American Revolution Review What were the causes of the American Revolution? What was the Boston Tea Party? What is a boycott? How do the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Amendments reflect Enlightenment ideas?

The French Revolution The Causes

EQ: What were the underlying problems of France before the Revolution?

Social Structure of French Society French society was divided into three estates (much like rich, middle, and poor) 1st Estate – Clergy 2nd Estate – Nobility 3rd Estate – Everyone else

The Top: 1st and 2nd Estates Privileged, wealthy, influential These two groups owned most of the land and paid few taxes. Represented 2% of the population which is out of 26 million

The Bottom: The 3rd Estate The 3rd Estate was 98 % of society 1. Bourgeoisie – merchants, artisans, lawyers 2. Urban Workers – worked small jobs in the city. 3. Peasants – mostly farmers, very poor, 80% of population

The Government Absolute Monarchy King has total power Few rights for people

King Louis XVI Louis XVI is King Weak, insecure leader Not good with people

Queen Marie Antoinette Hated by the French people Spent huge amounts of money Nickname – “Madame Deficit”

Crop Problems In the 1780s, France experienced an unprecedented amount of bad weather Hurt crop production Less crops = higher prices Unhappy citizens

French Government was bankrupt Why this fiscal crisis? Economic Problems French Government was bankrupt Had a huge debt Why this fiscal crisis? Spent money on several wars Bad tax policy (not tax the wealthy)

The Estates General As a result of these issues, the King calls the Estates General to fix them