1. The French Revolution: French Monarchy Faces a Crisis

2. --Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities
It was the best of times, It was the worst of times, It was the age of wisdom, It was the age of foolishness, It was the epoch of belief, It was the epoch of incredulity
--Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities

3. The French social structure before the revolution is referred to as the Old Regime. Louis XIV, who ruled France from 1661 to 1715, is considered to be the founder of the Old Regime.
Louis XIV

4. French Monarchy Faced a Crisis
A. Old Regime
- Absolute Monarchy and Feudalism
- French people growing tired of these institutions
1. Big Debts
-King spends more than he takes in
-King borrowed heavily to help American revolutionaries against France’s chief rival, Britain

5. By 1788 the national budget broke down like this
50%
25%
19% 6%

6. Extravagant Lifestyle of King and Queen
-The average peasant earned about 500 livres a year. How much do you think the Queen spent in a year? -How many people do you think worked on the household staff of the royal family?

7. -Call meeting of Estates General, which hadn’t met since 1614
B. King’s Solution?
-Call meeting of Estates General, which hadn’t met since 1614
-Contains representatives from the 3 Orders or Estates (Clergy, Nobles, and Commoners)

8. 2. Inequality of Taxes a. Peasants Pay, Nobility and Clergy Don’t 3
2. Inequality of Taxes a. Peasants Pay, Nobility and Clergy Don’t 3. Poor Grain Harvests in 1788 and 1789 = High Bread Prices --Poor city workers and peasants struggled to feed their families.

9. a. #1 + #2 + #3 = Social Unrest

10. Population breakdown by estate
The Old Regime,
Population breakdown by estate 1% 2%
97%

11. B. Three Estates 1. First Estate (Clergy) a. Higher Clergy
- high officials in
Catholic Church
- of noble birth
- lived lives of luxury

12. b. Lower Clergy
-parish priests often lived a simple, hard- working life. Their role was to administer the church, run schools, care for the poor, and keep birth and death records for their congregations
-often as poor as peasants and sympathetic to plight of peasants

13. To support these activities, the church required that people pay a tithe, or income tax (10% of inc), to the church.
The church used the tithe money to buy huge tracts of land on which it paid no taxes. The clergy were only required to pay a “voluntary gift” (3% of their income) to the government every five years. Church owned 10% of land despite making up only 1% of population

14. 2. Second Estate (Nobles)
-Don’t pay taxes
-Own 25% of the land, despite
making up only 2% of the
population
-Held all of the important
positions in the Church, Army,
Govt. and Courts of Law
-Positions determined by
birth, not wealth or talent

15. For instance, it was illegal for peasants to hunt or fish.
Nobles also had other privileges that further burdened the poor peasants.
For instance, it was illegal for peasants to hunt or fish.
Peasants could not hunt even rabbits or birds that were eating their crops.
Nobles tore up and ruined farmers’ fields as they galloped across them enjoying a recreational hunt.
Self-Portrait as Huntsman, A. F. Desportes, 1699

16. 3. Third Estate (Commoners) -Make up 97% of the population
-Pay the majority of the taxes
-Have little influence or power
a. Bourgeoisie
-city dwelling middle class
-merchants, doctors, lawyers
-dressed like nobles
(wear fancy pants!), but
treated as peasants by the
law
-have $, but no power or
prestige

17. b. Sans-Culottes -city workers -butchers, brewers, cooks
-poorer than bourgeoisie,
thus can’t afford the fancy
pants
-especially hard hit by poor
grain harvests of 1788 and
1789 because this causes a
dramatic rise in bread prices

18. C. Peasants -Largest group in 3rd Estate and in the whole country
-21 of France’s 26 million people are peasants
-Bear a very heavy tax burden
-Pay the Church’s tithe, feudal dues to their lord, royal taxes to the King
-Also required to pay corvee (peasants could be required to do unpaid road repair work for up to one month each year)
-6 year of Army service

19. C. Meeting of the Estates General (May 1789)
Called to solve financial crisis
--Hoping to get nobles to agree to taxes
2. Controversy over voting—head or order?
--The medieval rules held that each estate met in its own hall and voted on a proposal
--1 vote for each estate

20. The Number of Representatives in the Estates General: Vote by Head!
Clergy
1st Estate
300
Nobility
2nd Estate
300
648
Commoners
3rd Estate

21. The Traditional Voting Pattern: Voting by Estates
Clergy
1st Estate 1
Nobility
2nd Estate 1 1
Commoners
3rd Estate
Louis XVI insisted that the ancient distinction of the three orders be conserved in its entirety.

22. II. Beginning of the Revolution
The National Assembly
1. “What is the Third Estate? Everything. What has it been up to now in the political order? Nothing. What does it demand? To become something herein.”
--Abbe Sieyes, clergyman sympathetic to their cause
Abbé Sieyès

23. 2. Adopt title of National Assembly and declared itself the true representative body of France—June 17, King locks them out from their meeting hall 4. Tennis Court Oath—June 20, pledge to never disband until a new constitution is written
Tennis Court Oath

24. --He said he would order all 3 estates to meet in one
5. King Louis gives in, but then he sends for 18,000 troops to come to Paris.
--He said he would order all 3 estates to meet in one
room, but then he orders Swiss mercenary troops to Paris

25. B. Storming the Bastille--July 14, 1789
Prison
Held 7 prisoners
Symbol of oppression
20,000 lbs of gunpowder stored there
¼ of Parisians were unemployed
Bread prices so high people are starving
King’s troops coming to break up National Assembly
#1 + #2 + #3 = Storming of the Bastille

26. 5. Stormed prison—Marquis de Launay opened fire
--citizens getting slaughtered at first
--98 killed
--French soldiers lend citizens 4 cannons
--De Launay killed by the crowd and his head
put on a pitchfork!
6. “Why this is a revolt!” exclaimed King Louis XVI “No sire,” the duke replied. “It is a revolution.”

27. 7. Results Kings calls back troops National Assembly is saved!
Great Fear

28. The Great Fear: Peasant Revolt --July 20, 1789
Rumors that the nobles were sending hired brigands to attack peasants and pillage their land.

29. The Path of the “Great Fear”

30. d. Reforms Night Session of August 4, 1789 Liberté! Egalité!
Before the night was over:
The feudal regime in France had been abolished.
All Frenchmen were, at least in principle, subject to the same laws and the same taxes and eligible for the same offices.
Equality & Meritocracy!
Liberté!
Egalité!
Fraternité!

31. BUT
Feudal dues were not renounced outright [this had been too strong a threat to the principle of private property!]
Peasants would compensate their landlords through a series of direct payments for obligations from which they had supposedly been freed.
Therefore, the National Assembly made revolutionary gestures, but remained essentially moderate.
Their Goal
Safeguard the right of private property!!

32. C. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
August 27, 1789
Stated govt. belong to the people
Set rights of citizens
Protected natural rights of liberty, equality, and property

33. Women’s March on Versailles, October 5-6, 1789
Unemployment and hunger increased
7000 women march 12 miles from Paris to Versailles to demand bread
Forced royal family to go to Paris

34. E. Further Reforms ( )
Church lost its land and political independence
--Govt. took church lands
--Church officials now elected by property owners and
paid as state officials
--very controversial
2. Emigres, the nobles who fled, lost their
land

35. 3. Constitutional Monarchy
National Assembly makes laws
King remains head of state and could veto any law passed by the Assembly
Limits King’s power

36. III. Fundamental Causes of the French Revolution
Abuses of the Old Regime
Political
a. King exercised unlimited powers
-As absolute monarch in control of everything
-believed in divine right
b. King’s officials selected by birth or favoritism, not ability or wealth
-bourgeosie especially frustrated since they have money but no power or influence
c. censorship of press and speech
-put opponents/critics in prisons like Bastille

37. a. First and Second Estates are privileged classes
d. King imprisoned his enemies indefinitely without
charge, bail, or trial
e. King denied people a voice in the government
-3rd Estate makes up 97% of population, but have no voice even when King calls meeting of the Estates General
2. Social
a. First and Second Estates are privileged classes
-own 35% of land even though they only make up 3% of population
-collect taxes from peasants
-don’t pay taxes
-hold best jobs
b. Third Estate unprivileged class
-don’t have a voice or any power
-bourgeoise especially frustrated, they have money but no power

38. 1. wanted to discard mercantilism and
3. Economic
a. Third Estate bears entire tax burden
i. tithe- church’s tax
ii. taille- gov’t tax
iii. Feudal dues- lords tax
iv. Corvee- forced labor
IV. Other Causes of French Revolution
A. French Bourgeoisie
1. wanted to discard mercantilism and
replace it with “laissez-faire”
-want freedom of business as well
as freedom of speech
-ideas based on Wealth of Nations written by Adam Smith

39. 1. Voltaire (1694-1778) B. French Philosophers (Enlightenment)
a. Praised England’s limited monarchy and civil liberties and denounced France’s govt.
b. believed that Church’s insistence upon authority barred human progress
2. Rousseau ( )
a. Social Contract
“Man is born free, and everywhere he
is chains.”
b. people have natural and inalienable
rights to life, liberty, and property
c. by contract among themselves, people give
govt. the power to serve them
d. when dissatisfied people may change the govt.

40. 3. Montesquieu ( )
a. separation of powers
-divide govt. into 3 branches to prevent one branch from becoming corrupted
C. Influence of English & American Revolutions
D. Incompetent and Unpopular Gov’t
1. Louis XVI ( ) and Marie Antoinette

41. III. Immediate Causes of French Revolution
A. Louis XVI brings France to Financial Bankruptcy by 1788
1. Spent heavily to aid American colonists against England
2. maintained lavish court at Versailles
3. refused to tax privileged classes
B. Bad harvest/ bread prices
C. Louis Summons the Estates General in
1789
-By calling meeting King admits he can’t solve financial crisis
-King opens can of worms
-Tradition allows 3rd Estate to list grievances