american and french revolutions and the napoleonic era · monarchy, its inseparability from the...
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American and French
Revolutions
And
The Napoleonic Era
Britain’s Dominance
• Became United Kingdom of Great Britain (1707) when England & Scotland united
• To increase its power, Britain expanded its control in N. America, Africa, and Asia – including 13 colonies along N. American east coast
– Merchants in colonial ports (Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Charleston) did not want British government in their affairs
American Revolution
• To pay for costs of war & colonization,
Britain demanded more tax revenue
from English colonies
– Stamp Act, Tea Act, etc.
• First Continental Congress met in 1775
(Philadelphia) to discuss independence
from Britain
• Fighting erupted (Lexington &
Concord)
American Revolution
• 1776 – Declaration of Independence declared at
Second Continental Congress
– Americans enlisted help of foreign alliances (France, Spain,
Dutch Republic) to defeat Britain
• Americans victorious at Yorktown (1781) and gain
independence via Treaty of Paris (1783)
A New Nation is Born
• 13 colonies become states:
– States had little interest in having a
strong central government
– Formed a loose bond via Articles of
Confederation, proved inadequate
– State delegates met to revise Articles in
1787, instead a new system of
government is proposed (Federalism)
outlined in a “constitution” to serve as
Supreme Law of the Land
Three Separate Branches
• Legislative – make the law
– Two chambered Congress:
House & Senate
• Executive – enforce the law
– President & Cabinet,
Command Armed Forces
• Judicial – interpret the law
– Supreme Court, federal courts
Bill of Rights
• The promise of a bill of
rights crucial to U.S.
Constitution being ratified
– First 10 amendments to the
Constitution (1791) = U.S.
Bill of Rights
The French Revolution and
Napoleon
(1789-1815)
Main Ideas
• Social inequality & economic problems
contributed to the French Revolution
• Radical groups controlled the Revolution
• Revolution allowed Napoleon Bonaparte to take
control and dominate French & European history
from 1799-1815
Background to French Revolution
• France divided into three social classes (Estates)– First – clergy (exempt from paying taille)
– Second – nobility (exempt from taille)
– Third – commoners (98% of population)• Peasants, artisans, shopkeepers
• Bourgeoisie (middle class) – owned 25% of land
• Economic crisis resulted in 1/3 of population living in poverty
• Ideas of the Enlightenment encouraged oppressed to challenge the monarchy and old order
Reasons for Economic Crisis
• French government spent lavishly on
wars & court luxuries
• Queen Marie Antoinette (“Madame
Deficit”) especially known for her
extravagance
• To address economic crisis, King Louis
XVI forced to call a meeting of the
Estates-General (French Parliament),
which had not met since 1614.
Estates-General becomes
National Assembly
• Each Estate had representatives in the Estates-
General
– Third Estate wanted a constitutional government &
abolishment of tax exemptions for clergy & nobility
– However, each estate had only one vote – obviously First &
Second Estates overruled wishes of the Third Estate & King
Louis XVI upheld the voting tradition of one vote per Estate
Storming of the Bastille
• July 14, 1789 – angry Parisian mob of 8,000 men & women, looking for weapons, stormed the Bastille, a royal armory & prison• The Bastille was defended by
Marquis de Launay & small garrison of 114 men
• After 4 hrs. of fighting Marquis de Launay surrendered – the angry mob beat Launay to death, cut off his head & carried it aloft through streets of Paris
Revolution Spreads
• Local revolutions against
the old order spread
throughout France,
peasant rebellions were
particularly violent and
caused great panic (The
Great Fear)
Destruction of Old Order
• National Assembly first
adopted the Declaration of the
Rights of Man and Citizen
– Freedom & equal rights for all
– End to tax exemptions
– Citizens take part in making laws
• King Louis XVI stayed at
Versailles & refused to accept
the laws of the National
Assembly
Bread Shortage
• Paris reached a high level of tension & price of bread soared (50-80% of a peasant or urban worker’s income went toward bread)
• In October (1879) thousands of Parisian women armed with pitchforks marched to Versailles to confront Louis XVI
• As a result, the royal family was forced to meet the mob demands and the family was escorted back to Paris, where they essentially became prisoners
Roman Catholic Church
• The National Assembly took control of the Roman Catholic Church, seized its land and declared bishops & priests must be elected
• By 1791, the “old order” was officially destroyed
Revolution’s Radical Phase
• King Louis XVI looked to other European monarchs (Austria & Prussia) for help in crushing the revolt - family tried to escape Paris unsuccessfully
• The National Assembly, fearing intervention from Austria, declared war and France was soundly defeated
• The defeat, along with increasing economic troubles, allowed radical sans-culottes (Paris Commune) to take power & capture the royal family
Sans-culottes
• Led by minister of justice, Georges Danton, they sought revenge on King Louis XVI & his supporters (thousands arrested and killed)
• France’s new ruling body (National Convention) met in 1792 to decide the royal family’s fate– October 16, 1793 – Marie Antoinette
executed
– January 21, 1793 – King Louis XVI executed
– Both sent to the “guillotine” and beheaded
Committee of Public Safety
• Execution of King Louis VXI outraged other European monarchies who formed loose coalition to invade France
• In response, the National Convention formed 12 member Committee of Public Safety first led by Georges Danton, then later by Maximilien Robespierre– Robespierre believed in Rousseau’s idea of
Social Contract, therefore anyone who did not “submit” to the general will (as he saw it) should be executed
Reign of Terror
• For roughly a year (1793-1794) the
Committee of Public Safety took
control
– 40,000 people executed as internal
enemies of the revolutionary republic –
guillotine symbolic of “terror”
– Reign of Terror eventually came to end
with Robespierre’s execution on July
28, 1794 –moderate leaders took over
The Guillotine
Execution of Louis XVI
Marie Antoinette
The Directory
• The Committee of Public Safety’s power was reduced, a new legislative body and five electors known as The Directory ruled France from 1795-1799– The Directory’s rule was marked by
corruption, radical opposition, & continued economic problems
– Situation perfect for a military overthrow of the government (coup d’ état)
The Revolution is
over. I am the
revolution.
- Napoleon
Bonaparte, 1799
The Age of Napoleon
• Napoleon born in 1769 in Corsica, attended military school, rose to rank of commander in French army– In 1799, led coup d’ état
against The Directory and became absolute ruler of France
– In 1802, declared himself “consul for life”
– In 1804, crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I
“Ambition is never
content, even on the
summit of
greatness.”
- NAPOLEON
BONAPARTE
Napoleon’s Reforms
1. Made peace with Roman
Catholic Church
2. Established consistent legal
system = Napoleonic Code,
which preserved most of the
Revolution’s reforms
3. Created a centralized
government (bureaucracy), &
implemented a new noble
class/aristocracy based on
merit instead of birthright
(meritocracy)
Napoleon’s Conquest
• From 1805-1807 Napoleon’s Grand Army defeated the Austrian, Prussian, and Russian armies
– Nations defeated by Napoleon became allied states within his Grand Empire
• Napoleon’s grand prize was Great Britain – however, its sea power made it invulnerable to an army’s attack
• Trying to defeat Britain, Napoleon utilized “economic warfare” known as the Continental System = stop nations from trading with the British (unsuccessful & only sparked nationalism)
Napoleon’s Fall
• In June of 1812, Grand Army of 600,000 men invaded Russia because it refused to comply with Continental System
– Russian forces draw Napoleon’s army deep into the country (Moscow) French eventually forced to retreat
– The “Great Retreat” took place in harsh winter and only 40,000 of Napoleon’s men survived
• European foes capitalized and captured Paris in March, 1814
• Napoleon exiled to the island of Elba & France’s Bourbon monarchy restored in person of Louis XVIII, brother of Louis XVI
The Retreat
Napoleon’s Return & Defeat
• Napoleon returned from exile (The Hundred Days) to defeat Louis XVIII and reclaim power
• Napoleon, however, suffered his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo where a combined force of British & Prussian armies led by Duke of Wellington delivered a crushing defeat
• This time, Napoleon exiled to island of St. Helena never to return, he died in 1815 (53 yrs. old)
Napoleon’s Death
“France, the army, Josephine”
-Napoleon’s dying words
“I closed the gulf of anarchy and brought order
out of chaos. I rewarded merit regardless of
birth or wealth, wherever I found it. I abolished
feudalism and restored equality to all
regardless of religion and before the law. I
fought the decrepit monarchies of the Old
Regime because the alternative was the
destruction of all this. I purified the
Revolution.”
Time Line• May 05, 1789 - A meeting of the Estates-General was
called by Louis XVI in Versailles to discuss and approve a
new tax plan.
• the Third Estate proclaims itself "The National Assembly."
Tennis Court Oath
• July 7-13- Citizens’ militia formed; demonstrations and
speeches
• July 14, 1789- Fall of the Bastille
• August 04,1789 - The end of feudalism and serfdom in
France was announced by the National Assembly.
• August 27,1789 - The Declaration of the Rights of Man
was issued by The National Assembly.
Time Line• October 5,1789 - The women of Paris invaded Versailles.
Parisians, led by a large number of women, march upon
Versailles and force the royal family back to Paris, where
they take up residence at the Tuileries. Louis XVI is
considered by many a "Prisoner" in Paris. The Assembly, still
in Versailles, declares, in the spirit of constitutional
monarchy, its inseparability from the king.
• 1791 - The Constitution of 1791 was adopted.
• June 20,1791 - Louis XVI and his family were arrested
while trying to flee from France but were arrested.
• April 20, 1792 - France declared war on Austria.
• January 21, 1793 - Louis XVI sentenced to the guillotine.
Time Line• August 1793 - A National Draft was issued calling for all
able-bodied men to enlist in the army.
•September 1793 to July 1794 - The Reign of Terror court
sentenced 20,000 to 40,000 people to death.
• July 27, 1794 - The National Convention arrested
Robespierre.
• July 28, 1794 - Robespierre beheaded.
• 1795 - A new Constitution was adopted.
• 1799 - The fall of the Directory heralds the end of the
French Revolution.