French Revolution Vocabulary 1. Estate 2. Estates General 3. National Assembly 4. Revolution 5. Bastille 6. National Convention 7. Committee of Public Safety 8. Jacobins 9. Directory 10. Coup D’Etat

The French Revolution Standard (New)

1. Enlightenment Thinkers A. Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke spoke of ideas like natural rights. B. Their strongest idea was people’s right to rebel against the government.

2. American Revolution A. American colonists challenged their home country, Great Britain. B Declaration of Independence was sent to England. C. France sent nobles then soldiers, sailors, and weapons to help. D. The French were inspired!

Declaration of Independence  The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson, and was issued by Congress on July 4, 1776

Boston Massacre  At the Boston Massacre, British Soldiers fired into a crowd of protestors and killed 5 people.

Boston Tea Party  At the Boston Tea Party, colonists protested the Tea Act by dumping British Tea into the Boston Harbor.

3. The Causes of the French Revolution A.Unfair Social Divisions 1.First Estate: Clergy 15% of land, 1% population 2.Second Estate: Aristocracy 25% land, 2% Population 3.Third Estate: Bourgeoisie and peasants B. Government Debts – King Louis XVI 1.Expensive wars 2.Royal spending out of control

C.Unequal Tax Burdens 1.The third estate had no voice in government and only owned a small portion of the land and paid 100% of the taxes D.Financial Crisis 1.Very High cost of living for the very poor

The Palace of Versailles, home of the King and Queen and symbol of all that was wrong with France

On October 4, 1789, a crowd of women and some men, marched toward Versailles, demanding to see "the Baker," "the Baker's wife," and "the Baker's boy". The King agreed to meet with some of the women and promised to distribute all the bread in Versailles to the crowd. The National Guard arrived on the scene to take the King back to Paris. This complicated matters. Some of the crowd got into the Queen's quarters and Marie Antoinette barely escaped by way of a secret passage to the King's room. He agreed to address the people from his balcony. "My friends," he said, "I will go to Paris with my wife and my children." This was a fatal mistake. It was the last time the King saw Versailles.

4. Calling the Estates General A. Louis XVI called together the Estates General to discuss the problems. B. 1 st and 2 nd Estate refused to pay taxes. C. 3 rd Estate left declaring itself the National Assembly and began working on a new constitution.

5. The Tennis Court Oath A.They met and all swore “not to separate... until the constitution of the kingdom is established.”

6. Storming the Bastille A. The Bastille was a prison that held many political prisoners. B. The mob wanted to free the prisoners so they stormed the prison on July 14, (Now Bastille Day in France) C. Blood was shed – there was no going back now.

1. National Convention A. In 1791, a constitution was established. In that same year the constitution was put aside, and the king was imprisoned. B. The Legislature of France took over, and named themselves the “National Convention.” C. Many members of the convention were “Jacobins,” a radical revolutionary group.

2. Reign of Terror 1. After the king was imprisoned him and the queen were executed. 2. In 1793 a Jacobian, Maximillian Robespierre gained power as the leader of the committee of public safety. 3. Robespierre started the reign of terror where 25,000 to 40,000 “Enemies of the revolution” were killed 4. Fearing for their own lives, Robespierre was executed in July of 1794

After the death of Louis XVI in 1793, the Reign of Terror began. The first victim was Marie Antoinette. She had been imprisoned with her children after she was separated from Louis. First they took her son Louis Charles from her (often called the lost dauphin, or Louis XVII). He disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Then she led off a parade of prominent and not-so-prominent citizens to their deaths. The guillotine, the new instrument of egalitarian justice, was put to work. Public executions were considered educational. Women were encouraged to sit and knit during trials and executions. The Revolutionary Tribunal ordered the execution of 2,400 people in Paris by July Across France 40,000 people lost their lives.Marie AntoinetteLouis XVIIThe guillotine

4. The Directory A. A Directory was set up, but was overthrown and replaced by a Consulate, headed by Two Consuls – one of whom was Napoleon Bonaparte. B. Napoleon quickly brought about a coup d’etat and became the sole ruler. C. The Revolution was over!

5. Napoleon Bonaparte A.The French Revolution ended in 1799 when Napoleon entered Paris and became First Consul at the age of 30. B.He took the title of Emperor Napoleon I in 1804.

The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques Louis David – notice that he has already crowned himself and now is crowning his wife, Josephine. The Pope has to sit and watch; symbolic of the kind of ruler Napoleon was to be.

6. Napoleon’s Accomplishments A. Created a new legal system, the Napoleonic Code B. Set up schools C. Ended the estate social class system D. Created a bureaucracy based on merit not on birth E. Reduced the power of the Catholic Church F. Required all citizens to pay taxes