The French Revolution Brings Reform and Terror

Warm-up: 3/14/13 What event was the first violent act that the French peasants participated in during the French Revolution?

Storming the Bastille Rumors begin to spread all over France. King Louis the XVI was planning to use military force to dismiss the National Assembly. That the foreign troops were coming to Paris to massacre French Citizens. People began to gather weapons in order to defend the city against attack. On July 14, 1789, a mob searching for gunpowder and arms stormed the Bastille, a Paris prison. The Bastille was a symbol of the royal abuse of power. Many of those imprisoned stood accused of political agitation or were unruly children of aristocrats. About 100 people died in the storming of the Bastille. First Violent Event of the French Revolution

A “Great Fear” Sweeps France Rumors continued to spread from Paris all the way to the country side. Threats began to circulate that the nobles were hiring outlaws to terrorize the peasants (Third Estate). These rumors cause a widespread panic also known as the “Great Fear”. In order to defend themselves, the peasants armed themselves with pitchforks and began to raid and destroy many houses belonging to those in the upper classes. In October 1789, thousands of Parisian women began to riot due to the rising price of bread. These women marched on Versailles to demand that King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette return to Paris to fix the problems at hand. Shortly after the storming of the Versailles Palace, the king and queen left Versailles. Their exit signaled the change of power and radical reforms about to overtake France.

Think-Pair-Share #1: Do you believe that the Storming of the Bastille and the “Great Fear” were justifiable events? Explain.

Setting the Stage Peasants were not the only members of French society to feel the Great Fear. Nobles and officers of the Church were equally afraid. Throughout the night of August 4, 1789, nobles and clergymen in the national Assembly made grand speeches, declaring their love of liberty and equality. Motivated more by fear than by idealism, they joined other members of the National Assembly in sweeping away the feudal privileges of the First and Second Estates, thus making commoners equal to the nobles and the clergy. By morning, the Old Regime was dead.

The Rights of Man Three weeks later, the National Assembly adopted a statement of revolutionary ideals, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Reflecting the influence of the Declaration of Independence This document stated that: “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.“ Guaranteed citizens equal justice, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. Such sentiments, however, did not apply to everyone. When writer Olympe de Gouges published a declaration of the rights of women, her ideas were rejected. Later in 1793, she was declared an enemy of the Revolution and was executed.

A Limited Monarch For two years, the National Assembly argued over a new constitution for France. In September 1791, the National Assembly completed the new constitution, which King Louis XVI reluctantly approved. The constitution created a limited constitutional monarchy. It stripped the king of much of his authority. However, the king still held the executive power to enforce laws. This constitution also created a new legislative body known as the Legislative Assembly. The Purpose of the Legislative Assembly is to create laws and to approve or reject declarations of war.

Factions Split France Despite the new government, old problems such as food shortages and government debt remained. These questions caused the Legislative Assembly to split into three general groups: Radicals, opposed the idea of a monarchy and wanted sweeping changes in the way the government was run. Moderates, wanted some changes in government, but not as many as the radicals. Conservatives, wanted to uphold the idea of a limited monarchy and wanted few changes in government. In addition, factions outside the Legislative Assembly wanted to influence the direction of the government too. Émigrés: Nobles and others who had fled France, hoped to undo the Revolution and restore the Old Regime. Sans-culottes: Parisian workers wanted the Revolution to bring even greater changes to France.

Think-Pair-Share #2: Based on your notes and your knowledge of what is going during this revolution, which group do you think you would most likely fit in (Radical, Moderate, Conservative)? Why?