FRENCH REVOLUTION
Old Order – Ancién Regime
King and Queen at the top!
 King: Louis XVI
 Queen: Marie Antoinette

Old Order – Ancien Regime
TITLE
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ROLES
1ST: CLERGY (1%)
ND
 2 :
NOBILITY (<2%)
3RD: BOURGEOISIE
(97%) SANS CULOTTES
PEASANTS

Third Estate Carrying the
1st & 2nd on its back
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Rich,taxes
No
Controlled
NO role
much
in of the
wealth
government
10%
Few
Workers
taxes
Minister
to Common
People
Government
Paid
rent & fees,
and 1/10
military
of
income
jobs
to church
Large estates
France in Debt
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Borrowed HUGE amounts of money to spend on
wars (including the American Revolution)
King & Queen spent lavishly(more than borrowed)
King tried to tax 2nd estate
2nd estate refused, King backed down
Nature
 Hailstorm
& drought ruined harvests
 Winter 1788 worst in 80 years
 No food!
First Events of the Revolution

In 1789, no estate was
1st & 2nd
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Wealthy Bourgeoisie resented government
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3rd estate resented
Meeting of the Estates-General: an
of the
three estates that the
pressed Louis to call
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Representatives wrote “cahiers” to
record grievances
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Got all riled up
Each estate gets
and usually
the 1st and 2nd estate would vote
together
Louis wanted to continue the Old Way
but the 3rd estate was inspired by the
and refused
3rd estate declared themselves a
with the right to
: National Assembly
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Louis ordered troops to Paris and Versailles fearing an
overthrow. National Assembly saw this, they feared
violence
July 14, 1789: a
of Parisians went to the
BASTILLE, killed the commander, piked his head
“
” became a symbol
for the French Revolution
After the fall of the Bastille, people were afraid the
king would retaliate: “
”
For revenge, the peasants destroyed
and burned nobles’
Creating New Rights

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National Assembly eliminated ALL FEUDAL DUES
“Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen”
 Liberty
 Equality
 Fraternity

All men are born equal and remain
equal under the law
Louis calls troops to Versailles
 Mob
of 7,000 angry women storm Versailles
 Louis agrees to return to Paris

National Assembly sells off church lands to pay off
debts
New Government

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Citizens (taxpaying men) get new rights
Keep monarchy, but weaken it
King and Queen try to flee, caught
Austria & Prussia threaten war if monarchs harmed

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50,000 troops moved to border
Legislative Assembly declares war
Lose
 Blame king

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King and Queen taken to prison
Legislative Assembly  National Convention
 Radicals in charge
 Abolish Monarchy  REPUBLIC!

1792: Radicals in Control!
The Mountain
(most radical)
Plain
 Swing 
Girondin
Moderates
Members:
Montagnards
Members
Swing voters
Members:
From Provinces
Club: Jacobins
Originally
Supported: Girondin
Supported:
Constitutional
Monarchy
Supporters:
Lower Middle
Class
Switched to: The
Mountain
Resented: Paris’
Mob Influence
Government Leaders:
: advocates violence, Sans
Culottes
: compromiser,
opposed excesses
: dedicated, led
bloodiest time
Executing the King
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After the National Convention, the king was placed
on
The
had hoped to avoid a trial, but
they were the
The
were eager to try and
execute the king in order to prevent a return of the
monarchy
Louis was quickly
and scheduled to
the next day
Louis XVI was killed with the
After the King’s execution…
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National Convention began to tighten its
Set up the
to
manage country's military defense
Made a
of all unmarried men 18-45
was made to root out
and eliminate anyone who posed a threat to the
Revolution
The Revolution also transformed French
Society:
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Roman Catholic Church
abolished  “Cult of
Supreme Being” (Bibles
replaced by Declaration of
the Rights of Man)
Metric System
Calendar 10, 3 week months
Got rid of King, Queen, etc
on playing cards
Reign of Terror: series of accusations,
trials & executions
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Caused by revolutionary leaders fearing a
Once peasants got rid of feudal dues, they went back
to their
ways
But when they heard about the
a western
village,
resisted so strongly it led to a
The counterrevolutionary force was called the
The government took control back, and destroyed
everything and everyone it could
Revolutionary Tribunal
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There are secret Monarchists amongst us – and
they’re trying to kill you!
Sit in a circle
Each Frenchmen gets a card
2 will be monarchs (kings or queens)
The rest of you are Peasants (1-10)
Each “night” the monarchs will silently agree
whom to kill by pointing
Each “day” I’ll inform you who was killed, and the
rest of the group must decide whom to
“guillotine”
As long as the monarchs live, the game continues
Can you find the monarchs before they kill you
ALL?
Accusations and Trials

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Motagnards set up the Revolutionary Tribunal to get
rid of dissenters
Robespierre said they needed to use
to
defend the republic from its enemies
The tribunal began with the
because
they once wanted a
Execution of Robespierre

Soon anyone that
supported the old
and death
the revolution or
were in danger or trial
The Terror’s Victims

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Didn’t spare any class,
occupation, or gender
More nobles were killed
Nuns who refused to close
convents
Reign of Terror
 10
months
 300,000 arrested
 17,000 executed
After the Terror – THE DIRECTORY

France had to start over with a new
Government
 1795:
National Convention wrote
ANOTHER constitution
 Restricted voting rights given in last
constitution

Voters elected a governing board:
“Directory”
 Five
men called directors
 Passed financial reforms
 Helped farmers & improved trade
The Directory…Not so good
 Ineffective
 Weak
& corrupt
 Shared many characteristics
with the Old Order
 High
prices, bankruptcy,
citizen unrest
 Created a POWER VACUUM!
Governments of Revolutionary France

National Assembly -1789
Ended feudalism
 Approved Declaration of Rights of Man & Citizen
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Legislative Assembly -1791
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Declared war on Austria
National Convention -1792
Ended monarchy, proclaimed France a republic
 Executed Louis XVI
 Reign of Terror
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Directory -1795
Run by 5 “Directors”
 Weak, ineffective

French Revolution Review
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1. Why were the French people upset?
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2. Describe the opening events of the French Revolution
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Create a Graphic Organizer that shows the Social Hierarchy in France
before the Revolution
Create a Political Cartoon showing why the People were upset at the
monarchy
In one paragraph, describe the Storming of the Bastille, the Declaration of
the Rights of Man, and the formation of the Legislative Assembly
3. Create a Graphic Organizer that shows the makeup of the
Radical Government and its three leaders
4. Describe Four changes to society under the New Government
5. Create a Mini- Propaganda Poster for the Reign of Terror
6. Collins Type III: Three Paragraphs, explain the events of the
French Revolution
French Revolution Quiz

Know the details of the Ancién Regime (Old Order)
 1st,
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2nd, 3rd Estate
Estates General & Storming of the Bastille
Declaration of the Rights of Man
Radical Government
Reign of Terror
Directory
Napoleon
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A brilliant leader
1793: Forced British troops
out of the port of Toulon
1795: Napoleon fought a
mob of royalists trying to
regain power
Shot artillery into crowd,
forcing them to flee
As a reward put in charge of
French Interior
Napoleon
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1796: Napoleon was placed
in command of troops
invading Italy
His victories here kept
France’s borders secure but
also won territory for France
1798: Napoleon took large
fleet to Mediterranean Sea
to disrupt trade between
England & India
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British Admiral Horatio Nelson
Trapped French Ships
Most of French fleet destroyed
Napoleon spun it to make it look
like hero
Meanwhile, the Directory had
grown weak
Some wanted a monarchy since
they feared growing European
powers
Napoleon
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1799: a group of armed
supporters surrounded the
Directory and forced the
members to turn over power
to Napoleon:
Napoleon
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Group of three consuls called
CONSULATE
Replaced the directory and
voted Napoleon in charge of
Consul
Napoleon was Dictator
 People
were tired of constant
warfare and chaos
 People willing to give up
some freedom
Napoleon moved quickly to strengthen
his power

Issued a Plebiscite:
 Asked
voters: Do you want to be
 Voters said
!
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Pope Pius came to crown Napoleon
 Napoleon

?
took the crown and
Wanted to expand his empire to the Americas
 Civil
war in Haiti erupted and Napoleon sent an
expedition which
 Napoleon sold
to the US
Napoleonic Wars

Extension of French Revolution Wars
France became dominant power in
Europe
France grew rapidly
Lasted more than a decade (to 1815)
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War with England
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Britain formed a series of coalitions against
France
 Napoleon knew that he must defeat
England
 1805: Admiral Nelson and his fleet
defeated the French off the coast of Spain
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Napoleon sought to disrupt trade between England
and the world
France planned a blockade
Prohibited French or allied ships to trade with
England
Drew Britain and France into other conflicts
Peninsular War
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Portugal was neutral, wouldn’t comply with continental
system
Napoleon sent in troops to Portugal, then Spain
Napoleon quickly won and put his brother Joseph on
the throne of Spain
England sent troops to support Spanish revolt against
France
Napoleon brought troops in from Central Europe, won
several battles
Guerilla fighters eventually forced France out of Spain
Pretend you are a French Journalist…

Write an opinion article regarding Napoleon’s
recent conquests and Wars
 Why
was he fighting?
 Were they successful?
 What’s your opinion on the campaigns?
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What do you think about his method to maintain
control of his new lands? (Look at page 612)
Make sure to give your article a title, and a date
How did Napoleon keep power in his
vast territories?
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Brother JosephNapoleon King of
Spain
Brother LouisNapoleon King of
Holland
Brother JeromeNapoleon King of
Westphalia
Stepson EugeneNapoleon ruled
Italy
Sister ElisaNapoleon grand
Duchess of Tuscany
Brother in Law
Joachim-Napoleon
ruled Naples
By 1812 Napoleon controlled much of
Europe
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Read 612613 and
answer
questions
Collins II:
What did
Napoleon
do that was
good, bad?
Reforms
 Did
not require that they be Catholic
 Religious toleration still law
 Recognized influence of RCC in France but said
they had not control over nation affairs

Established Bank of France to regulate economy
 More
efficient tax collection
 No more financial ruin
Reforms
Made laws uniform across nation
 Eliminated injustices
 Promoted order and authority over individual rights
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Press restricted by censors
Only applied to male citizens
Denied rights of women
 Allowed men to authority over wives
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Strong leaders in government and military positions
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High schools, universities, technical schools to prepare young
men for high positions
Legacy
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Ensured some of the
revolution lasted
Equality before the law
Representative system of
government
Napoleon’s Downfall
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Napoleon stationed
troops near the border
of Russia
Czar Alexander I
feared the Continental
System and began to
gather troops
To teach the Czar a
lesson, Napoleon
moved east into Russia
Summer
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By June, Napoleon &
600,000 men marched
across the border
Many new recruits were
from conquered
territories, no loyalty
Supplies spoiled in the
summer heat
The army suffered from
disease, desertion and
hunger, which thinned
the ranks
Advance
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As Napoleon and the troops moved inward, Russians
withdrew
Peasants set fire to their fields
August: France finally gets a battle: French won with
high casualties
Russian Army lost 90,000, retreated
Moscow
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French reached
Moscow by
September, but the
city was deserted
The city was also on
fire
Napoleon had no
choice but to turn
back
Winter
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Harsh winter was the worst
enemy
Napoleon rushed back to
Europe by sleigh
Only 94,000/600,000
returned
Defeat
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The disaster gave Napoleon’s
enemies new hope
Napoleon raised another army but
they were inexperienced
October 1813, the allies met
Napoleon at
March 1814, the allies entered Paris
As terms of his surrender, Napoleon
had to give up his throne, but kept
his title –exiled to
The Comeback Kid

When Napoleon was exiled, France restored the
monarchy
 Louis
XVIII (brother of executed king Louis XVI)
 Grew very unpopular – people feared Ancién Regime

After a year of exile on Elba Napoleon hired a ship
to take him and his many supporters to France
 He
headed to Paris
 Rumors of Napoleon’s return spread
 Troops sent to arrest him pledged their loyalty instead
Hundred Days  Defeat at Waterloo


Napoleon arrived in Paris a hero
Napoleon’s enemies gathered for another
showdown at
, Belgium
 British
Troops led by the Duke of Wellington
 Belgian, Dutch, and German troops joined Britain
 Prussia joined the fight towards the end of the day
 Napoleon couldn’t beat both armies
 50,000 died – Napoleon LOST the Battle of Waterloo
Final Exile
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
Napoleon fled and tried to
escape to America
Caught and sent farther than
Elba: Saint Helena
 Volcanic
island in the South
Atlantic
 1,200 miles from mainland

Died just six years later at the
age of 51
Congress of Vienna
Those who helped
France lost territory
Those who fought
gained
France
Changed
national
borders to strengthen
territories
nationspaid
near an
France
France
 Dutch
and Austria were
united: Kingdom of
Netherlands
 Austria joined with 38
German states to make
German Confederation
 Great Britain received
overseas territories