Napoleon & the French Revolution Chapter 16 Lesson 4 – Textbook pages 252-256

The Monarch’s Control French monarchs kept tight hold of power Did not control money well – 1789 on verge of bankruptcy King Louis XVI (16) needed approval of the Estates- General (France’s legislature) Made up of 3 Estates, or groups: First Estate – clergy – paid no taxes Second Estate – nobility (owned about a third of the nation’s land and held high government posts – paid no taxes Third Estate – Commoners – forced to pay France’s entire tax burden

Third Estate (Commoners) First Estate (clergy) Second Estate (nobility) Third Estate (Commoners)

The French Revolution in 2:49

National Assembly In 1789 the Estates-General met for the 1st time in 175 years Each Estate met by itself and had one vote 3rd Estate was scared b/c they were outnumbered Wanted each member’s vote to be counted individually If all the Estates worked together they could force Louis XVI to agree to changes Louis refused to let the Estates vote together 3rd Estate renamed itself the National Assembly and began working on a constitution

The Storming of the Bastille On July 14th, 1789 a mob destroyed the Bastille, a hated French prison – marked the beginning of the Revolution National Assembly Eliminated privileges of the 1st and 2nd Estate Approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man – stated the reasons for the French Revolution 1791 adopted the constitution for France – Monarch powers limited Government divided into 3 branches: legislative, executive, judicial

National Convention French Revolution scared other countries Prussia and Austria attacked France – wanted to restore Louis to absolute power National Convention governed from 1792-1795 Monarchy was abolished – Louis tried, convicted, and beheaded Jacobins, the most radical members of the Convention, seized power in 1793 began the Reign of Terror – anyone suspected of opposing them faced arrest and execution