Ch 21 The Revolution in Politics

Magister Ricard
AP Euro
CH 21 The Revolution in Politics

The Old Regime
The French Revolution and Napoleon 1789-1815

Peasants constituted 4/5 of population
Lost half of income to taxes
Dues were paid to nobles, church, the crown
Paid a land tax (taille) and performed forced labor (corvee)
Grain shortage increased price of bread
Peasant Distress

Overspending by Louis XVI and previous kings left massive public debt
Half of tax revenue used to pay interest on debt
Funding of wars increased debt
Seven Years’ War (against England)
American Revolution
Government Debt

Nobles (2nd estate) exempt from paying taxes
Resisted all attempts to reform tax system
Aristocratic Resistance

Louis XV (r. 1715-1774) weak and indecisive
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette (r. 1774-1792) unpopular, scandalous
Parlement assumed right to approve royal decrees – eroded absolute monarchy
Royal Weakness

The Estates General

France was facing bankruptcy in 1789
Louis XVI’s tax reform was refused by Assembly of Notables
King forced to convene Estates General
First time since 1614
Convening the Estates General

1st Estate – Clergy
Held about 20% of land
Paid no taxes, instead gave a kickback of about 2% of income to crown
2nd Estate – Nobility
Comprised 2-4% of population
Held about 25% of land
3rd Estate – Everyone Else
Comprised 95% of population
Resented aristocratic privilege
Diverse group of professionals to peasants
The Three Estates

3rd Estate proposed all three estates to assemble together
1st and 2nd Estates assumed that each would get one vote, push through their agenda
Led by Abbe Sieyes, this was rejected
King refused proposal
3rd Estate declared itself the true National Assembly
Locked out, met in nearby tennis court
Declared oath not to disband until constitution was drafted
The Tennis Court Oath

The National Assembly (1789-1791)

Reasserting royal authority, Louis XVI orders Swiss army towards Paris and Versailles
Angry mobs already protesting over prices of bread then storm the Bastille
Mob frees prisoners and seizes weapons and munitions
Fall of Bastille becomes a symbol against royal despotism and tyranny
Storming the Bastille

All men were “born and remain free and equal in rights”
Rights to liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression
Provides for freedom of religion, speech, and press, the right to petition government and innocence until proven guilty
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

Gained right to inherit property and divorce
Did NOT gain right to vote or hold political office
Mary Wollstonecraft (A Vindication of the Rights of Women) argues women not inferior to men
Women’s Rights

October 5, 1789
March to Versailles to demand cheap bread
Insist the royal family move to Paris
King complies, National Assembly also moved to Paris
Women’s March to Versailles

August 1790
Passed by National Assembly
Confiscated lands owned by Catholic Church
Bishops and priests are to be elected by the people, paid by the state
Clergy required to take oath to support the state
Pope Pius VI condemns the act
Half of active clergy refuse to comply
Alienated Catholics become opponents to French Revolution
Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Created a constitutional monarchy
Divided France into 83 departments, each governed by an elected official
Abolished guilds
Established use of metric system
Reforms of the National Assembly

The Legislative Assembly (1791-1792)

Conservatives sat on the right
Moderates sat in the center
Radicals (distrusted king) sat on left
Jacobins – wanted a republic and dispose of monarchy
Jean-Paul Marat, Georges-Jacques Danton, Maximilien Robespierre
Girondists wanted to involve France in war to discredit monarchy and spread revolutionary ideals across Europe
Factions in the Legislative Assembly

Leopold II (Austria) and Frederick William II (Prussia) want to see restoration of absolutism in France
Declaration of Pillnitz (August 1791)
Legislative Assembly declares war on Austria and Prussia (April 1792) – War of First Coalition
Summer of 1792, Prussian and Austrian forces were advancing towards Paris
War with Austria and Prussia

Recruits rush to enlist, singing the Marseillaise
Replenished French forces stop the advance of Prussia/Austria
Prevent return to monarchy
Sans-culottes (“without breeches”) take control of Paris Commune, force Legislative Assembly to depose Louis XVI
Call for election of national convention and democratic form of government
Sans-culottes commit “September Massacres” to prevent betrayal by royalists
The 2nd French Revolution

The National Convention(1792-1795)

National Convention abolishes monarchy, declares France a republic
Girondists favored imprisonment of Louis XVI
Jacobins favored execution
National Convention condemns Louis XVI to death
The resolution, reached after debate, passed by one vote
Sans-culottes and Jacobins brand Girondists as counter-revolutionaries
Ousted from National Convention
The Execution of Louis XVI

At first, liberals supported French Revolution
Moderates (England’s Edwin Burke) warned mob rule would lead to anarchy and military dictatorship
September Massacres, execution of Louix XVI confirmed these views
European Reaction

Foreign Threats
England, Spain, Holland join Prussia/Austria coalition
Spring 1793 First Coalition armies converge on France
Domestic Threats
Girondists and royalist Catholics rebel against radical Jacobins
Foreign and Domestic Threats

National Convention establishes Committee of Public Safety to deal with foreign/domestic threats
Defend France and the Revolution
Led by Robespierre (Jacobin) and exercises dictatorial power carrying out Reign of Terror
Robespierre executes Marie Antoinette, political rivals, and enemies deemed “dangerous”
The Reign of Terror

Reign of Terror crushes domestic threats
Robespierre decrees a levy of military service for all men between 18-40
Levee en masse creates a national military based on mass participation; first time state completely mobilizes for war
Motivation for French recruits was patriotism, fighting to protect revolutionary ideals
Lead by talented officers, not aristocracy
Defeats First Coalition forces
France in Arms

Committee of Public Safety defends against threats domestic (Reign of Terror) and abroad (First Coalition)
Robespierre fanatically continues to pursue creation of Republic of Virtue
National Convention, fearing further chaos, condemns and executes Robespierre
Robespierre’s death ends radical phase of Revolution
July was Thermidor on new revolutionary calendar
The Thermidorian Reaction

The Directory(1795-1799)

Government consists of two house legislature and 5 man executive panel known as The Directory
Directory was corrupt and unpopular
Overseen by rich bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie Misrule

Directory failed to deal with inflation, food shortages, corruption
November 9, 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows Directory and seizes control in a coup
Fall of The Directory

Napoleon and the Consulate(1799-1804)

Napoleon is named first consul as a result of his coup
Holds all power and made all decisions
Restores order, stimulates prosperity, and defeats Second Coalition forces
His rule is heavily endorsed; uses democratic process to dispose of democratic rule
Enacted policies he felt would transform France into an efficient modern state
Seems to embody concepts of philosophes’ enlightened despot
The First Consul

Consolidates hundreds of law codes into a uniform legal code
Still serves as basis for French law
Protected achievements of French Revolution
Equality, freedom of religion, protection of property rights
Increased authority of husbands within families
Women and children legally dependent on husband/father
The Napoleonic Code

Granted special status to Catholic Church as the popular religion of France
Pope regained the right to confirm church officials appointed first by French government, depose French bishops, and reopen religious seminaries
Pope recognizes French (revolutionary) government and accepts loss of property confiscated
Concordat of 1801

Napoleon censors the press
Suppressed all political opposition
Loss of individual liberties
France gained security, stability, and prosperity
Napoleon declares himself emperor on December 2, 1804
Surrendering Liberty

The Napoleonic Empire(1804-1815)

1805-1807 Napoleon defeats Austria, Prussia, and Russia
Victory at Austerlitz significant military achievement; solidifies Napoleon’s military reputation
1808 French rule extended from North Sea to Spain and Italy
English naval victory (Trafalgar) prevented French control of seas and Napoleon’s intended invasion of Great Britain
“Europe Was At My Feet”

Napoleon dissolves the Holy Roman Empire
Previously independent German states were consolidated into a Confederation of the Rhine
Controlled by France
Napoleon abolishes feudalism and grants peasants freedom from duties
People at first viewed the French as liberators
Began to view the French as exploiters
Inadvertently stirs nationalism throughout Europe
Reorganization of Germany

Three major mistakes
The Continental System
1806 Napoleon closed all European ports to British ships and goods
Guerrilla Warfare in Spain
1808 Napoleon deposed Spain’s Bourbon rulers; installs brother Joseph – angers Spanish
Spanish guerrilla fighters ambushed French troops
France lost nearly 300,000 men; wore down French forces
Invasion of Russia
Tsar Alexander I refused to abide Continental System
Napoleon invades Moscow, but Alexander refused to surrender
Bitter cold, disease, and attacks decimate French forces far from supply lines
Fall of Napoleon

Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Austria (Grand Alliance) defeat Napoleon at Battle of Nations October, 1813
Grand Alliance enters Paris March, 1814
Napoleon abdicates, exiled to Elba
March 1815, Napoleon escapes and forms new army
Grand Alliance defeats Napoleon at Waterloo June, 1815
Napoleon abdicates a 2nd time; exiled to St. Helena and dies in 1821
One Last Roar

Ch 21 The Revolution in Politics

by John Ricard

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