The French Revolution occurred from 1789 to 1815 and transformed France from an absolute monarchy to a republic, with the monarchy eventually being replaced by Napoleon who crowned himself emperor. The revolution introduced new political ideologies like liberalism and radicalism across Europe but was followed by a conservative restoration of the old ruling families. The changes brought by the revolution had lasting impacts that shaped Western Europe throughout the 19th century as countries balanced preserving absolute monarchies with demands for more democratic reforms.

1. The French Revolution
1789-1815
WORDS TO KNOW
BOURGEOISIE- THE URBAN MIDDLE CLASS INCLUDING MERCHANTS,
MANUFACTURERS AND PROFESSIONALS LIKE DOCTORS AND LAWYERS
COUP D’ETAT-SEIZURE OFF POWER BY FORCE
CONSERVATIVE-GROUP THAT DOES NOT WANT TO CHANGE EXISTING
CONDITIONS
NATIONALISM- LOVE OF ONE’S COUNTRY RATHER THAN OF ONE’S
NATIVE REGION.
ESTATE-THE SOCIAL CLASSES OF FRANCE—SEE BELOW
GUERILLA WARFARE- MILITARY TECHNIQUE RELYING ON SWIFT
RAIDS BY SMALL BANDS OF SOLDIERS
RADICALS-PERSON’S WHO WANT BROAD CHANGES MADE IN THE
GOVERNMENT AND ARE WILLING TO USE FORCE TO GET THESE CHANGES.
LEGITIMACY-PRINCIPLE INVOLVING RESTORING FORMER RULING
FAMILIES TO THEIR THRONES

2. THE TEN PHASES OF THE FRENCH
REVOLUTION
1. The Old Regime—Rule of the King and Queen
2. The Tennis Court Oath
3. Storming of the Bastille
4. Declarations of the Rights of Man
5. Arrest and Death of the King and Queen
6. The Committee of Public Safety
7. The Reign of Terror
8. The Directory
9. The Rise of Napoleon
10. Napoleon becomes Emperor

3. Stage 1: The Old Regime
 French King Louis XVI (16th) came to power in 1774 and was
married to Marie Antoinette He faced a great debt from aiding the
Americans in the American Revolution
 The Legislative Branch of France: Estates General—
separated into social classes
 POPULATION MAKE UP OF FRANCE
Percent of Percent of Percent of
Estate Social Status Population Land Owned Taxes Paid
Roman Catholic Less than 10% 2% as a gift
Clergy 1%
1st
Nobles 2% 20% 0%--sometimes
gave a donation
2nd to the
government
bourgeoisie-lawyers, 98% Most of the land Paid over HALF
doctors and merchants. was owned by the their income in
3rd Workers-butchers, weavers bourgeoisie taxes
Peasant-80% of population

4. Stage 2: The Tennis Court Oath
What happened when the
Events that led to the Oath
King said no…
 Louis XVI tried to tax the nobles but they
demanded a meeting of the Estates General to
 The 3rd Estate rebelled and
vote on the issue. changed its name to the
 Estates General National Assembly and
 -had not met since 1614
 Number of Representatives per Estate
drew up a new
 1st Estate—150 members Constitution/


2nd Estate—150 members
3rd Estate—300 members  When the King ordered
 each estate met separately, voted, then them to disband and closed
brought back ONE vote per estate—the 1st and
2nd usually voted together—even thought the their meeting site they met
3rd Estate had the most members, they usually at a nearby Tennis Court
lost.
 the Third Estate asked King Louis XVI for
and swore to stay until the
ALL estates to meet together and get one vote King signed the new
per PERSON—the king said NO! Constitution

5. Stage 3: The Storming of the Bastille
The National On July 14,
• Louis XVI Assembly 1789 peasants
• asked assumed they stormed the
• Swiss were coming to French prison,
mercenaries to
break them up. the
come to France
to help him Bastille to get
weapons to
defend
themselves.
The Revolution starts to
turn violent in Paris—
spreads throughout
France.

6. France’s 14th of July
(like our 4th of July!!)
 The anniversary of the
Storming of
the Bastille is France’s
Independence day!
 Despite the fact that the
French Revolution
begins to move towards
a more violent path,
Bastille Day is a
celebration of freedom
and democracy!

7. Stage 4: The Declaration of the Rights of Man
 August 8, 1789
 After capturing the Bastille, the Great Fear swept the countryside.
Peasants joined together, killed nobles and took over their
land.
 Parisian women rioted due to rising bread prices. They marched
from Paris to the King and Queen’s palace in Versailles, killed three
guards and forced the King and his family to come to Paris.
 The National Assembly drew up the Declaration based on
Enlightenment ideas. The nobles supported it out of fear. The
Declaration took land away from the Church and also gave freedom
of religion and speech.
 The King was forced to sign it in October 1789.
 At this point, the Third Estate had achieved their goals…but
the RADICALS were about to take control!!!
Update: THE THIRD ESTATE BECAME THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

8. Stage: 5 Arrest and Death of the King and Queen
 In September of 1791, the National Assembly stepped down to
allow a newly elected group, the Legislative Assembly to rule
with the monarchy—the King.
Radicals Moderates Conservatives
wanted to abolish Wanted to limit Wanted to restore This political split
the monarchy the monarchy but the monarchy to dominated society
still keep it full control. and politics in
Western Europe
led by the Newly elected At this point the throughout the
Jacobins, they forced branch became the French Revolution 1800s. Many
the Legislative Legislative was run by the countries
Assembly to step Assembly. bourgeoisie & no struggled with
down and held new, longer needed
preserving the old
fixed elections. peasant support.
monarch system
and push for more
democracy.
3rd Estate National Assembly Legislative Assembly.

9.  International Concerns:
Austria and Prussia joined against
France and warned against
harming the King and Queen. All
five countries who shared the
balance of power had monarchies.
If democracy won in one country,
they were all in danger of losing
power.
 January 21, 1793-the National
Convention, who had previously
arrested and imprisoned the King
and Queen, tried and convicted
Louis XVI of treason. He
was sent to the guillotine and
beheaded.
 The First Coalition: Britain,
Prussia, Portugal, Austria, and
Spain moved towards France to
stop the Revolution. They were
unsuccessful.

10. Stage 6: Committee of Public Safety
 led by the Jacobin ruler "Terror is nothing
Maximillien other than justice,
Robespierre prompt, severe,
 The committee wanted to inflexible"
rid France of the past
monarchy and nobility and
decided who were enemies
of the new republic.
 Tried people in the
morning and executed
them in the evening.
 Beheaded those who were
not seen as radical enough.
 Got rid of the original
revolutionaries.

11. Stage 7: THE REIGN OF TERROR
 Led by Maximillien
Robespierre—he had his
closest allies killed to
prevent any counter-
revolution.
 Widespread use of the
guillotine
 Killed many of the original
revolutionaries that were
seen as threat to Jacobin
and radical ideals.
 beheaded about 40,000
100,000s died from disease
in overcrowded prisons.

12. Queen Marie Antoinette is beheaded
The first victim was
Marie Antoinette. She
had been imprisoned
with her children after
she was separated from
Louis. First they took her
son Louis Charles from
her. He disappeared
under suspicious
circumstances. Then she
led off a parade of
citizens to their deaths.
The guillotine, the new
was put to work. Public
executions were
considered educational.
It is rumored that Marie Antoinette used the
Women were phrase “Let them eat cake,” when told that
encouraged to sit and peasants were starving due to a bread
knit during trials and shortage. Traditionally it used to show that
executions. she did not care about the problems of the
(http://www.historywiz.com/terr people, however this is not a proven fact, but it
or.htm) is still a well known quote.

13. Stage 8: THE DIRECTORY
 1794-members of the National Convention feared
for their own lives and turned on Robespierre,
beheaded him ending the Reign of Terror
 created a new constitution which had a legislative
branch and a Five member consul as the executive
branch—known as The Directory
 Despite corruption it gave France a period of order.
 found a new general to lead the French armies:
Napoleon Bonaparte.
This NOT
guy  This
guy!! 

14. General Napoleon
 Europe’s Reaction:
Monarchies of Europe felt
threatened by democratic
revolution in France. If
France was successful,
revolution would spread.
Joined together to put down
the French Revolution.
1796-1797: Napoleon defeated
Italy forcing Austria and
Prussia to drop out of the
First Coalition
1799-Britain made Second
coalition with Austria and
Russia but by 1802 were
forced to make peace with Great Britain, Prussia, Russia,
Napoleon Austria, and Spain tried to
suppress the French Revolution

15. Stage 9 : Napoleon Rises to Power
• The Directory had grown
corrupt, people began to
question their power
1799
• Napoleon had become famous
for his defeat of other
European nations.
Napoleon’s • took the weakness of the
Coup Directory as a chance to seize
power and did!
The New • Napoleon ruled with 2 consuls
but took powers of dictator for
“King” himself.

16. Stage 9 : Napoleon Rises to Power
 Until 1800 Napoleon had
ruled with other consuls
but in that same year the
people approved another
new Constitution which
gave Napoleon Sole
Power of France.
 The French Revolution
was coming full circle,
beginning with a King
and ending with a
dictator

17. Stage 10 : Napoleon Rules as Emperor 1800-1815
Napoleon Restored Order
Economically:
 slowed inflation
 balanced the budget
 set up a National Bank
Socially:
 Nobles who had fled were allowed to return
 promoted people based on merit not social class/nobility
Legally:
 established a new legal system
 abolished the 3 Estate System
 granted equal rights in law to all Classes
Religiously
 brought back the Catholic Church
 was tolerant of Jews and Protestants
Negative Actions
 Napoleon had the power to censor all newspapers
 took away a woman’s right to own property
 Restored slavery in the French Caribbean
 Napoleon was exempt from all laws.

18. NAPOLEON BUILD AN EMPIRE
 Third Coalition—Britain,
Russia, Austria, Sweden, and
Prussia joined against Napoleon.
 Napoleon defeated Austria,
captured Berlin and beat the
Russians in Prussia—Czar
Alexander I of Russia made a
deal with Napoleon to split
Poland—Poland disappears
from the map until after
World War I.
 Napoleon controlled all of Europe
except Britain the Ottoman
Empire, Russia and Sweden.
 Completely ended the
existence of the Holy Roman
Empire--the German states
now became ruled as
independent states.

19. NAPOLEON’S THREE MISTAKES
1. The Continental System (Blockade of Britain)
 Napoleon’s navy blocked Britain from importing and exporting
goods
 the blockade was not tight enoughgoods got through
 Britain responded with its own Blockade on France hurting France’s
economy.

2. Underestimating Nationalism
 Napoleon took over Spain and planned to replace the Spanish leader
with his brother. The Spanish people were angered and fought to
preserve their culture.
 Spanish used guerilla tactics and defeated France.
 Showed Europe France could be defeated and rebellions broke out
all over Napoleon’s empire.

20. NAPOLEON’S THREE MISTAKES
3. THE INVASION OF RUSSIA
 Napoleon supplied his army
with as little as possible
assuming they would move
faster and take needed supplies
and food from groups they
conquered.
 Russia knew this strategy and
used it against France. When
the French army attacked the
Russians retreated, burned their
crops and killed livestock to
starve the French.
 When Napoleon’s men
finally retreated the
Russians attacked and
easily killed 300,000 of
France’s troops.

21. THE FALL OF NAPOLEON
 The Fall of Napoleon
 with Napoleon weak European
countries attacked France and
defeated Napoleon
 1814-Napoleon was exiled to
Elba (an island off of Italy)
 1815-Napoleon escaped, returned
to France & raised an army.
 the Grand Alliance quickly
moved in and defeated
Napoleon for the last time at
the Battle of Waterloo.
 He was exiled to St. Helena
where he died 6 years later. “Au revoir France. Shouldn’t
have went for Russia, sigh.”

22. THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA 1815
Purpose: Austria, Great
Britain, Prussia and Russia
wanted to restore
the boundaries of Europe
after the defeat of Napoleon
The Congress was led by
Prince Klemons von
Metternich of Austria who
dominated the Congress.
Metternich’s Three Goals:
1. Strengthen the countries
around France
2. Restore the Balance of
Power in Europe
3. Legitimacy restore royal
rulers of France:

23. Europe in 1815

24. Impact of the French Revolution
Conservatives Controlled Europe—Throughout the 1800s—Prussia,
Russia, Great Britain, France, and Austria tried to maintain a balance
of power with each other preserve their own monarchies.
Congress of Vienna restored the monarchies of Western Europe
Britain established a constitutional monarchy but only the
wealthy citizens could vote
Russia, Prussia and Austria maintained an Absolute monarchy
and created the Holy Alliance: promised to help each other if
they were threatened by reformers
France—Louis XVIII shared his power with a legislative branch
called the Chamber of Deputies. Despite the restoration of the
monarchy, France remained greatly divided between
conservatives, liberals and those who wanted liberty, equality,
& fraternity

25. New Political Ideas Spread throughout Europe
Philosophy What they Thoughts on Who Supported
Wanted Democracy it?
Conservatism restoration of Hated wealthy and the
monarchies in democracy leaders at the
Europe Congress of
Vienna
wanted a King supported by
Liberalism and an elected Wanted small merchants and
Parliament amount of bourgeoisie
democracy
favored radical Pushed for
Radicalism change and apt complete supported by
to use violence democracy the working
class