Stages of a Revolution
Examples from French Revolution
Crane Brinton, The Anatomy of a
Revolution
• Every revolution begins with the problems of the Old
Regime
• 1st stage = increasing dissatisfaction with the Old
regime, spontaneous acts of protest and violence,
overthrow
• 2nd stage = honeymoon with moderate new
government
• 3rd stage = takeover of the extremists, loss of
individualism, the government becomes violent and
excessive
• 4th stage = reestablishment of some sort of
equilibrium, rights, etc., usually under a “strongman”
Example of a Metaphorical Representation: FEVER MODEL OF REVOLUTION
Crisis
Stage
Symptomatic
Stage
Convalescence
Incubation
Stage
Much like an illness, revolutions can also be studied
in stages
French Revolution
This stage in an illness is when the cause of the sickness first comes
into contact with the individual, infecting them, but not yet causing
any symptoms to present themselves.
What would this stage be like in a revolution?
Crisis
Stage
Symptomatic
Stage
Convalescence
Incubation
Stage
In a revolution, this stage would involve the political, social, intellectual,
or economic causes. In some cases, these causes could fester for
many years before showing themselves in the form of actual
revolutionary action.---CONDITIONS FOR A REVOLUTION
Conditions for a Revolution
---wealth and power are distributed
unequally
---severe economic problems
---a group of intellectuals criticizes the
government
---the government uses it power to
maintain the status quo and
repress dissents
---the classes of people are in conflict,
and the most ambitious are
blocked from gaining power
---different groups want different
changes
---people obtain weapons in a fairly
large amounts
---ideals are easy for people to believe
in and become the slogan/war cry
• Estates System
• France on brink of bankruptcy
• Enlightenment PhilosophesVoltaire and Diderot jailed;
banning and burning of books
• Abbie Sieyes and “What is the
Third Estate?”
• Bourgeoisie---Most Ambitious
• Nobles wanted to protect taxexempt status
• Storming of the Bastille
• Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
The French Revolution
Detail From Triumph of Marat, Boilly, 1794 (Musee des Beaux-Arts)
Conditions---Government under the
Old Regime:
The Divine Right of Kings
• Monarch ruled by divine right
– God put the world in motion
– God put some people in positions of power
– Power is given by God
– No one can question God
– No one can question someone put in power by
God
– Questioning the monarchy was blasphemy
because it meant questioning God
What the King Did
Appointed the
Intendants, the “petty
tyrants” who governed
France’s 30 districts
Appointed the people
who would collect his
taxes and carry out his
laws
Controlled justice by
appointing judges
Controlled the military
Could imprison anyone
at any time for any
reason (blank warrants
of arrest were called
lettres de cachet)
Levied all taxes and
decided how to spend
the money
Made all laws
Made decisions
regarding war and
peace
A Financial Crisis
• Conditions of a
Revolution---Economic
Problems
• Severe economic problems affected
much of the country
• France in debt, spending lavishly,
borrowing money, and facing
bankruptcy
• Hailstorm and drought ruined harvest;
harsh winter limited flour production
• People hungry and angry; clergy and
nobility no help
The Financial Crisis
• The government of France, however, was
bankrupt and was facing a serious
financial crisis.
• The crisis resulted from:
– An inefficient and unfair tax structure, which
placed the burden of taxation on those least
able to pay, the third estate
– Outdated medieval bureaucratic institutions
– A drained treasury which was the result of:
• Aiding the Americans during the American Revolution
• Long wars with England
• Overspending
Economic Conditions under the
Old Regime
• France’s economy was based primarily on
agriculture
• Peasant farmers of France bore the burden of
taxation
• Poor harvests meant that peasants had trouble
paying their regular taxes
– Certainly could not afford to have their taxes raised
• Bourgeoisie often managed to gather wealth
– But were upset that they paid taxes while nobles did
not
Conditions: France Is Bankrupt
• The king (Louis XVI) lavished money on himself
and residences like Versailles
• Queen Marie Antoinette was seen as a wasteful
spender
• Government found its funds depleted as a result
of wars
– Including the funding of the American Revolution
• Deficit spending – a government spending more
money than it takes in from tax revenues
• Privileged classes would not submit to being
taxed
The Three Estates
• Before the revolution the French people were
divided into three groups:
– The first estate: the clergy
– The second estate: the nobility
– The third estate: the common people
(bourgeoisie, urban workers, and peasants).
• Legally the first two estates enjoyed many
privileges, particularly exemption from most
taxation.
Conditions of a Revolution: The Three Estates
Varied widely in what they contributed in terms of work and taxes
First Estate
Second Estate
•Roman Catholic clergy
•Nobility
•One percent of the
population
•Less than 2 percent of
the population
•Exempt from taxes
•Paid few taxes
•Owned 10 percent of the
land
– Collected rents and
fees
– Bishops and other
clergy grew wealthy
•Owned 20% of the land
•Controlled much wealth
•Held key positions
– Government
– Military
•Lived on country estates
Third Estate
•Largest group—97% of
the population
•Bourgeoisie—citydwelling merchants,
factory owners, and
professionals
•Sans culottes—artisans
and workers
•Peasants—poor with
little hope, paid rents
and fees
•Paid all the taxes
•Had no say in the govt
Conditions for a Revolution
– Social Structure of the Old Regime
• First and Second Estates
– First Estate = clergy (130,000)
– Second Estate = nobility (350,000)
– The Third Estate
• Commoners
– Peasants = 75-80% of the population
– Peasants own 35-40% of the land
• Skilled artisans, shopkeepers, and wage earners
• Bourgeoisie (middle class)
– Own 20-25% of the land
– Similarities between wealthier bourgeoisie and nobility
The First Estate
• The first estate, the clergy, consisted
of rich and poor.
– There were very wealthy abbots,
members of the aristocracy who lived in
luxury off of wealthy church lands.
– There were poor parish priests, who
lived much like the peasants.
The Second Estate
• The second estate, the nobility,
inherited their titles and got their
wealth from the land.
– Some members of the nobility had little
money, but had all the privileges of
noble rank.
– However, most enjoyed both privileges
and wealth.
The Nobility
• With the
exception of a
few liberals,
the nobility
wanted greater
political
influence for
themselves but
nothing for the
third estate.
Where is the Money?
• In this cartoon from the time, Louis is looking at the chests and
asks “Where is the tax money?“
– The financial minister, Necker, looks on and says “The money was
there last time I looked."
– The nobles and clergy are sneaking out the door carrying sacks of
money, saying "We have it."
The Third Estate
• The third estate, the common people, was
by far the largest group in France.
• Everyone who was not a member of the
first or second estates was a member of
the third. It included:
– Wealthy merchants, whose wealth rivaled that
of the nobility
– Doctors and lawyers
– Shopkeepers
– The urban poor
– The peasants who worked the land.
Conditions: The Three Estates
Estate
First
Population
Privileges
Exemptions
•Collected the tithe
•Censorship of the press
•Control of education
•Kept records of births, deaths,
marriages, etc.
•Catholic faith held honored
position of being the state religion
(practiced by monarch and
nobility)
•Owned 20% of the land
•Paid no taxes
•Subject to Church
law rather than civil
law
•Moral obligation (rather than legal
obligation) to assist the poor and
needy
•Support the monarchy and Old
Regime
•Paid no taxes
•Support the monarchy and Old
Regime
•Nobles
•Collected taxes in the form of
feudal dues
•Monopolized military and state
appointments
•Owned 20% of the land
•Circa 25,000,000
•None
•None
•Paid all taxes
•Tithe (Church tax)
•Octrot (tax on goods brought into
cities)
•Corvée (forced road work)
•Capitation (poll tax)
•Vingtiéme (income tax)
•Gabelle (salt tax)
•Taille (land tax)
•Feudal dues for use of local manor’s
winepress, oven, etc.
•Circa 130,000
•High-ranking
clergy
Second
Third
•Circa 110,000
•Everyone else:
artisans,
bourgeoisie, city
workers,
merchants,
peasants, etc.,
along with many
parish priests
Burdens
What does this contemporary political cartoon say about conditions
in France under the Old Regime?
The Old Regime
• This cartoon from
the era of the
French Revolution
depicts the third
estate as a person
in chains, who
supports the clergy
and nobility on his
back.
The Third Estate
The Three Estates
Conditions of a
Revolution: The
Old Regime
The people in
French society
were not
treated equally.
The system of feudalism in
France was
known as The
Old Regime. Citizens were
divided into
three classes
or estates.
The Three
Estates
Conditions of a Revolution:
Causes and Attitudes
•
•
•
•
The Enlightenment
Anglophile feeling in France
The American Revolution
French system’s lack of
change
–
–
–
–
Louis XVI clung to Absolutism
King’s response to the poor
Class resentment
Economic problems
The
Enlightenment
movement
spread ideas
everyone
should be
equal.
The people of
the 3rd estate
liked that idea.
Conditions of
a Revolution:
Why revolt?
The French
economy was
failing.
Taxes were
high, profits
were low and
food supplies
were short.
King Louis the XVI was
weak and unconcerned
about the plight of the
third estate.
Louis XVI
• Louis XVI was an awkward,
clumsy man who had a good
heart but was unable to relate
to people on a personal level.
– He often appeared unfeeling and gruff.
– He was insecure and seems to have disliked
being King of France.

When one of his ministers resigned, he was
heard to remark, "Why can't I resign too?"
Marie Antoinette
• Marie Antoinette, in her
early years as Queen,
was flighty and
irresponsible.
– She spent huge amounts
on clothes, buying a new
dress nearly every other
day.
– Being Austrian, she was
terribly unpopular in
France and had few
friends.
The French Royalty
• The royal family
lived in luxury at the
Palace of Versailles.
Hall of Mirrors
The Palace of Versailles
• The King and Queen of France lived
in luxury and splendor at the
magnificent Palace of Versailles
outside of Paris.
Conditions of a Revolution: Louis XVI attempted to tax the nobles.
The nobles forced the king to call a meeting of the Estates-General an
assembly of delegates from each of the three estates.
Calling the Estates General
• The King attempted to solve the financial
crisis by removing some of the nobles' tax
exemptions.
– However, the nobility saw themselves as
special, with better blood, and entitled to all of
their class privileges.
– The Parlement, a judicial organization
controlled by the nobility, invoked its powers to
block the King's move.
• He was forced reluctantly to call a meeting
of the Estates General in 1788.
The Estates General
• When the Estates General met, each
estate solemnly marched into the
hall at Versailles.
• The third estate dressed all in
black, the nobility dressed in all their
finery, and the clergy dressed in full
regalia.
To Vote by Head or by Order
• The delegates of the third estate insisted
that the three orders meet together and
that the vote be taken by head, rather
than by order.
• Since there were far more delegates from
the third estate, this plan would give them
a majority.
• The King refused to grant their request.
• The third estate refused to budge.
This stage in an illness is when sickness starts to affect the person
in observable ways. Temperature may rise. A cough might present
itself. The individual might become weak and queasy.
What would this stage be like in a revolution?
Crisis
Stage
Symptomatic
Stage
Convalescence
Incubation
Stage
In a revolution, this stage would be the first to involve direct
action resulting from the social, political, intellectual, or economic
causes of the incubation stage. This stage might involve the publication
of works calling for a change, street level riots by the common people,
or more direct attempts at changing the society.
Second Stage: Critics of Old Regime
• The first indication of
• Enlightenment
rising discontent is the
Philosophes like
activity of writers who
Voltaire, Montesquieu,
denounce existing
Diderot, and Rousseau
conditions and satirize
• Abbie Sieyes and “What
common practices. The
is the Third Estate”
writers provide new
• Political Pamphlets in
goals and ideas.
the Coffeehouses of
Paris
Second Stage---Philosophy of the
French Revolution: The Enlightenment
(Age of Reason)
• Scientists during the Renaissance had discovered laws
that govern the natural world
• Intellectuals – philosophes – began to ask if natural
laws might also apply to human beings
– Particularly to human institutions such as governments
– Philosophes were secular in thinking – they used reason
and logic, rather than faith, religion, and superstition, to
answer important questions
– Used reason and logic to determine how governments are
formed
• Tried to figure out what logical, rational principles work to tie
people to their governments
– Questioned the divine right of kings
Critics-Second Stage
Enlightenment Ideas
• Inspiring new ideas from Enlightenment philosophers
• Great Britain’s government limiting
the king’s power
• American colonists rebelled
successfully against British king
• New ideas changed government and
society in other countries
AAbbe SieyesAbAabbe Sieyes
What Is the Third Estate?
• "What is the Third Estate?" asked Abbe
Sieyes. "Everything!“
• This liberal clergyman rallied the
commoners of France to assert their
power and take charge of the Estates
General.
– At his suggestion, they declared themselves
the National Assembly and invited the other
two orders to join them.
– The next day they found their meeting hall
locked.
– At the suggestion of one of the delegates they
moved to a nearby indoor tennis court.
Debating the Course of Action
• There they debated their course of
action.
– Some wanted to return to Paris to the
protection of the people.
– Mounier, not ready to take such a
revolutionary step, suggested instead
that they swear an oath of allegiance
not to disband until a constitution had
been created for France
Third Stage
• Public dissatisfaction
culminates in riots,
assassinations, and
other acts of violence.
•
•
•
•
Bread Riots in Paris
Storming of the Bastille
Great Fear
Women’s Bread March
Third Stage---Riots and
Revolts
• Events at
Bastille
– July 14, 1789
– Municipal
government
trying to get
arms
• Revolts in the
countryside
Conditions in Paris
• Conditions were poor in Paris for the common
people.
– The price of bread was high and supplies were
short due to harvest failures.
– Rumors spread that the King and Queen were
responsible for the shortages
• Then French troops marched to the capital.
– Rumors spread quickly among the already restless
mobs that the King was intending to use them
against the people.
– The dismissal of the Finance Minister Necker, who
was popular with the third estate, ignited the
spark.
Mobs Search for Weapons
• Mobs roamed in search of weapons.
– Although some muskets were found
when they broke into a public hospital
for wounded soldiers, there was no
ammunition.
– The ammunition was stored in the
Bastille.
Third Stage---Uprising in Paris
People of Paris seized
weapons from the Bastille
• July 14, 1789
• Parisians organized their
own government which
they called the Commune
• Small groups – factions –
competed to control the
city of Paris
Uprising spread throughout
France
• Nobles were attacked
• Records of feudal dues and
owed taxes were destroyed
• Many nobles fled the
country – became known as
émigrés
• Louis XVI was forced to fly
the new tricolor flag of
France
The Bastille as a medieval fortress
July 14, 1789 – This event
symbolized the French
Revolution
The Bastille was a prison
for debtors and a symbol of
the oppression of the Third
Estate.
Spurred by rumors– a
Paris mob surrounded the
Bastille.
Governor of prison and
mayor of Paris were killed
and their heads were
mounted on pikes and
paraded through the city.
The storming of Bastille stared by a rumor about Louis XVI
planning a massacre on the France citizens.
They had rifles but no gunpowder, they need to get
prepared.
On July 14, 1789 a mob was started at a royal fortress
(prison) in Paris, called Bastille, they went there to get
ammunition.
They has succeeded and the governor had surrender, but
the mob killed the governor any way.
The France people had the Bastille under their control.
The cry of “We want
the Bastille!” went up
among the crowd.
This great fall of the Bastille was a symbolic
act of revolution that the power of the king
could be challenged.
The people of Paris worked together in this
event and won.
They spoke out true words and
demonstrated that they too had a voice in
the government.
That is why this event was a rise in
democracy.
King Louis XVI asked an
aide, “Is this a revolt?” The
answer came swiftly: “No,
sire. It is a revolution.”
•
•
•
On July 14, 1789, the Storming Of The Bastille took place. It happened when
members of the 3rd estate into the Bastille, which is a French prison, looking for
gunpowder.
The Bastille fell into the hands of the citizens. The fall of the Bastille became a
symbolic act of revolution towards the French.
This was a step towards democracy, because an important building went from the
control of the king to the control of the citizens.
Lets
go
Yah!!
July
14,
1789
The Storming of the Bastille
• On July 14, 1789, the mob, joined by
some of the King's soldiers, stormed
the Bastille.
• The commander of the Bastille, de
Launay, attempted to surrender, but
the mob would not accept it.
– He was killed as they poured through
the gates.
– No guard was left alive.
Liberated Prisoners
• Later in the day the prisoners were
released.
• There were only seven:
– Two were convicted forgers.
– One was a loose-living aristocrat put in
prison by his own father.
• Nevertheless it was a great symbolic
event, one which is still celebrated in
France every year.
Liberated prisoners parading later in the day
•The increased mob activity in Paris resulted
in the formation of a permanent committee to
keep order.
•This organized popular force broke into a
royal armory and collected arms and then
stormed the Bastille, incited by a rousing
speech delivered by Camille Desmoulins on
July 12, 1789.
•He was known as "The Lantern Lawyer" for
is advocacy of hanging aristocrats on the
light posts.
•Although the Bastille only had
seven prisoners in it when it
was liberated by the Parisian
mob, the fall of the prison
became a symbol of triumph
over despotism.
• It also signified the end of the
authority of Louis XVI, because
he was no longer able to control
the political tides of France.
The Great Fear
• By the end of July and beginning of
August there were riots in the
countryside.
• Peasants burned their nobles'
chateaux and destroyed documents
which contained their feudal
obligations. It was called "The Great
Fear."
•Between June and the beginning of August there were riots in the
countryside. Peasants burned their nobles' chateaux, monasteries and
buildings which housed public records.
•They particularly targeted documents which contained records of their
feudal obligations.
•It was called "The Great Fear" and spread quickly throughout France.
The
Great
Fear
Women’s March to Versailles
• On October 4, 1789, a crowd of women,
demanding bread for their families, marched
toward Versailles.
• When they arrived, soaking wet from the rain,
they demanded to see "the Baker," "the
Baker's wife," and "the Baker's boy".
• The King met with some of the women and
agreed to distribute all the bread in Versailles
to the crowd.
Imagine yourself living your life in France, watching your home
land becoming a wreck and scared if the kings men might
terrorize you.
You sit there worried about any sudden massacre and the price of
bread goes up and your children start to starve because you
can’t afford it.
You are not just going to sit there your going to do something
about it.
Well, this same event occur on October 1789 were infuriated
women from Paris march 12 miles to Versailles were the king
and queen were at.
Most of the woman were terribly angry with the kind of
government and the way they treated them.
No one care. “let them eat cake” replied the queen. The French
citizens blamed it all on the monarchy. The mob killed two
guard at the palace and forced the king and queen out of
their home, never to see it again.
This event relates to the rise in democracy because before this
massacre France used to be an absolute monarchy.
Now France was out of control, the king wasn’t in charge, the
people were. If they wanted this or they disagreed with that,
they fought for their rights. Know the king didn’t control
France, the people were in control of the state.
Kill the no good king that
doesn't even spare a piece of
bread for this country!
No more
starving, off
with his head!
•
•
•
•
•
•
In October of 1789, 6,000 Parisian women marched towards the Palace of Versailles.
The women were furious at the King and Queen over the rising bread prices.
They rioted and said they wanted Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to go to Paris.
Louis finally agreed to go to Paris, and he promised he would get bread for the
women.
He and his family would never see Versailles again.
This was a step towards democracy, because women, who supposedly had hardly any
power, got the King and Queen to leave their palace and go to Paris.
Go to Paris
Louis and
Marie!
We want bread!
We want bread!
We want bread!
October 5, 1789
Women from
neighborhoods
around the Bastille,
gathered
10,000 people
(mostly women)
walked to Versailles
Goal: to convince
King to provide them
with bread
Louis greeted the
women and
promised them
bread
•October, 1789: A crowd of Parisian women marched to Versailles to demand
King Louis XVI give out free bread during a bread shortage.
• After camping out at Versailles overnight, the mob decided to take Louis XVI
back to Paris.
• They insisted that the royal family return to Paris where, in fact, they would
find themselves under virtual house arrest.
The King’s Return to Paris
• Under pressure from
the National Guard, the
King also agreed to
return to Paris
with his wife
and children.
• It was the last
time the King
saw Versailles.
Fourth Stage
• The ruling group is
intimidated into making
repeated concessions
until the power is
transferred.
• Meeting of the EstatesGeneral
• Tennis Court Oath
• Formation of the National
Assembly
• Formation of
Constitutional Monarchy
• Declaration of the Rights
of Man and Citizen
Fourth Stage: From Estates-General
to a National Assembly
• 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?”
• National Assembly
– Constituted, June 17
– Tennis Court Oath, June 20
• Intervention of the Common People
– Attack on the Bastille, July 14
– Peasant rebellions, July 19-August 3
– Great Fear
Louis XVL: “We have
come to disguise the
economy of France.We
basically have no money,
sorry.
On May 15, 1789 the first Estates General in 175 years
was called by Louis XVI of France. The enlightenment ideas, final
crisis,and bad leadership by Louis XVL cause France to face
bankruptcy. When France was bankrupted Louis tired to tax the
aristocrats, the second estate, but instead they forced him to call the
Estate Generals.
The Estates –General was was an assembly of representatives
formed by all 3 of the social class in France. It was held at the place of
king Louis the XVI, Versailles. The estates had to follow the medieval
rules but these rules were unfair to the third estate because it only
allowed one vote for each estate. Most of the population was in the third
estate. They kept on insisting for a change. They were the people ,
“What is the third Estate? Everything.” Abbe Sieyes spoke out. He
suggested that they should have a Nation Assembly that was made up
of the delegates from the third Estates. They voted to establish the
National Assembly on June 1789. France was a representative
government.
The Estates General meeting has
contributed to the rise in democracy. In a
democracy every one is treated equal and they can
speak out for their thoughts or ideas. The Third
Estate didn’t just sit around and let the other two
estates control their lives. They stool up and
declared their rights. Soon they change the rules
of the Estate General and they could voted by
order.
The meeting of
the EstatesGeneral began
with arguments
on how to count
votes.
In the past one
vote was cast for
each estate.
Fourth Stage--Making
Concessions:
Representative
Government for
France
The Third Estate
now wanted
each delegate to
have a vote.
They broke with
the others and
voted to rename
themselves The
National
Assembly.
The members of
the National
Assembly claimed
to represent all of
the people. The
king disagreed.
The 3rd Estate
delegates were
locked out of
their meeting.
• The meeting of the Estates General was called for the first time in 175 years.
• It was called by Louis XVI because of France’s financial crisis. In the Estates
General they vote by order which means each of three estates would get one
vote and they would vote in order of estates first estate 1st, second estate 2nd,
and third estate 3rd..
• The Third Estate was angry because they realized that they should get more
then one vote since they made up 98% of the population.
• So they threatened to leave and they did. This was not a step towards
democracy because one group was being ripped off and the first two estates
still could do anything they wanted.
•
As you know the
reason I called all of
you here is because
France is in financial
trouble.
No thanks to
you and
your family
Making Concessions: (17891793)
• King desired new tax
to stabilize economy
• Estates General (3
estates)
– Not met for 150 years
– Needed to meet
– Certified by Parlement
(high court)
– Election in early 1789
• Finally met in Spring
1789
– 3rd Estate walked out
Mounier’s Suggestion
• “Let us swear to
God and our country
that we will not
disperse until we
have established a
sound and just
constitution, as
instructed by those
who nominated us.”
-M. Mounier
The Tennis Court Oath
• The delegates agreed and all but one of
the 578 delegates signed it.
– Their oath is known as the Tennis Court Oath.
– It said: "The National Assembly, considering
that it has been summoned to establish the
constitution of the kingdom... decrees that all
members of this assembly shall immediately
take a solemn oath not to separate... until the
constitution of the kingdom is established on
firm foundations..." June 20, 1789
Tennis Court Oath
The Third Estate declared itself to be the National Assembly.
Louis XVI responded by locking the Third Estate out of the meeting.
The Third Estate relocated to a nearby tennis court where its members vowed to stay
together and create a written constitution for France.
On June 23, 1789, Louis XVI relented. He ordered the three estates to meet together
as the National Assembly and vote, by population, on a constitution for France.
Mounier warned
them not to give up on writing a
constitution. Mounier also
proposed that the Third Estate
should adopt an oath of
allegiance.
The Tennis Court Oath started with the National Assembly wanting a change in the government of France’s
absolute monarchy.
They were willing to meet at Versailles in the Menus Plaisirs, but the room was closed. They were
determined, they broke down a door, which was an indoor tennis court.
There they pledged not to leave until they had finish constructing a new constitution. That was called the
Tennis Court Oath.
The constitution they created was finished on September 1791. It limited the kings power and gave most
of the power to the legislative Assembly.
This was a step into the rise in democracy because they made a constitution, that wanted to keep a true
order on the monarchy. The 550 people and representatives that took the oath got an equal say.
When Louis signed the constitution he still had the executive power to enforce the laws.
This agreement is like the kind of democracy in the US. The legislative, judicial, and executive branches
can announce the law but the president gets to decides if it becomes a real law or not.
The Tennis Court Oath
This is where they took the Tennis Court Oath-not
to leave until a constitution was created. This
started the beginning of the political French
Revolution. Notice the fluttering curtains
representing the winds of change.
•
•
•
•
In June 1789 the 3rd estate threatened to separate from the Estates General, if they
didn’t get more power.
When nothing was done the 3rd estate left the Estates General and went to some
tennis courts. There they formed the National Assembly and they pledged to not
leave the tennis courts until an agreement was made.
It wasn’t until 1791 two years after they pledged that a constitution was signed. It
was called the Constitution of 1791.
This event represented a step towards democracy because a group of people
realized that they were getting ripped off, and they did something about it.
We all
should
pledge to
stay
Yes I Pledge
I will stay
hear until
we have our
way
The Tennis Court Oath by Jacques Louis David
King Asks Third Estate to Disperse
• Hearing of the oath, the King called a
meeting of all three orders.
– At the end of the meeting he ordered the third
estate to disperse.
– They refused.
• One of the delegates declared that "We
are here at the will of the people, . . . and
. . . shall not stir from our seats unless
forced to do so by bayonets."
Third Estate Triumphs
• The King was unwilling to use force
and eventually ordered the first and
second estates to join the new
National Assembly.
• The third estate had won.
Fifth Stage
• The reformers carry out
their ideas.
• Declaration of
the Rights of
Man and Citizen
• August 4
Decrees
• Civil Constitution
of the Clergy
Just before midnight, Louis
announced his acceptance of
the Proposal made on August
4 by the nobles and clergy to
the National Assembly
End tax exemptions of
the privileged classes
End payment of feudal
dues by the peasants
End the tithe
End all class distinctions
King and his family would be
confined to Paris from this
point on.
Fifth Stage---Reforms Carried Out: Creating a New
Nation
Legislating New Rights
Restrictions on Power
• Feudal dues eliminated
• Louis tried to protect his throne
• Declaration laid out “liberty, equality,
fraternity”
• Angered the common people
• Inspired by the English Bill of Rights,
American Declaration of
Independence, and the writings of
Enlightenment philosophers
• Men are born equal and remain equal
under the law
• The rights did not extend to women
• Prices still high; mob broke into the
palace demanding bread
• Royal family seized; National Assembly
took bolder steps
• Passed laws against the church, clergy,
and public employees
• Some outraged by actions
Fifth Stage---Reforms: The Decree Abolishing the
Feudal System
•The abolition of the feudal system, which took place
during the famous night session of August 4-5, 1789, was
caused by the reading of a report on the misery and
disorder which prevailed in the provinces.
•The report declares that " Letters from all the provinces
indicate that property of all kinds is a prey to the most
criminal violence; on all sides chateaux are being burned,
convents destroyed, and farms abandoned to pillage.
•The taxes, the feudal dues, all are extinct; the laws are
without force, and the magistrates without authority.“
• With the hope of pacifying and encouraging the people,
the Assembly, in a fervor of enthusiasm and excitement,
straightway abolished many of the ancient abuses.
Fifth Stage---Changes under the
National Assembly
Abolishment of
guilds and labor
unions
Abolition of special
privileges
Constitution of
1791
Declaration of the
Rights of Man
Equality before the
law (for men)
Many nobles left
France and became
known as émigrés
Reforms in local
government
Taxes levied based
on the ability to
pay
The Night of August 4
• The National Assembly responded to the
Great Fear.
• On the Night of August 4, 1789, one by
one members of the nobility and clergy
rose to give up:
–
–
–
–
–
Feudal dues
Serfdom
The tithe
Hunting and fishing rights
Personal privileges.
• In one night feudalism was destroyed in
France.
The Decree Abolishing the
Feudal System
Medallion commemorating the Night of August 4,
the end of feudalism in France
•On August 26, the Declaration was
formally adopted by the National
Assembly. It outlined man’s natural
rights. The purpose of such a
Declaration was to rally the country
and to add support to the National
Assembly.
•Barely 300 words in length, it could
be printed cheaply on one side of a
single sheet of paper. The Declaration
appeared all over France and was
subsequently translated into every
major European language. As a
symbol, it became the gospel of the
new French social order.
This text, which formed the basis of
the United Nations Declaration of
1948, has a universal value
extending beyond cultural,
religious, political, ethnic, economic
and social differences, and it
thereby establishes the inalienable
rights and duties of every human
being.
Reforms: Declaration of the
Rights of Man
August 1789 This
revolutionary statement
guaranteed the rights such
as liberty and property.
The National Assembly
• The new National Assembly created the
historic and influential document The
Declaration of the Rights of Man, which
stated the principle that all men had equal
rights under the law.
• This document has remained the basis for
all subsequent declarations of human
rights. (Compare The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights).
Declaration of the
Rights of Man
• "Men are born free and
equal in their rights....These
rights are liberty, property,
security and resistance to
oppression.
• The fundamental source of
all sovereignty resides in the
nation.
• The law is the expression of
the general will. All citizens
have the right to take part
personally, or through
representatives, in the
making of the law."
The Declaration of the Rights
of Man and the Citizen
Declaration
of the Rights
of Man and
the Citizen,
Aug. 26,
1789
Declaration of the Rights of Man
Freedom of
religion
Freedom of
speech
Freedom of
the press
Guaranteed
property
rights
“Liberty,
equality,
fraternity!”
Right of the
people to
create laws
Right to a fair
trial
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy
• The National Assembly resolved the
immediate financial crisis by:
– Seizing church lands
– Putting the church under the control of
the State with The Civil Constitution of
the Clergy.
• Abbe Sieyes fiercely resisted the passage of
this legislation and accused the other
delegates of "bourgeois envy."
• But he was overruled.
Confiscation of Clerical Wealth
The Oath of Allegiance
• Clergymen were required to swear
an oath to the new constitution.
– Many refused to swear the oath and
were placed under arrest.
– The measure was very controversial to a
nation of Catholics and drew support
away from the new government.
Reforms--Burning the Pope
in Effigy after the
Civil Constitution
of the Clergy
Revolution Spreads to Common People
• The Revolution, instigated by the
nobility, and set in motion by the
bourgeoisie, now spread to the
common people.
This is the critical stage in an illness where two things can happen.
The individual either breaks the fever after a heightened stage
of illness or the individual gets progressively worse and does not
recover.
What would this stage
be like in a revolution?
Crisis Stage
Symptomatic
Stage
Convalescence
Incubation
Stage
In a revolution, this stage would be the make or break part of the
struggle. It may involve conflict where sides for and against
the revolution compete. This competition could take the form of
debate or full-scale war. Successful revolutions survive this stage.
Those that do not are usually considered failed rebellions.
Sixth Stage
• Legislative Assembly is
splintered into political parties
• The new reforms divide the
• Divisions among the
nation into rival groups.
revolutionaries
• Becomes Middle Class versus
Peasants/Sans Culottes
• Conservative, Liberals, and
Radicals
• People are forced to choose
between faith and the
revolution
• France is fighting against
European powers who want to
stop the revolution
Two Radical Groups
• During the constitutional monarchy there
were two radical groups vying for power, the
Girondins and the Jacobins.
• Although both groups were more radical in
their views than the moderates who had
designed the constitutional monarchy, the
Girondins were somewhat less radical.
• In late 1791, the Girondins first emerged as an
important power in France.
United in their Views
• At first the two parties were united in their
views.
– The Girondins were concerned about the plight of
the blacks in France's colonies and were
instrumental in passing legislation granting equal
rights to all free blacks and mulattoes.
– They wanted the declaration of war against Austria
in early 1792 in the hopes that a show of strength
would give them leverage with the King.
Jean-Paul Marat
• When Jean-Paul Marat, a Jacobin journalist who
showed little regard for the truth, was arrested for
attacking Girondins, the people of Paris turned even
more toward the Jacobins.
• The people loved Marat and he seemed to love them
too.
• When he was acquitted of the charge, the crowds
swarmed around him, scooped him up on their
shoulders and carried him to the Convention,
cheering all the way.
•A Divided Nation: The Legislative
Assembly replaced the National
Assembly in the fall of 1791.
• The members divided into
groups.
• The Royalist fugitives who were
aristocrats or members of the
clergy who fled France during the
revolution of 1789 were called
émigrés.
•Another group, Sans-Culottes (French
for without knee-breeches) were
Parisian wage-earners.
• Later, it to referred to the ill-clad and
ill-equipped volunteers of the
Revolutionary army. Generally to the
extremists of the Revolution.
•Their support came from domestic
crises, such as shortages of bread, or
political injustice.
The Flight to Varennes
• Although the King reluctantly accepted the new
constitution, he could not accept all the reforms
(e.g., the Civil Constitution of the Clergy) and decided
to leave the country.
• On June 20, 1791, the King and his family set out for
the border in a carriage.
– The King was disguised as a steward and his son was
wearing a dress.
– At the border village of Varennes, he was recognized and
eventually apprehended.
The apprehension of Louis XVI at Varennes
The Paris Mob
• The news of the King's flight destroyed the last
of the King's popularity with the people of
Paris.
• The popular press portrayed the royal family
as pigs and public opinion plummeted.
• Increasingly there were demands for an end to
the monarchy and the creation of a new kind
of government, a republic.
The Parisian Mob
The San-Culottes
• At the beginning of the revolution, the working men
of Paris allowed the revolutionary bourgeoisie to lead
them.
• But by 1790 the sans-culottes were beginning to be
politically active in their own right.
– They were called sans-culottes (literally, without trousers)
because the working men wore loose trousers instead of
the tight knee breeches of the nobility.
– Eventually sans culottes came to refer to any revolutionary
citizen.
The sans culottes
The bourgeoisie
Simple Solutions
• Though the activity of the sans-culottes had
been growing, after the King's flight to
Varennes, they were spurred to greater
political activity.
• They were uninterested in the complexities of
politics, and looked for simple solutions.
Attack on the Tuileries
• The royal family was living under house arrest
in the Tuileries Palace.
• An angry mob got into the building on June
20, 1792, and found their way to the King.
– The crowd shouted insults and was in an ugly
mood.
– The King remained calm and obediently put on
the red cap of liberty (a symbol of revolution) at
the mob's insistence.
Mob placing the red cap of liberty on the King's head at the Tuileries
Pressure from the Paris Mob
• When the mob thrust a bottle of wine at the King, he
drank a toast to the health of the nation but refused
to change his position on the clergy.
– Under the new constitutional monarchy, he had exercised
his veto of a proposal to punish priests who refused to
support the changes to the church.
– A religious man, the King felt it would violate his
conscience to agree to the mob's demands.
• The incident ended without bloodshed but by August
the mob was back.
August 10, 1792, attack on the Tuileries
The End of Constitutional Monarchy
• On August 10, 1792, the mob attacked the
Tuileries again.
– This time the royal family barely escaped with their
lives.
– The king's guards were killed and the King and his
family fled to the protection of the Assembly.
• The constitutional monarchy was over.
Spreading the Gospel of Revolution
• The French Revolution took on the character
of a religious crusade.
• It was not enough to have a revolution at
home. The gospel of revolution must be
spread to the rest of Europe.
• France declared war on Prussia and Austria
and proclaimed that it advanced the cause of
liberty.
Sixth Stage---A Divided Nation: Formation of a New
Government
In 1791, the Legislative Assembly is formed. Citizens gained broad voting rights, but
rights were not universal. Constitution restricted power of king and ended distinctions
of birth. King and queen feared they would be harmed.
Foreign Powers
End of Monarchy
• Austria and Prussia warned against
harming monarchs
• August 10, 1792 royal family
imprisoned by mob
• Austrian army defeats French
• Radical faction took charge with
National Convention
• Financial strain of war, food shortages,
and high prices
• King blamed; action demanded
• Monarchy abolished; France declared
a republic
French revolutionary troops won the Battle of Valmy. New French republic held
ground against Europe’s Old Order.
Sixth Stage---A Divided Nation:
Radical Revolution
•
•
•
•
Disillusionment of the lower class (inflation)
Girondists (moderates) had no strong leader
France drawn into war with Europe
Failure in wars (1st coalition, 1792-1797)
– Moderates removed as leaders of National
Assembly
– Counter-revolutions
– King and queen arrested
• Jacobins (radicals) take
control
The French Flag
• The Marquis de Lafayette,
commander of the new
National Guard,
combined the colors of the
King (white) and the colors
of Paris (blue and red) for
his guardsmen's uniforms
and from this came the
Tricolor, the new French
flag.
The Marseillaise
Arise you children of our motherland,
Oh now is here our glorious day !
Over us the bloodstained banner
Of tyranny holds sway !
Of tyranny holds sway ! Oh, do you hear there in our fields
The roar of those fierce fighting men ?
Who came right here into our midst
To slaughter sons, wives and kin.
CHORUS
To arms, oh citizens !
Form up in serried ranks !
March on, march on !
And drench our fields
With their tainted blood!
The September Massacres
• The country was embroiled in a foreign war.
• The new government had declared war against the
powerful Austria and in the beginning it did not go
well for France.
• Complicating matters was the fact that counterrevolutionary Frenchmen were working with Austria
in the hopes of turning back the revolution.
• In France people saw counter-revolutionaries under
every rock.
Georges-Jacques Danton
• Georges-Jacques Danton, a revolutionary leader and
a powerful orator, rose in the Assembly on
September 2nd 1792 and boomed out these
memorable words in his deep bass voice: "When the
tocsin sounds, it will not be a signal of alarm, but the
signal to charge against the enemies of our country. .
. To defeat them, gentlemen, we need boldness, and
again boldness, and always boldness; and France will
then be saved."
Georges-Jacques Danton: "Boldness and
again boldness, and always boldness"
Let the blood of the traitors flow
• Danton probably meant boldness in fighting
the war against Austria. But many took his
words to refer to enemies within France.
• The radical press took up the cry, "Let the
blood of the traitors flow," and within hours of
Danton's speech the streets of France did
indeed run with blood.
• By September 7, over 1000 were dead.
Seventh Stage
• Radicals seize power and
attempt to impose their
views on the nation.
• Jacobin Political Party
seizes power.
• Leaders are Robespierre,
Marat, and Danton.
• Form National
Convention and
Committee of Public
Safety-Reign of Terror
• Use of Guillotine
• Execute the King and
Queen
• Remove Christianity
The Rise of the Jacobins
• When the constitutional monarchy fell and the King
was put on trial for treason in December, the
Girondins argued against his execution.
• The Jacobins thought he needed to die to ensure the
safety of the revolution.
• When the Jacobins were successful the tide turned
against the Girondins.
• The Jacobins in the National Convention had 22
Girondin leaders arrested and executed. The Jacobins
had won.
The Death of Marat
• A final Girondin blow was struck, however,
when Charlotte Corday, a Girondin
sympathizer, gained entrance to Marat's bath
and stabbed him.
• Marat immediately became a martyr to the
revolution. He was given a hero's funeral and
the procession lasted 7 hours.
The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David
Seventh Stage: The Radical Revolution
• National Convention, September 1792
– Universal male suffrage
– Abolition of the monarchy, September 21
• Domestic Crisis
– Factions
• Girondins
• The Mountain
– Execution of Louis XVI, January 21, 1793
– Counterrevolution
• Foreign Crisis
– Military losses
• A Nation in Arms
– Mobilization of the nation
Citizens Enlisting in the New French Army
Women Patriots
Map 19.2:
The French
Conquests
during the
Revolutionary
Wars
Seventh Stage: The Reign of Terror &
Its Aftermath
• Committee of Public Safety and Reign of Terror
– July 1793-July 1794
– Vendée
• “Republic of Virtue”
– Price controls
– Women
• Dechristianization and a New Calendar
– New calendar
• Equality and Slavery
– Revolt in Saint Dominigue
• Decline of the Committee of Public Safety
– Execution of Maximilien Robespierre, July 28, 1794
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Everything was out of control in France.
Still many tried to get power and slowly Robespierre
got it.
He wanted to destroy everything from the past, like
things from the monarchy and nobility.
He wanted to built a republic.
People with names of kings changes it to less political
one, they took Sunday out of the calendar, and even
closed all the churches in France.
Soon he ruled as a dictator and he was the one who
choose who was the enemy of the republic.
Many thought he had gone crazy, killing people after
people
. He had been on the Committee of Public Safety.
He had killed his own people because of treason, their
thought were less radical then Robespierre.
Most of the death were done by a simile and easier
beheading machine called the guillotine.
Any one who apposed the revolution was sentenced to
death.
From July 1793 to July 1794 the time period was called
the Reign of Terror and 3,000 people died, most who
were peasants.
This event doesn’t lead to the rising of democracy because
one individual is forcing the people to do what Robespierre
thought was the right idea. They were just pushed around
like if they didn’t have tongues to declare that they had right
too.
KILL, KILL,
they can’t
feel a thing. It
don’t hurt.
Robespierre had gone
mad! I just had an old
pair of deck cards.
Please don’t kill me!!
Other Parting Reforms
Passed by the Convention
Adopted the metric system
Dealt the final blow to
feudalism by abolishing
primogeniture (the system
whereby the oldest son
inherited all of his father’s
estate)
Drew up a comprehensive
system of laws
Ended debt imprisonment
Ended slavery in France’s
colonies
Established a nationwide
system of public education
Robespierre
The French lawyer and political leader,
who became one of the most
influential figures of the French
Revolution and the principal exponent
of the Reign of Terror.
THE COMMITTEE OF PUBLIC
SAFETY
•Started THE COMMITTEE OF
PUBLIC SAFETY
•Started by Robespierre in the
summer of 1793, which decided
who should be considered
enemies of the republic.
• They would often try people in
the morning, while having them
guillotined the same afternoon.
.
Robespierre
"Terror is nothing other
than justice, prompt,
severe, inflexible"
The Reign of Terror
• To protect the Republic
against domestic
enemies
• Committee arrested
people they suspected of
treason
• 20,000 – 40,000 were put
to death by guillotine
• Marie Antoinette, was
one victim
• Nobles and clergy went
to guillotine
• Most victims however
were commoners
Danton
Reign of Terror (1793-1794)
• Committee for Public Safety
• France losing war with others in Europe
• Reforms
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Metric system
New calendar
Universal suffrage
Slavery eliminated
Paris commune
Land redistribution
Defaced churches
• Guillotine
– 20,000 die
– King and queen die
The Execution of Louis XVI
• The constitutional monarchy put in place by
moderate revolutionaries gave way to a radical
republic.
• The National Convention decided to put Louis on trial
for his crimes.
– Although his guilt was never an issue, there was a real
debate in the Convention on whether the king should be
killed.
– They voted for his execution.
• On January 23, 1793 Louis Capet went to the
guillotine in the Place de la Concorde, where a statue
of his predecessor, Louis XV, once stood.
– At the scaffold he said "I forgive those who are guilty of my
death."
Louis was tried (from December 11,
1792) and convicted of high
treason before the
Legislative Assembly. He
was sentenced to death by
guillotine by 361 votes to
288, with 72 effective
abstentions.
Stripped of all titles and honorifics by
the egalitarian, Republican
government, Citizen Louis
Capet was guillotined in
front of a cheering crowd on
January 21, 1793.
His execution had
important consequences
for France, because it
brought about ideas in
other countries against
the French Revolution.
Jack and Jill Rhyme
Nursery Rhyme & History
Jack and Jill story - The French (history)
connection!
•The roots of the story, or poem, of Jack and Jill
are in France. Jack and Jill referred to are said to
be King Louis XVI - Jack -who was beheaded (lost
his crown) followed by his Queen Marie
Antoinette - Jill - (who came tumbling after).
•The words and lyrics to the Jack and Jill poem
were made more acceptable as a story for
children by providing a happy ending!
•The actual beheadings occurred in during the
Reign of Terror in 1793.
The execution of Louis XVI
The Reign of Terror
• After the death of Louis in 1793, the Reign of Terror
began.
– Marie Antoinette led a parade of prominent and not-soprominent citizens to their deaths.
– The guillotine, the new instrument of egalitarian justice,
was put to work.
• Public executions were considered educational.
Women were encouraged to sit and knit during trials
and executions.
• The Revolutionary Tribunal ordered the execution of
2,400 people in Paris by July 1794. Across France
30,000 people lost their lives.
Watch Committees
• The Terror was designed to fight the enemies of the
revolution, to prevent counter-revolution from
gaining ground.
• Most of the people rounded up were not aristocrats,
but ordinary people.
– A man (and his family) might go to the guillotine for saying
something critical of the revolutionary government.
– Watch Committees around the nation were encouraged to
arrest "suspected persons, ... those who, either by their
conduct or their relationships, by their remarks or by their
writing, are shown to be partisans of tyranny and
federalism and enemies of liberty" (Law of Suspects,
1793).
Suspension of Civil Liberties
• Civil liberties were suspended.
– The Convention ordered that "if material or moral proof
exists, independently of the evidence of witnesses, the
latter will not be heard, unless this formality should appear
necessary, either to discover accomplices or for other
important reasons concerning the public interest."
– The promises of the Declaration of the Rights of Man were
forgotten.
– Terror was the order of the day. In the words of Maximilien
Robespierre, "Softness to traitors will destroy us all."
Maximilien Robespierre
• "Terror is nothing
other than justice,
prompt, severe,
inflexible"
•The Guillotine was a cruel
Form of punishment of
death during the French
Revolution.
•The Executioner cranked
the blade to the top, and a
mechanism released it.
•The blade was heavy, with
its weight made the fall
and the slice through the
neck, severing the head
from its body.
• About 90% of beheadings
were of the Third Estate,
about 7% from the Second
Estate and about 3% from
the First Estate.
•In spite of its efficiency, an execution by guillotine was
still a sickening spectacle.
•When the head was severed, blood poured from the
body as the heart continued to pump.
•When it was used frequently (as it was during the
revolution), the stench from the place of execution was
horrible.
•Although the guillotine is most closely associated with
the French, the Nazis guillotined more people (20,000)
than were killed during the French Revolution. Hitler
considered it a demeaning form of punishment and
used it for political executions in 1942 and 1943.
•
•The last use of the guillotine was in 1977. Capital
punishment has been abolished in France.
"Robespierre, with his
cruel moral relativism,
embodied the cardinal sin
of all revolution, the
heartlessness of ideas."
Paul Johnson
"The Spectator"
Summer of 1794 –
Reign of Terror was
no longer necessary
but Robespierre
“drunk with power”
continued to rid
France of dangerous
opponents
July 18, 1794
Robespierre was
executed by guillotine
- End of Reign of
Terror
Republic of Virtue
• Robespierre was the mastermind of the Reign of
Terror.
– He was the leader of the Committee of Public Safety, the
executive committee of the National Convention, and the
most powerful man in France.
– He explained how terror would lead to the Republic of
Virtue in a speech to the National Convention: “If the
spring of popular government in time of peace is virtue,
the springs of popular government in revolution are at
once virtue and terror: virtue, without which terror is fatal;
terror, without which virtue is powerless. Terror is nothing
other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible...” Speech on
Terror
• The old maxim "the end justifies the means"
describes Robespierre's policy well.
This stage involves recovering from the illness. The individual might
be weakened from the experience, but he or she will eventually
emerge healthy and with new knowledge and experience that might
prevent the illness from occurring again.
What would this stage be like in a revolution?
Crisis
Stage
Symptomatic
Stage
Convalescence
Incubation
Stage
In a revolution, this stage would involve recovering from the extreme
disruptions of the crisis stage. In general, the political, social,
intellectual, or economic causes of the revolution must be addressed in
some way, though not necessarily to the satisfaction of all
revolutionaries.
Eighth Stage
• The public tires of the
radicals, thus allowing
moderates to regain
power and restore
order.
• Robespierre is arrested
and executed.
• National Convention is
replaced by the
Directory.
• Places power in the
hands of the middle
class once again.
The Last Victim of the Reign of Terror
• Even the radical Jacobins, the supporters of
Robespierre, come to feel that the Terror must be
stopped.
– Danton rose in the Convention calling for an end to the
Terror. He was its next victim.
– When Robespierre called for a new purge in 1794, he
seemed to threaten the other members of the Committee of
Public Safety.
• The Jacobins had had enough.
– Cambon rose in the Convention and said “It is time to tell the
whole truth. One man alone is paralyzing the will of the
Convention. And that man is Robespierre.”
– Others quickly rallied to his support.
– Robespierre was arrested and sent to the guillotine the next
day, the last victim of the Reign of Terror.
A conspiracy overthrew Robespierre.
On July 27, 1794, he was barred
from speaking in public
and was placed
Under arrest.
An uprising
by his supporters
was thwarted, and
on July 28 Robespierre
died on the guillotine with
his other supporters.
Eighty more followers of
Robespierre were executed the
next day.
The Directory
• People had grown tired of the instability and
bloodshed of the revolution and were ready
for something more moderate.
• By 1795, the republic was gone, and 5 men
with business interests had the executive
power in France.
• This new government was called The
Directory.
– It was far more conservative than the Jacobin
republic had been.
– It was also ineffectual.
Eighth Stage: Reaction and the
Directory
•
•
•
•
Thermidorian Reaction and the Directory
Curtails much of the Terror’s policies
Conservative turn of the Revolution
Constitution of 1795
– Five person Directory
– Period of stagnation
Eighth Stage---The Directory
After Robespierre – power passed to
wealthy middle class
National Convention created a new
Constitution – The Constitution of 1795
Five Directors – The Directory – acted as
the executive authority
Incompetent and corrupt ---the new
government could not solve the country’s
problems.
Rise of the popular General Napoleon
Bonaparte in 1794
Government under the Directory
Executive
Legislature
Qualifications
• 5 directors appointed by the Legislature
• Lower house (500 members) proposed laws
• Upper house (250 members) voted on these laws
• 2/3 of the Legislature would initially be filled by members of
the Convention
• Girondists (middle-class party) had defeated the Jacobins
(working- and peasant-class party)
• Girondists’ constitution stated that suffrage (the right to
vote), as well as the right to hold office, were limited to
property owners
Directory (1795-1799)
The Directory suffered from corruption and poor
administration.
The people of France grew poorer and more frustrated
with their government.
Despite, or perhaps because of, these struggles, the French developed a
strong feeling of nationalism – they were proud of their country and
devoted to it.
National pride was fueled by military successes.
It would be a military leader – Napoleon Bonaparte, coming to power
through a coup d’état – who would end the ten-year period (17891799) known as the French Revolution.
Eighth Stage---Return of the
moderates (1794-1799)
• Thermidorian reaction
• Counter-revolution
– "Whiff of grapeshot"(1795)
• Death of Marat, Danton,
Robespierre
– Moderates gained control of National
Convention
• Return of expatriate noblemen
allowed (money)
• National Assembly re-elected
• Adoption of new constitution
– Rule by the Directory
Eighth Stage---Return of the
moderates
• The Directory governed
• Some military successes
(Napoleon)
• Directory criticized for poor
leadership
• Directory desperate for a
popular leader
– 2nd Coalition (1799-1801)
formed
– Napoleon invited to be consul
Ninth Stage
• Sometimes this stage
occurs, the people
return to a similar form
of government that
they started out with.
• Corrupt Directory is
overthrown by
Napoleon.
• Napoleon becomes First
Consul.
• Then Napoleon crowns
himself emperor and
has absolute power.
Ninth Stage: Age of Napoleon
• Rise of Napoleon
– Born in Corsica, 1769
– Commissioned a lieutenant, 1785
– Promoted to brigadier general, 1794
– Victory in Italy, 1797
– Defeat in Egypt, 1799
– Coup d’etat
Napoleon Bonaparte
• The people readily accepted
the coup d'etat of Napoleon
Bonaparte in 1799.
• The revolution was over. Or
was it?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
In 1800 Napoleon became the emperor of France.
Napoleon had already had military success as a French Military General in the war.
Napoleon brought some reforms of the revolution like equal taxation.
Napoleon ruled as a military dictatorship.
Napoleon created the Napoleonic Code which was a system of laws and rights.
The Napoleonic Code took away rights from women, and it took away freedom of speech,
among other things that had been gained from the Revolutionary War.
Napoleon lost only one major battle, Unfortunately for Napoleon this loss was more important
than any of his wins.
The rise of Napoleon was not a major step towards democracy even thought the people voted
for him.
Napoleon took advantage of the French people and became an absolute power.
I crown myself king!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Napoleon Bonaparte, even thought he a was short
man, he was an excellent military genius. He won some
great wars for France, he was a military success.
At the time France was under control of the
Directory. Soon the Directory lost control of people.
When that happen Napoleon gets dictatorial power
and does great thing to France, like stabilized the
economy, established a tax collection system and built
a national bank.
He kept some of the reforms of the revolution, he
didn’t change everything.
By this point he was very popular with the people and
decided to crown his self Emperor of France.
The rise of Napoleon contributes with the rise of
democracy because you have a great leader, who has
been very successful in the military.
Who would be a better person to lead France to a
better future? The people liked him and they voted on
a constitution that gave Napoleon all the power.
This wasn’t a forceful battle on “who’s going to rule
France” it was about who could do the job right. This is
similar to a president like in the US, the people know
he could do the job, and agreed that he was the right
men for the job, Napoleon was like the president of
France.
•
Napoleon as
Consul, 1799
Ninth Stage: The Republic and the
Empire
• Republic of France proclaimed, 1799
– First Consul
– First Consul for life, 1802
– Crowned Emperor Napoleon I, 1804
• Domestic Policies of Emperor Napoleon
– Napoleon and the Catholic Church
• Concordat of 1801
– A New Code of Laws
• Code Napoleon (Civil Code)
– The French Bureaucracy
• Centralization of administration
– Growing despotism
Ninth Stage: Napoleon’s Empire and
the European Response
•
•
•
•
Peace of Amiens, 1802
Renewal of war, 1803
Military victories, 1805-1807
Napoleon’s Grand Empire
– Failure of the Grand Empire
• Problems: Great Britain and Nationalism
–
–
–
–
Survival of Britain
Seapower
Continental System, 1806-1807
Nationalism
Napoleon’s Grand Empire
The Coronation of Napoleon
Napoleon,
Emperor of
France
Ingres
Ninth Stage: The Fall of Napoleon
•
•
•
•
•
•
Invasion of Russia, 1812
Defeat of Napoleon, April 1814
Exiled to Elba
Escape, 1815
Battle of Waterloo, June 18, 1815
Exiled to St. Helena
The Revolution’s Legacy
Was the French Revolution a failure?
• After Congress of Vienna, monarchs ruled again
– Citizens’ rights restricted
– Nobles returned to their previous lifestyles
• French Revolution changed Europe
– Monarchies no longer secure
– Common people learned they could change the world
– Ideals of human dignity, personal liberty, and equality
– Enlightenment crossed the Atlantic to Latin America, eventually
inspired political movements in Asia and Africa