The French Revolution Freedom! …..Equality!...Brotherhood!

The French Revolution The Old Regime Outbreak of Revolution Radical Stage of the Revolution

Political Alliances The Palace of Versailles Louis XVI marries Marie Antoinette establishing an alliance between France and Austria

Outside Versailles… The people of France are deprived and hungry… - Seven Year’s War (1756–1763) - France’s economy brutalized by loss to Great Britain in North America - population continues to grow while economy suffers more and more - France becomes a nation on the brink of chaos. Wealthy nation, but bankrupt government (50% of budget to pay debt)

The Three Estates

Three Estates First Estate – clergymen - lived lives of luxury, owned land and paid little taxes Second Estate – nobility - highly privileged, land-owners, government and military officials, paid little to no taxes due to close relationship with the King and traditional privileges

Three Estates Third Estate – peasants, city-workers, middle class Peasants - small farmers; most owned small farms Bourgeoisie (middle class) – doctors, bankers, lawyers, merchants, intellectuals, government bureaucrats; lacked the prestige of the nobility - highly motivated by the Enlightenment

The Enlightenment French Revolutionaries - inspired by Voltaire, Rousseau and the like, the Enlightenment provides an opportunity for the people to question their class structure, the government, etc - encourages the people not to trust what they know (church, government), but to think and to question what they do not…

Bread Riots Financial Reform Louis XVI raises taxes for the poor; the nobility refuses to be taxed at all Jacques Necker - believes it is the government’s duty to assure there is enough bread and grain for all - convinces Louis XVI to call The Estates General

The Estates General

May 1789 The Estates General meets at Versailles - The Third Estate desires to change the method of voting in the interest of fairness and meet as one body - The Third Estate sets up The National Assembly The Tennis Court Oath – the decision to write a new constitution for France - Louis XVI gives in and the nobility and clergy join the National Assembly

The National Assembly Louis XVI responds to the National Assembly, exercising his power as monarch, by sending 18,000 soldiers to Versailles FEAR overcomes the people as it appears Louis XVI will crush the National Assembly A MOB FORMS…

Revolution What is a revolution? Revolution – 1. a sudden, complete or marked change in something; 2. an (often sudden) broad, fundamental, and lasting change in people's behavior, culture, and world view AND/OR in society's social, political, and cultural institutions What causes revolution? How does a revolution succeed? Does a revolution need to be violent?

Storming the Bastille July 14, 1789 – Paris

Storming the Bastille July 14, 1789 – Paris, France - to save the National Assembly the people of Paris storm the Bastille for guns and gun powder - the heads of the Commander of the Bastille and the Mayor of Paris placed on pikes and paraded through the streets of Paris

Victory at the Bastille - Louis XVI calls back his troops and the people of Paris declare VICTORY! - July 14 th Bastille Day

Declaration of the Rights of Man August 27, class distinctions are abolished - all men are considered equal - seize power from the monarch and create a Constitutional Monarchy - equal rights, justice under reasonable laws, -freedom of the press and religion restored

Women’s March on Versailles October 5, despite the (unsigned) Declaration of the Rights of Man, conditions seem to worsen, Parisian women protest the shortage of bread and increasing food prices “To Versailles” - women march 12miles and force the royal family to return to Paris at knifepoint - Louis XVI signs the Declaration of the Rights of Man

“Let them eat cake”

Constitutional Monarch May 1791 French Constitution - limits power of the king - sets up law-making body, the Legislative Assembly - loss of church authority

French Revolution Causes of the French Revolution Class Conflict? (The Marxist Explanation) Economic Misery? (Bad Harvests = Angry People) Culture? (The Enlightenment, Public Sphere, Secularism) Political Crisis (Angry Aristocrats & Excluded Bourgeoisie)

The Enlightenme nt Marie Antoinette The EconomyVersailles Class Structure Bad Harvest King Louis 15 th King Louis 16 th WeatherOther?The People Causes for the French Revolution? Explain…3 reasons and pick one! Causes for the French Revolution? Explain…3 reasons and pick one!

Glorious Const. Mon.*** James II Parliament French - National Assembly -Louis XIV American George III Congress Enlgmt. Civ. War. Human Rights Violent