Which was the important law that came into effect soon after the storming of the Bastille in the summer of 1789? How did it change the lives of the common people? Explain.
After the fall of Bastille in the summer of 1789, one important law that came into effect was the abolition of censorship. Before French Revolution, all written material and cultural activities, books, newspapers, plays could be published or performed only after they have been approved by the censors of the king.
This law changed the lives of the common people in the following ways :
- The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and expression to be a natural right.
- Newspapers, pamphlets, books and printed pictures flooded the towns of France, from where they could rapidly reach to the countryside.
- Freedom of press meant that opposing views of events could be expressed.
- Plays, songs and festive procession attracted common men through which they could identify the ideas of liberty or justice of the political philosophers.