Chapter 18: The French Revolution and Napoleon 1789-1815

Section 1: On the Eve of Revolution In 1789 France was experiencing a horrible financial recession Wages were being cut, while food prices soared The poorest citizens of Paris had enough and took action French Society Divided During this time, France had a strict class system: -First Estate = Clergy -Second Estate = Nobility -Third Estate = bulk of population The clergy enjoyed great wealth and led lavish lifestyles

Despite this, the First Estate did perform social services The Nobles of the Second Estate held top government jobs Many nobles felt the effects of the bad economy however They hated absolutism and the possibility of losing special privileges The Third Estate was made up of several different classes: -Bourgeoisie (middle class) -rural peasants -urban workers

Urban workers were the poorest and faced unemployment and crime Members of the Third Estate resented privileges of those above them The First and Second Estates paid almost no taxes at the expense of the peasants The Enlightenment led people to question social inequalities The Third Estate started to demand financial equality Financial Troubles Economic problems in France were made worse due to deficit spending Vocab pg 572

By the 1780’s huge debt and crop failures made the situation worse resulting in tax increases Jacques Necker was a financial advisor to the king: -reduce extravagant spending -reform government -abolish tariffs He was dismissed after he suggested the First and Second Estates pay taxes Louis XVI Calls the Estates-General Estates-General consisted of legislative body from all three estates

The King had all Estates prepare a list of grievances called cahiers These cahiers reflected class resentments Delegates from the Third Estate insisted on reform, including the system for voting Eventually the Third Estate named themselves the National Assembly They took the Tennis Court Oath, vowing not to disband until a just constitution was passed Some reform minded clergy and nobles joined the Assembly The King sent in troops to attempt to dismiss the National Assembly

Parisians Storm the Bastille With the assembly surrounded, Parisians took action More than 800 stormed the Bastille searching for weapons They killed the leader of the Bastille but found no weapons The Bastille became a symbol of the independence of the French people however July 14th is known as Bastille Day Pg 577 3-5

Section 2: The French Revolution Unfolds Revolution can be broke into several phases: -National Assembly (1789-1791) -Radical Phase (1792-1794) -Directory (1795-1799) -Age of Napoleon (1799-1815) Political Crisis Leads to Revolt Revolt was fueled by two things: -political crisis -famine 80% of income was spent on food Things were made worse by rumors of the government seizing food

The National Assembly Acts Nobles in the National Assembly voted to end their special privileges Later the Assembly issued the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen This was modeled after the Declaration of Independence The Declaration upheld the slogan of the revolution, “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” Many women were imprisoned or executed for protesting the omission of women in the declaration The Declaration was also ignored by many upper class who still lived in luxury

The National Assembly Presses Onward To help pay off debt, the National Assembly voted to take over and sell Church lands The Catholic Church was placed under complete state control Many clergy and Catholic peasants rejected this In 1791 The Assembly finished work on the Constitution of 1791 The Constitution had many democratic ideas, but power was still in the hands of the wealthy

Radicals Take Over Many European rulers denounced the revolution European nations started to strengthen borders to keep out the “French Plague” When Prussia and Austria vowed to defend the French Monarchy, the Revolution moved into the Radical Phase The Legislative Assembly lasted less than one year Working class men and women pushed the revolution into the Radical Phase They demanded a new Republican form of government

The Legislative Assembly was torn apart between revolutionaries and moderates Revolutionaries took control of the Assembly and declared war on various European countries This war lasted for 23 years Vocab pg 578, 3-5 pg 583

Section 3: Radical Days of the Revolution There was much violence between loyalists and revolutionaries Radicals eventually gained control of the Assembly and demanded suffrage for all males They set up the French Republic and drew up a new constitution King Louis was tried as a traitor and executed Terror and Danger Grip France France was in constant danger from foreign countries, and counter-revolutionaries

To deal with violence, the Committee for Public Safety was established Young French recruits were inspired by the revolution and were eager to fight The French army was young, but became very powerful To deal with counter-revolutionaries, the Committee launched a reign of terror Under Maxmillian Robespierre, the guillotine became the symbol of the revolution 17,000 people were beheaded during the reign of terror Eventually Robespierre was also executed

The Revolution Enters Its Third Stage After the Reign of Terror, moderates created a new constitution It set up a 5 man Directory and a 2 house legislature The Directory was weak and supporters of a constitutional monarchy won a majority in the legislature Revolution Brings Change Most important change in France was a feeling of Nationalism Social reform and religious toleration were also outcomes of the revolution Vocab 585, 3-6 pg 590

Section 4: The Age of Napoleon Napoleon Rises to Power As a young soldier, Napoleon favored Republican rule He was ambitious, and won many battles He eventually became involved in politics He overthrew the Directory and named himself Consul for life, then Emperor Napoleon reforms France His slogan became order, security and efficiency He also restored economic prosperity

All levels of society backed Napoleon His Napoleonic Code was accepted by fair by all classes, but still excluded women Napoleon Builds an Empire Through military power, he began to annex conquered lands He controlled most of Europe by placing friends on the thrones of conquered states His invasions helped spread revolutionary ideas across Europe and inspired nationalism in France Napoleons Empire Faces Challenges Napoleons first mistake occurred in 1812

Nationalism in other countries started to work against him Conquered countries started to revolt against him Napoleon attempted to invade Russia Out of 600,000 soldiers, 20,000 returned home This defeat hurt his reputation at home Napoleon Falls from Power After new alliances formed against him, Napoleon abdicated Louis XVIII took the throne of France

Napoleon escaped from exile and returned to France to seize power again He reassembled the army under his command The French Army was crushed at the Battle of Waterloo After this battle European leaders met at the Congress of Vienna to restore order and stability They achieved a goal of European peace for the next 100 years Vocab pg 592, 3-5 pg 600 End of notes!