Chapter 19
A Revolution in Politics:
The Era of the French Revolution and
Napoleon
North America, 1763-1783
©2003 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.
The American Revolution
Reorganization, Resistance, and
Rebellion
Britain’s victory in the Seven
Years’ War
50% of adult male population
can vote
Indirect political representation
in England
―No taxation without
representation‖
Boston Tea Party
War for Independence
Thomas Paine, Common
Sense, 1776
Declaration of
Independence, 1776
Battle of Saratoga, 1777
• Commitment of European
aid
Battle of Yorktown, 1781
Peace of Paris, 1783
The American Revolution (cont)
Forming a New Nation
Articles of Confederation, 1781-1789
Constitution, 1789
• Bill of Rights, 1791
Impact of the American
Revolution on Europe
Concept of freedom
Concept of rights
French Revolution / Intro
―The French Revolution of 150 years ago gradually ushered in an age of
political equality.‖ – Nehru 1939
―You can’t make a revolution with silk gloves.‖ – Stalin
Old Regime was replaced by Modern Society
Later revolutions look back on it as a predecessor
France before the Revolution – most advanced country
of the day, center of the Enlightenment, before 1789
it had the potential to be the most powerful country in
Europe – after 1793 it was…
Population of France: 24,670,000…the most under one single government
(Russia was larger but not as populous)
Background to the French
Revolution
Pre-Revolutionary Period: Old Regime – traditional ways of living, working, and
governing….legally aristocratic and in some ways feudal…..many men and women
living during this period did not know it was the Old Regime…..most people never
traveled more than 10 miles from their home…..most people stayed in the class in
which they were born.
Sumptuary Laws
Everyone belonged to an estate…your legal rights and social prestige depended on
what estate you were in…politically these estates meant nothing.
Social Structure of the Old Regime
• First and Second Estates
 First Estate = clergy (130,000)
 Second Estate = nobility (350,000)
-superior position due to noble blood
-wealth of nobles – land
-wealth was handed down to eldest son
-nobility today??? Where???
-a noble without money was not important
-some nobles were poor
-3 classes of nobility – Nobles of the Sword,
Nobles of the Robe, Hobereaux
Background to the French
Revolution cont….
The Third Estate
• Commoners
 Peasants = 75-80% of the population
 Peasants own 35-40% of the land
 Gave his skill and labor
 Simple dress, rough manners, poor use of the language
 Main Goal: a stability that would ensure the food supply
• Skilled artisans, shopkeepers, and wage earners
Lower Middle Class, lived in rural villages, craftsmen
• Wealthy Bourgeoisie (middle class)
 Own 20-25% of the land
 Middle class without power
 Vigorous, aggressive, competent, educated
 Financiers, bankers, lawyers, wealthy merchants
 Travel / Mingle in society
Other Problems Facing the
French Monarchy
Bad harvests in 1787 and 1788 – pressures of a growing population
required agricultural changes.
Industrialism – production in home vs. factory…steam engine
World Trade
The Enlightenment
Developments in the U.S.
One-third of the population is poor
Privileges of the clergy and nobility
Financial crisis
Tax Crisis
Common conflict all over Europe: Old Regime vs. those promoting
change
Biggest Conflict: King vs. Nobles
Tax Crisis in France – government was bankrupt – WHY?
1) nobles refused to pay taxes
2) French support of American Revolution
3) Yearly expenses for French army and navy
++Revenues fell short of expenditures++
Note: France was not a poor country…the treasury was empty because
of tax exemptions and tax evasions.
Tax Crisis cont.
A bit of history on the problem…
Louis XVI gained the throne in 1774…the treasury was empty…
Louis appointed several finance ministers to analyze and find a
solution to the problem.
Common problem: lavish court expenditures, tax issue
Attitude of the nobles: we have had these tax breaks for years and will
not give them up…let the lower classes have the tax burden.
Note: New taxes could only be levied by the Estates-General…which
last met in 1614.
Louis XVI…weak-willed…not a strong leader…wanted to please
everyone…forced to call Estates-General into session.
The French Revolution
300 delegates each to the First and Second Estate
600 delegates to the Third Estate
Strong legal and urban presence
Cahiers de doléances
Estates General meets May 5, 1789
Question of voting by order or head
Abbé Sieyès ―What is the Third Estate?‖
Pamplet that was a response to the king
asking for proposals on how the EG should
be organized.
“What Is The Third Estate? Everything.
What Has It Been Until Now In The Political Order? Nothing.
What Does It Want To Be? Something.
National Assembly
Constituted, June 17 – after 6 weeks of
of the EG being deadlocked…
Tennis Court Oath, June 20 – real start of
the revol…Natl. Assem. assumes sovereign power…no real legal authority.
Popular Revolution
Point of note: the King failed to make use of a profound
loyalty to himself felt by the bourgeoisie & common
people who wanted the King to stand up for them…He,
in essence, sided with members of his own class…a
very small percentage of the population.
Intervention of the Common People – which was a response
to bad harvests, unemployment, falling wages…a general economic downturn…
Attack on the Bastille, July 14 – massive fortress…100 ft. tall…some walls were 30 ft. thick…
surrounded by a 75 foot moat…SYMBOL OF THE DESPOTISM OF THE OLD REGIME!
Crowd stormed the fortress because it was said that it contained a great store of arms and
ammunition…Governor of the Bastille was asked to withdraw – he refused…About 4 hrs. of
fighting…Governor was captured – on the way to take him to trial – he was knocked down and
beat to death – his head was cut off and put on a pike and paraded thru Paris…New French flag
– Tricolor – Colors of the City of Paris Red/Blue----House of Bourbon White
Peasant rebellions, July 19-August 3
Great Fear – peasants believed that the nobles were sending bandits
to attack them…driven by fear…they attacked their noble landlords…
spontaneous insurrection…
Destruction of the Old Regime
Night Session, August 4, 1789
Meeting of liberal aristocrats at Versailles…
+Nobles gave up rights over peasants
+Clergy agreed to abandon the tithe
+Agreed to equality of taxation
Old Regime is gone!
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
and of the Citizen - DORMAC
Statement of revolutionary ideals
+Mirrored the economic & political attitudes
of the middle class
+Great liberal document
+American flavor
+Reflected the ideas of the Philosophes
Content:
+Authority of government is derived from
the people
+All citizens are equal under the law
+Purpose of government should be the preservation of mans
natural rights…Librerty, Property, Security, Resistance to Oppression
(Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness)
+Freedom of thought and religion
Problem: How to put these ideals into practice…
©2003 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning™ is a trademark used herein under license.
The French
Conquests
during the
Revolutionary
Wars
The Constitution of 1791
Major undertaking for Natl. Assembly
Failed to put all ideals of DORMAC into practice
Plan for the government
-elected judiciary
-elected one-house legislature
-legislature would make laws, levy taxes, & spend public money
-King would execute the laws
-Limited Constitutional Monarchy
Fell short of a full democracy…
Created two classes of citizens…active and passive…
Moderates(Girondins) in the legislature were being ―squeezed‖ by the radical
Jacobins(Mountain)…
Jacobins had a network of political clubs and wanted to abolish the monarchy and
establish a republic…
1789-1802 Stages of the Revolution
1789-1792 Peace abroad…peace at home (some
local rioting)…Constitutional Monarchy…
1792-1794 War abroad…Civil war at
home…Radical republic…
1794-1802 Peace at home…War
abroad…republic controlled by the wealthy
bourgeoisie
After the Revolution
The Catholic Church
Civil Constitution of the Clergy, July, 1790
-Attempt by the Natl. Assembly to alter the character of the
Church
-Assignats – paper money issued to meet the expenses of govt.
-Constant govt. regulation of Church
-Fewer than ½ of the Clergy took the oath supporting the
document
-Major blunder of the Revolution
Opposition from abroad
Declaration of war on Austria, April 20, 1792
The Radical Revolution
Paris Commune
• Georges Danton (1759-1794)
Fall of the Constitutional Monarchy
Europe & the French Revolution
Why didn’t other countries involved themselves with the French
Revolution?...many rulers opposed the changes taking place in France.
Many leaders believed the French Revolution would not be a factor in
Europe
Many countries had movements sympathetic to the French
A Nation in Arms – Outbreak of War - 1792
Mobilization of the nation…advantages of going to war…increased
nationalism…boost to the economy
King thought that a war might restore his power
Girondins thought they could prove the King was a traitor by going to
war…
April 1792…France declares war on Austria…Prussia allies with Austria
War went badly for France…Morale low…
Aug. 10 1792…Radical Commune takes over the govt…King
taken prisoner….Problem…Const. of 1791 required a King…New
constitution needed to be written…no real government until a new
constitution was written.
The Reign of Terror & Its Aftermath –
Radical Republic 1792-1794
Jan. 1793 – Louis XVI tried by the Jacobins and sent to the guillotine
http://www.guillotine.dk/Pages/History.html
Execution of the King horrifies Europe
G.B. declares war on France – Feb. 1793…last straw for
William Pitt…
Committee of Public Safety and Reign of Terror
July 1793-July 1794
Robespierre was the head…exercised independent
authority…like a war cabinet…‖The 12 who ruled‖…
Committee of Public Security…supervised police
police activities…turned in suspected enemies of the
state to the revolutionary tribunals…
Terror itself was a move toward 20th century dictatorships and a return to the
centralization of government…
―Swift, Severe, & Inflexible Justice‖…rid France of Traitors…enemies of the state
Drastic cultural and social reforms…new calendar…metric system…churches closed…
Decline of the Committee of Public Safety
Execution of Maximilien Robespierre, July 28, 1794 (9th of Thermidor)…He
pressed the Terror to hard…Shouted down in Convention on July 27…Terror could
not last…Terror destroyed itself…
Reaction and the Directory – The
Conservative Republic 1794-1802
Thermidorian Reaction and the Directory
+Move toward moderation…dismantle the Terror…closed Paris Jacobin
clubs…censorship ended…political prisoners freed…press and theater
recovered their freedom…
Conservative turn of the Revolution
Acute inflation…price of food was 100 times the level of 1790…people were
desperate…demonstrations…
Constitution of 1795
Image of a republic…two legislative councils Council of the 500/Council
of Elders…Council of the 500 nominated & the Council of Elders chose 5
people to head ―The Directory‖…
Problem for Directory…steering a cautious middle course between two
extremes…reverting back to a monarchy or reverting to Jacobin terrorism
Directors were always clashing…each wanting a political edge…
Dec. 1799…some impatient directors brought about a Coup d’ Etat…
bringing in Napoleon…
Age of Napoleon
Rise of Napoleon
Born in Corsica, 1769…family of lesser
nobles…
Educated in a French military academy…
Commissioned a lieutenant, 1785 (Artillery officer)
Short, 5’6‖…slender…dark olive skin…
Considered short for a general…dressed simply…never wore
jewelry…very neat (sometimes took a bath for 2 hours..) temperate
in food & drink (diluted his wine)…10-15mins for lunch…many
ailments throughout his life – never slowed him down…Will
Durant ―He wore himself out as he did others; the engine was too
strong for the body‖…crowded a century of events into 20yrs.
because he compressed a week into a day…Goethe thought that his
mind was the greatest the world had ever produced…Memory was
selective…knew what to retain and what to forget…
Napoleon cont…..
Skilled in calculating the results of possible responses…predicting the
plans and moves of his foes…
Judgment of men was penetrating
Despite all his forethought…he made his share of mistakes…
Borrowed many of the practical methods of the Revolution and
employed them for his purposes…
1793…appointed Brigadier General for his role in the recovery of the
port of Toulon from the British.
1795-97…Italian campaign…crushed the Austrian and Sardinian
forces…made a name for himself…
Nov. 1797…returns to France and hailed as a hero…
Napoleon cont….
France wanted Napoleon to confront France’s last enemy…Britain…
Crossing the channel was not the best option…decided to capture
Egypt and damage British trade…and ultimately threaten the British
Empire…
Invasion of Egypt was a failure…
Admiral Horatio Nelson destroyed the French fleet on 8/1/1798…
No fleet…Big question…How will the French forces get home?
France was experiencing economic and diplomatic
troubles…Napoleon hears of this in Egypt…decides to leave his army
behind and return to France.
Directory was weak…11/10/1799…Coup d’ etat…Napoleon gains
power.
©2003 Wadsworth, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Thomson Learning ™ is a trademark used herein under
Napoleon’s Grand Empire
The Republic and the Empire
Republic of France proclaimed, 1799
First Consul
First Consul for life, 1802
Crowned Emperor Napoleon I, 1804
Behind a screen of universal manhood suffrage…
he retained the appearance of democracy…while
the legislature had very little power.
Napoleon was the first modern political figure to
employ the rhetoric of the revolution & nationalism
and back it with military force and use it as a
weapon for expansion.
Made peace with France’s enemies…gained
confidence of the people…
Generosity…flattery…bribery…
Highly centralized administration…departments managed
by prefects…use of secret police…
Reform of France
Domestic Policies of Emperor Napoleon
A New Code of Laws
• Code Napoleon (Civil Code)
• 5 Codes…1)Marital & Familial Relations 2)Civil Procedure 3)Civil
Code 4)Criminal Procedure 5)Penal Code
• Made uniform 2 conflicting legal codes…Roman & Feudal
• All were equal under the law w/o regard to wealth
• Favored rights of the state over rights of the individual
• Judges appointed by Emperor
• Cancelled revolutionary laws protecting wives, minors, & illegitimate
children
• Civil marriage and divorce were recognized as valid
• Press was still censored….theaters scrutinized
Reform…Religion
Concordat of 1801
+Treaty with the Vatican…Lasted until 1905
+Negotiated with Pope Pius VII
+Catholicism was recognized as the religion of MOST French
+Priests who signed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy were ousted
+Papacy accepted the loss of the tithe and loss of church lands
+Seminaries opened…public worship permitted
+Concordat did not bring complete peace with the papacy…but it di
mend some of the wounds…
Reform….Education…
Free education expanded
Public elementary schools in every village
High schools setup
Teacher training schools established
Technical schools established
Only about ½ of the French children
actually attended these schools…
University of France…watchdog of system
Reform…Economy
Economic program to promote
national unity
Balanced budget / stable currency
Tax system was improved…honest / efficient
Bank of France established / governments financial agent
Napoleon could not make everyone happy
+ more soldiers drafted
+ taxes on salt, liquor, tobacco
Napoleon’s Wars
Napoleon (the name) makes us think of great battles won…
Today—battles and international agreements seem unimportant…more
important…the national interests that caused the wars…
William Pitt – ―If Napoleon was not crushed, he would control the entire
European continent.‖
Defeat of Britain and Austria was needed to secure peace…
Austria – lesser problem
Britain – great navy
War with Britain developed into a series of 4 wars…
Battle of Trafalgar
21 October 1805
Naval battle off Cape Trafalgar, Spain
http://www.gearthhacks.com/downloads/map.php?file=4461
Lord Nelson lost his life…France lost its navy…
½ of the combined French and Spanish ships were sunk
Britain did not lose a single ship
Britain now had command of the seas and put an end to Napoleon’s
plans for attacking Britain…
1805 3rd Coalition
3rd Coalition…G.B. Austria Russia…Battle of the 3 Emperors…Napoleon,
Tsar Alexander I, Francis II
Prussia remained neutral
Major battle – Austerlitz - near Austerlitz about 10 km (6 miles) south-east of
Brno in Moravia (present day Czech Republic).
Major event in Tolstoy’s ―War & Peace‖
Within 3 months the French had occupied
Vienna, decimated 2 armies, and humbled
the Austrians.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Battle_of_Austerlitz%2
C_Situation_at_1800%2C_1_December_1805.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Battle_of_Austerlitz__Situation_at_1400%2C_2_December_1805.gif
Prussia 1806
Prussia took the field against Napoleon because it was resentful of
French domination…
Within a month, Napoleon defeated the Prussian armies at the battles
of Jena and Auerstadt…
Napoleon enters Berlin…
Russia 1807
Napoleon defeats the remaining Russia armies…
Czar Alexander I and Napoleon meet on a raft on the Neman River to sign the Treaty of
Tilsit.
Treaty divided the European continent between them…began an alliance between the
two empires…and they secretly agreed to aid each other in disputes…
Continental System
Anti-British Blockade Policy
Napoleon needed a new course of action to defeat Britain…since he
could not attack across the channel, he decided to attempt to destroy
their business and trade…
1806-07 Napoleon issues the Berlin & Milan Decrees forbidding his
allies and conquests from trading with the British.
Napoleon thought that this blockade would help French businesses and
all markets on the continent…
Blockade worked in some ways…it made it difficult for British
merchants to reach continental Europe…smuggling…British found
new markets in the non-European world…
France suffered….shortages of goods…
Napoleon’s Reorganization of
Europe
Germany – 250+ states…suppressed all the
smaller states giving their land to the larger
states…Confederation of the Rhine…16 states…
Italy – created the Kingdom of Italy
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4
/40/Strategic_Situation_of_Europe_1809.jpg
The Collapse of Napoleon’s Empire
1812-1815
1812 Napoleon’s empire is shaken by a military
defeat
Hold over his domain was weakening
Napoleon was now older…less flexible…did not
want to take the advice of his advisors…
People – restless
Russian Campaign 1812
600,000 men assembled
Most of the men were not French
but from other countries under
Napoleon’s domain
Big Problem – Supply System
Scorched-Earth Policy
Napoleon thought he could
strike a quick blow…a short
summer war…and return
victorious….
Napoleon’s men were forced to
follow the retreating Russians…winter was approaching…his army was down
to 100,000 men…so he began to retreat…
Russian Campaign…Cont…
Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow
War of Liberation 1813-14
Napoleon raced back to France to raise another army
??? How do you replace seasoned troops ???
Lack of unity among countries gave Napoleon preparation
time to meet them…
1813 – Britain, Russia, Prussia, Austria…joined in an
alliance to defeat Napoleon for the first time…
Leipzig – alliance
defeats Napoleon…Battle
of Nations…
Napoleon was exiled to
the little island of Elba…
100 Days
Napoleon escapes from
Elba…3/1/1815
Tries to regain power
Within weeks he had
organized a new army
6/18/1815 – Battle of Waterloo
(Belgium) Allies defeat Napoleon
British had to decide what to do
with Napoleon…clearly he was an
outlaw…deserving death…and if
merely imprisoned…he should be
grateful…
Imprisonment now had to be in a
place he could not escape…
St. Helena 1815-21
The British informed Napoleon
that he must make his home on
the island of St. Helena…1200
miles off the western coast of
Africa…
He was granted some favors…
5 willing friends to go with
him…servants…considerable
sum of money…
He had to stay within a 5 mile radius
of his home…
Napoleon dies there on May 5, 1821.
Costs of the
Revolution/Napoleon
Loss of Life – Quantitative/Qualitative
Loss of Castles, Churches, Monuments
Education & Scholarship
Political
Economic
Agriculture
Discussion Questions
What role did the Enlightenment play in the
American and French revolutions?
After becoming a constitutional monarch, how did
Louis XVI’s actions affect the French revolution?
Compare the urban and rural revolutions in
France.
How did nationalism affect the French
Revolution?
What changes in society were brought about by
the French Revolution?
Examine Napoleon’s rise to power. What lasting
changes did his reign have on Europe?
Web Links
American Revolution
French Revolution
Estates-General
Louis XVI
Reign of Terror
Robespierre
Napoleonic Code
Duke of Wellington