1. THE FRENCH REVOLUTION BEGINS CHAPTER 18 SECTION 1

2. BACKGROUND TO REVOLUTION The French would mark a turning point in European history as a new political & social order would be established. The obligations & privileges of the French had been long established by the feudal system. This unjust system would lead to unrest & ultimately a revolt by the French.

3. FRANCE’S THREE ESTATES T he French population was broken into three social classes called estates. T he First Estate consisted of the clergy. T he Second Estate consisted of the nobles T he Third Estate was everyone else. T he Third Estate was the largest containing everyone from wealthy merchants to the lowliest peasant

4. THE FIRST ESTATE The First Estate numbered only 130,000 of France’s population of 27 million. In spite of their low percentage of the population they controlled 10% of the land in France. Even within the estate there were divisions There were the higher clergy who were from noble families, who were very wealthy, and there were the parish priests who tended to be poor & from the commoners

5. THE SECOND ESTATE T he Second Estate numbered approximately 350,000 & controlled some 25% - 30% of French land. T his group was very powerful as they controlled the leadership positions in the military, government, courts, and the Church. I n spite of controlling most of the nation’s wealth the clergy of the First Estate and the nobles of the Second Estate were exempt from paying the taille, France's chief tax.

6. THE THIRD ESTATE The Third Estate, unlike the first two, was divided by differences in occupations, level of wealth, & education. This estate consisted of approximately 75% to 80% of peasants & owned 35%- 40% of the land The middle class of this estate owned the rest At least half of the peasants had little or owned no land in which to live on All peasants had certain duties to the nobles, which were held over from feudal times For example they had to pay a tax to have flour ground or grapes pressed as well as had to work a certain number of days on the noble’s harvest These caused great resentment

7. THE THIRD ESTATE Another part of the Third Estate were the urban craftspeople, shopkeepers, & workers These people too struggled to survive as the cost of goods rose faster than did wages resulting in decreased buying power Another part of the Third Estate were the bourgeoisie or middle class This class made up about 8% of the population & consisted of merchants, bankers, lawyers, doctors, etc.

8. ISSUES One major issue was the privileges that were held by the nobles The middle class did not want to abolish the nobles but wanted to better their own position In fact some of the bourgeoisie had been able to become nobles by way of appointment to pubic office The bourgeoisie also shared ideas of the nobles especially when it came to new political ideas of the enlightenment In addition both were upset with the old ridged social order as well as with the monarchial system which rested on privileges These issues would lead to drastic action against Louis XVI.

9. ISSUES In addition to social issues, economic issues, collapse of the French budget, became the immediate cause of the revolution Although the economy had been expanding for some 50 years there were periodic crises Bad harvests, rising costs in food production, slowdowns in manufacturing, & unemployment caused great hardship On the eve of the revolution, the economy was in crisis yet the king continued to spend lavishly As a result a meeting of all three estates, the Estates-General, was called for the purpose of raising taxes

10. FROM ESTATES-GENERAL TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY At the meeting of the Estates-General, the Third Estate wanted to create a constitutional government that would require members of the clergy & nobility to pay taxes From the start there were questions about how the vote would be conducted Traditionally each estate had one vote which allowed the Third estate to be out voted This time the Third estate demanded that each deputy of each estate be allowed to vote This gave the advantage to the Third estate, the king opposed such a system In 1789 the Third Estate declared a national assembly that would draft a new constitution

11. FROM ESTATES-GENERAL TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY Three days later, they arrived at their meeting place only to find out that they had been locked out Undaunted they moved to a indoor tennis court where they swore to continue meeting until a new constitution was created The oath they swore became known as the Tennis Court Oath Louis XVI responded by the use of force on the Third Estate Things came to a head when 900 Parisians gathered at the Bastille, an old fortress used as a prison & armory, to protest the high cost of bread The crowed was hungry & angry

12. FROM ESTATES-GENERAL TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY According to rumor, the king’s forces were on the way The protestors learned that there were munitions in the castle so they stormed fortress only to find no munitions The prisoners were released, the warden had his head put on a stick, & the Bastille was demolished Paris was now in the hands of the rebels The Kings authority in Paris had collapsed Taking a cue from the rebels in Paris revolts began to break out in protest

13. FROM ESTATES-GENERAL TO NATIONAL ASSEMBLY These rebellions became known as the Great Fear as peasants were fearful that the work of the National Assembly would be stopped by foreign armies There were rumors of impending foreign troops coming to put down the uprisings Peasants began breaking into the houses of the lords to destroy records of their obligations

14. END OF THE OLD REGIME As a result of the revolts the National Assembly decided to abolish all legal privileges of the clergy & nobles In august of 1789 the assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Man and the Citizen This was inspired by the English Bill of Rights as well as the U.S. Constitution The document claimed that all people were free & equal before the law, all groups are subject to taxation, public office should be based on talent, freedom of speech/press were also reaffirmed

15. THE KING CONCEDES L ouis XVI refused to accept the assembly’s decrees O n October 5, thousands of Parisian women marched on the palace in revolt of high food prices. T hey met with the king explaining that their children were starving, Louis accepted the decrees. T he crowd then insisted that the king & his family come to Paris to show support for the assembly. T hey feared that he might inspire other kings & princes to come to his aid against the assembly. O n October 6, the king & his family returned to Paris & were now virtual prisoners.

16. CHURCH REFORMS Under the old regime the church held considerable wealth & power The revolutionaries felt that the church needed reform as well It was also noted that by seizing & selling church land considerable funds could be raised A new law called the Civil Constitution of the clergy was passed This called for Church leadership to be elected by the people & paid by the state This caused many to become enemies of the revolution

17. NEW CONSTITUTION & NEW FEARS The new constitution set up a government where there was a limited monarchy and a legislative assembly to make the laws Those that were allowed to vote were those men who were over the age of 25 & paid a certain amount of taxes Not only would the clergy be elected but so would the judges and all government officials Local governments were put in charge of taxation By 1791 the old regime had been destroyed In 1791 the royal family attempted to flee & were recaptured

18. WAR WITH AUSTRIA Over time other leaders feared that the revolution would spread to their countries Leaders of Prussia & Austria even threatened to invade & restore louis to power In a preemptive move the French invaded Austria In the spring of 1792 angry citizens again revolted over food prices attacking the royal palace The king was taken captive & forced the legislative assembly to suspend the monarchy and call for a national assembly This time all national issues would be decided by a universal suffrage of all adult males