1. The French Revolution

2. France Before the Revolution
Absolute monarch =
Absolute monarchs believed they ruled by divine right
Remember Louis XIV – the ultimate absolute monarch???

3. Cause #1: The French Monarchy (1775-1793)
King Louis XVI
Queen Marie Antoinette

4. King Louis XVI Became King of France at age 20.
Married to Marie Antoinette (of Austria).
Weak and indecisive ruler.
Easily influenced by his wife.
No leadership skills.

5. Queen Marie Antoinette
Married Louis XVI at age 14.
Daughter of Austrian Emperor Francis I and Maria Theresa.
Marriage was an alliance between France and Austria.
Big spender and spoiled brat.

6. Society under the Old Regime
In France, people were divided into three estates
First Estate
High-ranking members of the Church
Privileged class
Second Estate
Nobility
Third Estate
Everyone else – from peasants in the countryside to wealthy bourgeoisie merchants in the cities
Unprivileged class

7. The Three Estates Estate Population Privileges Exemptions Burdens
First
Circa 130,000
High-ranking clergy
Collected the tithe
Censorship of the press
Control of education
Kept records of births, deaths, marriages, etc.
Catholic faith held honored position of being the state religion (practiced by monarch and nobility)
Owned 20% of the land
Paid no taxes
Subject to Church law rather than civil law
Moral obligation (rather than legal obligation) to assist the poor and needy
Support the monarchy and Old Regime
Second
Circa 110,000
Nobles
Collected taxes in the form of feudal dues
Monopolized military and state appointments
Third
Circa 25,000,000
Everyone else: artisans, bourgeoisie, city workers, merchants, peasants, etc., along with many parish priests
None
Paid all taxes
Tithe (Church tax)
Octrot (tax on goods brought into cities)
Corvée (forced road work)
Capitation (poll tax)
Vingtiéme (income tax)
Gabelle (salt tax)
Taille (land tax)
Feudal dues for use of local manor’s winepress, oven, etc.

8. Cause #3: Economic Problems
The biggest problem: Debt!
The French debt was due to:
The French and Indian War
The American Revolution
The tax system
Economic decline
And poor harvests
The results were high bread prices and high unemployment.

9. France Is Bankrupt
The king (Louis XVI) lavished money on himself and residences like Versailles
Queen Marie Antoinette was seen as a wasteful spender
Government found its funds depleted as a result of wars
Including the funding of the American Revolution
Deficit spending – a government spending more money than it takes in from tax revenues
Privileged classes would not submit to being taxed

10. Cause #4 Enlightenment Ideas
Enlightenment ideas that influenced the American Revolution have spread to French newspapers
Peasants were starving, and they remember they had paid for the American Revolution…ideas were planted

11. Preparing for the Estates-General
Winter of
Estates –General – a general assembly of people representing the estates.
Members of the estates elected representative

12. Meeting of the Estates-General: May 5, 1789
Voting was conducted by estate
Each estate had one vote
First and Second Estates could operate as a bloc to stop the Third Estate from having its way
◊ First Estate + ◊ Second Estate - vs. - ◊ Third Estate
Representatives from the Third Estate demanded that voting be by population
This would give the Third Estate a great advantage
Deadlock resulted

13. Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate declared itself to be the National Assembly.
Louis XVI responded by locking the Third Estate out of the meeting.
The Third Estate relocated to a nearby tennis court where its members vowed to stay together and create a written constitution for France.
On June 23, 1789, Louis XVI relented. He ordered the three estates to meet together as the National Assembly and vote, by population, on a constitution for France.

14. The National Assembly (May 5, 1789)
National Assembly ~ formed to pass laws and reforms in the name of the French people.
Ended the absolute monarchy
Beginning of representative government
FIRST ACT of the FRENCH REVOLUTION!!

15. Storming of the Bastille

16. Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789)
King Louis stationed his army around Versailles rumors began to spread…
Troops were coming to massacre French citizens.
People began to gather weapons to defend the city against attack.
Storming of the Bastille (July 14, 1789) ~ a mob searching for gunpowder and arms stormed the Bastille (a Paris Prison).
Took control of the Prison
Killed the Prison commander and guards – put their heads on pikes and marched around city.
Celebrate Bastille Day (like 4th of July)

17. The Great Fear

18. Great Fear (Summer/Fall 1789)
Before long, rebellion spread from Paris into the countryside.
Great Fear ~ time of senseless panic.
Peasants armed with pitchforks broke into and burned nobles’ manor houses

19. Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

20. Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (August 26, 1789)
Afraid of the violence in France, Nobles and members of the clergy in the National Assembly responded to the uprisings.
Declared their love for liberty and equality.
Wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
Modeled after American Declaration of Independence
Guaranteed:
Freedom of religion
Equality for all male citizens before the law
Freedom of speech
Right of liberty, property, security & resistance to oppression

21. Bellringer!French Revolution Review
What were the four causes of the French Revolution? (Explain each)
Why did the Tennis Court Oath happened?
Why did angry mobs storm the Bastille?
What was the declaration of rights of Man and Citizen?

22. The Paris Bread Riots

23. Paris Bread Riots (October 1789)
In October 1789, thousands of Parisian women rioted over the rising price of bread.
Peasants consumed about 3-4 loaves of bread a day!
Took about ½ of their income
People faced starvation
Women marched to Versailles carrying knives, axes, and any other weapon they could find.

24. Louis’ Escape!

25. Louis’ Escape (June 1791)
As the National Assembly reformed the French government, Louis XVI began to panic.
Warned that he and his family were in danger
In June 1791, the royal family tried to escape from France to the Netherlands.
Caught at the border!
Returned to Paris and imprisoned…

26. Constitution of 1791

27. Constitution of 1791 (October 1, 1791)
Reforms Made by the National Assembly:
Abolished Feudalism finally!!
Nobles agreed to end their special privileges (including giving up exemption from taxes)
Church placed under state control
Constitution of 1791 (established a new government)
Limited Monarchy created in place of an absolute monarchy

28. France Declares War

29. France Declares War (April 1792)
Monarchs and nobles all over Europe watched frightened as changes were made in France.
Feared similar revolts in their countries
Austria and Prussia wanted Louis XVI back as monarch.
Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria and Prussia in April 1792.
August 10, 1792 ~ 20,000 people invaded the palace where the royal family was staying.
Mob massacred the royal guards
Imprisoned Louis, Marie Antoinette, and kids.

30. Jean-Paul Marat and the Jacobins

31. Jean-Paul Marat and the Jacobins
As chaos broke out in Paris again, a radical group called the Jacobins took charge.
Led by Jean-Paul Marat
Marat is killed…
Created a new governing body called the National Convention (September 21, 1792).
Abolished the monarchy
Made France a Republic
All male citizens given right to vote.
Now Louis XVI was a common citizen and a prisoner.
Jacobins tried Louis for Treason

32. Louis XVI Beheaded

33. Louis XVI Beheaded (January 21, 1792)
The National Convention found Louis guilty!
Sentenced to death
January 21, 1792 the former King was beheaded by the Guillotine.

34. The Reign of Terror

35. Reign of Terror
The Jacobins had many enemies through France and they needed a way to contain and control these enemies.
Beginning in 1793, Maximilien Robespierre gained power and control of the Committee of Public Safety.
Committee of Public Safety – responsible for protecting the Revolution from its enemies.
Governed as a dictator
The Rule of Robespierre became known as the Reign of Terror.
Committee had “enemies” tried and the morning and guillotined in the afternoon.
18 year old was sentenced to death for cutting down a tree that had been planted as a symbol of liberty.
40,000 people were executed (including Marie Antoinette)
85% were peasants

36. Napoleon Bonaparte

37. End of the Terror (July 28, 1794)
In July 1794, members of the National Convention turned on Robespierre and had him arrested and executed.
Reign of Terror ended on July 28, 1794 when Robespierre was executed.
The Directory (1795) ~ new plan of government that put power in the hands of the middle class.
3rd government since 1789
2 house legislature
Executive Body of 5 men (called the Directory)
But soon, Napoleon Bonaparte, a commander the French armies would seize power…

38. Napoleon Questions
In the army(1795) what side was Napoleon fighting on?
What is a coup d’ etat?
When Napoleon came to power, what were some things he did to build on the revolutions ideas?
What was the Napoleonic Code?
How was Napoleon a conqueror?
Describe the downfall of Napoleon.