THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONTHE FRENCH REVOLUTION

Mr. Hardy RMS IB, 2014-2015Mr. Hardy RMS IB, 2014-2015

Background Information

• Began in 1789- when the US was created– How do you think the Americans might have

influenced the French? Consider the Treaty of Paris, Benjamin Franklin, and the idea of revolting against your government.

• More complex, more violent, and far more radical than American Revolution

• A turning point in EUROPEAN POLITICAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY

Social Causes of the Revolution

• Enlightenment Ideas- Individual Rights- Democracy

• Inspiration from the American Revolution– How do you think the American Revolution might

inspire the French?

• Social Inequality– Social class was divided into three estates or

classes– Social Conditions

Estates Outlined• 1st Estate– Clergy

• 2nd Estate– Nobility, powerful within

the government, vastly wealthy

• 3rd Estate- A Majority of People– Peasants, shopkeepers, craftspeople– Bourgeoisie- Middle class, owned 25-30% land• Upset at all the privileges held by people in higher estates

Three estatesClergy (130,000 people), owned

about 10% of land,

Nobility (350,000 people), owned

30%, held leading positions

Commoners (peasants), made

up of 75 percent of total population.

Owned 35-40 % of land

Economic Forces of ChangeEconomic Troubles• National government in financial collapse• Bad harvest• Slow manufacturing• High number of poor people• Costly wars and aid to the US• Expensive monarchies• High Taxes

Political Causes of the Revolution

• King Louis and Marie Antoinette• National Assembly• Excessive Debt due to nearly a century of

fighting/war• Taxation– The general public paid upwards of 80% of their

income in taxes

King Louis and Marie Antoinette– King Louis married

Marie Antoinette• Antoinette was an

Austrian princess• Louis was 15 and Marie

was 14 years old• Spent so much money on

luxuries she was nicknamed Madame Deficit

• French people hated her

National Assembly

• Versailles, May 5, 1789• Meeting of all Estates • Problem = voting– Each estate would get one vote–1st and 2nd Estate could outvote the 3rd • Why might this be a problem for the 3rd Estate?• How might this lead to revolution?

Tennis Court Oath

• Not happy with result of National Assembly– Decided to create their own Assembly

• Tennis Court Oath- Met on June 17, 1789– original place was locked

• Made an oath to create a new constitution– Which form of government do you think they

wanted to create? Think about Enlightenment ideas of the times!

• King Louis XVI was against this and used force• Rebellions started forming all over France

TENNIS COURT OATHTENNIS COURT OATH

Storming the Bastille• Louis fears a rebellion in

Paris– Stations Swiss guards in

the city (won’t trust his own men)

– The people of Paris see foreign soldiers, hear rumors that Louis will disassemble the National Assembly, and freak out

– The people storm the Bastille (a prison in Paris) looking for weapons – July 14th

Reign of Terror• Jacobins (radicals) want

France to become a true Republic

• 1793: Louis XVI is publicly tried for treason and executed – Marie Antoinette would be

executed• Closed churches• Mass executions• Suspended civil liberties

Leader of the Terror

• Maximilien Robespierre – Member of the Jacobins– Ruled France like a dictator– Hunted down, tried, and

executed enemies of the Revolution

• Eventually, members of the National Assembly conspire against Robespierre– He is arrested and executed– Hundreds of Jacobins are

hunted down and killed

Outcomes of the Revolution

• End of absolute monarchy in France• Republic established with separation of powers

1795 – 1799– How does this represent enlightenment ideas?

• Rise of Napoleon– French military controlled riots and rebellions– French General Napoleon rises to power, and will

eventually take over France

Napoleon Bonaparte Emperor of France

Video Links

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkF61DeYD24

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHgEuHNuaok

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTTvKwCylFY

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P2bmlqTHhs