Welcome to the review
for French Rev. Test
Inbox - Make sure you have the following vocabulary
words in your sourcebook:
Bourgeoisie
Deficit Spending
Faction
Émigré
Republic
Suffrage
Nationalism
Secular
Plebiscite
Annex
Blockade
Guerrilla Warfare
Abdicate
How was French Society Divided?
► France
was divided into Three Estates
► The First Estate were the clergy, bishops
and priests—they paid no taxes and owned
a large portion of the land.
► The Second Estate were the nobles and
landowners—they paid no taxes and owned
a large portion the land.
► The Third Estate were the bourgeoisie
(middle class) and the peasants
What was so bad about being in the
Third Estate?
► The
paid all of the taxes
► They
had no say in the government (they
had one vote in the Estates-General)
► They
rented most of the their land from the
Second Estate and lived in poverty
► THEY
WERE 98% of the population!
What caused the French Revolution?
► Social
Causes: Inequalities of the estates
► Political Causes: 98% of the people do not
have a say in the government
► Economic Causes: Most of the French
people lived in poverty and government did
little about it
► ***Ideas of the Enlightenment made people
confident in their freedom and ability
How did the
Third Estate Rebel?
► Tennis
Court Oath: Third Estate declared itself the
National Assembly (some members of the 1st and
2nd joined later).
► July 14, 1789 Parisians storm the Bastille
 Bastille was prison for political prisoners
 Considered beginning of the Revolution
What changes were made to
France?
► “Great
Panic”  widespread starvation and
panic led peasants to attack nobles
► National assembly abolishes feudalism and
Estate privileges
► Declaration of the Rights of Man – statement of
natural rights (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity)
► Women marched on Versailles; Louis returns to
Paris (virtual prisoner)
Other Changes
► Reorganized
Church; put church under state
control; sold land to pay debts; not popular
with peasants (more religious)
► 1791: Constitution created with constitutional
monarchy and legislative assembly (elected by
taxpaying male citizens); provinces replaced
with departments; compensated nobles for lost
property
► Louis and family tries to escape Paris; caught
and imprisoned (labeled a traitor)
The Reign of Terror
► In
Paris different factions competed for power;
radicals gain power and make France a
republic
► Committee of Public Safety: group of men
established to draft soldiers to fight for France
► Under the leadership of Robespierre and the
radical Jacobins, they killed thousands of
“criminals” and “traitors”
► The guillotine was invented and used widely to
execute people
How did Napoleon come to Power?
► People
were tired of the chaos and death of
Robespierre
► The government had done little or nothing
to solve their problems (debt, poverty and
starvation).
► The victories Napoleon won gave the French
power, honor and pride (nationalism)
What did Napoleon do for France?
► Established
the Napoleonic Code or Code
Napoleon—a simple system of laws that is
still the basis of French law
► Fixed prices, improved infrastructure, built
public schools and civil service system
► Made France into a major military empire
► Brought the ideas of the French Revolution
to all of Europe
What happened to Napoleon’s
Empire?
► Defeated
at Trafalgar by Britain
► Uprisings by Spain and Austria
► Invasion of Russia  scorched earth tactics
and brutal Russian Winter destroys army
► Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia defeat
and exile Napoleon twice (Waterloo)
What was the Congress of Vienna?
► Austria,
Prussia, Russia, Britain and France
met to put Europe back together again.
► Their goals were to establish a balance of
power between the nations and ensure
peace through alliances
► They were reactionary because they tried to
make things like they were in the “old days”
before the French Revolution
How can we describe the major
effects of the French Revolution?
► In
France, the middle class gained more power
even though the COV restored the monarchy
► The Revolution inspired nationalism all over the
world—people wanted to be free and independent
► The Vienna settlements and alliances established
the shape of Europe for the next century
► Napoleon’s example of military conquest
influenced other nations to do the same