The French Revolution

Preliminary Stage

Causes of the French Revolution

Inept Ruler? King Louis XVI

Financial Crisis 50% of revenue went to pay off debts Series of bad harvests 1787 & 1788 Need for tax reform American Revolution? Lavish lifestyle of the monarchy Bread prices went up 50% in 1789 Louis XVI hoped to raise taxes on ancien régime Aristocracy resisted reforms Forced Louis to call the Estates-General for the first time since 1614

Estates General First Estate: Second Estate: Third Estate: Catholic clergy Second Estate: Nobles Third Estate: Serfs, peasants, urban workers 1st Estate: 100,000 -did not pay taxes 2nd Estate: 400,000 -exempt from many taxes 3rd Estate: 97%-98% (24,000,000) provided bulk of French tax revenue

By Abbe Sieyes, a clergyman who became a revolutionary, 1789 “What is the Third Estate? All. But an ‘all’ that is fettered (chained) and oppressed. What would it be without the privileged order? It would be all; but free and flourishing. Nothing will go well without the Third Estate; everything would go considerably better without the other two.” To a smaller scale: Enlightenment thought and the American example

Discussion Questions What were the similarities between the long-term causes of the American and French Revolutions? Differences?

Initial Stage (1789-1791)

Calling of the Estates-General May 5, 1789 First time since 1696 Deadlock vote

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity The National Assembly June 20, 1789 Liberty, Equality, Fraternity The third estate and some members of the first Tennis Court Oath: pledged to write a constitution that would value popular sovereignty

Storming of the Bastille Only 7 prisoners locked up French citizens fearing King Louis XVI would use violence to put down the revolution stormed the Bastille on 14 July 1789

Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen Passed August 26, 1789 Not a Constitution A statement of general principals -Defines individual and collective rights -Does not address women or slavery -like the declaration of independence

Women’s March Storming of Versailles October 1, 1789

The Constitution of 1791 Limited monarchy and representative assembly Consent of the governed Church under state control Declared the people had natural rights and that it was the job of the government to protect these rights

Crisis Stage (1792-1794)

Radicals Take Control Arrest of Louis XVI August 10, 1792

Execution of Louis XVI January 21, 1793 Louis tries to escape and it leads to his execution along with his wife’s

Radical Reforms of the Jacobins “National Convention” All men can vote Abolished slavery Universal military conscription Spirit of nationalism Set price controls & seized crops from farmers

Reign of Terror Led by Maximilien Robespierre 16,000+ died under the guillotine the Incorruptible,” leader of “Committee of Public Safety Historians estimate could be as high as 40,000 “The first maxim of our politics ought to be to lead the people by means of reason and the enemies of the people by terror.”

British View of Reign of Terror Perspective of the counter-revolutionaries: "The Radical's Arms", it depicts the infamous guillotine. "No God! No Religion! No King! No Constitution!" is written in the republican banner.

End of the Terror July 28, 1794 National Convention voted for the arrest and death of Robespierre

Discussion Question How were the actions of American radicals and French radicals similar? How were they different?

Recovery Stage (1794-1815)

Napoleon Bonaparte The Directory: Failed to solve economic problems of France Napoleon staged a coup d’etat in 1799 Becomes emperor in 1804 Ruled for 4 years following the reign of terror Popular authoritarianism

Domestic Policies of Napoleon Greater internal stability and protection of property Freedom of Religion Denied rights of women Restricted speech and expression Property and political

Napoleon’s Empire Left: Napoleon’s Empire by 1912 Above: Napoleon’s Retreat from Russia

Napoleon on Elba This should NOT be a prison Weakened by invasion of Russia, could not hold off Russia, Austria, Prussia, and England Abdicated in 1814 Escaped

Battle of Waterloo Tried to regain control, but couldn’

Discussion Question At what point in time were the French closest to achieving their original goals of the revolution?

Legacy of the French Revolution Global Independence movements Haitian Revolution Latin American independence Triggered by Napoleon’s invasion of Spain Egypt broke away from Ottoman Empire Slave Trade and Slavery England abolished slave trade in 1807; slavery in 1833 Brazil—Last to abolish slavery (1888) Abolition of serfdom Except in Russia

Legacy of the French Revolution Women’s Rights Played major role in the revolutions Sewing uniforms, nurses, running businesses, some even fought Lost many rights after revolution Napoleon Feminist Movements Mary Wollstonecraft Spread of nationalism in Europe German and Italian unification Greek independence