1. The French Revolution Begins

2. Causes of French Revolution
Three Estates
1st Estate: Clergy
2nd Estate: Nobility
3rd estate: Vast majority of the population
Enlightenment ideas/American Revolution
Discontent
Economic Troubles

3. Three Estates
First Estate: Enormous wealth & privilege. Paid no taxes.
Second Estate: Top jobs in the government, army, courts & church. Paid no taxes.
Third Estate: 98% of population. Diverse group
Bourgeoisie- Middle class; included bankers, merchants & manufacturers
peasants (majority)
Urban workers

4. Discontent
Members of Third Estate resented privileges enjoyed by the other estates
Small rise in price of bread=hunger or starvation
Burdened by taxes
Enlightenment ideas led people to question: Why should the first two estates have privileges at the expense of the majority?

5. Economic Problems
Deficit Spending- Government spending more money than it takes in
Louis XIV left France in debt
Food prices were rising
Solution: increase taxes, but nobles & clergy greatly resisted
So, Louis XVI called for a meeting of the Estates General…

6. Estates General Meeting
Each estate listed their grievances:
fairer taxes
regular meetings of Estates General
freedom of the press
Showed boiling class resentments

7. Tennis Court Oath Estates General meets, calling for reform
Issue of voting
Traditionally, each estate has one vote (Third Estate always outvoted)
Third Estate called for votes to be counted by head
Declared themselves the National Assembly- formed to write a constitution that describes the basic rules and laws of government
Tennis Court Oath- Met on a tennis court & swore never to separate and to meet wherever the circumstances might require until they had established a just constitution

8. Storming of the Bastille
Bastille: fortress that represented royal authority
800 Parisians gathered outside of Bastille demanding weapons and gunpowder
Mob broke through defenses, killing many, but finding no weapons
Symbol of the beginning
of the French Revolution

9. Timeline
You will construct a timeline of the events of the French Revolution. With each date, give a brief description of the event & a colored picture
Pgs
Due at the end of class tomorrow.
Dates:
1770s
1780s
May 1789
July 14, 1789
June 1791
April 1792
September 1792
January 1793
October 1793
July 1794
Reign of Terror