The French RevolutionBy Camron Hughes

The BeginningHow it started and the causes that led up to the

French Revolution

The Old Regime

1. First Estate- consisted of the Clergy - 2% of all income- Roman Catholic Church2. Second Estate- nobles and other members - 20% of all land- ignored taxes * known as the two privileged estates

The Old Regime Continued3. The Third Estate- consisted of 97% of all of the population- divided into 3 subclasses

a. Bourgeoisie - merchants, bankers, artistsb. City workers - tradespeople, apprenticesc. Peasants - paid about half their income - tax

- Lacked privileges compared to two other estates

The Enlightenment Ideas

- The third estates is inspired by the ideas of the American revolution

- Began questioning the structure of society - Eventually demanded democracy over

absolute monarchy - “life and liberty”

Economic Troubles in France

- 1780’s - France has a heavy taxation on the Third Estate, bad weather creates shortage in the number of crops, and leads to starvation in the Third Estate - business is rough in this era

- Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette help out with the deficit/debt by extravagant spending

Louis XVI and Marie

- Louis procrastinated and was indecisive in his decisions - imposed taxes on the nobility when there was virtually no money left - Second Estate called for an assembly

- Estate-General- representatives from all 3 estates to deal with the mounting debt- approves a tax - (doesn’t help that much)

The National Assembly

- Third Estate wants to create an assembly under Joseph Sieyes

- National Assembly is created on June 17th, 1789

- 3 days later locked out of their meeting room- Stormed into a indoor tennis court and

demanded a new constitution be made Tennis Court Oath

Bastille is Stormed

- Rumors spread of Louis XVI sending troops to massacre French citizens or break the National assembly - want to protect Paris

- June 4th - In Paris, a mob storms the prison and becomes a symbolic act of the start of the French Revolution

- Afterwards, a big time of worry came to France - The Great Fear

The Great Fear

- A time where people worried that nobles were sending outlaws to kill peasants

- Peasants stormed nobles’ manors and destroyed the “tax” papers or the houses

- In one case, women in Paris stormed Versailles, killed multiple guards, and demanded that Louis XVI and Marie return (fight over bread) - but they eventually leave

Reform and Terror for Many

Dictators, Guillotines, and a Whole Lot of Blood

Nobles Side with the N.A.

- They joined the national assembly more out of fear than the ideas behind the assembly- much of the two upper classes being

attacked by the Third Estate- Old Regime was dead by August 4th, 1789

since both upper classes joined - feudal privileges gone and equal classes are created

France’s “Declaration”

- drafted with similar ideals to that of the U.S. Declaration of Independence - The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

- kept “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity” in mind

N.A. Reforms to the Church

- The National Assembly took the church’s land and said that church leaders were to be elected as state officials - Catholics are not happy

- Catholic church loses independence and land- Some devout peasants went against the

assembly from this point, forward

The Creation of a Constitution

- Two years of debate and long arguments lead to a constitution in 1791 - signed by Louis

What the N.A. Constitution Did…1. limited the authority of the king2. created a legislative body - Legislative

Assembly3. L.A. could create laws and approve war

The Splitting of the L.A.

- old problems such as food shortage arose and answers caused the L.A. to split.

Radicals Moderates Conservatives

- opposed monarchy

and wanted a lot of

drastic changes in

the government

- wanted some

changes to the

government but not

too much

- liked how things

were with the

limited monarchy

and wanted little

change in

government

WAR!!!...and gore

- Nobles in other European countries are worried as they look at what is happening in France - Austria and Prussia take action

- L.A. declares war in 1792- Revolutionaries take Louis, Marie, and their

children prisoner with a raid of 20,000 people

War Cont.

- peasant kill over 1,000 prisoners in fear that the loyal ones to the king would let him escape - “September Massacre” - Louis

- Constitution of 1791 - dissolved the L.A., called for new legislature and disposed the king - National Convention created

- declared France as a republic - the Jacobins or the “radical” group involved with change

War Cont.

- Jean - Paul Marat and George Dalton were major contributors during this time

- N.C. eventually beheaded Louis in 1793- France was winning against Austria and Prussia

(Battle of Valmy) but enemy allies were created (Britain, Spain, and Austria)

- series of defeats - Meanwhile, an extreme Jacobin known as Max Robespierre took control

Reign of Terror- Under Max’s control, many changes took place

- calendar, closed churches, etc.- Ruled as a dictator as the head of safety -

executed as many as 40,000 for dumb reasons- eventually taken down by the rest of the N.C in

1794 and a new draft of government was formed in 1795 - the creation of the Directory and election of a new general… followed

The Time of Napoleon Bonaparte

How he created an empire and how he ended up destroying it...

Sweet..Napoleon!

- Sent to a military school at age 16 in 1785, he was given a chance to defend the delegate of the N.C. in 1795 from rebels loyal to the crown

- Became hero in eyes of French citizens and had a series of victories while general (exception was at Egypt)

Napoleon Seizes the Directory

- In 1799 the Directory had lost political authority/faith from French citizens

- Napoleon was urged by others to be a political leader after his dealing in Egypt -drove most of the Directory’s members out and it was dissolved (a coup d’etat)

- He became a dictator and first consul- (3 consuls)

Napoleon’s Actions as Dictator1. New constitution created in 18002. Set up an efficient way of tax collection as

well as a bank system for France3. Dismissed corrupt officials and set

government - run public schools (lycees)4. Established a new relationship between

church and state - the concordat5. Creation of the Napoleonic Code - set of laws

Napoleon Cont.

- In 1789, Revolution ideas spread to the area known as present- day Haiti - demanding rights - civil war breaks out

- Napoleon in 1801 tried to take back the colony for the sugar industry - fails

- Cuts his losses and sells the Louisiana Territory in 1803 to the U.S.

- Becomes emperor of France in 1804

Napoleon Tries for Europe

- He turned his attention to Europe and set his eyes on conquering most of it - was successful overall with Switzerland and parts of Italy - failed at the Battle of Trafalgar against Britain's navy

- Had many “puppet governments” in various countries across Europe

Napoleon’s Undoing and Peninsular War- Napoleon failed to keep his French empire going - only

lasted for 5 years - He failed for 3 reasons (1 BIG reason):1. Set up a blockade and closed ports - no exports from

Britain or any other country (Britain responded and his efforts were useless)

2. Tried to get Portugal to accept the Continental System by force (invasion in Spain) - 30,000 men lost by peasant fighters (guerrillas)

The Big Reason3. Napoleon invades Russia in 1812 and Alexander I orders a

policy known as the scorched- earth policy - killing of grain and cattle - no food for enemy to eat

- Napoleon was successful until Moscow where the city was destroyed while Napoleon was present - weakened and attacked by the Russians - turned back with only 10,000 soldiers compared to the 420,000 he originally had due to mostly hunger, cold, or the series of clashes they had with the Russians

Europe vs. Napoleon

- Britain, Russia, Prussia and Sweden all decided to take advantage of this defeat -tries to bring up another army around 1813

- Is defeated once again and gave up his throne in 1814 - exiled to Elba near Italy by the leaders of Russia and Prussia

Napoleon Tries again….- Louis XVI’s brother is brought to the throne

- worry among people that the “old ways” would be brought back

- Napoleon takes this opportunity to make a comeback - becomes emperor for a short period of time - Britain and Prussian armies defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo (Belgium) (Known as the Hundred Days)

The Congress of ViennaGathering of the European countries

The Meeting of the Five Powers- Britain, Russia, Austria, France and Prussia had

representatives meet to essentially set up policies for all of Europe to insure stability -most influential from Austria Klems von Metternich

- felt that democracy was bad - due to Revolution - wanted three goals of the Congress of Vienna

Three Goals of Metternich1. Prevent future aggression from France by

surrounding the country with strong countries

2. A balance of power so that no country could “take over” or be a threat to each other

3. Restore the kings and queens to their rightful place - royal families back on the throne

The First Reason and Action

- United the Dutch Republic and the Austrian Netherlands to create the Kingdom of Netherlands - Switzerland now independent

- Joined 39 states of Germany to form the German Confederation

- Genoa was added to the Kingdom of Sardinia (Italy) to strengthen it

The Second Reason and Action

- Many felt they should weaken France, but also felt that France should not be out right powerless

- France was kept how it was - a diminished power among the other European countries

- “balance of power”

The Third Reason and Action

- Many believed in legitimacy - thrones given back to “rightful monarchs” - thought this would stabilize “relations between nations”

- Everyone is happy!! No grudges against one another!! - peace for about 40 years

- Various constitutional monarchies and absolute monarchies sprang from the Congress of Vienna

The Holy Alliance and Concert of Europe

- agreements to help each other out if a revolution was to ever break out since many in 1815 feared that the French Revolution ideals would inspire others to do something similar - Conservatives vs. Liberals

- Could not totally contain it and revolutions would break out eventually in the mid - early 1800’s - (kind of failed)

Legacy of the Congress of Vienna and the French Revolution

1. Helped increase the power of Britain and Prussia while diminishing France’s power

2. The spreading of nationalism and the “explosion” of new countries came, things that the Congress tried to contain.

3. The French Revolution also brought democracy more and more into the light -was starting to become more accepted

THANK YOU!!