The French Revolution
Mr. Mizell
EQ: How might the
issues in France
during the 1780s
lead to Revolution?
The Top
 Top
Estates
–1st Estate – Clergy
–2nd Estate – Nobility
 Privileged
–These two groups owned most of
the land and paid no taxes.
–Represented 2% of the population
which is out of 26 million
The Bottom
The 3rd Estate is 98 % of society
 1. Bourgeoisie – merchants, artisans.

– Educated but paid heavy taxes
2. Urban Workers – worked small jobs in
the city. Paid high taxes
 3. Peasants – mostly farmers, very poor

– Taxed by nobles and king
– 80% of the population
The Government
 Absolute
Monarchy
–King has total power
–Right to rule by God
 Nobles
and Clergy support the
King
 No democracy, liberty, or freedom
King Louis XVI
 Weak
Leader
 “Why can’t I
resign too?”
 Could not relate
to the people
 Insecure
Queen Marie Antoinette
From Austria
 Hated by the
French
 Nickname –
“Madame Deficit”
 Spent huge
amounts of money
on clothes and
jewels

Crop Problems
 In
the 1780s, France experienced
an unprecedented amount of bad
weather
 Which hurt crop production
 Less crops = higher prices
 Discontent citizens
Money Problems
 French
Government was bankrupt
– Had a huge debt
 Why
this fiscal crisis?
– Spent money on several wars
– Bad tax policy (not tax the wealthy)
– King and advisors could not run the
entire country efficiently
Calling of the Estates General
 King
wants to tax the nobility but
they go to the judicial system and
block it
 King
calls Estates General
– Assembly of representatives from all
three estates
– Meet for first time in 175 years
– Goal: Tax Reform, Fix the Debt
1. Who do the three
figures represent?
2. What might the rock
represent
3. Who is under the rock
and why?
EQ: What rights and
rd
changes does the 3 Estate
want and how do they go
about getting them?
Meeting of the Estates General
 King
does not provide
leadership
–King had other issues:
7yr old son was dying
 Result:
3rd Estate finds
own leaders
3rd Estate Seeks Change
 3rd
Estate does not like how voting
is done in the Estates General
– 1 vote per Estate, Ex. 2 to 1

They want to vote by person
rd
3
 In
Estate takes Action
June 1789, 3rd estate reps declare
themselves the National Assembly
 King does not recognize it
Tennis Court Oath

National Assembly declares its goal to
establish a constitution!
Power to the Assembly
 With
his back to the wall, Louis
orders the 1st and 2nd estates to join
the National Assembly
Fear and Paranoia
 June
1789 - Louis calls troops to Paris
in case he needed to maintain order if
he moved against the National
Assembly
 July 1789 – dismisses Necker
 These two actions increased public
fear
Storming of the Bastille
Paris erupts b/c of fear
 Fearful citizens in Paris
attack the Bastille

– Old prison. Stored
gunpowder, weapons

King reinstates Necker,
sends troops back
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggmu4
RQMtGU
Declaration of the Rights of Man
and Citizen
 National
Assembly
creates this document
as a basis for the
French Constitution
 King has less power
 Much like U.S. Bill of
Rights
EQ: Why did the
Revolution become
more radical and what
were the effects?
The King to Paris
 King
fears that he is losing power so
calls in troops
 People march on Versailles and get
Louis to come back to Paris
 Louis promises to accept Constitution
Constitution of 1791
 Passed
by the National Convention
 Made France a Constitutional
Monarchy where the king had little
power
 Now, all laws are created by the
National Convention
King Flees
 With
his power restricted and
fearful, Louis and his family try to
flee to Austria
 Caught near the border
 Result: king loses support, growth
of radicalism
Radicalism Grows
 As
a result of King fleeing,
radicalism grows
 People want a republic/democracy
 People target nobles. Many of the
nobility flee the country
 Also, deport priests. Anti-Religion
 No more king!
Rise of the Jacobins
 Formed
through clubs in Paris
– Discuss politics, issues of the day
 Extreme
Left, very progressive
 Part of the urban working class
 Want a Democracy, equality, control of
economics (ex. Bread prices)
 Eventually get control of the Convention
Execution of the King
Louis is put to trial and convicted of
conspiracy (trying to flee France)
 Executed in January 1793

Reign of Terror Begins
(July 1793 - July 1794)
Committee of Public Safety is given
extreme power from legislature
 CPS is in charge of protecting the republic
from “enemies”
 Maximilien Robespierre is the leader

– Governs France like a dictator, through fear
– Goes after nobles and fellow revolutionaries
who could challenge his power

Approx. 40,000 people were executed
EQ: Did Napoleon live
up to the ideas of the
French Revolution?
Ending of the Terror
 Members
of National Convention turn
on Robespierre. Think they could be
next to get executed.
 New Leadership – known as the
Directory
– Moderates take over
Rise of Napoleon
 The
Directory had
appointed Napoleon to
command armies.
 He wins several
victories
 Becomes a hero
The Coup d'état
 Napoleon
gets the legislature to
dissolve the Directory
 Napoleon assumes power and
becomes 1st Consul
 People vote for new constitution
and to give Napoleon power
Napoleonic Reforms
Keep some Revolution ideas, moderate
others
 Creates fair tax system, sets up National
Bank
 Fires corrupt officials
 Use system of meritocracy

– Give people jobs based on merit/achievement

Recognizes Catholicism as “faith of
Frenchmen”
Napoleonic Code
 Napoleon’s
laws favored authority
and order over liberty/freedom
 Example: Freedom of speech was
limited; however, people were not
being killed daily
Napoleon’s Quest for Power
 Crowned
Emperor in
1804
 People support this
 Wants to build an
Empire – expand
France
 Very ambitious
Conquering Europe
Defeats several countries (Russia, Austria,
etc…)
 Napoleon was a brilliant general
 Considered Invincible

Napoleon’s Big Mistake
 Invades
Russia in 1812
 Russia refuses to surrender and
keeps retreating further
 Because of brutal winter Napoleon
makes retreat back to France. – few
supplies
 420,000 to 28,000 (Army)
Napoleon’s Defeat
 Countries
join together and defeat
Napoleon
 He is banished to the island of
Elba
 Louis XVIII is installed as king
100 Days
Napoleon escapes back to France
 People support him
 Builds army; however, several countries
say he needs to be removed
 Napoleon is defeated at Battle of Waterloo
 Sent to Saint Helena to live

A New France
 Countries
meet at Congress of
Vienna
 What happens?
–France becomes a constitutional
monarchy
–Countries agree to help one
another should revolution break out