The French Revolution Western Civilization II

L’Ancien Regime First Estate = Clergy 100,000 – 130,000 Owned 10 – 20% of the land Second Estate = Nobility Less than 400,000 Owned 20% of the land Third Estate = Everybody Else Bourgeoisie – owned 20% of the land Urban Proletariat (sans-culottes) Peasants – 16 – 21 million, owned 30 – 40% of the land King Louis XVI

Causes of the Crisis Recession after a century of overall economic growth & expansion Grain shortages caused bread shortages, leading to urban unrest Government bankrupt Lost overseas empire in 7 Years War Owed millions for wars (esp. American Revolution) By 1788, ½ of budget went to pay interest on the debt. Assembly of Notables (1787) refused Louis XVI’s request for tax increase

The Estates-General Cahiers de Doleances listed grievances 3 rd Estate opposed voting by estate Tennis Court Oath (June 20, 1789) Declared themselves to be National Assembly Swore not to disband until constitution written Standoff ensued as Louis XVI vacillates The Tennis Court Oath by Jacques-Louis David

The Storming of the Bastille July 14, 1789

The Work of the National Assembly Great Fear prompts nobles to renounce their feudal rights, Aug. 4-5, 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen issued Aug. 26, 1789 Women of Paris drag Louis XVI & family back to Paris, Oct. 5, 1789

The Constitutional Monarchy Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790) Made clergy government officials Confiscated land sold & assignats issued based on value Constitution of 1791 embodied ideals of Enlightenment King made executive & given 6-month veto Provinces reorganized into smaller departements Only property-owning men could vote, & higher property requirement to be elected

The Fall of Louis XVI Louis XVI flees to Varennes in June 1791, but captured & placed under house arrest Austria & Prussia issue Declaration of Pillnitz on Aug. 27, 1791, threatening war if king harmed France declared a republic in Sept King Louis XVI executed in Jan. 1793

The Radical Republic National Convention dominated by radical Jacobins Maximilien Robespierre’s Committee of Public Safety institutes Reign of Terror, April 1793 – July 1794 Cult of Reason Revolutionary Calendar Metric system Maximilien Robespierre

Robespierre’s Purifying Pot

The Directory Robespierre killed in Thermidorian Reaction, July Constitution established 5-man Directory & new bicameral legislature Barras & Siéyès staged coup d’etat on Nov. 9, 1799, with help of Napoleon Bonaparte ©2004 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under license.

The Coronation of Napoleon on Christmas Day, 1804