1. The French Revolution Unfolds
Chapter 18
Section 2

2. What were economic conditions like in 1789?
Starving peasants
1000s of unemployed persons in search of work
Rising grain prices (80% of income spent on bread alone)

3. “Great Fear”
Rumors caused a “Great Fear”, or panic, to sweep across France
Rumors spread of government attacks on peasants and villagers and seizures of peasant crops.
In retaliation, peasants attacked nobles and their homes, burned records, and seized grain
Great Fear

4. Paris Commune
Paris, capital of France, was center of revolutionary activity
Different groups, or factions, competed for political power
Moderates looked to Marquis de Lafayette for leadership (Lafayette assisted Washington in American Revolution)
Lafayette organized the National Guard in response to king’s royal troops
A radical political group known as Paris Commune replaced the Paris government
More political clubs developed and demanded 1) end to the monarchy and they 2) spread wild rumors about royal family
The

5. France

6. Marquis de Lafayette
He was a French leader who assisted George Washington during the American Revolution.

7. What changes occurred in the National Assembly (formerly the Third Estate)?
A meeting was held on August 4, 1789
Nobles surrendered their right to collect dues from peasants, exclusive hunting rights, special legal status, and exemption from paying taxes
The National Assembly made the above reforms into law and achieved a key Enlightenment goal:
“THE EQUALITY OF ALL MALE CITIZENS BEFORE THE LAW” (sorry – females still not included at that time)

8. National Assembly

9. What was the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen?
The National Assembly published this document
It was modeled after the U.S. Declaration of Independence
All French men “born and remain free and equal in rights”

10. Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
Natural rights include “liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression”
Governments must exist to protect the natural rights of citizens (hey, remember John Locke??)
All male citizens equal before the law, freedom of religion, and taxes according to one’s ability to pay

11. Slogan of the French Revolution
“LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY”
(sorry, but not for women)

12. Olympe de Gouges
She was a female journalist who demanded rights for women
She authored a similar document - Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Female Citizen

13. Women’s March on Versailles (October 5, 1789)
6,000 angry women marched 13 miles in rain from Paris to king’s palace at Versailles
The Women demanded 1) bread and 2) to personally see King Louis XVI
They had no food to feed their families!!
The monarchs and their family left for Paris followed by the angry women
Royal family was imprisoned in the Tuileries Palace in Paris

14. Women’s March on Versailles
These angry women are marching with pitchforks and a cannon!!

15. Why did women HATE Queen Marie Antoinette??
Common women hated Queen Marie Antoniette, who spent huge sums of money on herself (clothing, jewelry, perfumes) while ignoring the poor, starving citizens of France

16. Versailles Palace

17. How did the National Assembly Pay Off France’s Huge Debts?
1) Assembly voted to take over and sell church lands to raise money
2) National Assembly put French Catholic Church under state control (church was not happy about this)
3) Bishops and priests were elected and salaried – not appointed anymore
4) Constitution ended papal (pope’s) authority over French Church (the pope was furious!!)
5) Convents and monasteries were dissolved

18. Reaction to National Assembly’s Authority Over Church
Bishops and priests refused to accept new Civil Constitution
Pope condemned the new constitution
Many religious French peasants rejected the changes
Government punished clergy who refused to support the Civil Constitution

19. Constitution of 1791
The absolute monarchy was replaced by a limited monarchy
New Legislative Assembly had power to make laws, collect taxes, and decide issues of war and peace
Lawmakers would be elected by tax-paying male citizens over age 25
Old provinces replaced with 83 departments (counties) of equal size

20. French Departments (counties)

21. King Louis Attempts to Escape
King and family attempted escape in June, 1791
The escape attempt failed as the monarchs tried to cross the border
At the border, a guard recognized the king’s face from paper currency
The royal family was escorted back to Paris
This escape attempt made Louis XVI appear to be a traitor to the Revolution

22. King Louis XVI of France
He did not care at all about the problems of the French people. He lacked leadership. He lacked the political and economic skills to govern France effectively.

23. How did European rulers react to the French Revolution?
European rulers did not want French Revolution to spill across the border and spark similar revolutions in their countries
Emigres (nobles, clergy, and others who fled the Revolution to other countries) reported attacks on their privileges, property, their religion, and their lives
European rulers did not want “revolutionary ideas” to “infect” their populations

24. Map of Europe Eve of French Revolution

25. Declaration of Pilnitz
The king of Prussia and Emperor of Austria jointly issued the Declaration of Pilnitz
Under this declaration, these monarchs threatened to intervene to protect the French monarchy
(protecting and restoring the French monarchy would prevent the French Revolution from spreading to other European countries)
Other European monarchs did not want the French Revolution to incite violence in their countries!!
The French revolutionaries viewed this declaration as a threat against the revolution itself

26. Why did the Legislative Assembly fail?
Lasted one year amidst new economic problems:
Assignats (currency) dropped in value
Prices rose rapidly
People selfishly hoarded food and supplies
Significant food shortages

27. Sans-Culottes (“without breeches”)
Another radical revolutionary group
They wore long trousers
The Sans-Culottes demanded a republic (government ruled by elected representatives) instead of a monarchy (government ruled by king and queen)

28. Hostile Political Factions
Sans-culottes found support in Legislative Assembly among the Jacobins, a revolutionary political club
Mostly middle-class lawyers or intellectuals
Jacobins used power of newspapers to spread revolutionary ideas

29. War on Tyranny
A war of words between French revolutionaries and European monarchs erupted into battlefield war
The French Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria, Prussia, and Britain - to spread the revolution!!
The great European powers expected an easy victory against France
But the fighting began in 1792 and lasted until 1815