1. Napoleon & the French Revolution
Chapter 16 Lesson 4 – Textbook pages

2. The Monarch’s Control French monarchs kept tight hold of power
Did not control money well – 1789 on verge of bankruptcy
King Louis XVI (16) needed approval of the Estates- General (France’s legislature)
Made up of 3 Estates, or groups:
First Estate – clergy – paid no taxes
Second Estate – nobility (owned about a third of the nation’s land and held high government posts – paid no taxes
Third Estate – Commoners – forced to pay France’s entire tax burden

3. Third Estate (Commoners)
First Estate (clergy)
Second Estate (nobility)
Third Estate (Commoners)

4. The French Revolution in 2:49

5. National Assembly
In 1789 the Estates-General met for the 1st time in 175 years
Each Estate met by itself and had one vote
3rd Estate was scared b/c they were outnumbered
Wanted each member’s vote to be counted individually
If all the Estates worked together they could force Louis XVI to agree to changes
Louis refused to let the Estates vote together
3rd Estate renamed itself the National Assembly and began working on a constitution

6. The Storming of the Bastille
On July 14th, 1789 a mob destroyed the Bastille, a hated French prison – marked the beginning of the Revolution
National Assembly
Eliminated privileges of the 1st and 2nd Estate
Approved the Declaration of the Rights of Man – stated the reasons for the French Revolution
1791 adopted the constitution for France –
Monarch powers limited
Government divided into 3 branches: legislative, executive, judicial

7. National Convention French Revolution scared other countries
Prussia and Austria attacked France – wanted to restore Louis to absolute power
National Convention governed from
Monarchy was abolished – Louis tried, convicted, and beheaded
Jacobins, the most radical members of the Convention, seized power in 1793 began the Reign of Terror – anyone suspected of opposing them faced arrest and execution