1. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION Day 1 of 3

2. TWO WALLPAPERS French flag, known as “the Tricolor”
Adopted in 1790 at the start of the Revolution
Remains the French flag today

3. TWO WALLPAPERS Fleur-de-lis
Symbol of various monarchs, especially in France
France settled Louisiana, so the symbol is often used in Louisiana & New Orleans culture

4. ROMAN NUMERALS Monarchs & popes often re-use names
Roman numerals used to number them
Current pope is Benedict XVI (16th)
France had 17 kings named Louis
In French, Louis is pronounced LU●ee
Louis #14-18 relevant to French Rev.
Called Louis XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII

5. VOCABULARY

6. VOCABULARY Estates = French social classes
Not just “rich” or “poor”
Defined one’s legal rights and privileges
Clergy = all church officials
France was Roman Catholic
No separation of church and state
Officially employed by the king
Taille (TAH●yuh) = main tax in France

7. VOCABULARY Bourgeoisie (BURZH●WAH●ZEE) Estates-General
Middle class of French society
Lawyers, public officials, doctors, writers, etc.
Maybe richer than nobles, but legally inferior
Estates-General
French congress-like legislature
Only called into session when King wanted it
Didn’t meet between

8. BEFORE THE REVOLUTION 1614 – 1789 Absolute Monarchy

9. LOUIS XIV Ruled 1643-1715 Model of Absolutism
“L’etat c’est moi” (“I am the state”)
The “Sun King”
Left huge debt from personal & military expenses

10. LOUIS XVI Ruled 1774-1793 Grandson of Louis XV
Financially supported the American Rev. to enrage the British
Bankrupted France
Last absolute monarch of France

11. MARIE ANTOINETTE Austrian princess & wife of Louis XVI
Spent incredible amounts of money on personal luxuries
Commoners saw her as a symbol of royal apathy to their issues

12. SOCIAL STRUCTURE Group Pop. Land Taxes 1st Estate 0.5% 10% 0% (Clergy)
2nd Estate 1.5% 25% 0%
(Nobility)
3rd Estate 98% 65% 100%
(others)

13. FIRST ESTATE: CLERGY Cardinals & bishops = rich nobles
No complaints about Absolutism
Local priests = poor commoners
Wanted king to be kinder to peasantry

14. SECOND ESTATE: NOBLES Educated & cultured
Believed Enlightenment principles
Favored limited monarchy, not Absolutism
Wanted a voice in government (taxation)
Wanted bourgeois to stay beneath them

15. THIRD ESTATE: COMMONERS
Bourgeoisie (20-25%) = rich
Educated & cultured
Believed Enlightenment principles
Favored limited monarchy, not Absolutism
Wanted a voice in government (taxation)
Wanted ability to ascend to become Nobles
Peasants (75-80%) = poor
Uneducated & uncultured
Liked Absolutism /“If only the king knew!”
Wanted relief: food, land, socks, etc.

16. LOUIS XVI’s PROBLEM Spent lots of money on palaces & fashion
Let Marie Antoinette spend lots of money
Spent lots of money on foreign wars, including the American Revolution
Finished bankrupting the country
Needed higher taxes but Nobility resisted
Decided to call the Estates-General to give the people a voice, but get his way

17. THE ESTATES-GENERAL First Estate ≈ 300 delegates
Second Estate ≈ 300 delegates
Third Estate ≈ 600 delegates
Traditionally one vote per estate
1st & 2nd estate outvote 3rd (2-1)
3rd estate demands one vote per delegate
Debated the issue for six long weeks

18. THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY June 17, 1789
Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly (replacing the Estates-General)
Third Estate locked out of meeting hall
Met at a nearby indoor tennis court
Tennis Court Oath – vowed to continue meeting until they had a new constitution
Mild rebellion / no overthrow of monarch

19. WHERE WAS LOUIS?!?! Monarchs didn’t live in major cities
Before the invention of plumbing, sewers, & trash collection, cities were unbearable
Louis lived in the Palace of Versailles, about ten miles west of Paris
This is why he seemed to be so blind to the problems of his people

20. THE PALACE OF VERSAILLES

21. STORMING THE BASTILLE
From safety of Versailles, Louis prepared his army to attack the National Assembly
June 14, 1789 – Parisians attack the Bastille, a royal prison/armory (weapons)
Some royal soldiers join in the attack
Warden killed, decapitated, and had his head carried around on a pike
Revolts in Paris & throughout countryside

22. BASTILLE DAY = JUNE 14

23. THREAT OF INVASION European monarchs were intense rivals
However, they also didn’t want their own people to get any ideas from the French
Good chance that foreign kings would send armies to stop the French rebellion
The National Assembly had to act fast to get people on its side, in case of invasion

24. END OF THE ESTATES Abolished all legal privileges of the Clergy
Abolished all legal privileges of the Nobles