (Dowd). The increase in paintings featuring violence and martyrdom directly coincided with the radicalization of the French Revolution.
Music and festivals were used by revolutionaries to unite people and evoke dedication to the revolution. Similarly to art, illiterate people could understand and participate in music. La Marseillaise, now France’s national anthem, was one of the most popular revolutionary songs. The lyrics call for the citizens of France to stand against the tyranny of the government and graphically describe the consequences if citizens do not. It portrays the soldiers as barbarians who wish to harm the common Frenchman and his family. The song specifically mentions soldiers cutting the throats of children, which was powerful in creating a gruesome image in the minds of all Frenchmen (Halsall). Ça Ira, another popular song of the revolution, follows many of the same trends. The song always uses the word “we” to create a group mentality and mentions traitors to create a common enemy. The clergy, priests and nobility are all mentioned as enemies of the revolution in the song and people found easy to unite against the oppressive privileged classes (Halsall). The song calls for achieving equality by ensuring more rights for the everyday citizen, which was a message that the majority of French people could support.
Festivals often featured parades and gatherings that united people physically and emotionally. It inspired nationalistic sentiment by exposing people to others who shared the same beliefs and grievances. The festivals and songs made people feel valued by emphasizing the collective good and mentioning that everyone had an essential role to play in achieving success. Parades and festivals are still used today to organize people and unite, which demonstrates the effectiveness of this form of propaganda.
Propaganda was used during the French Revolution to unite people against a common enemy and to create patriotism. Newspapers, art, prints, engravings and music were all forms that revolutionaries used to achieve their goals. The use of propaganda was highly successful but also exacerbated some of the violence during the revolution and changed the course of the movement.