Chapter 7 Section 1 The French Revolution Begins Objective: Summarize the factors that led to the French Revolution Vocabulary: Old Regime, Estate, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Estates- General, National Assembly, Tennis Court Oath, & Great Fear

Setting the Stage In the 1700s, France was considered the most advanced country in Europe It was the center of the Enlightenment France’s culture was widely praised & imitated the rest of the world The appearance of success in France was deceiving because they had bad harvests, high prices, high taxes, & disturbing questions were raised by the Enlightenment It had a large population & prosperous foreign trade What does it mean to deceive someone? What were some Enlightenment Philosophers & what did they believe in?

Check for Understanding Voltaire was a famous French Philosopher. Voltaire believed in what Enlightenment idea? Sentence Starter: Voltaire’s influenced the Enlightenment with his belief in ________________________________. Remember there are a few things you can say!

The Old Order Old Regime was the political & social system that existed in France before the French Revolution Under the old regime, France was divided into 3 large social classes, or estates The first estate was clergy from the Roman Catholic Church – they owned 10% of the land The second estate was the rich nobles – 2% of the population that owned 20% of the land The Church provided education & relief services to the poor The nobles paid no taxes They were upset with Enlightenment ideas because they threatened their status France = Absolute Monarchy What does that mean?

Check for Understanding Louis XVI was an absolute Monarch. How much power does an absolute monarch have over a country? How do you know? Limited Total None Sentence Starter: An absolute monarch has _____ power over a country.

The Third Estate 97% of the people belonged to the Third Estate Within the third estate, there was 3 groups First group was the bourgeoisie (middle class) Second group was the basic workers Third group were peasants (largest group) The Third Estate, lacked privileges but the middle class believed that their wealth entitled them to a greater degree of social status & political power The heavily taxed & discontented Third Estate was eager for change The middle class was educated & believed strongly in Enlightenment ideals of liberty & equality 80% of the 26 million population were peasants

The Forces of Change New ideas about government, serious economic problems, & weak/indecisive leadership all helped to generate a desire for change Members of the Third Estate were inspired by the success of the American Revolution & began to demand equality, liberty, & democracy Why would the American Revolution inspire the French?

Economic Troubles Although France’s economy appeared to be sound because production & trade were expanding The heavy burden of taxes made it almost impossible to conduct business profitably within France Bad weather also caused a shortage of grain, doubling the price of bread France’s government was deep in debt due to King Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette’s extravagant spending France’s debt nearly doubled In 1786, bankers refused to lend the government any more money Some of the debt was inherited Cost of living was on the rise

A Weak Leader Louis XVI paid little attention to his government advisers & had little patience for the details of governing Marie Antoinette was unpopular because she was Austrian & gave her husband poor advice She spent too much money on gowns, jewels, gambling, & gifts An Estates-General was an assembly called with representatives from all 3 estates to approve the king’s new taxes The taxes would be placed on the nobility It was held on May 5th 1789 Why should you pay attention to details in your government?

Check for Understanding Louis XVI barely taxed the church & nobility. He often taxed the middle class & peasants. Which estate was the middle class & peasants apart of? Sentence starter: The middle class & peasants were apart of the __________ estate.

Dawn of the Revolution The Third Estate insisted that all 3 estates meet together which would give the advantage to the Third Estate Third Estate delegates named themselves the National Assembly that would pass laws & make reforms in the name of the French people The Third Estate called for a end to the monarchy but a few days later they were locked out of their meeting room; they knocked down the doors of a tennis court Tennis Court Oath – the national assembly pledged to draw up a constitution for France From old rules the 3 estates were to meet separately Each estate gets one vote, which always out voted the 3rd estate The king said they would follow the old rules but the 3rd estate who was shaped by enlightenment ideas were eager to make changes in the government Nobles started to join the 3rd estate delegates

Storming the Bastille Louis decided to station his mercenary army of Swiss guards around Versailles People believed that the foreign troops were coming to Paris to massacre French citizens On July 14th 1789 a mob overwhelmed the prison guards at Bastille, a Paris prison The fall of the Bastille became a great symbolic act of revolution & independence to the French people Bastille Day is a French national holiday People began gathering weapons in order to defend the city against attack The mob killed the prison guards, cut their heads off and paraded around the streets with their heads on pikes What is the document the colonist signed declaring themselves separate from England? It is similar to the 4th of July in the United States

Check for Understanding The Storming of the Bastille was a symbol of revolution & independence from the French monarchy. The signing of this document in the Americas was a symbol of revolution & independence from the English monarchy Declaration of Independence Bill of Rights Constitution

A Great Fear Sweeps France A wave of senseless panic called the Great Fear rolled through France October 1789, thousands of Parisian women rioted over the rising price of bread This riot lead to the breaking into the palace demanding Louis & Marie return to Paris Eventually, they agreed & their exit signaled the change of power