The French Revolution
Begins
Political Cartoon Analysis
Political Cartoons have a political or social
message – an argument
 To determine the argument, examine:
1. Text (caption, title, words in the
cartoon)
2. Symbols (images that represent
something)
3. Caricature (things exaggerated for
effect)
French Revolution Political
Cartoons

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We will predict the causes of the Revolution
by looking at political cartoons
First just look at the political cartoons in
your group – tell your partner what you
notice
Predict the causes of the Revolution
Based on….
Cartoon A
Cartoon B
Cartoon C
Cartoon D
Cartoon E
We predict that one of the
causes of the French
Revolution will be…
Because…
Based on….
We predict that one of the
causes of the French
Revolution will be…
Cartoon A
Third estate pays all the
taxes that support the
others. Unfair taxation.
Cartoon B
Leadership pulling away
from each other. Weak
leadership/non-unified
Cartoon C
Inspiration from American
Revolution/American Rev as
model
Cartoon D
Third estate recognizing
they have power. Breaking
“free” from other estates
Because…
Based on….
We predict that one of the
causes of the French
Revolution will be…
Cartoon A
3rd estate frustrated. Unfair
class system
Cartoon B
Weak government.
Differences in
opinion/governing
Cartoon C
Inspired by American
Revolution
Cartoon D
3rd estate “breaking free”
from others. Awakened to
revolt
Cartoon E
Too much debt, supported by
3 estates
Because…
Based on….
We predict that one of the
causes of the French
Revolution will be…
Because…
Predict the causes of the Revolution
Cartoon A
Third estate having to hold
up the other 2. Unfair
taxes/class system
Cartoon B
King and Queen cannot work
together/going opposite
directions. Weak leadership
Cartoon C
American success will
inspire French Rev. Use
American Rev as a model
Cartoon D
3rd estate “breaking free”.
Realizing they have power
Cartoon E
Huge debt. Carried by the
Based on….
We predict that one of the
causes of the French
Revolution will be…
Cartoon A
Third estate is not happy
about class system. Unfair
social system
Cartoon B
Poor leadership/weak
leadership. King and queen
are not unified
Cartoon C
Inspiration from American
Revolution.
Cartoon D
3rd estate realizing they have
power. “breaking free” from
other estates
Cartoon E
Huge amounts of debt mean
Because…
Goals for Today


Understand the conditions in France before
the Revolution
Understand why the French Revolution
began
Causes of the French Revolution

During the 1700’s France was the most
advanced nation in Europe and the focal
point of the Enlightenment
The Old Regime

In the 18th Century, France was made up of
3 distinct social classes – called estates
First Estate

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Roman Catholic clergy
Owned ~10% of the land
Provided education and
relief services to the poor
Not taxed
.5% of population
Second Estate
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Rich nobles
About 2% of the population
Owned ~20% of the land
Paid almost no taxes
The Third Estate

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About 97% of the people were in the 3rd
Estate
There were 3 groups within the 3rd Estate:
The Third Estate
1. Bourgeoisie – the middle class
• Bankers, merchants, professionals, artisans
• Well educated
• Believed in ideals of the Enlightenment
The Third Estate
2. Workers in French cities
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Laborers, apprentices, tradespeople, servants
Received low wages
Often unemployed
Poorest of any of the groups
The Third Estate
3. Peasants
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Lived outside of cities
Largest group within 3rd Estate (about 80%)
Roughly ½ of their income went to taxes, tithes
or to landowners
What the Estates Controlled
Partner Discussion


Take on the perspective of the estate on
your card
Do you think the estate system is fair? Why
or why not?
Why revolution?

There were 3 major causes behind the
French Revolution
1.
2.
3.
Idealism brought on by the Enlightenment
Economic issues
Weak leadership
Cause # 1

Ideas from the Enlightenment:


New views about government, power, and
authority
Inspired by the American Revolution
Cause #2

Troubled French economy

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Heavy taxes to pay off national debt
 Partly b/c of support of American Revolution
Cost of living rising rapidly
 Food became expensive – cost of bread doubled
 Crop failures led to shortage of grain
Extravagant spending by the government
Cause #3
Cause #3
3. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette


Weak leaders, lavish spenders
King didn’t put a lot of effort into governing

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More concerned with hunting and other pleasures
The queen was very unpopular due to:

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Her extravagances
The fact that she was from Austria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEZqar
UnVpo
Review Questions!
Which estate had the largest
population?

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A. First Estate
B. Second Estate
C. Third Estate
D. The Second and Third Estates were
roughly equal in size
Which of the following was NOT one of
the causes of the French Revolution?


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A. Poor leadership
B. New views about government, power,
etc.
C. Wars with neighboring countries
D. A troubled economy
The bourgeoisie was part of…

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A. First Estate
B. Second Estate
C. Third Estate
D. None of the above – it was its own group
The 2nd estate was what % of
France’s population?

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A. 1%
B. 2%
C. 12%
D. 24%
Homework: Social Causes of the
French Revolution

Read & complete your notes on the back
side of the paper
Questions – answer on the back of
your note paper
1. Given the circumstances in France in the
1780’s, why do you think the Third Estate
believed that the French political system
needed to change?
2. What changes do you think members of
the 3rd Estate might demand?
3. Do you think that changes in the French
government were inevitable?
Unflattering cartoon of the royal couple
More anti-Louis XVI cartoons…
“The Awakening of the Third Estate”
The first and
second estates
riding the third
estate…
…revolutionary
political
cartoon making
a point about
the burdens of
the third estate.
Women were
invaluable in
starting much
of the
agitation that
led to a fullfledged
revolution in
France.
1st Estate: Clergy (.5% of pop.)
2nd Estate: Nobility (1.5% of pop.)
3rd Estate: Bourgeoisie, workers and
peasants (98% of the pop.)
The Storming of the Bastille
(a symbol of royal oppression to
the French people)
The Bastille was dismantled brick by brick…
…the Bastille today.
The Great Fear
1789
Panic swept the
countryside as
nobles and
clergymen became
targets of angry
revolutionaries
Church lands were confiscated…
Sans Culottes (“without breeches”):
French revolutionary soldiers
Symbols of the Revolution:
tricolor sash, red cap of liberty
and the pike.
Upon his
capture by
revolutionaries,
Louis XVI
donned the red
cap of liberty
and drank a
toast to the
revolution
Louis XVI
pictured as
a drunkard
in this
revolution
cartoon…
The public
execution of
Louis XVI by
the guillotine,
which would
emerge as an
symbol of the
revolution
The Execution of Marie Antoinette
British political cartoon, “Hell Broke
Loose or The Murder of Louis”
Another British cartoon portraying the French
Revolution as a threat to England. Notice the red cap
and the pike approaching via the English Channel
Louis XVI Arrives in Hell: Louis is pictured
entering hell carrying his head. Notice the
other headless figures in the painting
Some attractive
commemorative
revolutionary
china picturing
the execution of
Louis XVI…
More dinnerware: a gravy boat
with the red cap of liberty and
the scales of justice…
Legislative
Assembly Seating:
Right Side: Royalists
(thought Revolution
went too far)
Center: Moderate
reformers (pleased with
limited monarchy)
Left Side: Jacobins
(thought the Revolution
needed to go much
further)
Revolutionary
Language:
You= vous (formal)
You= tu (informal)
Vous eradicated—
denoting no superior
position.
Monsieur and
Madame became
Citizen & Citizeness.