BELLWORK
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Define the following words:
Estate
Tithe
Bourgeoisie
THINKER: The French Revolution starts
when peasants stand up and revolt. What
are some positive and negative effects of
standing up against your government?
Causes of the
French Revolution
Long-Term Factors:
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The Enlightenment: Encouraged freedom
and social justice
The American Revolution: An example of
liberty and freedom
Social Problems: The Estates System
Political Conflict: Unfair absolute monarchy
Economic Weakness: Expensive wars,
Lavish spending by kings
French Society: The Old Order
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Before 1789, France’s
class system was
made of ESTATES
(orders of society) and
all French people
belonged to 1 of 3
estates
The estates
determined a person’s
legal rights and status
The First Estate
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Made up of clergy
About 1% of the
population
Controlled 5 – 10% of
land in France
Enjoyed many
privileges
Did not have to pay
taxes
The Second Estate
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Made up of the nobility
About 2% of the
population
Owned 25% of land in
France
Held high positions in the
government and military
Owned large estates and
paid no taxes
Incomes came mostly
from peasants living and
working on their land
The Third Estate
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Made up of Middle Class
(bourgeoisie), peasants, and
artisans
About 97% of population
Middle Class (doctors, lawyers,
merchants) were educated and
wealthy, but had no prestige or
privileges
Looked to Enlightenment
philosophers that spoke about
freedom and social justice
Peasants owned 40% of land in
France, but were forced to pay
over half of their income to king,
clergy and nobles
Members of this estate had no
voice in government
Call For Change:
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In 1774, King Louis XVI
and wife Marie Antoinette
came to power
The king was faced with
severe debt and wanted
to tax the First and
Second Estates
The two estates refused
to pay the taxes
The king was forced to
call the Estates-General
in 1789
The Estates-General
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The Estates-General was
made up of delegates from
each estate and each estate
was given I vote
With this type of voting, the
clergy and nobility would vote
together and always overrule
the Third Estate
The Third Estate felt the vote
should be based on the
number of people in the
estate, thus giving them the
majority vote
The Tennis Court Oath
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Fearing a revolt, the king
locked the Third Estate out
of their meeting place in the
Estates-General
The Third Estate then
declared themselves the
National Assembly and
began meeting in an indoor
tennis court
Here, they took an oath
called the Tennis Court
Oath—refusing to disband
until they had a written
constitution for France
The Storming of the Bastille
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The Bastille (a Paris
prison) symbolized
injustices of the monarchy
July 14, 1789 a mob
surrounded the Bastille in
an attempt to steal
weapons needed to
defend the National
Assembly
The soldiers killed 98
rioters and the rioters
released 7 prisoners
The Storming of the Bastille
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This outbreak led to the
formation of a
Revolutionary Government
in Paris
The Storming of the
Bastille led to a wave of
violence in France
This event is considered
the beginning of the
French Revolution