Nibbe, Tristan Per 5 Euro History DBQ In 1789 a new calender was adopted by the french government in an attempt

to limit the amount of religious holidays given to common workers and eventually force all of Europe to conform to one datekeeping system facilitating trade and travel. Most workers and members of the clergy were outraged at what they saw as a blatant attempt to usurp the old order of date-keeping simply to squeeze as many work hours as possible out of peasants. Doc 9 is written by the Minister of the interior and strongly supports the calender, stating that industrious and active citizens are grateful to their legislators for having reduced the number of days spent in rest claiming that all those who complain about the lack of holidays are simply lazy and unambitious. This is interesting as not only would the increased workload and subsequent increased taxation benefit the Minister but he also seems to demonstrate a lot of knowledge about how hard the work day could be while working as a farmer, especially for a person who to my knowledge grew up as part of a upper class nobility. Similarly document 1 which speaks not only of the great help that will be given to the government as the working class is forced to struggle under nine day weeks, but of the perfection of religious worship that this represents, Of course these are all the rationalizations that the government gives to the working class to supplicate them and may not represent the actual opinion of the clergy. This along with 5 ,6 and 1 form a group who strongly support the new calender , whether for personal gain or improvement of government or whether it was seen as a perfection of religious worship. The documents written by peasants , 6 and 7, had differing opinions on the reform. Doc 6 praised the church for its services and the government for its great deeds as well as for the great joy it brings the peasant class. It never mentions the increased work week or the lack of holidays that this

new calender enforces which seem to be the larger problem among all those who oppose the new calender. Whereas Doc 7 clearly states that the workload required by the new calender is ridiculous and states how the day laborers , who make much more than common peasants are even complaining about it. This shows that while the calender was largely disliked by the working class , it did have its supporters, largely among those fanatical enough about the government to support its ventures entirely. A large number of the doc are written by government officials , with mixed opinions as well .Docs 5 , 8 , 9 and 10 are all by members of the government , while they are evenly split between for and against the new system, one of those condemning it was formerly imprisoned and would most likely harbor some resentment for the government that allowed this. The other official who chooses to speak out against what he sees as an affront to his religion. His condemnation of this government supported action shows that not all officials supported it wholeheartedly, although this may be due to him being the official representative and thus having one of the highest possible position in a normal European town. This may have caused certain delusions of grandeur that may not be possible when constantly reminded of the power of the revolutionary government. Documents 9 and 5 both praise the calender as allowing more work possible by peasants as well as creating and international uniformity that would eventually facilitate trade. These concerns , while valid , are largely those of a wealthy and government controlling class unbridled by the every day concerns of the peasant class. The new calender would eventually be abolished to cheers by the peasant class and no doubt some silent groans from the nobility. In an attempt to regulate work hours the government abolished most national holidays and started a nine day work week, forcing peasants to work far more than ever before. The peasants displeasure would eventually show itself in the coup and eventual reestablishment of the old calender.