Causes of the French Revolution Things are about to get cray.

Warm Up. Social Contract- The agreement between the people and their government. People give up some freedom to the government, in return the government provides a safe society. Hobbes- Humans are evil and need to give up almost all freedoms to the government. Absolute Monarch is best Locke- People are pretty good, and the government should protect our natural rights. When the government fails to do so, it’s our right to overthrow the government.

Turn to the last sheet in your packet. Spend the next 10 minutes on that sheet, by yourselves or with your partner.

French Society French society was divided into 3 Estates. 1st- Clergy (Church officials). 2nd- Nobility (The King and all the Nobles). 3rd- Everyone else

1st Estate Most of the High Church leaders were very wealthy and lived like nobles. The church itself was immensely wealthy from collecting “Tithes.” The church ran orphanages and schools Enlightenment thinkers believed that the church was too wealthy and too involved in politics.

2nd Estate Made up of the Nobles. Some nobles lived in Versailles and had an amazing life. Other nobles lived out in the country side, tending to their land.

3rd Estate Even though it was “everyone else,” it was still subdivided into smaller groups. At the top were the “bourgeoisie,” who were the middle class (bankers, merchants, factory owners, lawyers, etc). The poorest were the urban workers Everyone in the 3rd Estate paid extremely high taxes.

France’s finances. France was deeply in debt. Louis XIV and Louis XV spent enormous amounts of money. So much that they had to borrow money to keep up their lifestyle. By 1789 France was in a financial crisis. Louis XVI called the “Estates General,” similar to the English Parliament, for the first time in 175 years.

Cahiers Pronounced “kay-YAYZ” these were notebooks that each estate used to list their grievances (complaints). Most of the complaints were from the 3rd Estate about how much of their money went to taxes.

The Estates General is called When they first met, most of the talk was about the rules of voting. Traditionally each Estate got one vote. The 1st and 2nd Estates always teamed up and outvoted the 3rd Estate 2:1. The 3rd Estate wanted a popular vote, one person, one vote. They declared themselves to be the “National Assembly,” and began meeting on their own.

The Tennis Court Oath. One day the 3rd Estate found their meeting place was locked. They became afraid that the King was going to dismiss them, so they convened at a nearby Tennis Court. They swore to stand together until they had won fair treatment from the other 2 Estates. Some Clergy and Nobles even joined the 3rd Estate after this.

Louis XVI has a problem It seemed like his country was spinning out of control and he needed to do something. He deployed Royal Troops throughout Paris to keep order. Rumors spread that he was going to use those troops to break up the National Assembly. This leads to the Storming of the Bastille.

The Storming of the Bastille On July 14, 1789 Paris went crazy! The rumors about the Royal troops had the people all fired up and a mob formed. 800 people marched to the Bastille, a prison from the Medieval Times, and demanded that the guards give them weapons and ammunition.

Bastille con’t Finally the people broke into the building, killed the commander and some of his guards, freed some prisoners, and stole the weapons. The French Revolution had begun.

Video Questions Part 1 Contrast the lifestyles of King Louis XVI and his court, with those of the peasants. What are the specific complaints of the 3rd Estate?