 Like the old revolutionary States @-@ General , the new National Assembly contained radically opposed parties : the unitary democrats , led by Pieter Vreede , Johan Valckenaer and Pieter Paulus , and the federalists , such as Jacob Abraham de Mist and Gerard Willem van Marle . But there was a broad continuum of opinion between these poles . In this force @-@ field the federalists held the upper hand after the sudden demise of Paulus ( who might otherwise have acted as a unifier ) . The conservative federalists were more adept at parliamentary manoeuvering ( Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck proved himself especially adept at this ) . The frustration this engendered among the democrats led them to appeal to popular opinion and to extra @-@ parliamentary action . Meanwhile , the Assembly installed a constitutional commission that in November 1796 presented a report that amounted to a continuation of the old federal arrangements . As this was totally unacceptable to the unitarists , this draft was subsequently amended into its opposite , by a compromise that finally formed a basis for a new Constitution . The Assembly now started upon a discussion of other important matters , like the separation between church and state , and the emancipation of minorities . The organs of the state were to be a bicameral Legislative Corps , to be elected in indirect elections , and a Directoire @-@ like Executive of five members . The end result looked much like the French Constitution of 1795 . This was approved by the Assembly on May 10 , 1797 . 
