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Chapter 10 The French Revolution.

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1 Chapter 10 The French Revolution

2 The Storming of the Bastille- July 14, 1789
On July 14, 1789, crowds stormed the Bastille, a prison in Paris. This event, whose only practical effect was to free a few prisoners, marked the first time the populace of Paris redirected the course of the revolution. Anonymous, France, 18th century, “Siege of the Bastille, 14 July, 1789.” Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France. Bridgeman–Giraudon/Art Resource, NY The Storming of the Bastille- July 14, 1789

3 French Financial Crisis
Deeply in debt due to Seven Years’ War and American Revolution (deficit spending) Parlements – French royal courts dominated by hereditary nobility. Made it difficult to tax the wealthy nobles. Were abolished by Louis XV and reinstated by Louis XVI. Enjoyed positive public opinion because they opposed the monarchy and used language of “liberty”. Actually were very self-interested. Didn’t care much about the truly poor- just wanted to maintain their own privileges and wealth (though many were “enlightened”).

4 Monarchy seeks new taxes
France was actually a RICH country, despite the debt. Problem lay in France’s ability to tap the nation’s wealthiest people through taxes. Noble-run parlements refused to tax themselves. Peasants were the poorest and carried the entire tax burden alone. 1788: Bad harvest  starvation and high bread prices. Louis XVI an unpopular and weak king.

5 Jacques Necker Royal director-general of finances and Swiss banker.
Argued that the economy was really not that bad (if you removed the cost of American war). Revealed a large portion of royal costs went to pensions for aristocrats. Angered the aristocrats and as a result he left office.

6 Calonne’s Reform Plan Charles Alexander de Calonne was new minister of finance Wanted to introduce a new land tax that all landowners regardless of class would have to pay, and lower some taxes like the gabelle. Wanted to reform economic privileges of the Church. New local assemblies made up of landowners based on land more than social status would determine any additional taxes.

7 Assembly of Notables Made of upper crust of nobility and Church.
Aristocracy refused to accept Calonne’s plan. Called for the reappointment of Necker. Claimed only the Estates General, a medieval institution not used since 1614, could consent to new taxes.

8 Well-meaning but weak and vacillating, Louis XVI (r
Well-meaning but weak and vacillating, Louis XVI (r. 1774–1792) stumbled from concession to concession until he finally lost all power to save his throne. Joseph Siffred Duplessis (1725–1802), “Louis XVI”. Versailles, France. Photograph copyright Bridgeman–Giraudon/Art Resource, NY

9 Deadlock and the Estates General
Calonne replaced by Etienne Charles Loménie de Brienne: Archbishop of Toulouse. Saw how bad the debt really was. Brienne appealed to the Assembly of the Clergy to pay debts, but Church refused. Parlements wanted privileges of the early 17th century returned to them. Brienne resigns and replaced by Necker – reforms on the horizon.

10 The Three Estates Three groups or estates existed in France:
First Estate – clergy Second Estate – nobility Third Estate – everyone else including middle class (bourgeoisie) Third Estate warned it would not let the first two estates rule the future of the nation. “What is the third estate? Everything. What has it been in the political order up to the present? Nothing. What does it ask for? To become something.” –Abbé Siéyes

11 Challenging the French Political Order This late eighteenth-century cartoon satirizes the French social and political structure as the events and tensions leading up to the outbreak of the French Revolution unfolded. This image embodies the highly radical critique of the French political structure that erupted from about l787 when the nobility and church refused to aid the financial crisis of the monarchy. CORBIS/Bettmann

12 Debate over Estate Voting
Assembly of Notables demanded each estate have an equal amount of representatives. Parlement of Paris believed that each estate should have just one vote each. The First and Second Estates would automatically outvote the Third 2-1. Third Estate immediately bemoaned the arrogance of the aristocracy and now distrusted it.

13 Third Estate Victory December 1788 – royal council announced Third Estate would elect twice as many representatives to the Estates General as either of the other two Estates. Liberal nobles and clergy supported this move. Method of voting had not been decided when the Estates General gathered at Versailles in May, 1789

14 The Cahiers de Doleances
Cahiers de doleances – list of grievances registered by local electors to be presented to the king The grievances were not all that different from the Third Estate Government waste Indirect taxes Church taxes Corruption The cahiers wanted More equitable taxes Measures to facilitate trade and commerce Free press

15 The National Assembly Voting method still up in the air.
Third Estate decided to create a new body, invited the other two estates to join, and re-named it the National Assembly. Many liberal nobles and clergy joined. Officially declared on June 17, 1789.

16 The Tennis Court Oath The National Assembly gathers in an indoor tennis court to draft a new constitution. King Louis XVI – capitulates and orders the First and Second Estates to meet with the General Assembly. The National Assembly renames itself the National Constituent Assembly and is composed of members of all three estates who shared goals of administrative, constitutional and economic reform of the country. Had nothing else happened, this would have transformed France into a constitutional (limited) monarchy. But instead…

17 This painting of the Tennis Court Oath, June 20, is by Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825). In the center foreground are members of different estates joining hands in cooperation as equals. The presiding officer is Jean-Sylvain Bailly, soon to become mayor of Paris. Jacques-Louis David, “Oath of the Tennis Court, the 20th of June 1789.” Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Versailles, France. Bridgeman–Giraudon/Art Resource, NY The Tennis Court Oath

18 The Overthrow of the Bastille
Winter and spring – high bread prices cause shortages. July 11, 1789 – Louis XVI dismisses finance minister Necker. Louis sought to regain control by force and gathered troops around Paris. July 14, 1789 – large crowds against Louis XVI go the Bastille – a fortress that once held political prisoners – looking to arm the citizen militia (98 Parisians, several troops and the governor of the Bastille are killed).

19 The Overthrow of the Bastille
July 15, 1789 – the (militia) National Guard, led by Marquis de Lafayette, officially take over the Bastille. Louis XIV days later recognizes the new government. “Journées”: days of importance; the populace of Paris redirects the course of the Revolution.

20 The “Great Fear” Paranoia and rage buzz through France.
Peasant disturbances intensify in the countryside as the aristocrats’ land is taken over. August 4, 1789 – Several nobles and clergymen renounce their nobility rights at the National Constituent Assembly to quell the riots. “Old Regime” is officially abolished; all citizens equal before the law. Sale of government offices was prohibited.

21 The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
New constitution drafted on August 27, 1789. Very similar to the Declaration of Independence in proclaiming liberty, freedom, and natural rights. Two most powerful ideas were civic equality and popular sovereignty. Women not included. Rousseau’s ideas of separate spheres of men and women were very influential. Educated women wanted rights.

22 The Women’s March on Versailles
Women upset about bread prices gather at Versailles – October 5, 1789. 7,000 women (and men) marched to Versailles demanding bread and king’s return to Paris. King Louis XVI forced to go back to Paris. They would never see Versailles again.

23 The Women of Paris marched to Versailles on October 5, 1789
The Women of Paris marched to Versailles on October 5, The following day the royal family was forced to return to Paris with them. Henceforth, the French government would function under the constant threat of mob violence. Anonymous, 18th CE, “To Versailles, to Versailles”. The women of Paris going to Versailles, 7 October, French. Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France. Photograph copyright Bridgeman–Giraudon/Art Resource, NY

24 The Political Reconstruction of France
Constitution of Legislative Assembly becomes main lawmaking body of France; monarch has limited powers. Only active citizens – those paying annual taxes – could vote. Olympe de Gouges – composed Declaration of the Rights of Woman, using the men’s declaration to call for women to be treated as equal citizens. Pointed out that there were many groups in France and French colonies ignored by the constitution. Provinces and parlements replaced by departments – equally sized administrative units.

25 The Economic Reconstruction of France
Workers organizations forbidden by the Chapelier Law Assembly feared power of guilds Land belonging to the Roman Catholic Church is confiscated and sold creating: Further inflation Religious schism Civil war Proved to be very controversial and divisive throughout France The assignats – government bonds from the sale of church property – used as currency, but used so often their value went down, raising inflation.

26 Map 18–1 FRENCH PROVINCES AND THE REPUBLIC In 1789, the National Constituent Assembly redrew the map of France. The ancient provinces (A) were replaced with a larger number of new, smaller departments (B). This redrawing of the map was part of the assembly’s effort to impose greater administrative rationality in France. The borders of the republic (C) changed as the French army conquered new territory.

27 Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre, French astronomer and
Jean-Baptiste Delambre (1749–1822) was one of the French astronomers whose measurements of the arch of meridians formed the basis for establishing the length of the meter. Image Works/Mary Evans Picture Library Ltd. Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Delambre, French astronomer and mathematician. Helped implement the metric system.

28 The assignats were government bonds that were backed by confiscated church lands. They circulated as money. When the government printed too many of them, inflation resulted and their value fell. Bildarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz

29 The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (July, 1790)
Transformed the Roman Catholic Church into a secular state. Clergy became salaried state employees. Reduced number of diocese and dissolved all religious orders except those serving the needy. Embittered relations between the church and the state (to this day). “Refractory” priests celebrated Mass in defiance anyway, and had many supporters. Pope Pius VI condemns both the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen.

30 Counterrevolutionary Activity
Émigrés – aristocrats who left France for bordering countries King Louis XVI attempts to flee France, but is caught (Flight to Varennes) Declaration of Pillnitz – Emperor Leopold II of Austria and King Frederick William II of Prussia announce that if another European power joins them they will intervene in France to protect the monarchy. Taken very seriously by the French.

31 In June 1791, Louis XVI and his family attempted to flee France
In June 1791, Louis XVI and his family attempted to flee France. They were recognized in the town of Varennes, where their flight was halted and they were returned to Paris. This ended any realistic hope for a constitutional monarchy. © Bettmann/CORBIS

32 The Jacobins Club of politically like-minded people (mostly lawyers) from the Third Estate who wanted a republic rather than a monarchy. Girondists – part of the Jacobins that assumed leadership of the Assembly Declared war on Austria Forced Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette into imprisonment Yet they were the more moderate Jacobins!

33 The Convention and the Sans-Culottes
The September Massacres – 1,200 people murdered in prisons by Parisans Convention – September 21, 1792 – Legislative Assembly calls for universal male suffrage and for France to be a monarchy Sans-culottes Name comes from the long trousers of the working people Led a Revolution more radical than the Girondists Anti-monarchical, republican, and wanted the people to make the decisions

34 The Convention and the Sans-Culottes
Policies of the Jacobins – began to cooperate with sans-culottes despite not having a problem with wealthy. Most extreme Jacobins were the Montagnards (“The Mountain”). More radical than the Girondists; advocated executing the king. Montagnards and sans-culottes dominated the Convention. Execution of Louis XVI – beheaded on January 21, 1793 Marie Antoinette beheaded Oct. 1793 Their son died of neglect 18 months later.

35 Execution of King Louis XVI. Jan. 21, 1793
On January 21, 1793, the Convention executed Louis XVI by guillotine. Cliché Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris

36 This is an example of the French Revolution-era clothing worn by the Sans-culottes or members of the poorer classes and their leaders. The outfit is comprised of the pantalon (long trousers), carmagnole (short-skirted coat), red cap of liberty, and sabots (wooden shoes). Dorling Kindersley Media Library/Mark Hamilton © Dorling Kindersley

37 France at War with Europe
Feb 1793: Girondists led the country to war with Great Britain, Holland, and Belgium. March 1793: Their general deserted to the enemy and a royalist revolt erupted in the Vendée (W. France), with much popular support Montagnards gain power.

38 Edmund Burke Wrote Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) – predicted political chaos (check), deaths of monarchs (check) and said the revolution will end in military despotism (yup). His book became a conservative’s guidebook. American Revolution hero Thomas Paine disagreed with him. Wrote The Rights of Man, defended age of revolution. Other European nations agreed with Burke when France declared war on Austria.

39 William Pitt (the Younger)
Britain’s prime minister during Revolution. Approved for acts suspending habeas corpus (law that rules one cannot be held in prison unless charged with a crime). Certain ideas considered treasonable. Essentially, British people lost certain freedoms due to fear of the spread of revolution. Other European nations would follow suit.

40

41 1793 and 1795 Partitions of Poland
Occurred out of fear that principles of revolution were establishing themselves in Poland (because they were!) Polish patriots had begun reforms to strengthen the Polish state. Frederick II of Prussia had to transfer troops from France to Poland (good news for France) and reached agreement with Catherine the Great of Russia to partition Poland.

42 The Reign of Terror There was a sense that the achievements of the revolution were in trouble by the wars Real and imagined enemies of revolution arrested and executed (peasants, nobles, clergy, business people and ex-revolutionary leaders). Feb 1793: War begins with Britain April 1793: First Coalition. France at war with Austria, Prussia, Britain, Spain, Sardinia, Holland. Convention takes extreme measures to defend accomplishments of the revolution; thousands of people will be executed in the name of liberty.

43 The Republic Defended The Committee of Public Safety – carried out the duties of the executive branch in dictatorial fashion. The levee en masse – led by Lazare Carnot, had military requisition on the entire population . Girondists expelled from the Convention. Conscription of male citizens into the army. Financial resources  support army Agreed to ceiling on prices in accordance to the sans-culotte Carried out more executions

44 Maximilien de Robespierre
Jacobin and lawyer by trade Originally against the death penalty and against the war Pro-republic Dominant figure of the National Assembly. Had support of sans-culotte. Called for an assault on all enemies of the Revolution. Due to the war, there was a state of emergency. Due process was put on hold; hasty public trials and executions.

45 Maximilien Robespierre (1758–1794) emerged as the most powerful revolutionary figure in 1793 and 1794, dominating the Committee of Public Safety. He considered the Terror essential for the success of the revolution. Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lille. Bridgeman–Giraudon/Art Resource, NY

46 “Republic of virtue” Seen as a new style of government
Inspired by Rousseau’s ideas of civic virtue and the social contract: Self-sacrifice Put the nation’s interests ahead of one’s own. Streets re-named in “egalitarian language” Fashion: everyone dressed sans-culotte Except Robespierre! Terror in the name of the public good. Terror is swift justice; therefore terror IS virtue.

47 Repression of Republican Women
May 1793: Society of Revolutionary Republican Women founded Goal: to fight internal enemies of revolution Militant female citizens At first, were supported by the Jacobins Controlled food prices and hunted down food hoarders Caused much turmoil; were later banned by the Convention. Olympe de Gouges was executed Nov. 1793 Women banned from politics and military

48 On the way to her execution in 1793, Marie Antoinette was sketched from life by Jacques-Louis David as she passed his window. Jacques Louis David (1748–1825), “Marie-Antoinette brought to the guillotine (after a drawing by David who witnessed the execution).” Pen drawing Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France. Bridgeman-Giraudon/Art Resource, NY

49 De-Christianization New calendar adopted Churches destroyed
Dated from “year 1” of the revolution 12 months of 30 days, 10 day weeks Months renamed after seasons/climates Churches destroyed Cathedral of Notre Dame  “Temple of Reason” Some clergy executed or forced to marry Not a popular move. Robespierre originally against this.

50 Cult of the Supreme Being: Robespierre standing on a papier-
machée mountain as leader of the “new faith”: a cult of “deism” that would impose “morality” on citizens. The Festival of the Supreme Being, which took place in June 1794, inaugurated Robespierre’s new civic religion. Its climax occurred when a statue of Atheism was burned and another statue of Wisdom rose from the ashes. Pierre-Antoine Demachy, “Festival of the Supreme Being at the Champ de Mars on June 8, 1794”. Musée de la Ville de Paris, Musée Carnavalet, Paris, France. Bridgeman–Giraudon/Art Resource, NY

51 Revolutionary Tribunals
Hasty public executions, often without trial (due process was suspended). Executions: Marie Antoinette and royal family Girondist politicians Peasants opposed to the Revolution Members of sans-culottes People from every social class were victims. Executions carried out by guillotine, shootings and drownings.

52 The End of the Terror Robespierre turns on leaders both from the political left and right, including Jacques Danton (popular Jacobin leader). Law of 22 Prairial (June 10, 1794) – tribunal could convict suspects without evidence against them. Gives angry speech on July 26 (9th of Thermidor) Fearing he was turning into a dictator, Robespierre and 80 of his supporters are executed without trial.

53 The Thermidorian Reaction
Influence of wealthy middle-class and professional people replaces sans-culottes Widespread fear of radicalism Fear that the sans-culottes had become too powerful Committee of Public Safety diminished Law of 22 Prairial repealed Many Jacobin leaders executed, often in the same way they had executed others in the Terror. “The White Terror” “Bands of Jesus”: young men, often aristocratic, beat up known Jacobins.

54 The Thermidorean Reaction
Traditional roles of men and women in addition to the church reestablished. Surviving Girondists returned to their seats. Fashion went back to “normal”. Families of victims celebrated with weird parties. Repealed women’s rights laws regarding divorce Women had less freedom in 1795 than in 1789.

55 Constitution of Year III
Rejected both constitutional monarchy and democracy Established two houses of the legislature and an executive branch Political system based on rank and birth replaced by system of civic equality and social status The levee en masse showed people the power of secular nationhood (nationalism) and citizen soldiers’ willingness to self-sacrifice. The French Revolution was really a triumph for the bourgeoisie and other landowners.

56 End of Sans-Culottes Sans-culottes replaced by the Directory: 5 man executive branch chosen from the Council of 500. Peace treaties with Spain and Prussia Gracchus Babeuf attempts to overthrow Directory with the Conspiracy of Equals Wanted to distribute property even amongst all citizens Plot fails and Babeuf is executed Directory weak due to Suppression of sans-culotttes The Two-Thirds law – favored people already in office Catholic royalist revival Wars

57 Post-revolution problems
Still at war with Austria and Britain The Directory was dependent on the military to keep peace at home and win wars abroad. All soldiers given the right to vote, regardless of property ownership. One general had a popular following: Napoleon Bonaparte.


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