In 1789 Camus was elected by the
Third Estate of
Paris to the
Estates-General; he attracted attention by his speeches against social inequalities. He was one of the
National Assembly's earliest presidents (28 October11 November 1789), and he was the most frequent speaker: no one addressed the Assembly more times than he did (more than 600 times);
d'André is second at 497, and
le Chapelier third at 447. Camus was so frequently called upon to speak mostly because of his expertise in
canon law. Camus was appointed on 14 August 1789 as archivist to the Commission des archives of the Assembly; the commission was the immediate precursor to the
Archives Nationales. He would retain these functions until his death. He helped to write and voted for the
Civil Constitution of the Clergy, worked to end the practice of paying
annates to the papacy, and promoted the annexation of the
Vaucluse by France. On 30 July 1791, he obtained the abolition of titles of nobility. Elected to the
National Convention by the
département of
Haute-Loire, he was on a
mission outside Paris during the
judgment of Louis XVI. But, he wrote on 13 January 1793 that he voted for "death without appeal and without reprieve". On his return, Camus was
sent to Belgium as one of five commissioners of the convention, to the
Armée du Nord commanded by
General C. F. Dumouriez. The general was in an extremely precarious position, and was suspected of plotting to betray the Revolution. The suspicions were confirmed when Dumouriez delivered Camus with his colleagues to the
Austrians (3 April 1793). After thirty-three months of captivity, Camus was exchanged for
Marie Thérèse of France in November 1795. He played an inconspicuous role in the
Council of Five Hundred, refusing positions in the Ministry of Finance or of Police. He was restored to the office of archivist in 1796 and became absorbed in literary work. He remained an austere
republican, refusing to take part in the
Napoleonic régime. ==External links==