The French Revolution

Causes of the French Revolution

Causes of the Revolution Poor Leadership Louis XVI A Divided Society influence of the American Revolution influence of Enlightenment ideas Political & Legal Equality (Rousseau) Personal Freedoms (Voltaire) Popular Sovereignty & Natural Rights (Locke)

Inept Ruler? King Louis XVI

Q. What can you infer from the pie graphs on why a revolution occurred in France?

A Divided Society First Estate: 100,000 Catholic clergy Did not pay taxes Second Estate: 400,000 nobles Exempt from many taxes Third Estate: Rest of Population made up of peasants, commoners, & Sans-culottes – working class Provided bulk of French tax revenue

Political inequalities for Middle Class First Estate Second Estate Third Estate X X X X X X X X X X X X 1 Vote 1 Vote X= Representative 1 Vote

Financial Crisis During 1780s, 50% of revenue went to pay off debts American Revolution? Lavish lifestyle of the monarchy Series of bad harvests 1787 & 1788 Bread prices went up 50% in 1789 Need for tax reform Louis XVI hoped to raise taxes on the aristocracy Aristocracy resisted reforms Forced Louis to call the Estates-General for the first time since 1614 start movie at 20:00 end 23

Phase I Moderate/liberal Goal- create constitutional monarchy

Calling of the Estates-General May 5, 1789

Debriefing: Meeting of the Estates General Describe what happened at the Estates General. How does it feel to be a member of the 3rd estate? Do you agree with the results of the Estates General? What options do the members of the 3rd estate have to change their status? How many people of the 3rd estate would now vote to meet apart from the 1st and 2nd estate and be the true representatives of the people of France? Who else might support members of the 3rd Estate who want to start a new government?

The National Assembly and Tennis Court Oath Third Estate removed themselves and created their own assembly a. renamed themselves the National Assembly and met at a nearby indoor tennis court b. Tennis Court Oath – promised not to disband until they had written a constitution for France

The National Assembly and Tennis Court Oath June 20, 1789 Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Storming of the Bastille- - July 1789: people were hungry and desperate. a rumor spread that the king’s troops were coming to sack Paris. - hundreds of people marched to the Bastille (a medieval fort and prison) to get gunpowder - soldiers fired on the crowd, killing many people. - Importance = Symbolized the start of the revolution - France enters “Great Fear” – general revolts against Old Feudal Regime.

Women’s March October 1789: Storming of Versailles October 1, 1789 October 1789: thousands of women marched to Versailles and demanded the King and Queen come to Paris and leave Versailles Their exit signaled the change of power and the radical reforms about the overtake France

Creation of a “The Declaration of the Rights of Man” nobles in the First and Second Estates joined the National Assembly scared of the violent commoners voted to end their own privileges National Assembly adopted a statement of revolutionary ideas “A declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen”

Declaration of Rights of Man and the Citizen Passed by the National Assembly on August 26, 1789 Not a Constitution but a statement of general principles Defines individual and collective rights Does not address women or slavery

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity Marquis de Lafayette The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen - 1789 June 20, 1789 Liberty, Equality, Fraternity

Phase II (1792-1794) Radical Goal- a republic; eliminate monarchists and counterrevolutionaries

Radicals Take Control Arrest of Louis XVI August 10, 1792 June 1791 Louis and is Family try to escape France They are recognized near the border and brought back to Paris September 1791 National assembly creates a constitutional monarchy Stripping the king of most of his authority Frances assemblymen would have the power to make laws Louis reluctantly approves it Hands over his power to the Legislative Assembly

neighboring countries began to worry about their own monarchies French émigrés (nobles who fled from France) tried to convince other countries to restore Louis XVI French revolutionary leaders declared war on Austria, then Prussia radicals imprisoned Louis XVI,

Radical Reforms of the Jacobins Jacobins was a radical political club Led by Jean Paul Marat Goal: remove the king and establish a Republic National Convention September 21 1792 abolishes the monarchy and creates a republic Men were given the right to vote, not women Louis XVI’s role went from King to common citizen He was sentence to death for treason and was sent to the guillotine

Execution of Louis XVI January 21, 1793

“Reign of Terror” 1793 - 1794

Reign of Terror Led by Maximilien Robespierre Goal was to build a “public of virtue” 1793 became leader of the Committee of Public Safety He decided who was an enemy of the republic According to records 16,000+ died under the guillotine Historians estimate could be as high as 40,000

British View of Reign of Terror

End of the Terror Robespierre is killed July 28, 1794

Phase III (1794-1815) Conservative/reactionary Goal- To end “terror” and establish Directory

Directory and Rise of Napoleon 1799 - 1815

Napoleon Bonaparte Moderate government, the Directory, rules for five years following Reign of Terror Failed to solve economic problems of France Napoleon staged a coup d'état in 1799 Becomes emperor in 1804

Domestic Policies of Napoleon Maintained some rights gained during the revolution Freedom of religion Napoleonic Code (Civil Code) Schools and universities Reversed other gains Rights of women Freedom of expression Reformed economy Revised tax code Central bank

Napoleon’s Empire

Napoleon’s Failed Invasion of Russia

Napoleon’s Empire Left: Napoleon’s Empire by 1812 Above: Napoleon’s Retreat from Russia

Napoleon on Elba This should NOT be a prison

Battle of Waterloo British and Prussians Defeat Napoleon for good

Napoleon Banished to St. Helena

Napoleon’s Downfall Could not conquer British navy Guerilla movements in Spain and Portugal Failed invasion of Russia Final defeat at Waterloo

Legacy of Napoleon Unsuccessful attempt to unify Europe under French domination. Napoleonic Code – great influence on modern European legal codes Spread of nationalism in Europe German and Italian unification Greek independence

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