Before we begin….
Which of the following statements
do you most agree with?
A)
B)
C)
D)
People should never take part in political
revolution
People should take part in political revolution
only if their family is in danger.
People should take part in political revolution
only if their basic human rights are not met.
People should take part in political revolution
1789-1815
FOCUS
video
What were the causes and effects of the
French Revolution, and how did the
revolution lead to the Napoleonic era?
La Marseillaise, French National Anthem
Four Segments of this Unit
What were the causes and effects of the French
Revolution, and how did the revolution lead to the
Napoleonic era?
Section 1:
On the Eve of Revolution
Section 2:
The French Revolution Unfolds
Section 3:
Radical Days of the Revolution
Section 4:
The Age of Napoleon
There will be plenty of visuals
Storming of the Bastille, a prison in Paris
Was a symbol of royal power in the 1700s, used for political prisoners
The king could arrest anyone on a secret warrant and keep them there without trial
(6.1) I. On the Eve of Revolution

A) French Society Divided

B) Financial Troubles

C) Louis XIV calls the Estates-General

D) Parisians Storm the Bastille
A) French Society Divided
How did France look in 1789?
26 million French citizens
 Still clinging to an
outdated social system
from the Middle Ages
 Ancien régime (old
order) was divided into
three social classes
(estates)
 First Estate, Second Estate, and the Third Estate

The Three Estates
The First Estate: Clergy (100,000)
 Church owned about 10% of the
land, collected tithes, and paid no
direct taxes to the state
 High church leaders such as
bishops and abbots lived very well
 Some social services provided
(Nuns, monks, and priests ran
schools, hospitals, and orphanages)
 Remember that the Enlightenment
targeted church for reform…
criticizing the idleness of some
clergy, the church’s interference in
Cleric, Knight, and Workman
politics, and intolerance of dissent
 In response many in this class criticized the Enlightenment for
undermining religion and moral order
The Three Estates
The Second Estate: Nobility (300,000)
 Only 0.5% of the population
 Rights included top jobs in
government, the army, the courts,
and the Church
 Although they owned land, they
had little financial income
 As prices began to rise, they felt
the pinch
 Feared losing their traditional
privileges, especially freedom
Members of the Second Estate
from paying taxes
The Three Estates
The Third Estate: ‘Everybody else’
 The most diverse social class
 Two ‘layers’ – Bourgeoisie and rural
peasants
 Bourgeoisie included: bankers,
merchants, and manufacturers,
lawyers, doctors, journalists, and
professors
 Rural peasants were the bulk of the
Third Estate
Members of the Third Estate
The Three Estates
The Third Estate: ‘Everybody else’
 The most diverse social class, two
‘layers’ – Bourgeoisie and rural
peasants
 Bourgeoisie included: bankers,
merchants, manufacturers, lawyers,
doctors, journalists, and professors
 Rural peasants were the bulk of the
Third Estate
Members of the Third Estate
 Urban poor were unemployed
 The poorest members were urban workers
(apprentices, journeymen) in printing and cloth making
What was the Third Estate?
“1. What is the Third Estate?
Everything
2. What has it been until now
in the political order?
Nothing
3. What does it want to be?
Something.”
Abbé Emmanuel Sieyés
The vast Third Estate- peasants,
dentists, laborers, and morecomprising more than 95% of France,
was now ready to fight for equality
Trouble begins to brew
Whether rich or poor,
members of the Third
Estate resented
privileges by their “social
betters.”
Although wealthy
bourgeois families could
buy political office, the
best jobs were still
reserved for nobles.
Urban workers earned miserable wages. Even the smallest
increase in the price of bread, brought the threat of greater
hunger or even starvation.
Trouble begins to brew


First and
Second
Estates paid
no taxes
Peasants
burdened by
taxes on
everything
from land to
soap to salt
How does the cartoonist portray the Third Estate? What were the
differences among the social classes in pre-revolutionary France?
taxes, money, land, and jobs available
Follow-Up from Yesterday

To what estate did most of the French
population belong?
the Third Estate

How did the lives of the clergy and nobles
differ from members of the Third Estate?
The clergy and nobles paid almost no taxes, while
Third Estate paid taxes on almost everything.
Many of the clergy and nobles were wealthy and
occupied positions of influence, while most of the
Third Estate was poor and powerless.
(6.1) I. On the Eve of Revolution

A) French Society Divided

B) Financial Troubles

C) Louis XIV calls the Estates-General

D) Parisians Storm the Bastille
B) Financial Troubles
National Debt Soars
One of the causes of the economic troubles
was mushrooming financial crisis due to
years of deficit spending. So what is deficit
spending?
 Debt from the Seven
Years War and lavish
court
 Bad harvests sent food
prices soaring

Economic Reform Fails





Louis XVI chooses Jacques Necker
as his financial advisor
Necker urged king to
reduce extravagant
court spending, reform
government, and
abolish tariffs on trade
Also proposed taxing the First and
Second Estates
Nobles and high clergy were outraged and forced King
Louis XVI to dismiss him
Pressure for reform mounted, wealthy and powerful
classes demand that king to summon the Estates-General
Louis XVI Calls the Estates-General





At the end of 1788, France is
on the verge of bankruptcy
Bread riots are spreading
Nobles (the Second Estate)
are afraid of taxes, begin to
denounce ‘royal tyranny’
King Louis XVI tells the
Three Estates to prepare
their cahiers (notebooks)
which lists their grievances
In other words...“bring it on”
the Estates-General hadn’t been called for 175 years
Estates Prepare Grievance Notebooks



Many cahiers called for reforms such as fairer taxes,
freedom of the press, or regular meetings of the E-G
Tensions rise: Tax collectors were “bloodsuckers of the
nation who drink the tears of the unfortunate from
goblets of gold.” -The courts of nobles were “vampires
sucking the last drop of blood” from the people.
Delegates take the Tennis
Court Oath, swore “never
to separate and to meet
wherever the circumstances
might require until we have
established a sound and just
constitution.”
Remember John Locke….
“People have a natural right to
life, liberty, and property. Rulers
have a responsibility to protect
these rights. People have the
right to change a government
that fails to do so.”
Do you see how this quote relates to the
events of the meeting of the Estates-General?
Circle back...
What
three factors led to
the start of the French
Revolution?
social inequalities
economic troubles
inspiring Enlightenment ideas
Parisians Storm the Bastille



Reform-minded
clergy and nobles join
the Assembly and
advocate change
Louis XVI becomes
concerned, orders
royal troops to
streets of Paris
Crowds gather
outside the Bastille,
demanding weapons
and gunpowder
July 14, 1789 – “Bastille Day”

This ‘rage’ demonstrated a new
sense of empowerment by
Parisians
(6.2) I. The French Revolution Unfolds

A) Political Crisis Leads to Revolt

B) The National Assembly Acts

C) The National Assembly Presses Onward

D) Radicals Take Over
A) Political Crisis Leads to Revolt
Europe stares at France in Disbelief




Midway through 1789 and the country is
experiencing the worst famine in memory
Starving peasants roaming the countryside,
flocking to towns where they join those
who are unemployed
Grain prices are soaring, people spending
up to 80% of their income on bread
When no one is in control, rumors spread
A) Political Crisis Leads to Revolt




Tales of attacks on villages and towns
“Government troops are seizing peasant crops”
Peasants unleash their fury on nobles trying to reimpose
medieval dues
Set fire to old records, stealing grain from storehouses
(6.2) I. The French Revolution Unfolds

A) Political Crisis Leads to Revolt

B) The National Assembly Acts

C) The National Assembly Presses Onward

D) Radicals Take Over
B) The National Assembly Acts
Special Privilege Ends


In response to the Bastille stampede,
nobles in the National Assembly vote
to end their own privileges
Agree to give up their manorial dues,
exclusive hunting rights, special legal
status, and exemption from taxes
What are ‘manorial dues’ ?
Peasants farmed small plots of land and owed
rent and labor to their lord…most were not
free to leave the estate.
B) The National Assembly Acts
Declaration of the Rights of Man



Issued by the Assembly in late
August
Modeled in part on America’s
Declaration of Independence
(13 years before)
Based on the writings of Locke
and the philosophes, the
constitution insisted that
governments exist to protect
the natural rights of citizens
B) The National Assembly Acts
Declaration of the Rights of Man




All men were “born and
remain free and equal in
rights.”
They enjoyed natural rights to
“liberty, property, security,
and resistance to
oppression.”
Furthermore, all male citizens
were equal before the law
Every Frenchman had an equal
right to hold public office
B) The National Assembly Acts
Declaration of the Rights of Man




In addition, the declaration
asserted freedom of religion and
called for taxes to be levied
according to ability to pay
“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”
But what about women?
1791: Olympe de Gouges
demands equal rights in her
Declaration of the Rights of
Woman and the Female Citizen
B) The National Assembly Acts
But did the Nobles really listen?


Nobles continue to enjoy gala banquets while
people were starving in the streets.
By autumn, anger turns to action…
B) The National Assembly Acts
Women March on Versailles

In early October 6,000 women march 13 miles in
pouring rain from Paris to Versailles to confront the
king

Crowd’s anger was
directed at Marie
Antoinette
Women would not
leave unless king
agreed to return to
Paris

Video: Chateau de Versailles
B) The National Assembly Acts
Louis XVI returns to Paris



“Now we won’t have
to go so far when we
want to see our
king”
The royal family moves
to the Tuileries palace
For the next three
years, they are virtual
prisoners
Note how the National Assembly reacted
to peasant uprisings. The nobles in the
National Assembly voted to give up
privileges.
(6.2) I. The French Revolution Unfolds

A) Political Crisis Leads to Revolt

B) The National Assembly Acts

C) The National Assembly Presses Onward

D) Radicals Take Over
C) The National Assembly Presses Onward
The church is placed under state control




The National Assembly follows
the king to Paris
Worked to draft a constitution
and solve ongoing financial
crisis
In order to pay off their debt, the Assembly votes to
take over and sell Church lands
Remember, 95% of France was Roman Catholic, so
the Church had great power and was the largest land
owner at the time
C) The National Assembly Presses Onward
The ‘Dechristianisation’ of France



Involved revoking church
lands and destroying all signs
of the religion, such as crosses
The threat of death and
imprisonment forced French
religious figures to resign
In its place, the government
started civic cults such as the
Cult of Reason and the Cult
of Supreme Being
C) The National Assembly Presses Onward
Notre Dame Cathedral Ransacked




Many sculptures and treasures
were destroyed
The cathedral was rededicated
to the Cult of Reason, later to
the Cult of the Supreme Being
The Virgin Mary replaced by Lady
Liberty on several altars
The cathedral also used as
warehouse for food storage
C) The National Assembly Presses Onward
The Constitution of 1791 Establishes a New Government




The main task of producing a
constitution is completed!
Limited monarchy replaces a
absolute monarchy
New Legislative Assembly has
power to make laws, collect
taxes, and decide on issues of war
and peace
Lawmakers to be elected by taxpaying male citizens over age 25
C) The National Assembly Presses Onward
The Constitution of 1791 Establishes a New Government
C) The National Assembly Presses Onward
The Constitution of 1791 Establishes a New Government


Government is made more efficient,
replacing provinces with 83 departments
of equal size
Old provincial courts abolished and laws
were reformed
Did this complete the revolution?

Those of the Enlightenment were satisfied, but it also
put power in the hands of men with the means and
leisure to serve in government
C) The National Assembly Presses Onward
Louis’s Escape Fails

June 1791, Marie Antoinette
convinces King Louis XVI that
it’s time to leave town

Why would the
French people see
this as treason?
(6.2) I. The French Revolution Unfolds

A) Political Crisis Leads to Revolt

B) The National Assembly Acts

C) The National Assembly Presses Onward

D) Radicals Take Over
D) Radicals Take Over
Rulers Fear Spread of Revolution



European rulers refer to
the French Revolution as
the “French Plague”
Border patrols (by
surrounding countries)
to maintain stability
Horror stories spread by
émigrés (nobles, clergy,
and other who fled
France)
D) Radicals Take Over
Rulers Fear Spread of Revolution



Émigrés report of attacks on their
privileges, their property, their
religion…even their lives!
Enlightened rulers turn against
France – Catherine the Great burns
Voltaire’s letters and locks up critics
“When ancient opinions and rules of life are
taken away…we have no compass to govern us”
D) Radicals Take Over
Threats Come from Abroad


When news of the king’s failed escape reaches other
countries, there is talk of intervention
August 1791, king of
Prussia and the
emperor of Austria
(who is also Marie
Antoinette’s brother)
issues Declaration
of Pilnitz
The declaration stated Austria would go to war if and only if all the other major European powers also went to war with
France. Leopold chose this wording so that he would not be forced to go to war; he knew William Pitt, prime minister of
Great Britain, did not support war with France. Leopold merely issued the declaration to satisfy the French emigres who
had taken refuge in his country and were calling for foreign interference in their homeland.
D) Radicals Take Over
Threats Come from Abroad

This “declaration” threatens to intervene to protect
the French monarchy, but was it a bluff?

Revolutionaries in
France now prepare
for war
No one was going to
stop their movement
and it was FULL

STEAM AHEAD!
D) Radicals Take Over
Radicals Fight for Power and Declare War
 October 1791, France’s Legislative
Assembly takes office
 Survives less than a year
 Assignats, the revolutionary currency,
drops in value, causing prices to rise
 Results in hoarding, food shortages
 Sans-culottes demand a republic…a
government ruled by elected
representatives instead of a monarch
The National Assembly Declares War on Tyranny