1. Warm Up – March 22
Grab the Guided Notes from the front table and answer the following questions on a post it:
1. What two movements helped to influence the Enlightenment?
2. What did Thomas Hobbes believe about people? What did people need because of this?
3. How was John Locke’s views more positive than Hobbes?
4. Describe how Absolute Monarchs and the Enlightenment helped contribute to people wanting to revolt against the King of France?

2. Unit 6: Absolutism, Revolution and rebellion
The French Revolution

3. CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Causes of the Revolution:
1. International – Struggle to expand the French empire
2. Political conflict between monarchy and nobles
3. The Enlightenment
4. Social conflict between rich and poor
5. Weak Leader: Louis XVI
6. Debt and Agriculture crisis

4. Revolution and France
Old Regime – The social and political system of France where people divided into three estates, or social classes
First Estate
Second Estate
Third Estate

5. First Estate Clergy of Roman Catholic Church Anti-Enlightenment
Owned 10% of land
2% of income to taxes

6. Second Estate Rich nobles held high offices in gov’t
Anti-Enlightenment
Owned 30% of land
Paid almost no taxes

7. Third Estate Consisted of three groups Bourgeoisie (middle class)
Workers
Peasants
98% of population
80% of French are peasants

8. Third Estate Peasants paid most of their income in
taxes (like soap, salt & bread)
dues to nobles
tithes to the church
Growing resentment towards 1st and 2nd Estates
Pro-Enlightenment ideas

9. Weak Government King Louis XVI inherits debt
Borrowed to help American colonies defeat the British
Crop failures and bread shortages
Marie Antoinette – (Queen) overspending and uncaring

10. Estates General
France faced bankruptcy - Louis XVI called an Estates General - assembly of representatives from all three estates to air grievances – a “cahier”
Met on May 5, 1789 at Versailles
Unfair voting practices led to more anger

11. The First Act of Real Revolution
Tennis Court Oath
June 17, 1789 Third Estate establishes the National Assembly proclaiming the end of monarchy and the start of representative government
Tennis Court Oath – indoor tennis court where delegates would stay until they made a new constitution
The First Act of Real Revolution

12. STORMING OF THE BASTILLE
Rebels need gunpowder – they know it they can get it in the prison
Storming of the Bastille: The Bastille was a prison
Was viewed as symbol of the monarchy’s unfairness.
Third Estate take over prison, kill guards. This represented an important symbolic act of the revolution.

13. DECLARATION OF RIGHTS OF MAN
REFORMS AND EFFECTS: Third Estate take over & sell most of churches’ land
Use $ to pay France’s debt. They also take away most of king’s power.
The third estate then writes the Declaration of Rights of Man. This declaration guarantees citizens equal justice, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion.

14. EFFECTS AND REFORM
Other European countries began to fear the revolution in France – worried similar revolts may take place in their own countries
Countries like Austria and Prussia urged the French to restore Louis XVI to power
Eventually a group called the Jacobins take control of France and throw Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in jail

15. JACOBINS TAKE POWER
Jacobins tried Louis XVI for treason, and killed him using the guillotine
Marie Antoinette tried for treason and killed
Jacobin Leader, Maximilian Robespierre, took control of France and ruled as a dictator
Wanted to create “A Republic of Virtue” – a new government with no sign of the past

17. REIGN OF TERROR
Robespierre’s period of ruling was called the Reign of Terror
Tried enemies in the morning, killed them in the afternoon using a guillotine
40,000 killed during the Reign of Terror
Killings divided the National Assembly – fearing for their own safety – they captured and tried Robespierre
Reign of Terror ends in 1794 when the killing of Robespierre by the guillotine

18. France Needs a New Leader
With the death of Robespierre, the National Assembly wanted France to have a strong leader
That leader would be Napoleon Bonaparte

19. TOD – March 22
Answer the following questions on the same post it as the warm up:
1. What three estates were part of the Old Regime in France? Who was in each estate? Which estates paid the least amount of taxes?
2. What was the Tennis Court Oath?
3. Who took over as the leader of the National Assembly? What was the period known as? Why did people give it this name?
4. What kind of leader did France want following the end of the Revolution?