The changing times of a nation: The French Revolution Open your books to page 44!

How the French Revolution relates to us.  The French revolution demonstrates that even hundreds of years ago, groups of people could make a difference for the better and change the situation!  This is a form of nationalism – a group of people uniting for a change, creating a nation more fair for everyone.

Key terms….to write down  Revolution  Republic  Bourgeoisie  Take a second to find and define these terms!

Unrest in nations  Groups of people inside a ‘nation’ may feel oppressed and not represented or cared for by the government or leader of a nation.  There are many examples of this in Canada and around the world.  Open todays newspaper….how many stories are about groups of people fighting for their rights?  To land, for equality or new government

When your path has already been decided….  In some societies, people’s roles are set before they are born. This was exactly the case in France before the revolution.  Have you ever had your destiny or option chosen for you?  Have you been judged before you had a chance to show your true self?  Some people in countries are born into oppression or poverty due to the results of imperialism a hundred years ago  These people tend to join together as they  Feel a sense of belonging due to common life experiences.

French Peasants: Stuck in a rut! The son of a commoner—peasant, laborer, or businessperson—was likely to remain a commoner all his life. They were stuck in a rut, and unhappy! The daughter of an aristocrat—the highest—class in French society—would enjoy privileges a commoner’s daughter would only dream of. The people who held the most power in society were the king, aristocrats and the Catholic Church.

Louis and his aristocrats were out to lunch He knew very very little about the concerns of the common people and definitely could not identify with them. The aristocrats paid very little in taxes, but collected taxes, rent and other fees from the commoners. In 1789, 96 percent of the population of France was made up of commoners!!!! So these aristocrats really cleaned up taxing the commoners!

5 reasons for the French Revolution   Your Task – make a note of the 5 main reasons Kieth gives for the French revolution AND explain them.  This is for marks  Which factor do you see as being the most important? Why?

The Bastille  King Louis ruled as an absolute monarch  If anyone ticked him off or said anything negative, he would but them in the prison – THE BASTILLE  French peasants were tired of having no say but representing nearly all the population, they had to pay tons in taxes, had no real vote and were tired of the way things were  They stormed the Bastille after Louis continued to tax the people heavily after building a large palace for himself…over 600 Parisians stormed and captured the prison causing revolt all through out the country against the ruling class

The Bastille – Creating a collective consciousness  Collective consciousness – events can happen to unite people into action or protest…they may never forget them and may always be a part of the national myth or story of the nation….it can forever unite people.  People often consider 9/11 as a major event contributing to the American collective consciousness in the ‘war on terror.’  Often major events contribute to the collective consciousness of a nation or group of people. Sometimes positively making the sense of national pride stronger or sometimes provoking civil unrest and protest.

Speaking Out  The royal police were on constant look out for people saying the wrong thing about the king or aristocrats.  Despite this they published their ideas in books, pamphlets and newspapers—the mass media of the day.  Do we fear our government or media in this day and age? How is it different for us?  Think about the fear of government the people in V for Vendetta felt, is it similar to the French people in 1789?

Changes were happening! The people were chatting over coffee or over their meager dinners about the poor treatment by the aristocrats and Louis. They discussed their rights…well, lack of. They hated the treatment by King Louis XVI, the aristocrats, and the ruling party. They also knew that Britain’s American colonies had rebelled and fought and created an independent country called the United States in 1783! They also knew that now Britain itself had a parliament, the monarch did not have absolute power. This gave them encouragement to do the same.

A growing middle class  The common people of France included a growing middle class called the bourgeoisie.  This was a dangerous group for the floundering government.  They were becoming educated and held good jobs such as doctors, lawyers, business owners, artists and other highly skilled occupations.  Most importantly they were becoming educated in new ideas of liberty and equality.

“Man is free at the moment he wishes to be”  This was written by a famous writer who went by the writer name Voltaire. His comments like this one got him thrown into jail, but help spread a feeling that change was possible!  This can be related to the freedom fighter V.  How are these two similar in their goal?  What are they trying to inspire in the citizens of their nation?

The outcome – A republic  France went from an absolute monarchy to a republic. In a republic:  A president heads the government  Citizens, not the monarch or dictator hold the political power through their vote  Examples – United States, Britain and Canada