THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
1788-1799
LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
ESTATES
Old Order – Frances hereditary
class system - class born into,
remain in.
 Estate – all French people
belonged to one of three.
Determined legal rights and
status


First Estate – Clergy
 Catholic
clergy (religious leaders)
 No taxes
 Lived in great style
ESTATES
 Second
 Old
Estate – Nobles
royalty, land owners
 @2% of pop. Own 25% of land,
don’t pay taxes
 Special social and political
privileges (high positions in
govt, church, army)
 Lived in great style
 Income from peasants that
lived and worked their land
ESTATES
 Third
Estate – Others
 Bourgeoisie
– merchants,
bankers, artisans, no power,
high taxes
 Working class – low wages
 Peasants(farmers) 80% of
population
 Pd. ½ of all taxes (tithe to
church, feudal dues to
nobles, land tax to king)
 97% of all French
Why no taxes for rich/powerful? – kept them on King’s
side
How did third estate feel? – 97% of population against
the King
FACTORS OF THE REVOLUTION

Financial problems
Taxes – peasants pay most of
taxes, nobility and clergy exempt
 Debt







Gov. gave $6 million to American
Colonists to fight against
England in Revolutionary War
50% of national budget paid for
loans to fight England
25% paid for military
expenditures
6% paid for parties, clothing,
expensive lifestyle of the king
and queen
Crop failure – leads to
starvation
Growing inflation due to debt
FACTORS OF THE REVOLUTION
 Enlightenment
 John
Locke’s ideas of
natural rights to life, liberty,
property
 Locke’s ideas of the right to
overthrow government if
not protecting your rights
FACTORS OF THE REVOLUTION
 Weak
Leader
 Louis
XVI &
Marie
Antoinette
Very Young
(19/18yrs)
 Make bad
decisions

FACTORS OF THE REVOLUTION
 Social
 1st
Classes –
and 2nd have special
privileges
 3rd estate is 97% of
population
 Bourgeoisie (middle
class) of 3rd Estate pay
most of the taxes, lead
the revolution
ESTATES GENERAL






Meeting of 3 estates to make laws
Called by Louis XVI to get 1 & 2 Estates to pay taxes/raise $
1st time met in 175 yrs (1614)
each estate gets one vote (third estates calls for individual
vote)
1 & 2 band together to block 3rd Estate
3rd Estate leaves and forms the National Assembly
CITIZEN ACTION
3 Types of citizen action - taken by French Citizens
during the revolution to change their government
 1. Social Protests – citizens demonstrate against
a government action or policy they want to change
 2. Political Action – citizens write or change a law
to change a government policy or action
 3. Revolution – citizens attempt a radical change
in their government usually through an overthrow
of the existing government

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY – POLITICAL ACTION
 meet
on Tennis Court
 Tennis Court Oath - vow to
not leave until write a
constitution for France =
Tennis Court Oath
 King orders 1st and 2nd
estate to join National
Assembly


Why? Fear of what 3rd
Estate might accomplish
3rd Estate now has majority
vote
 King
gathers troops for his
protection – makes people
think he’s going to break
up the National Assembly
FRENCH REVOLUTION
Storming of the Bastille – July 14,
1789 (like our 4th)- Revolution
 Bastille – jail for political
prisoners & where weapons held
 Bastille symbolizes injustices of
Monarchy
 3rd Estates - storm jail and let
prisoners out
 Symbolic beginning of the French
Revolution, and Frances
Independence Day

FRENCH REVOLUTION

Declaration of the Rights of Man &
Citizens (Part of French Constitution
Today) – Political Action


Purpose to establish equality in
France and abolish the class system
Incorporated Enlightenment ideas
Montesquieu’s ideas of separation of
powers
 Rousseau’s belief in the will of the
majority
 Locke’s beliefs in natural rights
 Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of
Independence


Louis XVI rejects declaration
FRENCH REVOLUTION





March on Versailles – Social Protest
6000 angry women march on Versailles
Protesting against food shortages and price of bread
Want king to move to Paris and accept the Declaration
of the Rights of Man, and National Assembly
Louis XVI arrested and forced to leave Versailles for
Paris
FRENCH REVOLUTION
Constitution of 1791 – Political Action
 Made France a Constitutional Monarchy

 Unicameral
legislature (one house legislature)
called National Convention
 King as executive
 Everyone equal, all legislators get a vote
 Delegates seated by their political beliefs
3 POLITICAL GROUPS IN THE LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY





Left
Radical
Big change
Support Democracy
Jacobins
Center
Moderates
Open to some change
Support Constitutional Monarchy
Plain
Right
Reactionary
Want to return to past policies
Support Absolute Monarchy
Emigres
DECLINE OF MONARCHY
Jacobins start to gain control in 1792 – want a
Republic
 Louis XVI is tried before Convention and
convicted of conspiring against the liberty of a
nation



Executed by the guillotine
Austria and Prussia declare war on France –
***fearful of revolution spreading to Austria
REIGN OF TERROR

Robespierre
 Jacobin
– wants change from
limited monarchy to republic
 Executes anyone related to
monarchy (priests, nobles)
 Executes “traitors” – 40K
mostly commoners
 Killed by guillotine by others
afraid of him killing them
 Death ended violence
COMMITTEE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
 Neighborhood
watch
committees hunted down
suspected traitors and
turned them over to the
courts
 Neighbor turned on
neighbor, many innocent
people executed
DIRECTORY

New Constitution
2House legislature
 5-man executive committee
 power more divided – sounds
good? But is it? What
challenges?
 Can’t make decisions, debate,
but nothing accomplished
 Growing gap between rich and
poor, many dissatisfied
 French people looked for
leadership--------------------------------→
