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French Rev
The document summarizes the key events and factors that led to the French Revolution. It describes the social and economic inequality under the absolute monarchy in 18th century France. It then outlines the various causes of the revolution, including political oppression, financial crisis, influence of Enlightenment ideas, and resentment of the privileged estates. Major revolutionary events are noted, such as the storming of the Bastille, the Tennis Court Oath, and the March on Versailles. The overthrow of the monarchy and establishment of a republic followed, along with the rise of radical leaders like Robespierre and the Reign of Terror.
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French Rev
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- 2. Recipe for aRevolution • If a revolution was a cake, what would the recipe look like? – How long would the prep time be? – What ingredients are needed? – What would the directions look like?
- 3. French Society inthe 18th Century • France was still ruled by an absolute monarch • Society was still divided by a strict feudal hierarchy • France was “poor” • Regionalism created problems within French society for the rulers • People were starving
- 5. Causes of theRevolution 1. Political Factors 2. Economic Factors 3. Social Factors 4. Influence of the Enlightenment
- 6. Social Factors • ThreeEstates system • Increased poverty • Poor harvests
- 8. Economic Factors • Increasednational debt • Deficit Spending – Government was bankrupt • Unfair taxes • Excessive spending by the King Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette • Nobles and royalty entertaining at the taxpayers expense
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- 10. Political Factors • Absolutemonarch • Voting by estate • Cahier de Doléances • Louis XVI was more interested in his personal hobbies than running the country
- 11. Influence of theEnlightenment • French society embraced ideas proposed by philosophers & writers of the Enlightenment • Education of the lower classes • Influence of the Glorious Revolution & American Revolution • Scientific and technological innovations
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- 13. Estates General • France’sform of parliament • Each estate voted as a bloc • 1st & 2nd Estate always outvoted the 3rd Estate • Louis XVI called for the Estate General in 1789 • French government & economy was in a state of crisis, Louis thought this would be the answer • The meeting was really just a trick by Louis
- 14. The Tennis CourtOath
- 15. The Tennis CourtOath • Estates General met for 6 weeks, but couldn’t agree on a course of action • Third Estate decided they would create a new form of government called the National Assembly • King Louis responded by locking them out of their meeting rooms • King Louis was eventually forced to order the First & Second Estates to join the National Assembly
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- 17. The Fall ofthe Bastille
- 18. The Fall ofthe Bastille • Severe unrest throughout society: anger, rioting, fear & suspicion • July 14th 1789, the Bastille was attacked by an angry mob • Gunpowder was the motive for the attack • 7 prisoners were freed & the prison governor was executed • Louis agreed to dismiss his mercenaries, created the National Guard • Bastille Day is July 14th & is a national holiday
- 19. The Declaration ofthe Rights of Man and the Citizen • August 26th 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, passed by the National Assembly • Contained ideas several Enlightenment thinkers: – Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu • Outlined basic rights the government must follow – Equality & freedom of thought, speech, religion, security, property
- 20. Natural Rights • TheDeclaration’s opening statement says that “man has natural, inalienable, and sacred rights” • They are above the authority of any government • They are separate from legal rights • They are universal to all people
- 21. Equality • Despite recognizingthe rights of citizens, the Declaration didn’t include everyone. • The right to vote & participate in government was only given to “active citizens” • The declaration also excluded women, slaves, non-Catholics & people who didn’t own property
- 22. The Great Fear •After the fall of the Bastille revolutionary ideas spread throughout France • This made people weary that the king might act aggressively to end the revolution • These feelings resulted in a mass panic called the “Great Fear” • Mobs stormed the Chateaux of the aristocrats and nobles, destroying property & burning documents
- 23. The Great Fear •August 4, 1789 the National Assembly abolished all feudal rights & privileges for the nobility – This ended serfdom – Peasants no longer had obligations to their lords – Church could no longer collect tithes
- 24. The March onVersailles • By October of 1789, women in Paris were getting tired of the government’s inability to solve the food crisis • October 5th a parade of women marched from Paris to Versailles to speak directly to the king
- 25. The March onVersailles • Women outside the king’s palace demanded Louis & Marie Antoinette return to Paris • October 6th, 1789 they returned to Paris bringing with them wagons of grain
- 26. Citizens and Constitutions •The National Assembly was now located in Paris & they made noble titles obsolete • The government seized control of the Church and its property • Many aristocrats fled to other countries, even King Louis tried to escape but was arrested and imprisoned • The newly formed Legislative Assembly convened for the first time on October 1st 1791, but it was not a success
- 27. Political Clubs • Nopolitical parties at this time in France, but people joined “political clubs” • Girondists & Jacobins were the two most important • Jacobins became increasingly more powerful & extreme
- 28. The Sans-Culottes • Poorpeople from the lower class • Very radical & supported those who wanted to execute the king & aristocrats • Lead by radical writer Jean-Paul Marat
- 29. Marat, Danton &Robespierre • Jean-Paul Marat, Georges Danton & Maximilien de Robespierre were the three most radical leaders of the Revolution • Extremely far left political views & were prepared to execute the king • They destroyed anyone & anything that agreed with the old system
- 30. The Revolutionary Wars •Other European leaders were becoming nervous about the situation in France • France declared war on Austria in the spring of 1792 • The wars were used to fuel the revolution • King Louis lost his power and the Jacobins rose to power as they were embraced by the people
- 31. The End ofthe Monarchy • The National Convention, a newly elected body, decided King Louis should stand trial • Monarchy was officially abolished in 1792
- 32. King Louis’s Trial •33 charges were brought against King Louis • Louis defended himself & said he intended to become a constitutional monarch • He was found guilty of treason & executed by guillotine January 21, 1793
- 33. The Republic ofFrance • With the execution of King Louis the National Convention declared France a republic • Official slogan: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” • The Moderates lost their struggle for power to the Jacobins & Sans Culottes • All Girondists were arrested & imprisoned • No one could challenge the Jacobins, putting France under a dictatorship again
- 34. The Reign ofTerror • Lasted from 1793-1794 • The government was controlled by the Committee of Public Safety • Lead by Robespierre, who imposed several harsh laws to eliminate & intimidate anyone who disagreed with him • Up to 30 000 people were executed under Robespierre
- 35. Robespierre • Wanted toprotect France & the Revolution at all costs • Killed anyone who opposed him • He slowly lost his power as people began to ridicule & doubt him • He was arrested and executed by guillotine July 28, 1794
- 36. The Directory • Newgovernment established by the National Convention in October of 1795 • Gave political power to those who owned property • This meant only people with property could vote to elect member of government
Editor's Notes
- #4 -Louis XIV & later Louis XVI -ask class what feudal hierarchy is? - -They sent extensive funds and resources overseas for the American Revolution & 7 Years War, & received basically nothing in return Government was almost completely drained -people spoke other languages than just French, some spoke Breton or German. As a result each region had varying cultural differences and interests
- #7 -97% of the population belonged to the Third Estate, which was the “poor” social class. The majority of them were farmers and they didn’t own any land. They had to give most of their crops to their landlords. In order to feed their families, lots had to work on other farms -like I just said the majority of the population were farmers who made no money. Plus they had to pay all of the taxes -to put it into perspective, the average family spent around 70-90% of their income on bread -subsistence crisis slide
- #9 -Paris’s national debt sky-rocketed with massive expenditures in the Seven Years War and also during the American Revolutionary War where they sent funds and supplies -Louis XVI and his predecessors spent incredibly large amounts of money on fancy lavish things that the regular citizen (97%) could not enjoy -Palace of mirrors in Versailles. Marie Antoinette was known to buy up to 200 dresses/year and expensive jewelry. The French people gave her the nickname “Madame Deficit” -Government was spending more than it was making through the economy and taxes -They would host fancy parties, sometimes months at a time, all through taxpayer money. THE POOR
- #11 -King Louis ruled with absolute authority, ignoring the wishes and needs of the majority. Think back to the Glorious Revolution in England. Was King Charles liked? NOOOOOPE -Each estate met separately and had one vote. This meant that the Third Estate would always get out voted because the 1st & 2nd estates had similar interests & lifestyles -lists of grievances drawn up by each of the three Estates in France, between March and April 1789. -2 main issues were more equal taxes & measures to facilitate trade & commerce -Louis XVI was crowned king when he was only 19. So he had no political experience and really showed no interest in learning any. He was really into carpentry, hunting, and making padlocks. He essentially didn’t care about the affairs of the country
- #12 -New ideas of “equality” and “individual freedom” really resonated with French citizens -The lower classes started getting more educated and spreading these new ideas, developing a sense of belief that living in a better society is possible -People saw the success of both revolutions and knew that change was possible. American revolutionaries Benjamin Franklin & Thomas Jefferson both spent time in Paris & spread revolutionary ideas -made developing, spreading & implementing plans for the revolution more
- #14 -it was general assembly where all three estates met. -clergy & nobles benefited from more privileges so they always outvoted the 3rd estate 2-1 -Estates General only met by royal command and the last time they met was in 1614. so this was the first time that they met in 175 years! -He hoped that this meeting would help raise the money needed to get France moving back in the right direction -Louis knew that the estates general would want some say in government for helping him raise money, but he had no intentions of giving up any power. -His plan was to give them small responsibilities disguised as important tasks in efforts to get what he wanted while satisfying the estates general
- #16 -They weren’t sure whether to address the problem of taxation or completely reorganize the government -Third Estate got fed up & broke away from the other estates -This was the first concrete step toward revolution and change -and write a new constitution for France -They ended up retreating to the Royal Tennis Courts and vowed that they wouldn’t leave until France had a new government. This is what’s known as the Tennis Court Oath
- #19 -problem
- #20 - - - -ended certain privileges for nobles. They were no longer exempt from being taxed and it restricted some of the powers the government had -France was an absolute monarchy and outlining the first democratic government. first time people of France weren’t subjects of the king, but citizens of France.
- #21 -inalienable, we saw this in the declaration of independence from the american revolution. Ask them where they have seen this - - -John Locke these natural rights included included life, liberty & property. Ask them this
- #22 -This is also very similar to what happened in America -Active citizens were property-owning men over the age of 25. so a pretty small/elite group of people -A female french writer, named Olympe de Gouges was so fed up she wrote her own declaration of the rights of women and the female citizen in 1791
- #23 -people really started to believe that change was coming to France -because changes were coming people thought the King would make his soldiers use violence to stop the revolution - -100’s of people were killed, buildings burned to ground and feudal certificates and papers were burned
- #24 -peasants were now able to grow crops for themselves and be able to feed their families
- #25 -they would meet in the marketplaces and talk about what should be done, since the men in each family were working all day, it was the women’s job to find food to feed the children. -they decided to take matters into their own hands... -they marched for over 6 hours and about 22 km’s , over the journey 100’s of men and women joined the march.
- #26 This was one of the most significant events of the French Revolution as this group of women changed the course of the revolution and it was definitive sign that the monarchy was losing control and the people gaining power.
- #27 -they did away with most of the old system. Everyone became equal and everyone whether rich or poor was given the title of citizen - -While in exile, many nobles designed plots to try stop the revolution and restore the old system -this was the worst thing the king could do because it again showed he couldn’t be trusted and that he didn’t support democratic changes -There were too many groups struggling for power. Radicals wanted a republic, moderates wanted a constitutional monarchy and monarchists wanted to restore the kings powers
- #28 -at these clubs people would meet and discuss political ideas and how they thought the government should be run. Members of the clubs were also members of the Assembly so they usually stuck together -both clubs started out moderate (in favour of a constitutional monarchy, but slowly got more and more radical. Becoming completely apposed to symbols of the monarchy -they also started out as one club but the Jacobins slowly became more radical and the two clubs seperated. -they began to struggle for control of the Assembly
- #29 -located in paris and other large cities -they disliked the bourgeoisie upper class and wanted the government to lower prices of bread and supply the poor with food -they used violence to support their movement and other extreme revolutionaries
- #30 - -opposed to any deals with the monarchy, wanted to try and execute the king -they would eventually take control of the National Assembly and the revolution -Marat was the most radical of the three and was murdered in his bath by a Girondist in 1793
- #31 -many didn’t whether they should support or oppose the revolution, or even get involved at all -Marie Antoinette’s brother was the emperor of Rome and promised to help if she and louis could escape -The monarch in Prussia also said he would support the French but did little to back up his talk - - -a french composer wrote a song to encourage citizens to fight, called La Marseillaise. It was really popular during the revolution and is now the national anthem of france
- #32 -national convention succeeded the Legislative Assembly and it was the first french assembly that was elected without distinctions of class -they felt king louis should be tried for his crimes against France -king louis was given the nickname citizen louis capet
- #33 -the constitution of 1791 actually protected the monarch from anything worse than dethronement, but this was clearly ignored -unfortunately for him he did little to prove this before his arrest and so the people saw right through it -his use of foreign mercenary troops before the fall of the bastille & his attempt to flee France with his family in 1791 were declared acts of treason against the people of france
- #34 -a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch. - -anyone who disagreed with the ideals of the radical revolutionaries was now considered an enemy of the republic
- #35 - -which is kind of ironic -if you couldn’t immediately produce your citizenship you were arrested and then executed -the government did however implement free education, public assistance for the poor, price controls and taxes based on income
- #36 -he condemned too many people to their deaths and eventually people realized he was doing more harm than good -he actually tried to shoot himself before, but only broke his jaw
- #37 -They aimed to copy the British & American Revolutions -this brought an end to the equality of the citizen and appeared to end the revolution