1. Enlightenment and the French Revolution
AP World History
Enlightenment and the French Revolution

2. The Enlightenment

3. Origins of the Enlightenment
What was the Enlightenment?
An 18th century philosophical movement that advocated reason as the primary source of authority and legitimacy
What were the basic principals of the Enlightenment?
Reason – Truth through logical reasoning
Nature – Nature is good; natural laws of politics & economics
Happiness – Live by nature’s laws and you will find happiness
Progress – Believed society and humankind could be perfected
Liberty – Believed society should be set free

4. Important Enlightenment Thinkers

5. Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) Lived during the English Civil War
Famous work was Leviathan
Main Ideas
Man is inherently selfish and aggressive
Mankind, if left on its own, would be ruled by chaos and conflict
Citizens need the law and a strong monarch to prevent chaos
The Social Contract

6. John Locke (1632-1704) Lived during the English Civil War
Father of Liberalism
Supported individual’s natural right to life, liberty, and property
Government at the consent of the governed
Influenced the American Revolution and French Enlightenment thinkers

7. Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1788)
French philosopher
Main Ideas
Humans are basically good by nature but corrupted by society
Advocated direct democracy
Influenced the American & French Revolutions
“Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains”

8. Voltaire ( )
Perhaps the most brilliant Enlightenment philosopher
“Friend” of Frederick II of Prussia
Frequently targeted the clergy, aristocracy, and government
Main Ideas
Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, tolerance
Attacked intolerance, prejudice, and superstition
“Crush the evil thing”

9. Montesquieu (1689-1755) A French aristocrat and a lawyer
Believed Britain was the best- governed country
Main Ideas
Challenged absolute monarchy
Separation of Powers
Executive, legislative, judicial
Checks and Balances
Influenced the United States Constitution
“Power should be a check to power”

10. Women and the Enlightenment
Enlightenment thinkers maintained traditional ideas toward women
Educated women challenged these ideas using Enlightenment arguments
Mary Wollstonecraft
Women need education to be virtuous & useful
Women have the right to participate in politics
Women helped spread Enlightenment ideas by holding salons

11. Impact of the Enlightenment

12. Impact of the Enlightenment
Revolutions
American, French, Haitian, etc.
Belief in social and human progress
Abolition of slavery, promote education, social equality, etc.
Secular outlook in Europe
Promotion of religious tolerance, openly question religious beliefs, science challenges religious teachings
Importance of the individual
People can judge right and wrong for themselves, rise of capitalism, support for democracy, etc.

13. The French Revolution

14. Preliminary Stage

15. Causes of the French Revolution

16. The Enlightenment Political & Legal Equality (Rousseau)
Personal Freedoms (Voltaire)
Social Contract (Hobbes)
Popular Sovereignty & Natural Rights (Locke)
Global Influence of Enlightenment Values
American Revolution
Overthrow the ancien régime (old order)

17. Inept Ruler? King Louis XVI

18. Financial Crisis During 1780s, 50% of revenue went to pay off debts
American Revolution?
Lavish lifestyle of the monarchy
Series of bad harvests 1787 & 1788
Bread prices went up 50% in 1789
Need for tax reform
Louis XVI hoped to raise taxes on ancien régime
Aristocracy resisted reforms
Forced Louis to call the Estates-General for the first time since 1614

19. Estates General First Estate: 100,000 Catholic clergy
Did not pay taxes
Second Estate: 400,000 nobles
Exempt from most taxes
Third Estate: Rest of Population
Provided bulk of French tax revenue

20. Discussion Questions
What were the similarities between the long-term causes of the American and French Revolutions? Differences?

21. Initial Stage ( )

22. Calling of the Estates-General
Louis the XVI wanted to raise more money but didn’t permission from the estates General. 1st and 2nd estate voted against the 3rd estate to share the tax burden more.
This angered the 3rd estate
May 5, 1789

23. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
The National Assembly
The Third estate left the estates general and formed the national assembly. They performed the tennis court oath where they refused to meet with the king until he agreed to a Constitutional Monarchy.
June 20, 1789
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

24. Storming of the Bastille
French citizens fearing King Louis XVI would use violence to put down the revolution stormed the Bastille on 14 July 1789

25. Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen
Passed by the National Assembly on August 26, 1789
Not a Constitution but a statement of general principals
Defines individual and collective rights
Does not address women or slavery

26. Women’s March
Storming of Versailles
October 1, 1789

27. Crisis Stage ( )

28. Radicals Take Control
Arrest of Louis XVI
August 10, 1792

29. Execution of Louis XVI (Reign of Terror)
January 21, 1793

30. Radical Reforms of the Jacobins
Universal adult male suffrage
Abolished slavery
Fuels Haitian Revolution
Universal military conscription
Attacked Catholicism
Forced priests to marry
Spirit of nationalism
Set price controls & seized crops from farmers

31. Festival of the Supreme Being (new religion)

32. Reign of Terror Led by Maximilien Robespierre
According to records 16,000+ died under the guillotine
Historians estimate could be as high as 40,000
“The first maxim of our politics ought to be to lead the people by means of reason and the enemies of the people by terror.”

33. British View of Reign of Terror

34. End of the Terror
July 28, 1794

35. Discussion Question
How were the actions of American radicals and French radicals similar? How were they different?

36. Recovery Stage ( )

37. Napoleon Bonaparte
Moderate government, the Directory, rules for four years following Reign of Terror
Failed to solve economic problems of France
Napoleon staged a coup d’etat in 1799
Becomes emperor in 1804

38. Domestic Policies of Napoleon
Maintained some rights gained during the revolution
Freedom of religion
Napoleonic Code (Civil Code)
Schools and universities
Reversed other gains
Rights of women
Freedom of expression
Reformed economy
Revised tax code
Central bank

39. Napoleon’s Empire Left: Napoleon’s Empire by 1912
Above: Napoleon’s Retreat from Russia

40. Napoleon’s Invasion of Russia

41. Napoleon on Elba
This should NOT be a prison

42. Battle of Waterloo

43. Legacy of the French Revolution
Global Independence movements
Haitian Revolution
Latin American independence
Triggered by Napoleon’s invasion of Spain
Egypt broke away from Ottoman Empire
Slave Trade and Slavery
England abolished slave trade in 1807; slavery in 1833
Brazil—Last to abolish slavery (1888)
Abolition of serfdom
Except in Russia

44. Legacy of the French Revolution
Women’s Rights
Played major role in the revolutions
Sewing uniforms, nurses, running businesses, some even fought
Lost many rights after revolution
Napoleon
Feminist Movements
Mary Wollstonecraft
Spread of nationalism in Europe
German and Italian unification
Greek independence