The French Revolution- Video Questions
Copy the following questions in your notebook and answer
them while watching the video.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
How did the population boom affect France in the
18th century?
Why did King Louis XVI call the Estates-General in
1788?
What were the three estates of the Estates-General?
What was the Tennis Court Oath?
Why did women march to Versailles in October
1789?
How did Napoleon become the leader of France?


Define/study the following terms:
ancien régime, estate, bourgeoisie, deficit
spending, Estates-General, cahier, faction,
émigré, republic, suffrage, guillotine,
nationalism, plebiscite, annex, guerrilla
warfare, scorched-earth policy, abdicate,
legitimacy
Identify the following individuals and discuss
their significance to the French Revolution:
King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, Olympe de
Gouges, Maximilien Robespierre, and
Napoleon Bonaparte
French Revolution- Study Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
What two far-reaching events took place in 1789?
How did the French Revolution compare to the American
Revolution?
Give a definition of the term bourgeoisie.
State the immediate cause of the French Revolution.
How did most members of the Third Estate want to fix
France’s financial problems?
What dramatic event took place on July 14, 1789, which
saved the Third Estate from the King’s forces?
What did the National Assembly do in response to peasant
revolts and fear of foreign troops?
What name did the National assembly give to its charter of
basic liberties?
Why did Olympia de Gouges write a Declaration of the
Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen?
10. The National Assembly took what action to control the
Catholic Church?
11. Who was Georges Danton? Maximilien Robespierre?
12. What was the Committee of Public Safety?
13. What was the Reign of Terror and when did it take place?
9.
The French
Revolution
&
Napoleon
1789-1815
Long-range causes of the Revolution
The failure of the ancien régime (the
French ruling class) to fulfill the needs of
French society
 The radical dissolution of the power of the
French ruling class (the king and the
nobility)

The Three Estates
1.
Clergy
2.
Nobility
3.
Commoners
The Three Estates
Relics of Feudalism

taille

gabelle

corvée

banalities

sacraments
“Walking up a long hill…I was joined by a
poor woman who complained of the times,
and that it was a sad country;…she said
her husband had but a morsel of land, one
cow, and a poor little horse, yet they had
[42 lbs.] of wheat and three chickens to
pay as rent to one [lord], and [4 lbs.] of
oats, one chicken and 1s. [shilling] to pay
to another, besides very heavy tailles and
other taxes.”
-Arthur Young, from Travels, 1780
Social Unrest

Peasants?

Artisans?

Bourgeoisie (Middle Class)?

Nobles?
Prelude to the French Revolution

Financial Mismanagement (War and
Extravagance)
Kings Louis XIV and Louis XV
• Colonial wars with England
• Participation in the American Revolution
• Extravagance of the Royal Court at Versailles
•
Louis XIV of France
The Sun King
r.1643-1715
Versailles Palace
Versailles
Versailles
Liberal Revolution
King Louis XVI called
the Estates-General to
convene at Versailles
in spring, 1789
 The Estates-General
was unable to reach
any kind of
harmonious
agreement

The Three Estates Meet
“Therefore, what is the Third Estate?
Everything; but an everything shackled
and oppressed. What would it be without
the privileged order? Everything, but an
everything free and flourishing. Nothing
can succeed without it, everything would
be infinitely better without the others.”
-Abbe Sieyes
The National Assembly
Meanwhile…
The storming of the Bastille
The storming of the Bastille
The Great Fear


Peasant uprisings spread throughout France during the
summer of 1789
Militias were formed to defend citizens against the
potential invasion of forces friendly to the monarchy
Declaration of the Rights of Man


August, 1789, the nobles
conceded to National
Assembly’s reforms
The Declaration of the Rights
of Man provided for a limited
monarchy and a unicameral
legislature based on the
doctrine that “all men are
born free and equal before
the law”
The Women March to Versailles
The king refused to accept the Assembly’s
reforms or the Declaration
 Citizens of Paris feared the king would take
action against the Assembly
 October 1789- thousands of women marched to
Versailles with weapons (sticks and pitchforks)
 King Louis and his family returned to Paris with
them

Constitution of 1791
Presented to the people by the National
Assembly
 Maintained the monarch but limited royal
powers
 Unicameral legislature whose members
were chosen by voters (males who paid a
minimum tax)
 Delegates were seated according to their
political beliefs

Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1791)
Tumultuous times in France
Political disagreements resulted in unrest and
violence
 King Louis XVI and family tried to leave France
for Austria but were captured
 The revolution worried other European
monarchs (Austria)
 French revolutionary leaders reacted and
declared war on Austria in 1792

Radical Revolution
1792, reaction to military
defeat and economic
shortages at home
 The limited monarchy
was suspended and a
National Convention was
called (1792-1795)


sans-culottes
“All are burning with a desire to
fight! We need boldness…and
France will be saved.”
-Georges-Jacques Danton
Death of a King
In June, 1791,
King Louis was
captured trying
to leave France
 He was tried
and convicted
for treason and
beheaded on
January 21,
1793

“I forgive my enemies; I trust that my
death will be for the happiness of my
people, but I grieve for France and I
fear that she may suffer the anger of
the Lord.”
-King Louis XVI
•
Committee of Public Safety - a council
of twelve men instilled with the power to
enforce the law and act in the interests of
their fellow citizens. This entailed
preventing foreign invasion.
•
Jacobins (Girondins and The Mountain)
The Reign of Terror (1793-1794)
Maximilien
Robespierre
 Over 35,000 killed in
an effort to eliminate
the possibility of a
counterrevolution
 The Terror ended
with the death of
Robespierre

For the test on Friday, be prepared to write a detailed
response to each of the directives below. Use correct
grammar and write in complete sentences. Each
answer should be at least 5-6 complete sentences in
length.
1.
2.
Discuss the long-term origins of the French Revolution
and the events leading up to the formation of the
National Assembly in 1789.
Explain what happened to Napoleon’s Grand Army
during the winter of 1812.
Causes/origins of the French Revolution?

1.
2.
3.
Unequal taxation
Economic depression
Financial Mismanagement (Government)
Liberal Revolution (1789-1792)

–
–
–
–
–
Meeting of the Estates-General in May, 1789
National Assembly, June 17, 1789
Tennis Court Oath
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen, August
1789
Constitution of 1791 (called for a limited monarchy)
Radical Revolution (1792-1795)

–
–
The Paris Commune
The National Convention
 This phase of the revolution was controlled by radicals
(consequence of military defeat and continuing economic
problems)
 Jacobins (extreme radical group)
 The National Convention (1792-1795)
 Est. to write a new constitution
 Abolished the monarchy and instituted a republic
 Execution of Louis XVI In January 1793
 Committee of Public Safety and M. Robespierre
 The Reign of Terror 1793-1794
 End of the National Convention in Oct. 1795
The Directory





The formation of the Directory reflected the desire for
stability in France
The Constitution of 1795
– a new French government headed by five directors
selected by a two-house legislative assembly (Council
of 500 and Council of Elders)
The Directory relied on military success for is public
support.
The new government was plagued by controversy and
corruption
Napoleon and the coup d’etat in 1799

Causes/origins of the French Revolution?
1. Unequal taxation
2. Economic depression
3. Financial Mismanagement (Government)

Political Stages of the French Revolution (1789-1799)
–
Liberal Revolution (1789-1792)
 National Assembly
 The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen, August
1789
 Constitution of 1791 (called for a limited monarchy)
 Legislative Assembly
–
Radical Revolution (1792-1795)
 National Convention
 Constitution of 1792 (abolition of monarchy/republic established)
 Committee of Public Safety
–
The Directory (1795-1799)
 Constitution of 1795 (bicameral legislature and five executives)
 Controlled the army and maintained social stability
Age of Napoleon Study Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Which two groups in French politics were opposed to the
Directory?
Where was Napoleon Bonaparte born?
After the coup d’etat in 1799, what kind of government
replaced the Directory in France?
In what year did Napoleon crown himself emperor of
France?
How did Napoleon make peace with the Roman Catholic
Church while still maintaining popularity with the French
people?
What were some of the rights recognized in the
Napoleonic Code (Civil Code)?
How did the Napoleonic Code treat women?
On what was promotion in Napoleon’s military or
government based?
Who ruled Napoleon’s dependant states?
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
How did Napoleon intend to cripple Great Britain with
his Continental System?
Define nationalism.
What happened to Napoleon’s Grand Army in Russia in
1812?
How did Europe respond to Napoleon’s army when it
returned from Russia?
When and where was Napoleon Bonaparte finally
defeated? What happened to him after this defeat?
The Age of
Napoleon
1799-1815
Napoleon Bonaparte (17691821)
b. Corsica in 1769
 1785-became a lieutenant
 1794- CPS promoted him to the
rank of brigadier general
 1796- given command of the
French army in Italy
 1799-participated in a coup
against the Directory and
helped to form a new
government (a consulate) in
France

Domestic Policies
Napoleon restored peace with the Roman
Catholic Church
 Codification of French laws (Napoleonic Code)
 Administrative reform

Napoleon’s Empire
 French
Empire
 Dependant
States
 Allied States
Napoleon’s Fate
1.
2.
The collapse of Napoleon’s empire can be
partly accredited to the tenacity of Great
Britain.
Nationalism not only helped to solidify France
but it also helped to solidify and motivate the
other European states, particularly those at
odds with Napoleon’s Empire.
Napoleon’s Fall
The Russian Winter (1812)
Paris captured in March, 1814
Napoleon exiled to the island of Elba
Monarchy restored in France
Napoleon returned to Paris and ruled for 100
days
 Napoleon defeated at Waterloo in 1815
 He was exiled to St. Helena where he died
in1821






Be able to write about the causes of the French
Revolution and the events leading up to the
formation of the National Assembly. Also, prepare
an explanation of Napoleon’s ultimate political
demise.