2. The French Revolution occurred between the years
1789-1799. The 10 year battle for political, economic, and
religious reform not only transformed France, but the
majority of the Western World, as well.
3. The French Revolution, greatly influenced by
the Enlightenment, began as a result of public unrest due to
years of political injustice and economic inequality through
the ancien régime, or old order.
Absolute Monarch-
In 1789 the king of France was Louis XVI
(1754-1793).
- Married to Marie Antoinette, who was
widely unpopular and often times
thought of as an Austrian spy.
- Indecisive and timid ruler
- Last King of France
4. France was still ruled by the nobility and clergy. Although
officially banned by King Lous XVI, the majority of the peasants
lived under the feudalist system.
Along with living under feudalism, the French citizens had to pay a
tithe tax to the Catholic Church, which was the largest landowner
in the country. The tithe tax required that people give the Church a
10th of all their earnings and food. This was supposed to be
redistributed to the poor, but was done so unequally.
5. Before the revolution, France was involved
in both the "Seven Years' War" (also known as
the "French and Indian War") and the
"American Revolution".
The involvement in the two wars increased France's already
enormous debt. This made the government push for
economic and tax reform.
Setting the stage:
6. The Financial Crisis led the government to hold Estates-
General, to propose reform ideas. The Estates-General was a
meeting of the three estates (classes) of the French
population (nobility, clergy, and commoners). This had not
happened since 1614.
Voting debate: Should they vote by head or by estate power?
On July 9th, to end the debate, the Third Estate declared itself the
National Assembly and stated that it would proceed with the
meeting with or without the other two estates. However, in the end,
the King urged the two estates to meet with the National Assembly.
7. The Storming of the Bastille:
In response to the political tension, King
Louis XVI sent military troops to the
cities of Paris and Versailles as a
impending threat to the public.
However, the strategy backfired. Citizens, both angry and fearful,
attacked the Bastille, a medieval fortress and prison. The Bastille was a
symbol of tyranny as it only housed 7 criminals, yet required taxes to
keep open. In the end, 98 of the almost 1,000 attackers and 1 of the 114
defenders had died. Governor Bernard-Rene de Launay was captured
and decapitated. His head was paraded around the city on a spike. This
event is traditionally marked as the beginning of the French Revolution.
8. The Great Fear:
In addition to reoccurring violence, the harvest
of 1789 was a poor one. This, combined with a
fear of an aristocratic plot to starve commoners,
augmented the already intense political unrest.
The "Great Fear" erupted, and peasants and
commoners attack their lords and landowners.
To prevent further unrest, the National
Assembly decreed the abolishment of
feudalism and the tithe on August 4th, 1789
bringing the old order to an end.
9. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen:
Another major result of the Great Fear
was the establishment of the
"Declaration of the Rights of Man and
of the Citizen". This document called for
the abolishment of feudalism, the right to
public office based on talent, freedom
and equal rights to all men, restriction of
the monarch and the nobility's exception
form taxes, freedom of speech and press,
and the introduction of popular
sovereignty.
10. The New Regime:
With the abolishment of feudalism, the belief that all men are
equal, and allowing more than half of the nation's men eligible to
vote, the ancien régime was almost destroyed completely.
One of the final blows to the ancien régime occurred when the
people nationalized the lands owned by the Catholic Church
to payoff public debt. The redistribution of land and power
finally broke down the old systems of government and gave
the power to the people.
11. The National Assembly attempted to create a constitutional monarch
in which the King shared legislative and executive power with the
assembly. Instead of accepting the agreement, the kind tried to flee the
country on June 20-21, 1791 but was captured at Varennes and taken
back to Paris. This was the unofficial, official end to the
ancien régime.
12. Vocabulary:
Go through the buncee and define the following terms:
-Enlightenment
-ancien régime
-feudalism
-tithe
- Estates-General
- Third Estate
- National Assembly
- The Bastille
- The Great Fear
- Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
- popular sovereignty
13. Homework:
Write a 2 page essay comparing the
events leading up to the French
Revolution to the events leading up to
the American Revolution. Explain at
least three similarities and difference,
each. Be sure to include at least 3
vocabulary words from today's
lesson.
