BELLWORK
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What decisions were made at the Second Continental
Congress?
Describe the Declaration of Independence.
Why was the Battle of Saratoga important?
What are the Bill of Rights?
List at least three reasons for U.S. victory in the American
Revolution.
THINKER: The French Revolution starts when peasants
stand up and revolt. What are some positive and negative
effects of standing up against your government?
Causes of the
French Revolution
Vocabulary
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In your notes, define the following words:
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Estate
Tithe
Bourgeoisie
Coup d'état
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Long-Term Factors:
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The Enlightenment: Encouraged freedom and social
justice
The American Revolution: An example of liberty and
freedom
Social Problems: The Estates System
Political Conflict: Unfair absolute monarchy
Economic Weakness: Expensive wars, Lavish
spending by kings
French Society: The Old Order
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Before 1789, France’s
class system was made
of ESTATES (orders of
society) and all French
people belonged to 1 of 3
estates
The estates determined a
person’s legal rights and
status
The First Estate
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Made up of clergy
About 1% of the
population
Controlled 5 – 10% of
land in France
Enjoyed many privileges
Did not have to pay
taxes
The Second Estate
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Made up of the nobility
About 2% of the population
Owned 25% of land in France
Held high positions in the
government and military
Owned large estates and paid
no taxes
Incomes came mostly from
peasants living and working
on their land
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Made up of Middle Class
(bourgeoisie), peasants, and artisans
About 97% of population
Middle Class (doctors, lawyers,
merchants) were educated and
wealthy, but had no prestige or
privileges
Looked to Enlightenment philosophers
that spoke about freedom and social
justice
Peasants owned 40% of land in
France, but were forced to pay over
half of their income to king, clergy and
nobles
Members of this estate had no voice
in government
The Third Estate
Call For Change:
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In 1774, King Louis XVI and
wife Marie Antoinette came
to power
The king was faced with
severe debt and wanted to
tax the First and Second
Estates
The two estates refused to
pay the taxes
The king was forced to call
the Estates-General in 1789
The Estates-General
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The Estates-General was made
up of delegates from each estate
and each estate was given I vote
With this type of voting, the
clergy and nobility would vote
together and always overrule the
Third Estate
The Third Estate felt the vote
should be based on the number
of people in the estate, thus
giving them the majority vote
The Tennis Court Oath
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Fearing a revolt, the king locked
the Third Estate out of their
meeting place in the EstatesGeneral
The Third Estate then declared
themselves the National
Assembly and began meeting in
an indoor tennis court
Here, they took an oath called the
Tennis Court Oath—refusing to
disband until they had a written
constitution for France
The Storming of the Bastille
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The Bastille (a Paris prison)
symbolized injustices of the
monarchy
July 14, 1789 a mob surrounded
the Bastille in an attempt to
steal weapons needed to
defend the National Assembly
The soldiers killed 98 rioters
and the rioters released 7
prisoners
The Storming of the Bastille
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This outbreak led to the
formation of a
Revolutionary Government
in Paris
The Storming of the
Bastille led to a wave of
violence in France
This event is considered
the beginning of the
French Revolution
CLOSURE
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Describe the Estate System in France.
Why did Louis XVI call the Estates-General?
How did the third estate feel about this?
What was the Tennis Court Oath?
Why did a mob storm the Bastille? What was
the outcome?
Marie Antoinette
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Born in 1755 to the Emperor and Empress of Austria.
After the Seven Years’ War, France needed to cement their
alliance with Austria, so Louis decided to take an Austrian wife.
When Marie Antoinette was 12, her entire family contracted
small pox.
The disease killed her brother and two sisters – who was going
to marry Louis?
Two years later, Louis paid 200,000 crowns ($11,000) for
Marie’s hand in marriage.
Immediately, French citizens did not support the marriage
because there remained high tensions between Austria and
France.
Marie at age 13; this portrait was sent
to Louis to see if he approved
Marie Antoinette
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Marie and Louis had four
children together: MarieTherese Charlotte and
Dauphin Louis Joseph.
After Louis’ birth, fighting
between Austria and
France broke out
This controversial portrait was
considered “improper” for a queen
Marie Antoinette’s declining popularity
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Louis refused to allow his wife to participate in politics
Austrian family was disappointed
First son (Louis) was very ill, but Marie had a second son
France was in a huge economic downturn; could not finance
war
French citizens felt she sided with Austria
Parliament was dissolved
Spent a lot of money on diamonds, clothing, palaces, and art.
Famous for the saying “Let them eat cake!”
Marie Antoinette
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During the French Revolution, Louis and Marie were blamed for
the majority of the country’s problems.
A mob broke into their palace
Marie became a widow in January 1793 when her husband was
executed
By this time, Marie’s health was deteriorating – she had
tuberculosis and cancer.
Marie was tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal and found guilty
of treason.
She was executed in October 1793, at the age of 37.
Homework
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Two of the main causes of the French Revolution were
the estates system, and lavish spending by the
monarchy.
To review over these causes, you are going to complete
a worksheet.
One side focuses on the characteristics of the estate
system
The other side is a profile of Marie Antoinette