French Revolution Notes
1st
Estate
Est
ate
2nd
Estate
3rd Estate
Population in France
Old RegimeFirst Estate-The Church or the Clergy
1% of population ,owned 5-10% of land,
paid little taxes
Second Estate-The Nobles or the
Lords
2 % of the population owned 25 % of land,
paid little taxes
Third Estate-Bourgeoisie (or Middle Class),
Peasants, Workers and Serfs
97% of the population, owned 40 % land,
paid high taxes (half of their income)!
Estates General Meeting May 1789
France is in debt. Nobles demand a meeting of the Estates General. King Louis XVI calls an
assembly of the three estates to solve the problems of France. In the Estates General each
estate had one vote (vote by order)
Tennis Court Oath June 20,1789
At the Versailles tennis court the third estate declares a new legislature – the National
Assembly. They pledge to write a new constitution.
Storming of the Bastille July 14, 1789
Hundreds of hungry people in Paris stormed the Bastille, a medieval fort and prison, to search
for gunpowder signaling the start of the French Revolution. Peasants everywhere revolt.
March to Versailles October 1789
After months of bread shortages seven thousand women march 12 miles from Paris to
Versailles to demand bread. Marie Antoinette is rumored to have said “Let them eat cake!”
The King and Queen are forced to leave Versailles.
National Assembly 1789-1791
The new government called the National Assembly created the Declaration of the Rights of
Man that guaranteed rights and liberties and freedoms. They couldn’t solve financial problems
because they were involved in wars and had to many political divisions. A limited monarchy
was created with a constitution in 1791.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
This was the first step in writing a Constitution. It was modeled after the American
Declaration of Independence (written 13 years earlier) and the American Bill of Rights. Its
goals are reflected in the slogan of the French Revolution: “Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity”
Assembly Begins to Fall Apart
Assembly Weakened by …
- Financial Problems
- Foreign Wars
- Political Divisions
RADICAL
LIBERAL
MODERATE
End the
Monarchy&
Kill the King
(Jacobins)
Republic,
King as
advisor
King is a
King has limited
figurehead with powers
no power
(limited monarchy)
Rapid Change Change within Some Change
the System
THIRD ESTATE
CONSERVATIVE REACTIONARY
Restore the
monarchy
Opposed to Change Return to Old Ways
SECOND ESTATE
Reign of Terror
Maximilien Robespierre and other radicals, the Jacobins, execute Louis XVI and Marie
Antoinette. These radicals took control of the National Assembly and created a new
legislative body called the National Convention.
A committee of Public Safety was created to deal with the threats to France. Forty Thousand
French people in two years were executed by guillotine
The National Convention turned on their leaders and executed Robespierre in July 1794
The Reign of Terror ends when a group of moderates creates a new constitution and
created a five man Directory to run the country
Napoleon 1799-1814
Napoleon overthrows the Directory and rules France as dictator and emperor for 15 years…