The Enlightenment and
the French Revolution
World History 2nd Semester begins
TODAY!!
Warm Up: Define the following –
1. bourgeoisie
2. deficit spending
bourgeoisie
In French society – the middle class
deficit spending
situation in which a government
spends more money than it takes in
Summary of French Revolution
Toward the end of the 1700s, the reign of France’s
monarchs came to a violent end. Several forces—
Enlightenment ideas, terrible economic conditions,
and a bourgeoisie anxious for more power—
combined to spark a momentous revolution in 1789
that swept out the old regime and ushered in a new
government. However, the revolutionaries soon
battled each other, and terror gripped France for
several years. Into this chaos stepped a French
army officer, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Napoleon seized control of the country and then built
an empire that dominated much of western Europe.
The other European powers eventually defeated
Napoleon and convened the Congress of Vienna in
1814. There, they reestablished order and balance
among the nations of Europe.
French Estates in the Old Regime
First Estate – Catholic clergy:
priests, nuns and church leaders.
Less than 1% of the population.
Owned 10 % of the land. 2% of
their income went to the Gov’t.
Second Estate – Nobility.
1.5 % of the population.
Owned 20% of the land and
controlled over half of the labor
force. Paid almost NO TAXES
French Estates in the Old Regime 2
Third Estate – Diverse group of
French citizens. 98% of population.
Divided into three groups. Owned
70% of the wealth
bourgeoisie – wealthy middle class.
Bankers, merchants, manufactures,
lawyers, doctors, etc.
city dwelling laborers, artisans and
servants
peasants – 90% of the population.
Rural workers and farmers.
Three Estates – page 469
Which estate is represented by the man under the
stone? What is the picture saying about this estate?
Louis XIV – The Sun King
1643-1715
 “l‘etat, c’est moi”
I am the state
 Built France into one of
the most powerful
nations in Europe
 Disbanded Estates
General
 Spent vast amounts of
money on arts
 Created extensive military
 Built Versailles
 Left France deeply in debt
Louis XV: 1715-1774
 Continued deficit
spending
 Taxed the third estate
unmercifully
 Pursued pleasure before
the business of the state
 When warned that France
was in serious danger of
collapse, he replied,
“For now, all is well. After
me, the deluge.”
Louis XVI – The Last King
1774-1793
 Inherited a huge
economic crisis
 Starvation was very real
in the cities
 France deeply in debt
 Called Estates General to
try to raise funds by
enticing bourgeoisie to
raise taxes on
themselves.
 Third Estate objected to
unfair conditions and
demanded reform
Versailles
Marie Antoinette
 Nicknamed “Madam
Deficit”
 Daughter of Marie
Teresa of Austria
 Had little understanding
of the conditions of the
lower classes
 Confused by march on
women on Versailles.
 When told that the
masses had no bread,
she is said to have
declared, “Let them eat
cake!”
Royal Family at Home in
Versailles
The Suggested Voting Pattern:
Voting by Estates
1
1
Clergy
1st Estate
Aristocracy
2nd Estate
1
Commoners
3rd Estate
Louis XIV insisted that the ancient distinction of the
three orders be conserved in its entirety.
The Number of Representatives
in the Estates General: Vote by Head!
300
Clergy
1st Estate
Aristocracy
2nd Estate
300
648
Commoners
3rd Estate
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes
1st What is the Third
Estate? Everything!
2nd What has it been
heretofore in the
political order?
Nothing!
3rd What does it demand?
To become something
therein!
Abbé Sieyès
1748-1836
“The Tennis Court Oath”
by Jacques Louis David
June 20, 1789
The “Liberty Cap”: Bonne Rouge
The Tricolor (1789)
The WHITE of the
Bourbons + the RED &
BLUE of Paris.
The Revolution Begins - 1789

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






Estates General meets May, 1789
Voting rules unfair to Third Estate
Declared themselves the National Assembly
Invited delegates from other two estates to help write
a new constitution, much like the one completed in
America
Locked out of Versailles
Meet on tennis court
Pledged “Tennis Court Oath” – not to disband until a
new constitution had been written.
King gathers troops in Paris and on July 14, 1789 a
Paris mob storms the Bastille.
The Revolution begins
Other Situations
6,000 women riot in the streets of
Paris
Not enough food to feed their
children
Declaration of the Rights of
Man and the Citizen
 A new “declaration of independence”
created
 Modeled after American Declaration
 “All men were born free and equal in
rights.”
 Freedom of religion
 Taxed according to ability to pay
 “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”
 A new constitution created.
 Royal family attempts to flee to Austria.
Captured and imprisoned in Paris.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
and of the Citizen
August 26,
1789
V Liberty!
V Property!
V Resistance to
oppression!
V Thomas Jefferson
was in Paris at this
time.
Olympe de Gouges (1745-1793)
V Women played a vital
role in the Revolution.
V But, The Declaration
of the Rights of Man
did NOT extend the
rights and protections
of citizenship to
women.
Declaration of the
Rights of Woman
and of the Citizen
(1791)
Causes of the French Revolution
Long Term Causes:
Immediate Causes:
•Enlightenment ideas—liberty
and equality
Example furnished by the
American Revolution
Social and economic
injustices of the Old Regime
Economic crisis—famine
and government debt
Weak leadership
Discontent of the Third
Estate
REVOLUTION
Fall of the Bastille
National Assembly
Declaration of the
Rights of Man and a
new constitution
Attitudes
& actions
of
monarchy
& court
Fear of
CounterRevolution
Religious
divisions
The Causes of
Instability in France
1792 - 1795
Economi
c
Crises
War
Political
divisions
Robespierre
 Leader of the
Revolution
 Become dictator of
France
 Institutes Reign of
Terror
 Enemies of the
Committee of Public
Safetey sent to the
guillotine
 Robespierre is himself
eventually beheaded as
well
Committee for Public Safety
 Revolutionary Tribunals.
 300,000 arrested.
 16,000 – 50,000 executed.
Louis XVI “Accepts” the Constitution
& the National Assembly. 1791
The French Constitution of 1791:
A Bourgeois Government
The king got the “suspensive” veto [which
prevented the passage of laws for 4 years].
V


V
He could not pass laws.
His ministers were responsible for their own
actions.
A permanent, elected, single chamber
National Assembly.

V
Had the power to grant taxation.
An independent judiciary.
The French Constitution of 1791:
A Bourgeois Government
“Active” Citizen [who pays taxes amounting
to 3 days labor] could vote vs. “Passive”
Citizen.
 1/3 of adult males were denied the
V
franchise.
 Domestic servants were also excluded.
V
A newly elected LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY.
GOAL  Make sure that the country was
not turned over to the mob!
National Assembly
First act-take clergy lands and
resell them for profit
Creates Legislative Assemblygroup that approves laws and
makes war
Split into 3 groups– 1.Radicals(Jacobins and SansCulottes) – left side of the room
– 2. Moderates – sat in middle of room
– 3. Conservatives(Emigres)- right side
of the room
Legislation Passed by the
National Convention
1. Law of General Maximum
 September 5, 1793.
 Limited prices of grain & other essentials to 1/3
above the 1790 prices & wages to ½ of 1790
figures.
 Prices would be strictly enforced.
 Hoarders rooted out and punished.
 Food supplies would be secured by the army!
2. Law of Suspects
September 17, 1793.
This law was so widely drawn that almost anyone
not expressing enthusiastic support for the
republic could be placed under arrest!
Religious Terror:
De-Christianization (1793-1794)
 The Catholic Church was linked with
real or potential counter-revolution.
 Religion was associated with the
Ancien Régime and superstitious
practices.
 Very popular among the sans-culottes.
 Therefore, religion had no place in a
rational, secular republic!
The De-Christianization Program
1. The adoption of a new Republican
Calendar:
abolished Sundays & religious holidays.
months named after seasonal features.
7-day weeks replaced by 10-day
decades.
the yearly calendar was dated from
the creation of the Republic
[Sept. 22, 1792]
The Convention symbolically divorced the
state from the Church!!
The New Republican Calendar
New Name
Meaning
Time Period
Vendemaire
Vintage
September 22 – October 21
Brumaire
Fog
October 22 – November 20
Frimaire
Frost
November 21 – December 20
Nivose
Snow
December 21 – January 19
Pluviose
Rain
January 20 – February 18
Ventose
Wind
February 19 – March 20
Germinal
Budding
March 21 – April 19
Floreal
Flowers
April 20 – May 19
Prairial
Meadow
May 20 – June 18
Messidor
Harvest
June 19 – July 18
Thermidor
Heat
July 19 – August 17
Fructidor
Fruit
August 18 – September 21
The De-Christianization Program
2. The public exercise of religion was
banned.
3. The Paris Commune supported the:
destruction of religious & royal statues.
ban on clerical dress.
encouragement of the clergy to give up
their vocations.
4. The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris
was turned into the “Temple of Reason.”
5. The deportation of priests denounced by
six citizens.
The Radical’s
Arms:
No God!
No Religion!
No King!
No Constitution!
Different Social Classes Executed
8%
7%
28%
25%
31%
The “Monster” Guillotine
The last guillotine execution in France was in 1939!
Louis XVI as a Pig
c
For the Montagnards, the king was a traitor.
c
The Girondins felt that the Revolution had
gone far enough and didn’t want to execute
the king [maybe exile him].
Louis XVI is Guillotined
Louis XVI’s Head (January 21, 1793)
c
The trial of the king
was hastened by the
discovery in a secret
cupboard in the
Tuilieres of a cache of
documents.
c
They proved
conclusively Louis’
knowledge and
encouragement of
foreign intervention.
c
The National
Convention voted
387 to 334 to
execute the monarchs.
Marie Antoinette as a Serpent
The “Widow Capet”
Marie Antoinette
on the Way to the Guillotine
Marie Antoinette Died in October,
1793
The “Thermidorean Reaction,” 1794
P July 26  Robespierre gives a
speech illustrating new
plots & conspiracies.
 he alienated members of the CPS
& CGS.
 many felt threatened by his
implications.
P July 27  the Convention arrests
Robespierre.
P July 28  Robespierre is tried &
guillotined!
The Arrest of Robespierre
Robespierre at the Guillotine
-July 28th
1794
-Marks the
end of the
“Reign of
Terror”
The French Revolution and Napoleon
Revolution
• Fall of the Bastille
• National Assembly
• Declaration of the
Rights of Man and a
new constitution
Immediate Effects
• End of the Old Regime
• Execution of monarchs
• War with the First Coalition
• Reign of Terror
• Rise of Napoleon
•
•
•
•
•
•
Long-Term Effects
Conservative reaction
Decline in French power
Spread of Enlightenment
ideas
Growth of nationalism
Rise of international
organizations (Congress
of Vienna)
Revolutions in Latin
America
Napoleon Becomes Emperor
of France
TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN THE
FRENCH REVOLUTION
 August 1788 Louis XVI announced meeting of
the Estates-General to be held in May 1789
 May 5, 1789 Estates-General convenes
 June 17, 1789 Third Estate declares itself the
National Assembly
 June 20, 1789 Oath of the Tennis Court
 July 14, 1789 Storming of the Bastille
 July 20, 1789 Revolt of the peasantry begins
 August 26, 1789 Declaration of the Rights of
Man and Citizen issued
 October 5, 1789 Parisian women march to
Versailles and forces Louis XVI to return to
Paris
 February 1790 Monasteries and convents
dissolved
TIMELINE CONT’D
 July 1790 Civil Constitution of the Clergy
issued
 June 1791 Louis XVI and family attempt to flee
Paris, but are captured and returned
 April 1792 France declares war on Austria
 August 10, 1792 Storming of the Tuileries
 January 1793 Louis XVI executed
 July 1793 Maximilien Robespierre assumes
leadership of the Committee of Public Safety
 1793-1794 Reign of Terror
 1794 Robespierre is guillotined
 1794-1799 Thermidorian Reaction
 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows the
Directory and seizes power