The Events of The French Revolution

Financial Situation

Debt from Wars

Debt from King’s extravagance

Interest payments ½ tax revenue

Tax structure problems

Change necessary soon

Estates General called

Last called in 1614

Legislative body in an Absolute Monarchy

Meeting at Versailles’ palace

Each Estate gets one vote

May 5th, 1789

Double the Third

Third Estate won’t cooperate; knows result

Meets in Tennis Court

King offers two votes to Third Estate

Third rejects King’s offer

King closes the Estates General to the 3rd Estate

June 17th, 1789

National Assembly

June 20th, 1789

Three Estates meet

Form National Assembly

All Three Estates represented

Question format of Assembly

Tennis Court Oath

National Assembly vows to make change

Vow taken in Tennis Court

Will not disband until Constitution is created

BastilleKing’s Prison in downtown Paris

Symbol of King’s power and control

Crowds of 3rd Estate members attack

Free prisoners and gain weapons

Great FearRumors of violence against peasants

Untrue Rumors

Violence caused against Manor houses

Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen

Created Natural Rights for the Citizens of France

Ideas from the Enlightenment thinkers

Guaranteed Certain Rights/ Natural Rights

Equal Rights didn’t apply for the women

Late August, 1789

Women March on VersaillesIn October 1789

Angry mob of women march to king’s palace in Versailles

Demanded bread

Demanded the King come to Paris to show support for NA

King announced that he was going to Paris

Angry mob follows him to Paris

Civil Constitution of the Clergy

In 1790

Turns Clergy into Elected, Paid Officials of the State

Tension/Gap between Church and Revolution

Creates Two Churches: one loyal to State/One to Rome

Pope Condemns Legislation

Clergy doesn’t accept Legislation

Constitution of 1791Created Unicameral Legislature (one house/elected officials)

Not Popular with French Citizens

Elected not direct democracy

France remains divided

Disagreements in the Legislature send the Country into turmoil

King Flees In 1792 King attempts to leave the Country

Going to his wife’s homeland, Austria

Caught at the border

Returned to Paris under arrest

Declare war on AustriaThought Austria was going to restore Louis XVI

Time: 1792Declared war on Austria AND Prussia AND

Silesia (all absolute monarchies)France: constitutional monarchy

Marie Antoinette from Austria! Her brother was emperor of Austria

Section Three

Battle at ValmySeptember 1792

The win lifted spirits of French RevolutionariesFrance v Austria & Prussia

Valmy located 100mi from ParisFrance won using Guerilla Warfare (non-

professional fighting)

National Convention and the New Calendar

1792-1795Made up of Middle Class People (Bourgeoisie)

France’s First Democratic Constitution Adopted new calendar

Sept 22, 1792 is Day One of Month One of Year One

Months named after Natural Things (Like Trees & Rivers!)

French borders extended to Natural Borders (Like Trees & Rivers…)

Trial and Execution of the KingConvicted for having conspired against

the liberty of the nationJanuary 1793

King was Beheaded by Lady GuillotineLetters of correspondents between King

& foreign dignitaries were used to discredit the royal family

Began Bloodthirst and Bloody Revolution

Committee of Public Safety

Summer of 1793

Formed by the National Convention

Adopted conscription (draft) for all men between 18-45

Formed to Direct the War Effort

Led by Maximilien Robespierre, leader of the Jacobins (extreme radicals who support the Sans Culottes-workers)

Called the world’s first “People’s War” a war of, by and for the people of France.

Reign of TerrorLasted from July 1793 to July 1794

Jacobins set out to crush all opposition to the Revolution in all of France

40,000 were executed/ 85% of the 40,000 were commoners-15% were nobles and clergy

Most were killed using the Guillotine

Jacobins made reforms

Robespierre was executed and the Jacobins lost power

Constitution of 1795Universal Male Suffrage ended (All men can vote-no tax

necessary, no property).

Now only men with property can vote

Government under the control of the wealthy middle class

Ruled with a Bicameral Legislature

The DirectoryCouncil of Five Directors (Executives)

Bicameral Legislature

1795

Faced many enemies/ Used the Army

Corrupt Leadership causes problems

French People of all classes look to the Army to reestablish order

Section Four: Napoleon’s Empire

Overthrow of the DirectoryOccurs in 1799

Napoleon replaced elected officials with those who he chose himself

Napoleon trying to set up dictatorship

Directory was not effective: didn’t represent the citizens views, did little to resolve the growing gap between the

rich and poor of France

Government was on the brink of bankruptcy

ConsulateThree Consuls; a form from Ancient Rome, the executive

branch.

Unicameral Legislature

Napoleon names himself Consul for life and First Consul.

This is established thru a vote by the people; a plebiscite

Established a strong government which was going to take care of them not allow Terror in the streets or ineffective

leadership

Crowns Himself EmperorDefeated Austria and Italy

Placed Education under control of the National government

1804

Persuaded Russia to withdraw from the War

French and British sign Treaty of Amiens

Took the crown from the Pope and put it on his own head- not allowing any one or organization to crown him

Napoleonic CodeBased on enlightenment ideas such as equality of all citizens

before the law, religious toleration and advancement based on merit

Limited freedom of speech and press by the censorship of books, plays and pamphlets.

Women lost many rights they gained during the revolution

Male heads of household were given extensive rights over women and children

1802

Concordat of 1801Acknowledges that Catholicism is the religion of most of

the people but tolerates others

An agreement between Napoleon and the Pope Pius VII

Agreed to accept the lost of church lands and pay salaries of clergy

Retained the right to name all bishops who were asked to swear allegiance to the state.

Battle of TrafalgarOctober 1805

British Naval Admiral Nelson ended the idea of the French invading Britain through the English Channel

Off the southern coast of Spain

Did not resolve the conflict between France and Britain

Continental SystemNapoleon ordered all European Nations he had conquered to

stop trading with Great Britain

Required Russia and Prussia to go along with the Blockade

Believed the system would allow France to defeat Britain by economic means.

Forbid British imports into European ports

Led to the war of 1812

British retaliated by making all ships stop in Britain

Attack on RussiaAlexander I Czar/tsar of Russia withdraws from Continental

System

Russians retreat to Central Russia and burn everything as they went: Scorched earth policy. This made sure that the

French Army could not feed itself as it chased the Russians.

May 1812, Napoleon sets out for Moscow with 600,000 and return to France with 200,000

100 DaysLouis XVIII is named King in March 1814

Napoleon is exiled (kicked out/suspended) to Elba, off the coast of Italy

He is rescued on March 1st, 1815 by loyal soldiers

After Napoleon return to France, gained back the power of the people and is re-named Emperor

Battle of Nations @ Waterloo, Belgium

Napoleon raises an army

In June 1815, the French troops are defeated by a combined force of British, Dutch, Prussians and Austrians

European Monarchs feared that the would regain strength and defeated him once and for all

St. Helena

After losing at Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled there in 1815

St. Helena is located in the South AtlanticHe died there under house arrest in 1821

Section Five: Peace in Europe

Congress of ViennaClemens Von Metternich

Prince Klemens Von Metternich

Believed that to establish European stability, that Europe should be restored to the way it was before the French

Revolution

To Achieve his goal he maintained that settlements should be guided by three principals.

The Congress meets in Vienna, Austria in late 1814 to early 1815.

RestorationReparationBalance of Power

Restoration: To restore power to the Monarchies of Europe

Reparation: compensation for war damage inflicted by Napoleon on the Countries of Europe

Balance of Power: No country should be able to dominate the Continent of Europe

These principals guide the Congress of Vienna

Buffer StatesNeutral territorries around France

They are designed to safeguard other dynasties from France’s grasp

They include Netherlands, Switzerland, 39 independent German states (German Confederation)

Reactionaries vs. LiberalismReactionaries: People who opposed change and who want

to return society to the way it was before the French Revolution

Liberalism: A Political philosophy influencing the People of the 1800’s accepted the ideas of the Enlightenment and

democratic reforms of the French Revolution

AlliancesAlliances are the promise of one country to help another in

the alliance

Alliances were called Quadruple Alliance: Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia

Concluded the alliance in 1815

France was admitted three years later

Alliances were in place to prevent democratic revolution

Metternich SystemThe Meetings of the Alliances were called the Concert of Europe and helped European countries avoid conflicts like

the Napoleonic Wars

Metternich achieved his political goals in opposing Liberalism and Nationalism as well as defending the

Absolute Monarchies of Europe

NationalismThe idea of the people controlling their countries and not the

Kings was not eliminated by the Metternich System

In Germany, students rose up against the government

In Spain, the Absolute Monarch was forced to accept a constitution

In Greece the people won their independence from Turkey in 1829

The ideas of the French Revolution lived on!