THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

The MODERATE Stage (Bourgeoisie)

ESTATES-GENERAL (1789) Called by Louis XVI to resolve the financial crisis Meets May 5, 1789 First Estates-General since 1614! (175 years) The three estates DO agree on some things Limiting royal absolutism Granting basic freedoms Voting system Each estate still only gets ONE VOTE

THE SECOND ESTATE = 1 Vote THE VOTE THE FIRST ESTATE = 1 Vote 300 reps THE SECOND ESTATE = 1 Vote 300 reps THE THIRD ESTATE = 1 Vote 648 reps

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 3rd Estate declares itself the National Assembly (June 17, 1789) Invites both 1st and 2nd Estate to join Louis orders them to disband (June 27, 1789) **Seen as first great act of French Rev**

THE TENNIS COURT OATH June 20, 1789 Louis XVI locks the doors of the meeting room – Versailles National Assembly moves to an indoor tennis court Vows not to disband until a constitution is formed

LOUIS XVI June 27, 1789 - Ordered the National Assembly to Disband (STRONG) Response “..We are here by the will of the people, and that we will go only if we are driven out by bayonets” (WEAK) ordered the first two estates to join the National Assembly Moderate middle class and liberal nobility in control – transfer of power Louis – Swiss and German mercenaries stationed - Paris & Versailles

STORMING OF THE BASTILLE Rumor = King was planning a military coup against the National Assembly Bastille French Royal Prison – 7 prisoners Was a symbol of the abuse of power Stormed on July 14, 1789 People want … GUNPOWDER Is looted and destroyed by French people 18 died, 73 wounded, 7 guards killed July 14th = French independence day BOOM!

STORMING OF THE BASTILLE IMPACT City now has an armed force Marquis de Lafayette becomes the commander TRICOLOR FLAG EMERGES Power shifts from King  National Assembly More uprisings followed Many landowners killed and their property destroyed LEADS TO THE “GREAT FEAR” Faced with great pressure, nobles concede a plethora of privileges (no more feudal dues)

FLAG OF PARIS BOURBON FLAG LIBERTY EQUALITY FRATERNITY

THE GREAT FEAR Time period where rumors spread (summer of 1789) Rumors included: King mounting a counterattack Nobles attempting to put down revolution Peasants ruthlessly killed nobles and destroyed their estates They also burn any legal documents tying them to the land Queen was hording grain at Versailles

LIMITING THE MONARCHY National Assembly issues the Declaration of the Rights of Man (Aug. 27, 1789) Called for basic human rights in France “Liberty, security, and prosperity” Ended feudal rights of nobles over peasants = to American Declaration of Independence Was mass produced and spread throughout FRA and Europe One question remains: HOW MUCH POWER SHOULD THE KING HAVE?

DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN 1791 Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793) Written in response to the Constitution of 1791 “Social contract between men and women” Rejected by the National Assembly

WOMEN’S MARCH ON VERSAILLES After the fall of the Bastille, many nobles fled Versailles and left the country Thus,  in demand for luxuries Women, who made these luxuries as a source of income, now see dwindling profits Toppled with  in price of wheat, many women and families began to go HUNGRY October 5, 1789  7,000 women storm Versailles (OCTOBER DAYS)

WOMEN’S MARCH ON VERSAILLES Stormed the palace looking for … MARIE ANTOINETTE “We are going to cut off her head, tear out her heart, fry her liver, and that won’t be the end of it” National Guard saves king, but he had to agree to go live in Paris (Tuileries Palace) Abolishes French nobility as legal order Sets out to create a constitutional monarchy KING now a ceremonial figurehead

THE CIVIL CONSTITUION OF THE CLERGY The National Assembly confiscated land from RCC WHY? TO FINANCE THE NEW GOV’T ABOLISHED THE TITHE The French government would now pay the salary of the clergy Bishops and priests elected by the people Oath of allegiance? FRANCE or THE RCC RCC branch of the STATE

THE KING’S FLIGHT Amidst great fear and diminishing power, Louis and family attempt to flee June 20, 1791 Louis is arrested in Varennes and sent back to Paris (was only miles from the border) King abandoning people - counterrevolutionary Some argue that the King’s flight = TREASON (JACOBINS)

PICTURE: Lynn Hunt

CONSTITUTION OF 1791 Completed September 3, 1791 Redefined French government Three branches National Assembly = Legislative Assembly Executive = King (only real power = VETO) Judicial ABOLISHED THE ESTATES SYSTEM Franchise = tax-paying males constitutional monarchy

ROAD TO WAR Leopold II and Frederick William II Austria, Prussia  fear republics Issue the Declaration of Pillnitz - August 1791 Brunswick Manifesto – July 1792 Intervene if French revolutionaries infringed on Louis XVI’s rights and did not restore him to power French revolutionaries take this as threat, and declare war on Austria (April 20, 1792) PROBLEM = CIVIL WAR /FOREIGN WAR

THE FIRST COALITION FRANCE AUSTRIA PRUSSIA BRITIAN SPAIN PIEDMONT DUKE OF BRUNSWICK - “if the royal family is harmed France will be leveled” FRANCE AUSTRIA PRUSSIA BRITIAN SPAIN PIEDMONT 1792-1797

SUCCESSES OF THE MODERATE STAGE Abolished special privileges Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen Reduce the power and influence of the Roman Catholic Church, KING Reformed local gov’t – 83 EQUAL districts Constitution of 1791

Picture – Lynn Hunt