THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

THE 3 ESTATES

1. The clergy

2. The nobility

3. Everyone else

American “Revolution” - removed British rule, kept British systems of government

French Revolution - goal - to create a new French Society

- somewhat orderly

- clean transition

- extremely violent, chaotic

- resulted in decades of political & social instability

FIRST ESTATE - THE CLERGY

- High Clergy - came from wealthy noble

families- Lower Clergy - parish

priests who came from the lower & middle classes

The lower clergy resented the high clergy & were more in touch w/ the suffering of the

common people

- nearly exempted from taxes

-100,000 in #, owned 10% of the land and collected a 10% tax for their services

2ND ESTATE - THE NOBILITY

- owned 1/4 of the land

- very privileged, but still jealous of king’s power

400,000 people - less than 2% of the total population

3rd ESTATE - EVERYONE ELSE

- included peasants, city workers, & middle class

- included rich and poor - both peasantry & lawyers,

merchants, bankers, etc,

- owned 1/2 the land, comprised 98% of the population

I. Revolutionary Wave - 1787-1789

Atlantic Revolutions: Dutch Republic, Austrian Netherlands, France

- A result of Enlightenment ideas, an educated public, prosperity, & higher expectations

France - wealthiest, most powerful state in Europe - Its revolution was the longest, most

violent, most influential

Dutch Revolt

- middle class revolt against the House of Orange

- Orange was tight with the British, gov’t sponsored banks held 40% of the British debt

- Angry bankers, supporters of America, merchants demanded political reform

- Revolt failed due to divisions among the rebels and military intervention by Prussia to support

Orange

Belgian Independence Movement

Joseph II - Austrian emperor - Enlightened despot

- initiated enlightened reforms that threatened the Church and

nobility- democrats jumped on the opportunity

to challenge the nobles and demand representative gov’t

- divisions amongst the rebels resulted in a defeat for the democrats, who decided to support the Austrian emperor against

the nobles

Poland-Partitioned by its

neighbors due to its

decentralized nature and

lack of effective

leadership-Polish Patriots - tried to create a centralized gov’t w/ a parliament

- movement eventually crushed by Catherine the Great

That makes 4 Revolutions since 1776:

American

Dutch

Belgian

Polish

Their inspiration - The Enlightenment

France’s Problems:

- social inequality

- debt incurred from war & insufficient tax base

- King had no authority to tax the 1st or 2nd estates - he asked them to accept taxation, but

they refused

- financial crisis led to a calling of the Estates General (meeting of reps from all 3 estates)

Estates General - had not met since 1614

Text

LEFT - 3rd estate sat on left side (left = liberal)

RIGHT - 1st & 2nd est. sat on right (right = conservative)

- each estate chose reps to be sent to Paris

Estates- General - form and function

- each estate met separately to vote on the issue

- w/ 3 votes cast, you could never have a tie

- 1st & 2nd estates shared interests & often voted the same

May 1789 - 1/2 of the 1200 delegates were from the 3rd estate, most were bourgeois

- 3rd estate demanded that all 3 estates meet together and each delegate cast one vote (vote

by head, not by order)

Intense public scrutiny of the proceedings:

1788 - poor harvest led to near starvation for many

- selection of delegates at local level heightened awareness of the

proceedings - created local interest

- recent crash of textile industry caused high unemployment

- people looked to the meeting of the Estates General for answers to their

problems

- daily newspapers kept people informed on the proceedings

THE TENNIS COURT OATH

-1st & 2nd Estates - insisted on voting

by order- 3rd Estate - insisted on voting by

head3rd Estate - declared themselves the National Assembly representing all of France - 1st Estate joined them- Locked out of the meeting hall, they met on a tennis court and swore not to disband until a

constitution for France was created - 2nd Estate was forced to join

STORMING OF THE BASTILLE

Text- angry commoners thought army would crush

N.A.- July 14, 1789 - they overran the Bastille, a

prison that was a symbol of royal tyranny

- heads of Bastille commander & mayor of Paris paraded through the streets

The Great Fear:

- rumors spread that nobles were organizing

militia to crush peasants and take their land

- Peasants lashed out - centuries of anger were

unleashed on the nobles & clergy

II. From Monarchy to Republic

- Peasants burned documents that granted nobles privileges that dated from feudal time

Revolution of Rights and Reason

- Nat. Assembly issued Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen-

preamble to new constitution inspired by Amer. revolution, Enlightenment,

Bill of Rights

- Gov’t administration - NA banned feudalism- Talent, not birthright would dictate gov’t hirings

Great Fear convinced noble members of the NA to give up their feudal fees (seigneurial dues) &

tax privileges

-granted freedom of speech press, religion, equal taxation & equality

before the law

And the Rights of Women?

- did the Dec. apply to women?

- women organized clubs, printed pamphlets, demanded more participation in gov’t

Olympia de Gouges - Declaration of the Rights of Women, 1791- used language from

the official Dec. to call for the inclusion of women

- The National Assembly ignored the demands

MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT

-English author of A Vindication of the Rights of Women, 1792

-felt “Rights of Man” should be naturally extended to women

Women’s March on Versailles - Oct. 5, 1789Women march to the Palace to protest bread shortages, rising prices - force K & Q back to

Paris to fix it

The Church

- Lands confiscated by the NA

- assignats - printed money that was derived from the newly

confiscated lands - Priests’ wages paid by gov’t

- Clergy forced to swear oath of loyalty to new Contitution, 1/2 refused & were exiled

- many people turned on the revolutionaries, including the royal family, which attempted to

flee from France

- Royal family attempted to flee France to seek aid from Marie Antoinette’s family - the Habsburgs of Austria - in the Austrian

Netherlands

- they were recognized on the road and arrested on their Flight to Varennes near the border

of Austrian Netherlands

- impact - the king became a “traitor” - the king was not viewed as an enemy until he fled

End of the Monarchy

War with Austria and Prussia

- Abroad, reformists praised the revolution, monarchs & nobles feared it could spread and

unseat them

- French revolutionaries feared the emigres (nobles who fled France) were recruiting help

from the queen’s Habsburg relatives for a counter-revolution

- 4/20/1792 - France declared war on Austria - Prussia backed Austria, they invaded France and threatened to destroy Paris if the king or

queen were harmed

- doubts about the king led to calls for elimination of the monarchy entirely

SANS CULOTTES - literally “w/out pants” - culottes were fancy knee britches worn by the wealthy - The name used by those who wanted

to eliminate the monarchy

The Second Revolution (Aug. 10, 1792)

- They attacked the residence of the king, forcing him to seek refuge with the LA

A Sans Culotte

Note the culottes (knee pants) of the nobleman

Legislative Assembly called for elections for a new legislature - universal male suffrage for the

first time

The National Convention (the newly elected gov’t) = The First Republic

- all royal influence abolished

- Jacobins - a radical faction w/in the Convention took control of the new gov’t - they were middle class lawyers and professionals -

ardent republican beliefs

Girondins - moderates of the Convention who wanted to spare the king

The Mountain - radicals of the Convention who wanted to

execute the king - called for vote to execute

Extremely close vote in favor of executing the

royal family

Execution of the King