1. Aim: Could the French Revolution have been avoided?
Do Now: What do you know about the French Revolution? What would you like to know?

2. According to the timeline above, identify five countries that had revolutions or wars of independence between 1775 and 1848.
Which was the first country to rebel in the “Age of Revolution?”
Based on the timeline, what earlier events may have caused the Age of Revolution? Why do you think that was?

4. I The Old Regime (Ancien Regime)
A) Socio-political system of pre revolutionary France B) France’s social hierarchy was divided into 3 estates.

5. Unknown artist, “You Should Hope this Game Will Be Over Soon”, 1788
What is this political cartoon trying to say about the 3 Estates?

6. II Causes of the French Revolution
Economic Reasons:
France’s economy was declining due to
The price of bread was skyrocketing.
The monarchy spent too much money on luxuries
France aided the American Revolution which cost $$$
The 3rd Estate also paid the most in taxes
Social Reasons: Enlightenment philosophes questioned the divine right of monarchs.
Political Reasons: Influence of the American Revolution!

7. The French Monarchy
Marie Antoinette was born in Vienna, Austria 1755 to the Holy Roman Emperor Francis I and Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa. She was 14 years old when she married the future French King Louis XVI.

8. The 3 Estates Group Work
You will be assigned a group by your teacher. Each group must choose a leader (to delegate work and keep everyone on task), a reader(s), and a writer(s).
Your group will be given 1-2 documents about life in 1 of the 3 estates.
Your Group’s Task: Read the document(s). Answer all questions as a group.
We will complete the synthesis as a class.
1 paper per group will be collected and graded

9. III The Estates General
Louis XVI needed money so was forced to call a meeting of the Estates-General, the French parliament, which had not met for 175 years! Each estate had representatives in the Estates General.
In order to fix France’s economic situation, most of the 3rd Estate wanted to set up a constitutional government that would abolish the tax exemptions of the clergy and nobility.
Under the old system the single vote of the 1st Estate and the single vote of the 2nd Estate together could outvote the 3rd. BUT The 3rd Estate had many more members than the other 2 estates. The change to each member having a vote would give the 3rd Estate much more say. The 3rd Estate favored a system of each member voting, but the king upheld the traditional voting method of 1 vote per estate.
The 3rd Estate reacted by calling itself a National Assembly and decided to draft a constitution. King Louis XVI locked them out of their meeting hall.
The 3rd Estate was joined by ‘liberal’ members of the other 2 Estates and moved to a nearby tennis court.

10. IV The Tennis Court Oath
D) 3 days after the National Assembly was locked out of the Estates General, they met in a nearby indoor tennis court and took the Tennis Court Oath, vowing not to leave until constitutional reform had been achieved. On June 23, 1789, Louis XVI relented. He ordered the 3 estates to meet together as the National Assembly and vote by population, on a constitution for France.
“The National Assembly, considering that it has been summoned to establish the constitution of the kingdom, to effect the regeneration of the public order, and to maintain the true principles of monarchy… Decrees that all members of this Assembly shall immediately take a solemn oath not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established and consolidated upon firm foundations; and that, the said oath taken, all members and each one of them individually shall ratify this steadfast resolution by signature.”

12. V The Storming of the Bastille and Great Fear
A) On June 12, as the National Assembly continued to meet at Versailles, Parisians panicked due to rumors of an impending military coup. On July 14 rioters stormed the Bastille fortress in an attempt to secure weapons. B) The 7 prisoners of the Bastille were freed. (*The majority of the prisoners had been moved.) C) The capture of the Bastille symbolized the end of the ancien regime D) Peasants looted and burned the homes of landlords and nobles (The Great Fear)  inspired the National Assembly to abolish feudalism on August 4, 1789.

13. Bastille Day July 14th, Paris

14. Symbols of the French Revolution
The Tricolor Flag
The WHITE of the Bourbons
The RED & BLUE of Paris.
Liberté, égalité, fraternité Or Death

15. Marie Antoinette
Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1755, Marie Antoinette married the future French king Louis XVI when she was just 14 years old. The young couple soon came to symbolize all of the excesses of the reviled French monarchy, and Marie Antoinette herself became the target of a great deal of vicious gossip. Was it fair to blame Marie Antoinette for France’s problems? When told that starving French peasants lacked any bread to eat, the queen is alleged to have said, “Let them eat cake!”. There is NO evidence she ever said this. She had become a symbol of the ills of the decadence of the French monarchy. In reality, she established a home for unwed mothers, and gave frequently to charity. Childless, she adopted several children including a boy from Senegal. She did indulge in chocolate and socialize, and once wore a French warship model in her hairdo.

16. Summary Questions
What were the long term causes of the French Revolution?
What were the immediate causes of the French Revolution?
Why did Louis XVI call for a meeting of the Estates General?
What was the National Assembly and why did they go to a nearby tennis court?
What was the Tennis Court Oath?
Why was the Bastille stormed? What was the outcome?
Do you think it is fair that Marie Antoinette was blamed for France’s problems? Why or why not?

17. Key Vocabulary
1st Estate 2nd Estate 3rd Estate Ancien Regime Bastille Estates-General French Revolution King Louis XVI Queen Marie Antoinette Tennis Court Oath