The French Revolution

France Before the Revolution• Absolute monarch =

• Absolute monarchs believed they ruled by divine right

• Remember Louis XIV – the ultimate absolute monarch???

Cause #1: The French Monarchy(1775-1793)

King Louis XVI Queen Marie Antoinette

King Louis XVI• Became King of France

at age 20.• Married to Marie

Antoinette (of Austria).• Weak and indecisive

ruler.• Easily influenced by his

wife.• No leadership skills.

Queen Marie Antoinette• Married Louis XVI at age

14.• Daughter of Austrian

Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa.

• Marriage was an alliance between France and Austria.

• Big spender and spoiled brat.

Society under the Old Regime

• In France, people were divided into three estates– First Estate

• High-ranking members of the Church• Privileged class

– Second Estate• Nobility• Privileged class

– Third Estate• Everyone else – from peasants in the countryside to wealthy

bourgeoisie merchants in the cities• Unprivileged class

The Three EstatesEstate Populatio

nPrivileges Exemption

sBurdens

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.

Cause #3: Economic Problems• The biggest problem: Debt!• The French debt was due to: – The French and Indian War– The American Revolution– The tax system– Economic decline – And poor harvests

• The results were high bread prices and high unemployment.

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

Cause #4 Enlightenment Ideas• Enlightenment ideas

that influenced the American Revolution have spread to French newspapers

Peasants were starving, and they remember they had paid for the American Revolution…ideas were planted

Preparing for the Estates-General

• Winter of 1788-1789• Estates –General – a general assembly of

people representing the estates. – Members of the estates elected representative

Meeting of the Estates-General:May 5, 1789

• Voting was conducted by estate– Each estate had one vote– First and Second Estates could operate as a bloc to

stop the Third Estate from having its way

◊ First Estate + ◊ Second Estate - vs. - ◊ Third Estate

• Representatives from the Third Estate demanded that voting be by population– This would give the Third Estate a great advantage

• Deadlock resulted

Tennis Court Oath

The National Assembly (May 5, 1789)

• National Assembly ~ formed to pass laws and reforms in the name of the French people.– Ended the absolute monarchy– Beginning of representative government– FIRST ACT of the FRENCH REVOLUTION!!

Storming of the Bastille

Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789)• King Louis stationed his army around Versailles

rumors began to spread…– Troops were coming to massacre French citizens.

• People began to gather weapons to defend the city against attack.

• Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789) ~ a mob searching for gunpowder and arms stormed the Bastille (a Paris Prison). – Took control of the Prison– Killed the Prison commander and guards – put their heads

on pikes and marched around city.• Celebrate Bastille Day (like 4th of July)

The Great Fear

Great Fear (Summer/Fall 1789)• Before long, rebellion spread from Paris into the

countryside.• Great Fear ~ time of senseless panic.– Peasants armed with pitchforks broke into and

burned nobles’ manor houses

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (August 26, 1789)

• Afraid of the violence in France, Nobles and members of the clergy in the National Assembly responded to the uprisings.– Declared their love for liberty and equality.

• Wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen– Modeled after American Declaration of Independence

• Guaranteed: – Freedom of religion– Equality for all male citizens before the law– Freedom of speech– Right of liberty, property, security & resistance to oppression

Bellringer!French Revolution Review

• What were the four causes of the French Revolution? (Explain each)

• Why did the Tennis Court Oath happened? • Why did angry mobs storm the Bastille? • What was the declaration of rights of Man and

Citizen?

The Paris Bread Riots

Paris Bread Riots (October 1789)• In October 1789, thousands of Parisian women

rioted over the rising price of bread. – Peasants consumed about 3-4 loaves of bread a day!– Took about ½ of their income– People faced starvation

• Women marched to Versailles carrying knives, axes, and any other weapon they could find.

Louis’ Escape!

Louis’ Escape (June 1791)

• As the National Assembly reformed the French government, Louis XVI began to panic.– Warned that he and his family were in danger

• In June 1791, the royal family tried to escape from France to the Netherlands.– Caught at the border!– Returned to Paris and imprisoned…

Constitution of 1791

Constitution of 1791 (October 1, 1791)• Reforms Made by the National Assembly:– Abolished Feudalism finally!!

– Nobles agreed to end their special privileges (including giving up exemption from taxes)

– Church placed under state control• Constitution of 1791 (established a new

government)• Limited Monarchy created in place of an absolute

monarchy

France Declares War

France Declares War (April 1792)• Monarchs and nobles all over Europe watched

frightened as changes were made in France.– Feared similar revolts in their countries– Austria and Prussia wanted Louis XVI back as monarch.

• Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria and Prussia in April 1792.

• August 10, 1792 ~ 20,000 people invaded the palace where the royal family was staying.– Mob massacred the royal guards– Imprisoned Louis, Marie Antoinette, and kids.

Jean-Paul Marat and the Jacobins

Jean-Paul Marat and the Jacobins• As chaos broke out in Paris again, a radical group

called the Jacobins took charge.– Led by Jean-Paul Marat– Marat is killed…

• Created a new governing body called the National Convention (September 21, 1792).– Abolished the monarchy– Made France a Republic– All male citizens given right to vote.

• Now Louis XVI was a common citizen and a prisoner.– Jacobins tried Louis for Treason

Louis XVI Beheaded

Louis XVI Beheaded (January 21, 1792)

• The National Convention found Louis guilty!– Sentenced to death– January 21, 1792 the former King was beheaded

by the Guillotine.

The Reign of Terror

Reign of Terror• The Jacobins had many enemies through France and they

needed a way to contain and control these enemies.• Beginning in 1793, Maximilien Robespierre gained power and

control of the Committee of Public Safety.– Committee of Public Safety – responsible for protecting the

Revolution from its enemies.– Governed as a dictator

• The Rule of Robespierre became known as the Reign of Terror.– Committee had “enemies” tried and the morning and guillotined in

the afternoon.• 18 year old was sentenced to death for cutting down a tree that had been

planted as a symbol of liberty.

– 40,000 people were executed (including Marie Antoinette)• 85% were peasants

Napoleon Bonaparte

End of the Terror (July 28, 1794)• In July 1794, members of the National Convention

turned on Robespierre and had him arrested and executed. – Reign of Terror ended on July 28, 1794 when Robespierre

was executed.• The Directory (1795) ~ new plan of government that

put power in the hands of the middle class.– 3rd government since 1789– 2 house legislature– Executive Body of 5 men (called the Directory)

• But soon, Napoleon Bonaparte, a commander the French armies would seize power…

Napoleon Questions

• In the army(1795) what side was Napoleon fighting on?

• What is a coup d’ etat?• When Napoleon came to power, what were

some things he did to build on the revolutions ideas?

• What was the Napoleonic Code? • How was Napoleon a conqueror? • Describe the downfall of Napoleon.