1789 - 1795
It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom,
it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity…
-- Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities
T he French Monarchy:
1775 - 1793
Marie Antoinette & Louis XVI
Conditions Present in France Before
the Revolution.
1. People from all social classes are upset.
2. People feel restless and held down by restrictions in
society, religion, the economy or the gov’t.
3. The King does not respond to the needs of his
people.
4. The leaders of the government and the ruling class
begin to doubt themselves. Some begin joining with
the opposition groups.
5. The government cannot organize its finances
correctly and is going bankrupt and to tax heavily
and unjustly to make up for the defecit.
Financial Problems
in France, 1789
a Urban Commoner’s
Budget:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Food
Rent
Tithe
Taxes
Clothing
TOTAL
80%
25%
10%
35%
20%
170%
a King’s Budget:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Interest
Army
Versailles
Coronation
Loans
Admin.
TOTAL
50%
25%
25%
10%
25%
25%
160%
T he Number of Representatives
in the Estates General:
300
Clergy
1st Estate
Aristocracy
2nd Estate
300
648
Commoners
3rd Estate
Despite having nearly twice as many representatives,
the 3rd Estate could do little to facilitate change,
since each Estate voted and was counted as a
separate bloc.
Convening the Estates General
May, 1789
Last time it was called into session was 1614!
“T he T hird Estate Awakens”
Y The commoners finally presented their credentials
not as delegates of the Third Estate, but as
“representatives of the nation.”
Y They proclaimed themselves the “National
Assembly” of France.
“T he Tennis Court Oath”
by Jacques Louis David
June 20, 1789
Europe on the Eve of the
French Revolution
Storming the Bastille, July 14, 1789
Y A rumor that the king was planning a military coup
against the National Assembly.
Y 18 died.
Y 73 wounded.
Y 7 guards
killed.
Y It held 7
prisoners
[5 ordinary
criminals & 2
madmen].
T he Great Fear: Peasant Revolt
(July 20, 1789)
Y Rumors that the feudal aristocracy [the aristos]
were sending hired brigands to attack peasants and
pillage their land.
Night Session of August 4, 1789
Y Before the night was over:
 The feudal regime in France had been
abolished.
 All Frenchmen were (at least in
principle) subject to the same laws and
the same taxes and eligible for the
same offices.
Equality & Meritocracy!
National Constituent Assembly
1789 - 1791
Liberté!
Egalité!
Fraternité!
August Decrees
August 4-11, 1789
(A renunciation of aristocratic privileges!)
T he Tricolor (1789)
The WHITE of the
Bourbons + the RED &
BLUE of Paris.
Citizen!
T he Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen
V Set out basic human
rights.
V Guaranteed freedom
of thought, speech,
religion, security and
property.
V Placed limits on the
power of government.
V Contained ideas from:
Locke, Voltaire,
Montesquieu &
Rousseau.
March of the Women,
October 5-6, 1789
A spontaneous demonstration of Parisian
women for bread.
We want the baker, the baker’s wife
and the baker’s boy!
New Relations Between
Church & State
V Government paid the salaries of the French clergy
and maintained the churches.
V The church was reorganized:
 Parish priests  elected by the district
assemblies.
 Bishops  named by the
department assemblies.
 The pope had NO
voice in the
appointment of
the French clergy.
V It transformed France’s
Roman Catholic Church
Pope Pius VI
[1775-1799]
into a branch of the state!!
Louis XVI “Accepts” the Constitution
& the National Assembly. 1791
T he Royal Family Attempts
to Flee
Y June 1791
Y Helped by the Swedish Count Hans Axel von
Fusen [Marie Antoinette’s lover].
Y Headed toward the Luxembourg border.
Y The King was
recognized at
Varennes, near
the border.
A Revolutionary Timeline.
The National Convention: 1791
 Girondist Rule: 1792-1793
 Jacobin Rule: 1793-1794
[Robespierre’s “Reign of Terror”]
 Thermidorian Reaction:
1794-1795
The Directory  1795-1799
Reign of Terror 1793 - 1794
 Under Robespierre’s Leadership 2,639
victims were executed in 15 months.
(Including King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette
& Georges Jacques Danton.)
 The total number of victims nationwide was
over 20,000!
 The Reign of Terror ended with guillotining
of Robespierre on July 28th, 1794.
 Hoping for a peaceful conclusion to the
revolution the Directory stepped in to take
control of the country.
The executions of Louis XVI &
Danton.