Meeting of the Estates-General  King Louis XVI called the Estates-General to order  Financial crisis  Stabilize his rule  Voting unfairly favored 1 st and 2 nd estates  First estate – clergy  Second estate – nobility  Third estate – commoners (bourgeoisie) and peasants

How does this political cartoon illustrate the relationship between the 3 Estates?

The Tennis Court Oath  Third estate = National Assembly  Tennis Court Oath was a promise not to disband until a constitution was written

The Storming of the Bastille  King Louis XIV decided to punish 3 rd estate  Ended up not having to  July 14, 1789  Hundreds of hungry people stormed the Bastille, a prison, looking for gunpowder

Storming of the Bastille Took it down brick by brick Began the French Revolution Peasants revolted against their lords Reign of Terror

The March on Versailles  Months of bread shortages led to women of Paris to march to Versailles (where the palace was) to demand bread  King and queen leave Versailles, never to return again

Reforms of the Catholic Church  Catholic Church had much power  National Assembly seized church owned land and sold it  Needed $$ to start new government  Civil Constitution of the Clergy  Bishops & priests elected by people and not the pope

Declaration of the Rights of Man  August 26, 1789  Inspiration from English Bill of Rights, U.S. Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution  Natural rights of men  Liberty, property, security, resistance to oppression

Execution of Louis XVI  Guillotined during Reign of Terror  Maximilien Robespierre established special revolutionary courts, responsible only to him.  He feared enemies both inside and outside France.  He tried citizens for treason, killing over 40,000 Frenchmen in 2 years.

Revolution Radicals Radicals = people that wanted extreme change  Jacobin faction Jean-Paul Marat  Defender of sans-culottes  Wanted destruction of king’s power, death of 1 st and 2 nd estates  Pure democracy

Committee of Public Safety  In control of government  Wanted to defend France from external and internal threats  Reign of Terror Georges Danton Maximilien Robespierre

A motto from the French Revolution is Liberté, égalité, fraternité This translates into liberty, equality, fraternity Libertem Egalite, Fraternite

Liberty = freedom Equality = all are equal Fraternity = brotherhood Why would this motto of Liberté, égalité, fraternité be an appropriate motto for the French Revolution? How does this motto perfectly sum up what the French were fighting for during the revolution?

Execution of Maximilien Robespierre  July 1794 Robespierre was taken to the guillotine by members of the National Convention.  This ended the Reign of Terror.

After the Reign of Terror… National Convention  Restricted power of Committee of Public Safety  Churches allowed to reopen  New constitution was written  More conservative than Robespierre’s government

The Directory  Formed from new constitution  5 members  Corrupt  Used the military to help keep their power

Napoleon and Coup d’Etat  Coup d’etat = overthrow of government  Napoleon Bonaparte  Military leader  Did not support the Directory  Overthrew the Directory in 1799

The Age of Napoleon  People lost faith in the French government  Napoleon set up a consulate  People should have been able to elect but Napoleon had absolute power  Napoleon claimed he had saved the gains of the revolution.  Agree or disagree?

How Did Napoleon Keep Power?  He was first elected by a plebiscite, or vote of the people.  He supported the constitution and provided strong leadership.

Napoleon & Catholic Church  Wanted to make peace with Catholic Church  Catholicism became religion of majority  Pope could not ask for church lands seized during French Revolution  People who owned “church” land loved Napoleon

Napoleon and the Economy  What were the goals?  Decrease inflation, equal taxation  What did Napoleon do?  Fairer tax code  National Bank  State loans to businesses  What were the results?  Equal taxation  Stable economy

Napoleonic Code, or Civil Code  Before F.R., there were over 300 different types of laws  7 new law codes, most important was Napoleonic Code  Goals of the Napoleonic Code  Less government corruption  Equal opportunity in government

Napoleonic Code (continued)  What did the Napoleonic Code do?  Equality of all citizens  Right of people to choose their profession  Jobs given based on merit  Fired corrupt officials  Religious toleration  Created lycees – government run schools  Abolition (get rid of) of serfdom and all feudal obligations (serfs and peasants owing money to lords)

Napoleonic Code (continued)  What were the results of the Napoleonic Code?  Honest, competent officials  Equal opportunity in government  Public education

Napoleon’s New Government  Strong, central government  Government jobs based on merit  Birth and rank did not matter  New aristocracy/Upper class  60% - military officers  22% - from noble families of old regime  Rest – other government officials  Restricted freedom of the press