The French Revolution Objective: Learn how and why the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars affected the United States

France and the American Revolution The French monarchy was deeply in debt following the American Revolution Years of bad harvests had led to famine These two factors caused the French lower class (the Third Estate) to grow angry

Louis XVI King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette lived an expensive lifestyle, which led the 3rd estate to hate him even more His palace at Versailles was lavish and expansive, estimated to have cost 300 billion in modern currency King Louis XVI and his wife were executed in 1793

The Guillotine Used for the mass executions that began during the “Reign of Terror” Became a symbol of the chaos and violent revolution that was taking place It is estimated that as many as 40,000 people were executed from 1793-1794

Rise of Napoleon During the French Revolution many social changes took place Napoleon Bonaparte, a young French artillery officer, rose to power He eventually named himself Emperor and nearly conquered all of Europe

The Napoleonic Wars

The Napoleonic Wars Napoleon was a genius level military strategist He only lost 7 of his more than 60 battles The Napoleonic Wars were primarily fought between France and Britain Fighting took place on a global scale since both had colonies

Effect on the United States Spain, France, and Britain all lost territory in North America during this period The Spanish government underwent a revolution, which caused it to lose many of it’s American colonies When the United States sided with France it started the War of 1812

The War of 1812 American senators known as War Hawks called for war against England The United States military was underprepared for the war, and as a result started the war poorly England was even able to invade Washington DC and burn the Whitehouse

The Era of Good Feelings When the war ended in 1815, little had been achieved by either side No territory was lost or gained However the United States experienced a psychological victory Following the war was a time known as the Era of Good Feelings because of the prosperity people experienced

The War of 1812 Objective: Compare and contrast Great Britain and the United States in terms of military ability during the War of 1812