FRENCH REVOLUTION AND
NAPOLEON
CH 3 section 1
French Revolution differed from
American Revolution because:
1. it tried to create not only a new political
system, but a social one also
2. more violent (both within France and
among foreign foes of the revolution
3. was a civil war fighting against its own
oppression and injustice
Three Estates (i.e., three classes
of people, i.e. the Old Regime.)
1. First = clergy (.5% of population, owned 10%
of best land, paid NO taxes)
Second = wealthy nobles
(1.5% of pop., owned 25% of
best land, paid NO taxes)
Third = everyone else! (98% pop.,
65% “left-over “land, paid ALL of
taxes)
 landless peasants who owed
duties to nobles.
 Urban workers struggled
financially (inflation)
 Bourgeoisie (middle class to
wealthy professionals,
unhappy w. privileges of first
two estates and were drawn to
the ideas of the
Enlightenment.)
 Which Estate were nobles?
 Who from the third estate had the most
power?
Immediate cause
of revolution
 near collapse of Fr. economy
due to: expensive wars (incl. the
Am. Rev.)- wasteful expenditures (Palace of
Versailles),
 widespread poverty,
unemployment & bad harvests.
Louis XVI called a mtg. of
representatives (deputies) of
Estates-General (1st time in 175
yrs!) to raise taxes.

Advisor Jacques Necker ask
to tax all estates(he was fired
1789 Estate General& st
 Each estate had only one vote. 1 & 2nd held
the majority! This system favored by king.
 3rd estate protested. Declared itself the
National Assembly and began to draft a
national constitution.
 Louis locked out the assembly, so they went
next door and made the Tennis Court Oath.
Fall of the Bastille (royal
armory & prison),
 July 14, 1789 (French national holiday.)
 Hated symbol of oppression attacked by 8,000
Parisians. Defended by only 114.
 Officer in charge surrendered, was be-headed
and head paraded on pike through streets.
Great Fear
 (vast panic & violence throughout
countryside, fear that Royalist forces within
and without
Parisian women marched on
Versailles
 killed guards, broke into king’s chambers & forced
him to accept the decrees of National Assembly,
told king their children were starving.
 They also demanded that king leave his palace &
return with them to Paris (feared he would rouse
support from foreign monarchs.) He brought
goodwill gesture of flour supplies as he & family
escorted.
 How did the common people show their
hatred of the system?
Declaration of the Rights
of Man and the Citizen 1789
 National Assembly abolished all privileges of
first two estates & adopted the
 (based upon Eng. and Am. Bill of Rights and
Dec. of Indep.)
 All equal before law, had to pay taxes, had
natural rights.
What Rights are Similar to
the Declaration of
Indepedence?
Olympe de Gouges
 opposed exclusion of females. National
Assembly ignored her. Eventually be-headed!
Revolutionaries take & sold
church lands
 To raise money
 church came under government control
(clergy to be elected by citizens & salaries
paid by govt.) Upset many Catholics.
New Constitution of 1791
 stated that assembly was to make laws. But
was conservative by keeping monarch
(although limited in powers) and only
wealthy from ANY estate could vote.
Royal family attempts to flee
 was captured. This made the new assembly
more radical.
 Legislative (National) Assembly declared war
on Austria (homeland of despised Queen
Marie Antoinette!)
 Fear Austria will attack to free the Royal Family
 Why do you think they did not let the family
leave Paris?
Sansculottes
 = ordinary patriots
without fine clothes
(eg. knee-length
pants worn by
aristocracy.)
 Revolutionary artists
such as David,
depicted the strength
of average citizens
(see p. 218)
The French Revolution
Spreads in to Europe
 After early defeats in war and food shortage,
radicals declared themselves the Paris
Commune, seized power from Assembly &
arrested king.
 All male citizens now able to vote, but also
became violent.
CH 3 sections 2
Radical Rise and Fall
 The Paris Commune had
forced the Assembly to
set up a National
Convention to draft a
new constitution, abolish
the monarchy &
establish the French
Republic.
Jean-Paul Marat
 radical journalist of “Friend of the People”
was an intense and popular revolutionary
leader of the Jacobins (organ. of national
political clubs.) Assassinated by female
political rival.
The Jacobins of the Convention
split into factions:
The Girondins:
The Mountain:
 from outside of Paris,  radical Parisians who wanted
favored keeping king to execute king
 (prevent king from becoming
alive.
an
inspiration for
the Royalists.)
 The Mountain convinced the
Convention to condemn Louis
XVI.
•The Mountain convinced the Convention to condemn
Louis XVI.
King is Beheaded
 “I die innocent of all
the crimes laid to my
charge; I pardon
those who had
occasioned my death;
and I pray
to God
that the blood you are
going to shed may
never be visited on
France.” Louis XVI,
Jan, 1793.
Kings execution created
enemies:
 Domestic: Paris was radical, but much of the
rest of France resisted rule of Convention
 Foreign: European monarchs outraged.
Coalition of countries ready to invade.
“Committee of Public
Safety”-Created to
calm situation
 led by Maximilien
Robespierre.
 radical revolutionary
leader who preached
democracy and universal
male suffrage,
 very honest and obsessed
with creating a “Republic of
Virtue.”
 he also believed that those
who opposed the general
will of the republic (as he
interpreted it) must be
executed.
“Reign of Terror.” Created by
Robespierre and Committee of public
safety
 Revolutionary
courts executed
40,000 (including
Queen Marie
Antionette.)
Brutality of Reign of Terror
 City of Lyon made an example of warning
(1,880 executed by guillotine and cannon
grapeshot)
 City of Nantes, victims chained to barge, then
sunk in the Loire River!
Robespierre Opinion of
Violence
 bloodshed was to be only “temporary”, until
crises were over & “Republic of Virtue”
becomes a reality: “Citizen & Citizeness,”
primary education for all, abolished slavery in
colonies, price controls, female activists, deChristianization, “temples of reason, Republic
calendar.
 Arrests and kills his rivals
French
Nationalism
 Nationalism Pride and unity in your country
 To save the republic from foreign enemies,
universal mobilization was decreed.
 French revolutionary army helped create modern
“nationalism” = largest army in European history,
made up of regular citizens (not smaller forcers of
paid professional soldiers or mercenaries.)
The Terror Ends
 Robespierre was obsessed
with ridding France of all
enemies (real or perceived) =
he himself became one of
the Terror’s last victims.
Jacobins lost power and
“moderate” leaders took
over.
 The Terror ended, some of
most extreme
characteristics of the
revolution ended (eg.
churches re-opened.)
Constitution of 1795
 set up a legislative branch of two houses,
designed to keep any one political party from
gaining too much control. Members were chosen
by electors (qualified voters who must own
 property.) The Republic became more
conservative and less democratic.
 Executive branch led by a committee of five
leaders known as the Directory, to prevent too
much power in hands of one person or party (but
Directory was plagued by corruption.)
Problems for the New Gov
 domestic political enemies, economic
problems and ongoing expensive foreign
wars.
 Directory relied upon support from the
military to stay in control.
1799 General Napoleon Bonaparte
staged a coup d’etat.
 New Leader Emerges
2 View Points
 Edmund Burke =
people should be
cautious about
breaking the social
contract w. the
“state” because it had
been created by
many previous
generations & would
impact future
generations.
 Thomas Paine = every
generation should be
free to break contract
w. any gov’t. that is
tyrannical.
Youth of France
 School of Mars’ goal of training young people
to become fanatic patriots in just a few weeks
failed.
 “Golden Youth” were gangs of young men
opposed to the Reign of Terror.
 Julian was imprisoned, disillusioned by
failures of the revolution, but would have his
faith restored by the talented & charismatic
Napoleon.
CH 3 Section 3 Rise and
Fall of Napoleon
 -Napoleon Bonaparte = refers to himself as
“savior” “genius” “great” (egomaniac!)
Napoleons Changes
 preserved & strengthened
some goals of French
Revolution,
 his rule also brought
revolution to an end.
 France would no longer be
ruled by an assembly, but
by a military dictator.
Napoleons Brief Bio
 He was Corsican (Italian accent), went to
military school, became lieutenant, but
not popular w. officers.
 Devoted himself to his studies: the
Enlightenment & military campaigns.
 Rose in ranks quickly to become a
general at age 24 by Committee of
Public Safety.
 Won a series of battles using; speed,
surprise and decisive action.
 Napoleon’s energy, initiative,
intelligence, ease w. words & self
confidence, made him a hero to his
troops.
Napoleon fails in Egypt
 Egyptian campaign against British naval
forces was a military failure.
Napoleon Takes Power
 He returned to Paris to lead
a coup to overthrow the
Directory & establish a
consulate.
 New govt. still a republic in
theory, but dictatorship in
reality as
 Napoleon became “first
consul,” “consul for life” &
“emperor” (crowned
himself!)
His Deal with the Church
 Deal wtih the pope:
Catholicism would be
respected as the major
religion.
 In return the church
would not demand
church lands be returned.
 With this agreement,
church was no longer an
enemy of the revolution
and people who had
acquired church lands
would strongly support
Napoleon.
Napoleonic Code/Civil Code
 -He codified (simplified) France’s
hundreds of different legal
systems into one national Civil
Code.
 -Code reflected many of the ideals
of the revolution (equality before
the law, religious toleration, etc.)
 but was a step backwards for
females
 (lost personal property at marriage,
couldn’t inherit property equally, hard
to get divorce, could not testify in
court, etc.)
Changes Government
 -Created strong, central administration led by
a bureaucracy of capable officials
 (not based upon class.)
 -Promotion based upon ability.
 Created new aristocracy based on meritorious
service to France.
 Got rid of Corrupt officials
Duality of
Napoleon
 -Napoleon: both
destroyer & preserver of
the revolution = legal
equality, religious
toleration & economic
freedom under the Civil
Code
 yet ruled as an emperor
& dictator who censored
the press.
 -Napoleon tried destroy
old order: nobles & clergy
lost privileges
 replaced w. liberal values
of equality.
Glory for France
 From 1805-07, Napoleon’s Grand
Army defeated the Austrian,
Prussian and Russian armies.
 From 1807-12, Napoleon created a
Grand Empire in Europe consisting
of three parts:

French Empire = an enlarged
France

Dependent States = kingdoms
ruled by relatives of Napoleon

Allied States = defeated
countries who were forced to
oppose Britain
Empire starts to fall
 -Two main reasons Empire collapsed: British
strength (military, political & economic) & rise
of Nationalism
 French forces spread revolutionary ideals of
equality & nationalism = backfired on French
rule.
 Countries resented being controlled by foreign
gov(france)
1805 Battle of Trafalgar
(Fail)
 British navy defeated combined French &
Spanish fleets (Britain rules the seas.)
Continental System (Fail)
 -Napoleon’s plan to cut off Britain’s trade w.
European continent (failed attempt.)
 Hurt French Economy & British still smuggled
good in
Russian
Invasion(fail)
 -Russia refused to follow
Continental System, so
France invaded w.
600,000 soldiers in June,
1812.
 -Napoleon’s defeat due
to: Russian policy of
retreat (vast country,)
scorched-earth policy &
harsh winter.
 -Only 40,000 survived
(15%) as of January, 1813.
Banished #1
 -Coalition forces captured Paris. Napoleon exiled to
Elba island and
 Louis XVIII restored King.
 -Napoleon escaped, royal troops mutinied, & Louis
XVIII fled. March 20, 1815 returned to Paris as hero.
Banished #2
 -Coalition forces again
prepared to battle. French
devoted war veterans
flocked to Napoleon.
 -June 18, 1815 at Waterloo,
Belgium, combined British &
Prussian forces under
command of Duke of
Wellington defeated
Napoleon for last time.
 Exiled to island of St. Helena
& captive until death.
Congress of Vienna
 put Peace and order back into Europe
 Set borders in Europe for 100 yrs
 Place kings back in power in France, Italy,
and Spain
Anne-Louise-Germaine
 = prominent writer of revolution
& Napoleonic eras. Established
an influential salon.
 Helped friends escape Reign of
Terror. Supporter of Napoleon
who eventually denounced him
as a tyrant.
 Her books were banned & she
was exiled to German states.
Primary Source
 -Preliminary to French Constitution (Abbe
Sieyes) All people have natural rights as
passive citizens, but
only active citizens
should have an influence on public affairs
(excludes women, children, foreigners & those
not publicly active.)
 -Robespierre Denouncing Restrictions on
Citizenship. Opposed categories of passive vs.
active citizens.
 -Women’s Rights (Etta Palm d’Aelders).
Female activist of reformers group known as
the Social Circle.
World Literature
 -Candide by Voltaire. Satire of Prussians,
military, war, “philosophy of optimism,” &
religion.
 -A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
Sympathetic to cause of commoners, but
opposed Parisian mobs.