Objective
 SWBAT:
 describe the social division of France’s old order
 List reasons for France’s economic troubles
 Explain why Louis XVI called the Estates-General and
summarize what happened
 Understand why Parisians stormed the Bastille
TV France: Wrap up Questions
 Do the interviews suggest that one social class was
more important or influential than another?
 Which social classes were more optimistic about
their future? What reasons can you suggest for this?
 Make an argument for and against each social class
as the “most important”
Do Now
Tuesday 1/8/13
In your notes,
explain the
political
cartoon.
What do each
of the four
men
represent?
What is the
message?
Qu’est-ce que le tiers état?
Ancien Regime  old order
Clergy
 enjoy wealth
 Church owns 10% of land, collect tithe, no taxes
 Enlightenment ideas target the 1st estate (Clergy)
Nobles
 Hold top government jobs

Army, courts & church
 Feared losing traditional positions
Vastly Diverse Third Estate
 Bourgeoisie at top

Bankers, merchants, manufacturers, lawyers, doctors,
journalisits, professors
 MOST were rural peasants
The French Revolution
 all 3 estates had grievances against the
monarchy.
 to improve their condition - take power from
the monarchy
 Third estate felt most stress:
 provided
goods and services.
 Paid heavy taxes
Causes: Enlightenment Ideas &
Philosophes
 The Enlightenment Ideas:
 Liberty
 Equality
 Reason
 Progress
 Philosophes:
 Locke  private property, limited sovereignty & fair
government
 Voltaire attacked noble privileges & Church’s
authority
Causes:
Am. Rev & Economy
The American Revolution: 1775-1783
 Enlightenment ideas in action
 French soldiers (Lafayette) came home inspired
 Put Louis XIV in more debt
French economy was failing:
 50% of government’s income went to debt interest
 No central bank or paper currency
 Inefficient and uneven taxation system (Varied by
region and estate)
Causes: Feudal System
 Estate System outdated
 Difficult to move up in society, unless very rich
 The poor/peasantry resented the inequality of
the three estates
 Harvest failure 1787-1788
 Less food, higher prices, businesses failed,
unemployment in cities
Causes: Louis XVI
 Good intentions
 “Enlightened”
 Weak-willed
 Indecisive
 Marie Antoinette allowed
him “to dispense
patronage amongst
friends”
How does the cartoonist portray the Third Estate?
What were the differences among the social classes in pre-revolutionary
France?
Events of the French Revolution
 Moderate Stage: 1789-1792
 Radical Stage: 1782-1794
 The Directory: 1794-1799
 Napoleon: 1799-1815
Outbreak: Estates-General
 May 5, 1789: Estates General convenes at Versailles
 First time in 175 years (1614)
 All three estates prepared cahiers (notebooks) listing
their grievances “Cahiers de doleances”
 Fairer taxes, freedom of press, regular meetings of
the Estate-General
Outbreak: Estates General
 Reps from Third Estate
 Disagreed on how to vote
 Tradition: each estate met and voted separately,
each estate had one vote
 First & Second Estates always outvoted the Third
Estate
 The Third Estate wanted all estates to meet in a
single body and count votes “by head”
Tennis Court Oath
 June 17, 1789: delegates of the Third Estate declared
themselves to be The National Assembly
 June 20, 1789: The Oath of the Tennis Court
 Meeting hall  locked and guarded
 Met at an indoor tennis court
 Swore, “never to separate and to meet wherever the
circumstances might require until we have established a
sound and just constitution.”
 Tension between king & Assembly
Storming the Bastille
 July 14, 1789: Paris
 More than 800 Parisians assembled outside the Bastille
 Demanded weapons and gunpowder (rumored to be there)
 Commander of Bastille refused & opened fire on the
crowd
 Crowd killed the commander, set free prisoners, found
no weapons
 Importance: Challenged the king & won
 Celebrated every year since 1880
Place de la Bastille
French Revolution
 French Rev Part 1
 French Rev Part 2
 French Rev Part 3
Do Now
 What is the significance of La Place de la Bastille?
 Explain the historical significance as well as current
day.