Lesson 3 Lecture Notes

Review Questions  How did Jews get to Europe?  What factors influenced Jewish life in Europe before the French Revolution?  What was Jewish life like prior to the French Revolution?  What kind of identity do you think Jews had prior to the French Revolution?

The French Revolution Were the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte Good for the Jews?

Causes of the French Revolution I  Humanism – asserts the dignity and worth of people and their capacity for self- realization through reason.  Rationalism – reason is the source of knowledge.

Causes of the French Revolution II  Louis XIV Financial difficulties Administrative Difficulties  Louis XVI Raise taxes! Calls session of the Estates General Louis XVI

Causes of the French Revolution III  Estates General Consultative assembly Not met since Estates  First Estate – Clergy  Second Estate – Nobility  Third Estate – Middle class, workers, peasants  Tensions Between Estates Nobility – more power Peasants – fewer taxes Middle Class – fewer restrictions on trade

The French Revolution  National Assembly ( ) Established by Third Estate Purpose: National Constitution  Storming of the Bastille New Flag (red, white, and blue) Marquis de Lafayette

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (August 26, 1789) Article I. All men are born and remain, free and equal in rights: social distinctions cannot be found but on common utility… 10. No person shall be molested for his opinions, even such as are religious, provided that the manifestation of these opinions does not disturb the public order established by law.

Jewish Emancipation  Definition: Generally used to designate the legal process, which began in Europe with the French Revolution, of granting to the Jews equal civic rights in the countries in which they reside.  The Emancipation of the Jews of France (September 28, 1791)

A French Jew Supports Emancipation  Introduction to primary sources What is a primary source? Basis for class project Will examine a letter written by a French Jew to his congregation on the same day that the Jews were emancipated.  Model for working with primary sources

Continuing Problems in France  War with Prussia & Austria  Execution of Louis XVI & Reign of Terror  Napoleon Bonaparte declares himself Emperor

Preview  The Spread of the French Revolution  Emancipation in the rest of Europe  Was Napoleon good for the Jews?