Stages of a Revolution

Examples from French Revolution

Crane Brinton, The Anatomy of a Revolution

• Every revolution begins with the problems of the Old Regime

• 1st stage = increasing dissatisfaction with the Old regime, spontaneous acts of protest and violence, overthrow

• 2nd stage = honeymoon with moderate new government

• 3rd stage = takeover of the extremists, loss of individualism, the government becomes violent and excessive

• 4th stage = reestablishment of some sort of equilibrium, rights, etc., usually under a “strongman”

Convalescence

Crisis Stage

Symptomatic Stage

Incubation Stage

Example of a Metaphorical Representation: FEVER MODEL OF REVOLUTION

Much like an illness, revolutions can also be studied in stages

French Revolution

Convalescence

Crisis Stage

Symptomatic Stage

Incubation Stage

This stage in an illness is when the cause of the sickness first comesinto contact with the individual, infecting them, but not yet causingany symptoms to present themselves.

What would this stage be like in a revolution?

In a revolution, this stage would involve the political, social, intellectual,or economic causes. In some cases, these causes could fester formany years before showing themselves in the form of actualrevolutionary action.---CONDITIONS FOR A REVOLUTION

Conditions for a Revolution---wealth and power are distributed

unequally---severe economic problems---a group of intellectuals criticizes the

government---the government uses it power to

maintain the status quo and repress dissents

---the classes of people are in conflict, and the most ambitious are blocked from gaining power

---different groups want different changes---people obtain weapons in a fairly large

amounts---ideals are easy for people to believe in

and become the slogan/war cry

• Estates System• France on brink of bankruptcy• Enlightenment Philosophes-

Voltaire and Diderot jailed; banning and burning of books

• Abbie Sieyes and “What is the Third Estate?”

• Bourgeoisie---Most Ambitious• Nobles wanted to protect tax-

exempt status• Storming of the Bastille• Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity

The French Revolution

Detail From Triumph of Marat, Boilly, 1794 (Musee des Beaux-Arts)

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Conditions---Government under the Old Regime:The Divine Right of Kings

• Monarch ruled by divine right– God put the world in motion– God put some people in positions of power– Power is given by God– No one can question God– No one can question someone put in power by

God– Questioning the monarchy was blasphemy

because it meant questioning God

What the King Did

Appointed the Intendants, the “petty tyrants” who governed

France’s 30 districts

Appointed the people who would collect his taxes and carry out his

laws

Controlled justice by appointing judges

Controlled the military

Could imprison anyone at any time for any

reason (blank warrants of arrest were called

lettres de cachet)

Levied all taxes and decided how to spend

the money

Made all lawsMade decisions

regarding war and peace

• Severe economic problems affected much of the country

• France in debt, spending lavishly, borrowing money, and facing bankruptcy

• Hailstorm and drought ruined harvest; harsh winter limited flour production

• People hungry and angry; clergy and nobility no help

A Financial Crisis• Conditions of a

Revolution---Economic Problems

The Financial Crisis• The government of France, however, was

bankrupt and was facing a serious financial crisis.

• The crisis resulted from:– An inefficient and unfair tax structure, which

placed the burden of taxation on those least able to pay, the third estate

– Outdated medieval bureaucratic institutions– A drained treasury which was the result of:

• Aiding the Americans during the American Revolution• Long wars with England• Overspending

Economic Conditions under theOld Regime

• France’s economy was based primarily on agriculture

• Peasant farmers of France bore the burden of taxation

• Poor harvests meant that peasants had trouble paying their regular taxes– Certainly could not afford to have their taxes raised

• Bourgeoisie often managed to gather wealth– But were upset that they paid taxes while nobles did

not

Conditions: France Is Bankrupt

• The king (Louis XVI) lavished money on himself and residences like Versailles

• Queen Marie Antoinette was seen as a wasteful spender

• Government found its funds depleted as a result of wars– Including the funding of the American Revolution

• Deficit spending – a government spending more money than it takes in from tax revenues

• Privileged classes would not submit to being taxed

The Three Estates

• Before the revolution the French people were divided into three groups: – The first estate: the clergy– The second estate: the nobility– The third estate: the common people

(bourgeoisie, urban workers, and peasants). • Legally the first two estates enjoyed many

privileges, particularly exemption from most taxation.

Varied widely in what they contributed in terms of work and taxes

• Roman Catholic clergy• One percent of the

population• Exempt from taxes• Owned 10 percent of the

land– Collected rents and

fees– Bishops and other

clergy grew wealthy

First Estate

• Nobility• Less than 2 percent of

the population• Paid few taxes• Owned 20% of the land• Controlled much wealth• Held key positions

– Government– Military

• Lived on country estates

Second Estate

• Largest group—97% of the population

• Bourgeoisie—city-dwelling merchants, factory owners, and professionals

• Sans culottes—artisans and workers

• Peasants—poor with little hope, paid rents and fees

• Paid all the taxes• Had no say in the govt

Third Estate

Conditions of a Revolution: The Three Estates

Conditions for a Revolution – Social Structure of the Old Regime

• First and Second Estates– First Estate = clergy (130,000)– Second Estate = nobility (350,000)

– The Third Estate• Commoners

– Peasants = 75-80% of the population– Peasants own 35-40% of the land

• Skilled artisans, shopkeepers, and wage earners• Bourgeoisie (middle class)

– Own 20-25% of the land– Similarities between wealthier bourgeoisie and nobility

The First Estate

• The first estate, the clergy, consisted of rich and poor.  – There were very wealthy abbots,

members of the aristocracy who lived in luxury off of wealthy church lands.

– There were poor parish priests, who lived much like the peasants.

The Second Estate

• The second estate, the nobility, inherited their titles and got their wealth from the land. – Some members of the nobility had little

money, but had all the privileges of noble rank.

– However, most enjoyed both privileges and wealth.

The Nobility• With the

exception of a few liberals, the nobility wanted greater political influence for themselves but nothing for the third estate. 

Where is the Money?• In this cartoon from the time, Louis is looking at the chests and

asks “Where is the tax money?“– The financial minister, Necker, looks on and says “The money was

there last time I looked." – The nobles and clergy are sneaking out the door carrying sacks of

money, saying "We have it."

The Third Estate• The third estate, the common people, was

by far the largest group in France. • Everyone who was not a member of the

first or second estates was a member of the third. It included:– Wealthy merchants, whose wealth rivaled that

of the nobility– Doctors and lawyers– Shopkeepers– The urban poor– The peasants who worked the land.

Conditions: The Three EstatesEstate Population Privileges Exemptions Burdens

First •Circa 130,000

•High-ranking clergy

•Collected the tithe•Censorship of the press•Control of education•Kept records of births, deaths, marriages, etc.•Catholic faith held honored position of being the state religion (practiced by monarch and nobility)•Owned 20% of the land

•Paid no taxes•Subject to Church law rather than civil law

•Moral obligation (rather than legal obligation) to assist the poor and needy•Support the monarchy and Old Regime

Second •Circa 110,000

•Nobles

•Collected taxes in the form of feudal dues•Monopolized military and state appointments•Owned 20% of the land

•Paid no taxes •Support the monarchy and Old Regime

Third •Circa 25,000,000

•Everyone else: artisans, bourgeoisie, city workers, merchants, peasants, etc., along with many parish priests

•None •None •Paid all taxes•Tithe (Church tax)•Octrot (tax on goods brought into cities)•Corvée (forced road work)•Capitation (poll tax)•Vingtiéme (income tax)•Gabelle (salt tax)•Taille (land tax)•Feudal dues for use of local manor’s winepress, oven, etc.

What does this contemporary political cartoon say about conditions in France under the Old Regime?

The Old Regime

• This cartoon from the era of the French Revolution depicts the third estate as a person in chains, who supports the clergy and nobility on his back.

The Third Estate

The Three Estates

Conditions of a Revolution: The

Old RegimeThe people inFrench society

were not treated equally.

The system of feudalism in

France was known as The

Old Regime. Citizens were

divided into three classesor estates.

The Three Estates

Conditions of a Revolution: Causes and Attitudes

• The Enlightenment• Anglophile feeling in France• The American Revolution• French system’s lack of

change– Louis XVI clung to Absolutism– King’s response to the poor– Class resentment– Economic problems

 The Enlightenment movement spread ideas

everyone should be

equal.The people of the 3rd estate

liked that idea.

Conditions of a

Revolution: Why revolt?

The French economy was

failing.Taxes were high, profits were low and food supplies were short.

 

King Louis the XVI was weak and

unconcerned about the plight of the

third estate.

Louis XVI

• Louis XVI was an awkward, clumsy man who had a good heart but was unable to relate to people on a personal level.

– He often appeared unfeeling and gruff. – He was insecure and seems to have disliked

being King of France.

When one of his ministers resigned, he was heard to remark, "Why can't I resign too?"

Marie Antoinette• Marie Antoinette, in her

early years as Queen, was flighty and irresponsible. – She spent huge amounts

on clothes, buying a new dress nearly every other day.

– Being Austrian, she was terribly unpopular in France and had few friends.

The French Royalty

• The royal family lived in luxury at the Palace of Versailles.

Hall of Mirrors

The Palace of Versailles

• The King and Queen of France lived in luxury and splendor at the magnificent Palace of Versailles outside of Paris.

Conditions of a Revolution: Louis XVI attempted to tax the nobles.The nobles forced the king to call a meeting of the Estates-General an assembly of delegates from each of the three

estates.

Calling the Estates General• The King attempted to solve the financial

crisis by removing some of the nobles' tax exemptions. – However, the nobility saw themselves as

special, with better blood, and entitled to all of their class privileges.

– The Parlement, a judicial organization controlled by the nobility, invoked its powers to block the King's move.

• He was forced reluctantly to call a meeting of the Estates General in 1788.

The Estates General

• When the Estates General met, each estate solemnly marched into the hall at Versailles.

• The third estate dressed all in black, the nobility dressed in all their finery, and the clergy dressed in full regalia.  

To Vote by Head or by Order

• The delegates of the third estate insisted that the three orders meet together and that the vote be taken by head, rather than by order.

• Since there were far more delegates from the third estate, this plan would give them a majority.

• The King refused to grant their request.• The third estate refused to budge. 

This stage in an illness is when sickness starts to affect the personin observable ways. Temperature may rise. A cough might presentitself. The individual might become weak and queasy.

What would this stage be like in a revolution?

Convalescence

Crisis Stage

Symptomatic Stage

Incubation Stage

In a revolution, this stage would be the first to involve directaction resulting from the social, political, intellectual, or economiccauses of the incubation stage. This stage might involve the publicationof works calling for a change, street level riots by the common people,or more direct attempts at changing the society.

Second Stage: Critics of Old Regime

• The first indication of rising discontent is the activity of writers who denounce existing conditions and satirize common practices. The writers provide new goals and ideas.

• Enlightenment Philosophes like Voltaire, Montesquieu, Diderot, and Rousseau

• Abbie Sieyes and “What is the Third Estate”

• Political Pamphlets in the Coffeehouses of Paris

Second Stage---Philosophy of the French Revolution: The Enlightenment (Age of Reason)

• Scientists during the Renaissance had discovered laws that govern the natural world

• Intellectuals – philosophes – began to ask if natural laws might also apply to human beings– Particularly to human institutions such as governments– Philosophes were secular in thinking – they used reason and logic,

rather than faith, religion, and superstition, to answer important questions

– Used reason and logic to determine how governments are formed• Tried to figure out what logical, rational principles work to tie people to

their governments– Questioned the divine right of kings

• Inspiring new ideas from Enlightenment philosophers

• Great Britain’s government limiting the king’s power

• American colonists rebelled successfully against British king

• New ideas changed government and society in other countries

Enlightenment IdeasCritics-Second Stage

AAbbe SieyesAbAabbe Sieyes

What Is the Third Estate?• "What is the Third Estate?" asked Abbe

Sieyes. "Everything!“  • This liberal clergyman rallied the

commoners of France to assert their power and take charge of the Estates General. – At his suggestion, they declared themselves the

National Assembly and invited the other two orders to join them.

– The next day they found their meeting hall locked.

– At the suggestion of one of the delegates they moved to a nearby indoor tennis court. 

Debating the Course of Action

• There they debated their course of action.– Some wanted to return to Paris to the

protection of the people. – Mounier, not ready to take such a

revolutionary step, suggested instead that they swear an oath of allegiance not to disband until a constitution had been created for France 

Third Stage

• Public dissatisfaction culminates in riots, assassinations, and other acts of violence.

• Bread Riots in Paris• Storming of the Bastille• Great Fear• Women’s Bread March

Third Stage---Riots and Revolts

• Events at Bastille – July 14, 1789– Municipal

government trying to get arms

• Revolts in the countryside

Conditions in Paris• Conditions were poor in Paris for the common

people. – The price of bread was high and supplies were

short due to harvest failures.– Rumors spread that the King and Queen were

responsible for the shortages • Then French troops marched to the capital.

– Rumors spread quickly among the already restless mobs that the King was intending to use them against the people.

– The dismissal of the Finance Minister Necker, who was popular with the third estate, ignited the spark. 

 

Mobs Search for Weapons

• Mobs roamed in search of weapons. – Although some muskets were found

when they broke into a public hospital for wounded soldiers, there was no ammunition.

– The ammunition was stored in the Bastille. 

Third Stage---Uprising in Paris

People of Paris seized weapons from the Bastille

• July 14, 1789• Parisians organized their

own government which they called the Commune

• Small groups – factions – competed to control the city of Paris

Uprising spread throughout France

• Nobles were attacked• Records of feudal dues and

owed taxes were destroyed• Many nobles fled the

country – became known as émigrés

• Louis XVI was forced to fly the new tricolor flag of France

The Bastille as a medieval fortress

July 14, 1789 – This event symbolized the French RevolutionThe Bastille was a prison for debtors and a symbol of the oppression of the Third Estate.Spurred by rumors– a Paris mob surrounded the Bastille.Governor of prison and mayor of Paris were killed and their heads were mounted on pikes and paraded through the city.

The storming of Bastille stared by a rumor about Louis XVI planning a massacre on the France citizens.

They had rifles but no gunpowder, they need to get prepared.

On July 14, 1789 a mob was started at a royal fortress (prison) in Paris, called Bastille, they went there to get ammunition.

They has succeeded and the governor had surrender, but the mob killed the governor any way.

The France people had the Bastille under their control.

This great fall of the Bastille was a symbolic act of revolution that the power of the king could be challenged. The people of Paris worked together in this event and won.They spoke out true words and demonstrated that they too had a voice in the government. That is why this event was a rise in democracy.

The cry of “We want the Bastille!” went up among the crowd.

King Louis XVI asked an aide, “Is this a revolt?” The answer came swiftly: “No, sire. It is a revolution.”

• On July 14, 1789, the Storming Of The Bastille took place. It happened when members of the 3rd estate into the Bastille, which is a French prison, looking for gunpowder.

• The Bastille fell into the hands of the citizens. The fall of the Bastille became a symbolic act of revolution towards the French.

• This was a step towards democracy, because an important building went from the control of the king to the control of the citizens.

Lets go

Yah!!

July 14,

1789

The Storming of the Bastille

• On July 14, 1789, the mob, joined by some of the King's soldiers, stormed the Bastille.

• The commander of the Bastille, de Launay, attempted to surrender, but the mob would not accept it. – He was killed as they poured through

the gates. – No guard was left alive.

Liberated Prisoners

• Later in the day the prisoners were released.

• There were only seven: – Two were convicted forgers.– One was a loose-living aristocrat put in

prison by his own father.• Nevertheless it was a great symbolic

event, one which is still celebrated in France every year.

Liberated prisoners parading later in the day

• The increased mob activity in Paris resulted in the formation of a permanent committee to

keep order. • This organized popular force broke into a

royal armory and collected arms and then stormed the Bastille, incited by a rousing

speech delivered by Camille Desmoulins on July 12, 1789.

• He was known as "The Lantern Lawyer" for is advocacy of hanging aristocrats on the

light posts.

• Although the Bastille only had seven prisoners in it

when it was liberated by the Parisian mob, the fall of the prison became a symbol of triumph over despotism.

• It also signified the end of the authority of Louis XVI, because he was no longer

able to control the political tides of France.

The Great Fear

• By the end of July and beginning of August there were riots in the countryside.

• Peasants burned their nobles' chateaux and destroyed documents which contained their feudal obligations. It was called "The Great Fear." 

• Between June and the beginning of August there were riots in the countryside. Peasants burned their nobles' chateaux, monasteries

and buildings which housed public records. • They particularly targeted documents which contained records of

their feudal obligations. • It was called "The Great Fear" and spread quickly throughout

France.  

The Great Fear

Women’s March to Versailles

• On October 4, 1789, a crowd of women, demanding bread for their families, marched toward Versailles.

• When they arrived, soaking wet from the rain, they demanded to see "the Baker," "the Baker's wife," and "the Baker's boy".

• The King met with some of the women and agreed to distribute all the bread in Versailles to the crowd.

Imagine yourself living your life in France, watching your home land becoming a wreck and scared if the kings men might terrorize you.

You sit there worried about any sudden massacre and the price of bread goes up and your children start to starve because you can’t afford it.

You are not just going to sit there your going to do something about it.

Well, this same event occur on October 1789 were infuriated women from Paris march 12 miles to Versailles were the king and queen were at.

Most of the woman were terribly angry with the kind of government and the way they treated them.

No one care. “let them eat cake” replied the queen. The French citizens blamed it all on the monarchy. The mob killed two guard at the palace and forced the king and queen out of their home, never to see it again.

This event relates to the rise in democracy because before this massacre France used to be an absolute monarchy.

Now France was out of control, the king wasn’t in charge, the people were. If they wanted this or they disagreed with that, they fought for their rights. Know the king didn’t control France, the people were in control of the state.

Kill the no good king that doesn't even spare a piece of bread for this country!

No more starving, off with his head!

• In October of 1789, 6,000 Parisian women marched towards the Palace of Versailles.• The women were furious at the King and Queen over the rising bread prices. • They rioted and said they wanted Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to go to Paris. • Louis finally agreed to go to Paris, and he promised he would get bread for the

women. • He and his family would never see Versailles again. • This was a step towards democracy, because women, who supposedly had hardly any

power, got the King and Queen to leave their palace and go to Paris.

We want bread! We want bread!We want bread!

Go to Paris Louis and

Marie!

October 5, 1789Women from neighborhoods around the Bastille, gathered10,000 people (mostly women) walked to Versailles Goal: to convince King to provide them with breadLouis greeted the women and promised them bread

• October, 1789:  A crowd of Parisian women marched to Versailles to demand King Louis XVI give out free bread during a bread shortage. • After camping out at Versailles overnight, the mob decided to take

Louis XVI back to Paris.• They insisted that the royal family return to Paris where, in fact,

they would find themselves under virtual house arrest.

The King’s Return to Paris

• Under pressure from the National Guard, the King also agreed to return to Paris with his wife and children.

• It was the last time the King saw Versailles.

Fourth Stage

• The ruling group is intimidated into making repeated concessions until the power is transferred.

• Meeting of the Estates-General

• Tennis Court Oath• Formation of the National

Assembly• Formation of

Constitutional Monarchy• Declaration of the Rights

of Man and Citizen

Fourth Stage: From Estates-General to a National Assembly

• 300 delegates each to the First and Second Estate• 600 delegates to the Third Estate

– Strong legal and urban presence• Cahiers de doléances• Estates General meets May 5, 1789

– Question of voting by order or head– Abbé Sieyès “What is the Third Estate?”

• National Assembly – Constituted, June 17– Tennis Court Oath, June 20

• Intervention of the Common People– Attack on the Bastille, July 14– Peasant rebellions, July 19-August 3– Great Fear

The Estates –General was was an assembly of representatives formed by all 3 of the social class in France. It was held at the place of king Louis the XVI, Versailles. The estates had to follow the medieval rules but these rules were unfair to the third estate because it only allowed one vote for each estate. Most of the population was in the third estate. They kept on insisting for a change. They were the people , “What is the third Estate? Everything.” Abbe Sieyes spoke out. He suggested that they should have a Nation Assembly that was made up of the delegates from the third Estates. They voted to establish the National Assembly on June 1789. France was a representative government.

On May 15, 1789 the first Estates General in 175 years was called by Louis XVI of France. The enlightenment ideas, final crisis,and bad leadership by Louis XVL cause France to face bankruptcy. When France was bankrupted Louis tired to tax the aristocrats, the second estate, but instead they forced him to call the Estate Generals.

The Estates General meeting has contributed to the rise in democracy. In a democracy every one is treated equal and they can speak out for their thoughts or ideas. The Third Estate didn’t just sit around and let the other two estates control their lives. They stool up and declared their rights. Soon they change the rules of the Estate General and they could voted by order.

Louis XVL: “We have come to disguise the economy of France.We basically have no money, sorry.

The meeting of the Estates-

General began with

arguments on how to count

votes. In the past one vote was cast

for each estate.

The Third Estate now

wanted each delegate to

have a vote. They broke

with the others and voted to

rename themselves The

National Assembly.

Fourth Stage---Making

Concessions: Representative Government

for France The members of the National

Assembly claimed to

represent all of the people. The king disagreed. The 3rd Estate

delegates were locked out of their meeting.

• The meeting of the Estates General was called for the first time in 175 years.• It was called by Louis XVI because of France’s financial crisis. In the Estates General they

vote by order which means each of three estates would get one vote and they would vote in order of estates first estate 1st, second estate 2nd, and third estate 3rd..

• The Third Estate was angry because they realized that they should get more then one vote since they made up 98% of the population.

• So they threatened to leave and they did. This was not a step towards democracy because one group was being ripped off and the first two estates still could do anything they wanted.

•

As you know the reason I called all of you here is because France is in financial

trouble.

No thanks to you and

your family

Making Concessions: (1789-1793)

• King desired new tax to stabilize economy

• Estates General (3 estates) – Not met for 150 years– Needed to meet– Certified by Parlement

(high court)– Election in early 1789

• Finally met in Spring 1789– 3rd Estate walked out

Mounier’s Suggestion• “Let us swear to

God and our country that we will not disperse until we have established a sound and just constitution, as instructed by those who nominated us.”

-M. Mounier

The Tennis Court Oath

• The delegates agreed and all but one of the 578 delegates signed it.– Their oath is known as the Tennis Court Oath. – It said: "The National Assembly, considering

that it has been summoned to establish the constitution of the kingdom... decrees that all members of this assembly shall immediately take a solemn oath not to separate... until the constitution of the kingdom is established on firm foundations..."  June 20, 1789

Tennis Court Oath

On June 23, 1789, Louis XVI relented. He ordered the three estates to meet together as the National Assembly and vote, by population, on a constitution for France.

The Third Estate relocated to a nearby tennis court where its members vowed to stay together and create a written constitution for France.

Louis XVI responded by locking the Third Estate out of the meeting.

The Third Estate declared itself to be the National Assembly.

The Tennis Court Oath started with the National Assembly wanting a change in the government of France’s absolute monarchy.

They were willing to meet at Versailles in the Menus Plaisirs, but the room was closed. They were determined, they broke down a door, which was an indoor tennis court.

There they pledged not to leave until they had finish constructing a new constitution. That was called the Tennis Court Oath.

The constitution they created was finished on September 1791. It limited the kings power and gave most of the power to the legislative Assembly.

This was a step into the rise in democracy because they made a constitution, that wanted to keep a true order on the monarchy. The 550 people and representatives that took the oath got an equal say. When Louis signed the constitution he still had the executive power to enforce the laws.

This agreement is like the kind of democracy in the US. The legislative, judicial, and executive branches can announce the law but the president gets to decides if it becomes a real law or not.

Mounier warned them not to give up on writing a constitution. Mounier also proposed that the Third Estate should adopt an oath of

allegiance.

The Tennis Court Oath

This is where they took the Tennis Court Oath-not to leave until a constitution was created.  This started the beginning of the

political French Revolution. Notice the fluttering curtains representing the winds

of change.

• In June 1789 the 3rd estate threatened to separate from the Estates General, if they didn’t get more power.

• When nothing was done the 3rd estate left the Estates General and went to some tennis courts. There they formed the National Assembly and they pledged to not leave the tennis courts until an agreement was made.

• It wasn’t until 1791 two years after they pledged that a constitution was signed. It was called the Constitution of 1791.

• This event represented a step towards democracy because a group of people realized that they were getting ripped off, and they did something about it.

Yes I Pledge I will stay hear until

we have our way

We all should

pledge to stay

The Tennis Court Oath by Jacques Louis David

King Asks Third Estate to Disperse

• Hearing of the oath, the King called a meeting of all three orders.– At the end of the meeting he ordered the third

estate to disperse. – They refused.

• One of the delegates declared that  "We are here at the will of the people, . . . and . . . shall not stir from our seats unless forced to do so by bayonets."

Third Estate Triumphs

• The King was unwilling to use force and eventually ordered the first and second estates to join the new National Assembly.

• The third estate had won.

Fifth Stage

• The reformers carry out their ideas.

• Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

• August 4 Decrees

• Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Just before midnight, Louis announced his acceptance of the Proposal made on August 4 by the nobles and clergy to the National Assembly

End tax exemptions of the privileged classes

End payment of feudal dues by the peasants

End the tithe End all class distinctions

King and his family would be confined to Paris from this point on.

• Louis tried to protect his throne• Angered the common people• Prices still high; mob broke into the

palace demanding bread • Royal family seized; National Assembly

took bolder steps• Passed laws against the church, clergy,

and public employees• Some outraged by actions

Restrictions on Power• Feudal dues eliminated• Declaration laid out “liberty, equality,

fraternity”• Inspired by the English Bill of Rights,

American Declaration of Independence, and the writings of Enlightenment philosophers

• Men are born equal and remain equal under the law

• The rights did not extend to women

Legislating New Rights

Fifth Stage---Reforms Carried Out: Creating a New Nation

Fifth Stage---Reforms: The Decree Abolishing the Feudal System

•The abolition of the feudal system, which took place during the famous night session of August 4-5, 1789, was caused by the reading of a report on the misery and disorder which prevailed in the provinces.

•The report declares that " Letters from all the provinces indicate that property of all kinds is a prey to the most criminal violence; on all sides chateaux are being burned, convents destroyed, and farms abandoned to pillage.

•The taxes, the feudal dues, all are extinct; the laws are without force, and the magistrates without authority.“

• With the hope of pacifying and encouraging the people, the Assembly, in a fervor of enthusiasm and excitement, straightway abolished many of the ancient abuses.

Fifth Stage---Changes under the National Assembly

Abolishment of guilds and labor

unions

Abolition of special privileges

Constitution of 1791

Declaration of the Rights of Man

Equality before the law (for men)

Many nobles left France and became known as émigrés

Reforms in local government

Taxes levied based on the ability to

pay

The Night of August 4• The National Assembly responded to the Great

Fear. • On the Night of August 4, 1789, one by one

members of the nobility and clergy rose to give up:– Feudal dues– Serfdom– The tithe– Hunting and fishing rights– Personal privileges.

• In one night feudalism was destroyed in France. 

The Decree Abolishing the Feudal System

Medallion commemorating the Night of August 4, the end of feudalism in France

• On August 26, the Declaration was formally adopted by the

National Assembly. It outlined man’s natural rights. The

purpose of such a Declaration was to rally the country and to

add support to the National Assembly.

• Barely 300 words in length, it could be printed cheaply on one side of a single sheet of paper.

The Declaration appeared all over France and was subsequently translated into every major

European language. As a symbol, it became the gospel of the new

French social order.This text, which formed the basis of the United Nations Declaration of 1948, has a universal value extending beyond cultural, religious,

political, ethnic, economic and social differences, and it thereby establishes the

inalienable rights and duties of every human being.

Reforms: Declaration of the Rights of Man

August 1789 This revolutionary statement guaranteed the rights

such as liberty and property.

The National Assembly

• The new National Assembly created the historic and influential document The Declaration of the Rights of Man, which stated the principle that all men had equal rights under the law.

• This document has remained the basis for all subsequent declarations of human rights. (Compare The Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

Declaration of the Rights of Man

• "Men are born free and equal in their rights....These rights are liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.

• The fundamental source of all sovereignty resides in the nation.

• The law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to take part personally, or through representatives, in the making of the law."

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, Aug. 26, 1789

Declaration of the Rights of Man

Freedom of religion

Freedom of speech

Freedom of the press

Guaranteed property

rights

“Liberty, equality,

fraternity!”

Right of the people to

create laws

Right to a fair trial

The Civil Constitution of the Clergy

• The National Assembly resolved the immediate financial crisis by:– Seizing church lands – Putting the church under the control of

the State with The Civil Constitution of the Clergy.  

• Abbe Sieyes fiercely resisted the passage of this legislation and accused the other delegates of "bourgeois envy."

• But he was overruled.

Confiscation of Clerical Wealth

The Oath of Allegiance

• Clergymen were required to swear an oath to the new constitution.   – Many refused to swear the oath and

were placed under arrest.– The measure was very controversial to a

nation of Catholics and drew support away from the new government.

Reforms---Burning the Pope in Effigy after the Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Revolution Spreads to Common People

• The Revolution, instigated by the nobility, and set in motion by the bourgeoisie, now spread to the common people.

Crisis Stage

Convalescence

Symptomatic Stage

Incubation Stage

In a revolution, this stage would be the make or break part of thestruggle. It may involve conflict where sides for and againstthe revolution compete. This competition could take the form of debate or full-scale war. Successful revolutions survive this stage.Those that do not are usually considered failed rebellions.

This is the critical stage in an illness where two things can happen.The individual either breaks the fever after a heightened stageof illness or the individual gets progressively worse and does not recover.

What would this stagebe like in a revolution?

Sixth Stage

• The new reforms divide the nation into rival groups.

• Legislative Assembly is splintered into political parties

• Divisions among the revolutionaries

• Becomes Middle Class versus Peasants/Sans Culottes

• Conservative, Liberals, and Radicals

• People are forced to choose between faith and the revolution

• France is fighting against European powers who want to stop the revolution

Two Radical Groups

• During the constitutional monarchy there were two radical groups vying for power, the Girondins and the Jacobins.

• Although both groups were more radical in their views than the moderates who had designed the constitutional monarchy, the Girondins were somewhat less radical.

• In late 1791, the Girondins first emerged as an important power in France.

United in their Views

• At first the two parties were united in their views.– The Girondins were concerned about the plight of

the blacks in France's colonies and were instrumental in passing legislation granting equal rights to all free blacks and mulattoes.

– They wanted the declaration of war against Austria in early 1792 in the hopes that a show of strength would give them leverage with the King.

Jean-Paul Marat• When Jean-Paul Marat, a Jacobin journalist who

showed little regard for the truth, was arrested for attacking Girondins, the people of Paris turned even more toward the Jacobins.

• The people loved Marat and he seemed to love them too.

• When he was acquitted of the charge, the crowds swarmed around him, scooped him up on their shoulders and carried him to the Convention, cheering all the way.

• A Divided Nation: The Legislative Assembly replaced the National Assembly in the

fall of 1791. • The members divided into

groups. • The Royalist fugitives who were aristocrats or members of the clergy who fled France during the revolution of 1789

were called émigrés.• Another group, Sans-Culottes

(French for without knee-breeches) were Parisian wage-

earners. • Later, it to referred to the ill-clad and ill-equipped volunteers of the Revolutionary army. Generally to the extremists of the Revolution.

• Their support came from domestic crises, such as

shortages of bread, or political injustice.

The Flight to Varennes

• Although the King reluctantly accepted the new constitution, he could not accept all the reforms (e.g., the Civil Constitution of the Clergy) and decided to leave the country.

• On June 20, 1791, the King and his family set out for the border in a carriage. – The King was disguised as a steward and his son was

wearing a dress. – At the border village of Varennes, he was recognized and

eventually apprehended.

The apprehension of Louis XVI at Varennes

The Paris Mob

• The news of the King's flight destroyed the last of the King's popularity with the people of Paris.

• The popular press portrayed the royal family as pigs and public opinion plummeted.

• Increasingly there were demands for an end to the monarchy and the creation of a new kind of government, a republic.

The Parisian Mob

The San-Culottes

• At the beginning of the revolution, the working men of Paris allowed the revolutionary bourgeoisie to lead them.

• But by 1790 the sans-culottes were beginning to be politically active in their own right. – They were called sans-culottes (literally, without trousers)

because the working men wore loose trousers instead of the tight knee breeches of the nobility.

– Eventually sans culottes came to refer to any revolutionary citizen.

The sans culottes The bourgeoisie

Simple Solutions

• Though the activity of the sans-culottes had been growing, after the King's flight to Varennes, they were spurred to greater political activity.

• They were uninterested in the complexities of politics, and looked for simple solutions.

Attack on the Tuileries

• The royal family was living under house arrest in the Tuileries Palace.

• An angry mob got into the building on June 20, 1792, and found their way to the King. – The crowd shouted insults and was in an ugly

mood. – The King remained calm and obediently put on the

red cap of liberty (a symbol of revolution) at the mob's insistence.

Mob placing the red cap of liberty on the King's head at the Tuileries

Pressure from the Paris Mob• When the mob thrust a bottle of wine at the King, he

drank a toast to the health of the nation but refused to change his position on the clergy. – Under the new constitutional monarchy, he had exercised

his veto of a proposal to punish priests who refused to support the changes to the church.

– A religious man, the King felt it would violate his conscience to agree to the mob's demands.

• The incident ended without bloodshed but by August the mob was back.

August 10, 1792, attack on the Tuileries

The End of Constitutional Monarchy

• On August 10, 1792, the mob attacked the Tuileries again. – This time the royal family barely escaped with their

lives. – The king's guards were killed and the King and his

family fled to the protection of the Assembly. • The constitutional monarchy was over.

Spreading the Gospel of Revolution

• The French Revolution took on the character of a religious crusade.

• It was not enough to have a revolution at home. The gospel of revolution must be spread to the rest of Europe.

• France declared war on Prussia and Austria and proclaimed that it advanced the cause of liberty.

French revolutionary troops won the Battle of Valmy. New French republic held ground against Europe’s Old Order.

In 1791, the Legislative Assembly is formed. Citizens gained broad voting rights, but rights were not universal. Constitution restricted power of king and ended distinctions of birth. King and queen feared they would be harmed.

• Austria and Prussia warned against harming monarchs

• Austrian army defeats French• Financial strain of war, food shortages,

and high prices • King blamed; action demanded

Foreign Powers

Sixth Stage---A Divided Nation: Formation of a New Government

• August 10, 1792 royal family imprisoned by mob

• Radical faction took charge with National Convention

• Monarchy abolished; France declared a republic

End of Monarchy

Sixth Stage---A Divided Nation: Radical Revolution

• Disillusionment of the lower class (inflation)• Girondists (moderates) had no strong leader• France drawn into war with Europe• Failure in wars (1st coalition, 1792-1797)

– Moderates removed as leaders of National Assembly

– Counter-revolutions– King and queen arrested

• Jacobins (radicals) take control

The French Flag• The Marquis de Lafayette,

commander of the new National Guard, combined the colors of the King (white) and the colors of Paris (blue and red) for his guardsmen's uniforms and from this came the Tricolor, the new French flag.

The Marseillaise Arise you children of our motherland, Oh now is here our glorious day ! Over us the bloodstained banner Of tyranny holds sway ! Of tyranny holds sway ! Oh, do you hear there in our fields The roar of those fierce fighting men ? Who came right here into our midst To slaughter sons, wives and kin.

CHORUS To arms, oh citizens !

Form up in serried ranks ! March on, march on ! And drench our fields With their tainted blood!

The September Massacres• The country was embroiled in a foreign war. • The new government had declared war against the

powerful Austria and in the beginning it did not go well for France.

• Complicating matters was the fact that counter-revolutionary Frenchmen were working with Austria in the hopes of turning back the revolution.

• In France people saw counter-revolutionaries under every rock.

Georges-Jacques Danton

• Georges-Jacques Danton, a revolutionary leader and a powerful orator, rose in the Assembly on September 2nd 1792 and boomed out these memorable words in his deep bass voice: "When the tocsin sounds, it will not be a signal of alarm, but the signal to charge against the enemies of our country. . . To defeat them, gentlemen, we need boldness, and again boldness, and always boldness; and France will then be saved."

Georges-Jacques Danton: "Boldness and again boldness, and always boldness"

Let the blood of the traitors flow

• Danton probably meant boldness in fighting the war against Austria. But many took his words to refer to enemies within France.

• The radical press took up the cry, "Let the blood of the traitors flow," and within hours of Danton's speech the streets of France did indeed run with blood.

• By September 7, over 1000 were dead.

Seventh Stage

• Radicals seize power and attempt to impose their views on the nation.

• Jacobin Political Party seizes power.

• Leaders are Robespierre, Marat, and Danton.

• Form National Convention and Committee of Public Safety-Reign of Terror

• Use of Guillotine• Execute the King and

Queen• Remove Christianity

The Rise of the Jacobins• When the constitutional monarchy fell and the King

was put on trial for treason in December, the Girondins argued against his execution.

• The Jacobins thought he needed to die to ensure the safety of the revolution.

• When the Jacobins were successful the tide turned against the Girondins.

• The Jacobins in the National Convention had 22 Girondin leaders arrested and executed. The Jacobins had won.

The Death of Marat

• A final Girondin blow was struck, however, when Charlotte Corday, a Girondin sympathizer, gained entrance to Marat's bath and stabbed him.

• Marat immediately became a martyr to the revolution. He was given a hero's funeral and the procession lasted 7 hours.

The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David

Seventh Stage: The Radical Revolution

• National Convention, September 1792– Universal male suffrage– Abolition of the monarchy, September 21

• Domestic Crisis– Factions

• Girondins• The Mountain

– Execution of Louis XVI, January 21, 1793– Counterrevolution

• Foreign Crisis– Military losses

• A Nation in Arms– Mobilization of the nation

Citizens Enlisting in the New French Army

Women Patriots

Map 19.2: The French Conquests during the

Revolutionary Wars

Seventh Stage: The Reign of Terror & Its Aftermath

• Committee of Public Safety and Reign of Terror– July 1793-July 1794– Vendée

• “Republic of Virtue”– Price controls– Women

• Dechristianization and a New Calendar– New calendar

• Equality and Slavery– Revolt in Saint Dominigue

• Decline of the Committee of Public Safety– Execution of Maximilien Robespierre, July 28, 1794

• Everything was out of control in France. • Still many tried to get power and slowly Robespierre got

it. • He wanted to destroy everything from the past, like

things from the monarchy and nobility.• He wanted to built a republic. • People with names of kings changes it to less political

one, they took Sunday out of the calendar, and even closed all the churches in France.

• Soon he ruled as a dictator and he was the one who choose who was the enemy of the republic.

• Many thought he had gone crazy, killing people after people

• . He had been on the Committee of Public Safety.• He had killed his own people because of treason, their

thought were less radical then Robespierre.• Most of the death were done by a simile and easier

beheading machine called the guillotine. • Any one who apposed the revolution was sentenced to

death.• From July 1793 to July 1794 the time period was called

the Reign of Terror and 3,000 people died, most who were peasants. • This event doesn’t lead to the rising of democracy because

one individual is forcing the people to do what Robespierre thought was the right idea. They were just pushed around like if they didn’t have tongues to declare that they had right

too.

Robespierre had gone mad! I just had an old pair of deck cards. Please don’t kill me!!

KILL, KILL, they can’t feel a thing. It don’t hurt.

Other Parting ReformsPassed by the Convention

Adopted the metric system

Dealt the final blow to feudalism by abolishing

primogeniture (the system whereby the oldest son

inherited all of his father’s estate)

Drew up a comprehensive system of laws

Ended debt imprisonment Ended slavery in France’s colonies

Established a nationwide system of public education

RobespierreThe French lawyer and political leader, who became one of the most influential figures of the

French Revolution and the principal exponent of the Reign of

Terror. THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC

SAFETY• Started THE COMMITTEE OF

PUBLIC SAFETY•Started by Robespierre in the

summer of 1793, which decided who should be

considered enemies of the republic.

• They would often try people in the morning, while having them guillotined the same

afternoon. .

Robespierre"Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible"

The Reign of Terror• To protect the Republic

against domestic enemies

• Committee arrested people they suspected of treason

• 20,000 – 40,000 were put to death by guillotine

• Marie Antoinette, was one victim

• Nobles and clergy went to guillotine

• Most victims however were commoners

Danton

Reign of Terror (1793-1794)• Committee for Public Safety• France losing war with others in Europe• Reforms

– Metric system– New calendar– Universal suffrage– Slavery eliminated– Paris commune– Land redistribution– Defaced churches

• Guillotine– 20,000 die– King and queen die

The Execution of Louis XVI• The constitutional monarchy put in place by

moderate revolutionaries gave way to a radical republic.

• The National Convention decided to put Louis on trial for his crimes. – Although his guilt was never an issue, there was a real

debate in the Convention on whether the king should be killed.

– They voted for his execution. • On January 23, 1793 Louis Capet went to the

guillotine in the Place de la Concorde, where a statue of his predecessor, Louis XV, once stood. – At the scaffold he said "I forgive those who are guilty of my

death."

Louis was tried (from December 11, 1792) and convicted of high treason before

the Legislative Assembly. He was sentenced to death by guillotine by

361 votes to 288, with 72 effective abstentions.

Stripped of all titles and honorifics by the

egalitarian, Republican government, Citizen

Louis Capet was guillotined in front of a

cheering crowd on January 21, 1793.

His execution had important

consequences for France, because it

brought about ideas in other countries against the French

Revolution.

Jack and Jill RhymeNursery Rhyme & History

Jack and Jill story - The French (history) connection!

• The roots of the story, or poem, of Jack and Jill are in France. Jack and Jill referred to are said to be King Louis XVI - Jack -who was beheaded (lost his crown) followed by

his Queen Marie Antoinette - Jill - (who came tumbling after).

• The words and lyrics to the Jack and Jill poem were made more acceptable as a story for children by providing a happy

ending! • The actual beheadings occurred in during

the Reign of Terror in 1793.

The execution of Louis XVI

The Reign of Terror• After the death of Louis in 1793, the Reign of Terror

began. – Marie Antoinette led a parade of prominent and not-so-

prominent citizens to their deaths. – The guillotine, the new instrument of egalitarian justice,

was put to work. • Public executions were considered educational.

Women were encouraged to sit and knit during trials and executions.

• The Revolutionary Tribunal ordered the execution of 2,400 people in Paris by July 1794. Across France 30,000 people lost their lives.

Watch Committees• The Terror was designed to fight the enemies of the

revolution, to prevent counter-revolution from gaining ground.

• Most of the people rounded up were not aristocrats, but ordinary people. – A man (and his family) might go to the guillotine for saying

something critical of the revolutionary government. – Watch Committees around the nation were encouraged to

arrest "suspected persons, ... those who, either by their conduct or their relationships, by their remarks or by their writing, are shown to be partisans of tyranny and federalism and enemies of liberty" (Law of Suspects, 1793).

Suspension of Civil Liberties

• Civil liberties were suspended. – The Convention ordered that "if material or moral proof

exists, independently of the evidence of witnesses, the latter will not be heard, unless this formality should appear necessary, either to discover accomplices or for other important reasons concerning the public interest."

– The promises of the Declaration of the Rights of Man were forgotten.

– Terror was the order of the day. In the words of Maximilien Robespierre, "Softness to traitors will destroy us all."

• "Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible"

Maximilien Robespierre

• The Guillotine was a cruel Form of

punishment of death during the French

Revolution.  • The Executioner

cranked the blade to the top, and a

mechanism released it.  • The blade was heavy, with its weight made the fall and the slice

through the neck, severing the head from

its body. • About 90% of

beheadings were of the Third Estate, about 7% from the Second Estate and about 3% from the

First Estate.

•In spite of its efficiency, an execution by guillotine was still a sickening spectacle. •When the head was severed, blood poured from the body as the heart continued to pump. •When it was used frequently (as it was during the revolution), the stench from the place of execution was horrible.

•Although the guillotine is most closely associated with the French, the Nazis guillotined more people (20,000) than were killed during the French Revolution. Hitler considered it a demeaning form of punishment and used it for political executions in 1942 and 1943. • •The last use of the guillotine was in 1977. Capital punishment has been abolished in France.

"Robespierre, with his cruel moral relativism,

embodied the cardinal sin of all revolution, the

heartlessness of ideas."Paul Johnson

"The Spectator"

Summer of 1794 – Reign of Terror was no longer necessary but Robespierre “drunk with power” continued to rid France of dangerous opponentsJuly 18, 1794 Robespierre was executed by guillotine - End of Reign of Terror

Republic of Virtue• Robespierre was the mastermind of the Reign of

Terror. – He was the leader of the Committee of Public Safety, the

executive committee of the National Convention, and the most powerful man in France.

– He explained how terror would lead to the Republic of Virtue in a speech to the National Convention: “If the spring of popular government in time of peace is virtue, the springs of popular government in revolution are at once virtue and terror: virtue, without which terror is fatal; terror, without which virtue is powerless. Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible...” Speech on Terror

• The old maxim "the end justifies the means" describes Robespierre's policy well.

Convalescence Crisis Stage

Symptomatic Stage

Incubation Stage

This stage involves recovering from the illness. The individual mightbe weakened from the experience, but he or she will eventually emerge healthy and with new knowledge and experience that mightprevent the illness from occurring again.

What would this stage be like in a revolution?

In a revolution, this stage would involve recovering from the extremedisruptions of the crisis stage. In general, the political, social, intellectual, or economic causes of the revolution must be addressed insome way, though not necessarily to the satisfaction of allrevolutionaries.

Eighth Stage

• The public tires of the radicals, thus allowing moderates to regain power and restore order.

• Robespierre is arrested and executed.

• National Convention is replaced by the Directory.

• Places power in the hands of the middle class once again.

The Last Victim of the Reign of Terror• Even the radical Jacobins, the supporters of

Robespierre, come to feel that the Terror must be stopped. – Danton rose in the Convention calling for an end to the

Terror. He was its next victim. – When Robespierre called for a new purge in 1794, he

seemed to threaten the other members of the Committee of Public Safety.

• The Jacobins had had enough. – Cambon rose in the Convention and said “It is time to tell the

whole truth. One man alone is paralyzing the will of the Convention. And that man is Robespierre.”

– Others quickly rallied to his support. – Robespierre was arrested and sent to the guillotine the next

day, the last victim of the Reign of Terror.

A conspiracy overthrew Robespierre.On July 27, 1794, he was barred

from speaking in public and was placed

Under arrest.

An uprising by his supporters was thwarted, and on July 28 Robespierredied on the guillotine withhis other supporters. Eighty more followers of Robespierre were executed the next day.

The Directory • People had grown tired of the instability and

bloodshed of the revolution and were ready for something more moderate.

• By 1795, the republic was gone, and 5 men with business interests had the executive power in France.

• This new government was called The Directory.– It was far more conservative than the Jacobin

republic had been.– It was also ineffectual.

Eighth Stage: Reaction and the Directory

• Thermidorian Reaction and the Directory• Curtails much of the Terror’s policies• Conservative turn of the Revolution• Constitution of 1795

– Five person Directory– Period of stagnation

Eighth Stage---The Directory

After Robespierre – power passed to wealthy middle class

National Convention created a new Constitution – The Constitution of 1795

Five Directors – The Directory – acted as the executive authority

Incompetent and corrupt ---the new government could not solve the country’s problems.

Rise of the popular General Napoleon Bonaparte in 1794

Government under the Directory

•5 directors appointed by the LegislatureExecutive•Lower house (500 members) proposed laws•Upper house (250 members) voted on these laws•2/3 of the Legislature would initially be filled by members of

the Convention

Legislature

•Girondists (middle-class party) had defeated the Jacobins (working- and peasant-class party)

•Girondists’ constitution stated that suffrage (the right to vote), as well as the right to hold office, were limited to property owners

Qualifications

Directory (1795-1799)The Directory suffered from corruption and poor administration.

The people of France grew poorer and more frustrated with their government.

Despite, or perhaps because of, these struggles, the French developed a strong feeling of nationalism – they were proud of their country and devoted to it.

National pride was fueled by military successes.

It would be a military leader – Napoleon Bonaparte, coming to power through a coup d’état – who would end the ten-year period (1789-1799) known as the French Revolution.

Eighth Stage---Return of the moderates (1794-1799)

• Thermidorian reaction • Counter-revolution

– "Whiff of grapeshot"(1795)• Death of Marat, Danton,

Robespierre– Moderates gained control of National

Convention• Return of expatriate noblemen

allowed (money)• National Assembly re-elected• Adoption of new constitution

– Rule by the Directory

Eighth Stage---Return of the moderates

• The Directory governed• Some military successes

(Napoleon)• Directory criticized for poor

leadership• Directory desperate for a

popular leader– 2nd Coalition (1799-1801)

formed– Napoleon invited to be consul

Ninth Stage

• Sometimes this stage occurs, the people return to a similar form of government that they started out with.

• Corrupt Directory is overthrown by Napoleon.

• Napoleon becomes First Consul.

• Then Napoleon crowns himself emperor and has absolute power.

Ninth Stage: Age of Napoleon

• Rise of Napoleon– Born in Corsica, 1769– Commissioned a lieutenant, 1785– Promoted to brigadier general, 1794– Victory in Italy, 1797– Defeat in Egypt, 1799– Coup d’etat

Napoleon Bonaparte

• The people readily accepted the coup d'etat of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799.

• The revolution was over. Or was it?

• In 1800 Napoleon became the emperor of France.• Napoleon had already had military success as a French Military General in the war. • Napoleon brought some reforms of the revolution like equal taxation.• Napoleon ruled as a military dictatorship.• Napoleon created the Napoleonic Code which was a system of laws and rights.• The Napoleonic Code took away rights from women, and it took away freedom of speech, among

other things that had been gained from the Revolutionary War. • Napoleon lost only one major battle, Unfortunately for Napoleon this loss was more important

than any of his wins. • The rise of Napoleon was not a major step towards democracy even thought the people voted for

him.

• Napoleon took advantage of the French people and became an absolute power.

I crown myself king!

• Napoleon Bonaparte, even thought he a was short man, he was an excellent military genius. He won some great wars for France, he was a military success.

• At the time France was under control of the Directory. Soon the Directory lost control of people.

• When that happen Napoleon gets dictatorial power and does great thing to France, like stabilized the economy, established a tax collection system and built a national bank.

• He kept some of the reforms of the revolution, he didn’t change everything.

• By this point he was very popular with the people and decided to crown his self Emperor of France.

• The rise of Napoleon contributes with the rise of democracy because you have a great leader, who has been very successful in the military.

• Who would be a better person to lead France to a better future? The people liked him and they voted on a constitution that gave Napoleon all the power.

• This wasn’t a forceful battle on “who’s going to rule France” it was about who could do the job right. This is similar to a president like in the US, the people know he could do the job, and agreed that he was the right men for the job, Napoleon was like the president of France.

•

Napoleon as Consul, 1799

                                                                

Ninth Stage: The Republic and the Empire

• Republic of France proclaimed, 1799– First Consul– First Consul for life, 1802– Crowned Emperor Napoleon I, 1804

• Domestic Policies of Emperor Napoleon– Napoleon and the Catholic Church

• Concordat of 1801– A New Code of Laws

• Code Napoleon (Civil Code)– The French Bureaucracy

• Centralization of administration – Growing despotism

Ninth Stage: Napoleon’s Empire and the European Response

• Peace of Amiens, 1802• Renewal of war, 1803• Military victories, 1805-1807• Napoleon’s Grand Empire

– Failure of the Grand Empire• Problems: Great Britain and Nationalism

– Survival of Britain– Seapower– Continental System, 1806-1807– Nationalism

Napoleon’s Grand Empire

The Coronation of Napoleon

Napoleon, Emperor of FranceIngres

Ninth Stage: The Fall of Napoleon

• Invasion of Russia, 1812• Defeat of Napoleon, April 1814• Exiled to Elba• Escape, 1815• Battle of Waterloo, June 18, 1815• Exiled to St. Helena

The Revolution’s Legacy

Was the French Revolution a failure? • After Congress of Vienna, monarchs ruled again

– Citizens’ rights restricted – Nobles returned to their previous lifestyles

• French Revolution changed Europe – Monarchies no longer secure – Common people learned they could change the world– Ideals of human dignity, personal liberty, and equality – Enlightenment crossed the Atlantic to Latin America, eventually

inspired political movements in Asia and Africa