French Revolution

Recipe for a Revolution

• If a revolution was a cake, what would the recipe look like?– How long would the prep time be?– What ingredients are needed?– What would the directions look like?

French Society in the 18th Century

• France was still ruled by an absolute monarch• Society was still divided by a strict feudal

hierarchy • France was “poor” • Regionalism created problems within French

society for the rulers• People were starving

Causes of the Revolution

1. Political Factors2. Economic Factors3. Social Factors4. Influence of the

Enlightenment

Social Factors

• Three Estates system• Increased poverty• Poor harvests

Economic Factors

• Increased national debt• Deficit Spending– Government was bankrupt

• Unfair taxes• Excessive spending by the King Louis XVI

& Marie Antoinette• Nobles and royalty entertaining at the

taxpayers expense

Hall of Mirrors

Political Factors

• Absolute monarch• Voting by estate• Cahier de Doléances• Louis XVI was more interested in

his personal hobbies than running the country

Influence of the Enlightenment

• French society embraced ideas proposed by philosophers & writers of the Enlightenment

• Education of the lower classes• Influence of the Glorious Revolution &

American Revolution • Scientific and technological innovations

Estates General

Estates General

• France’s form of parliament• Each estate voted as a bloc

• 1st & 2nd Estate always outvoted the 3rd Estate• Louis XVI called for the Estate General in 1789• French government & economy was in a state of

crisis, Louis thought this would be the answer• The meeting was really just a trick by Louis

The Tennis Court Oath

The Tennis Court Oath

• Estates General met for 6 weeks, but couldn’t agree on a course of action

• Third Estate decided they would create a new form of government called the National Assembly

• King Louis responded by locking them out of their meeting rooms

• King Louis was eventually forced to order the First & Second Estates to join the National Assembly

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mueztN2MoGM

The Fall of the Bastille

The Fall of the Bastille• Severe unrest throughout society: anger, rioting,

fear & suspicion • July 14th 1789, the Bastille was attacked by an angry

mob• Gunpowder was the motive for the attack• 7 prisoners were freed & the prison governor was

executed• Louis agreed to dismiss his mercenaries, created the

National Guard• Bastille Day is July 14th & is a national holiday

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

• August 26th 1789, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, passed by the National Assembly

• Contained ideas several Enlightenment thinkers:– Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu

• Outlined basic rights the government must follow– Equality & freedom of thought, speech, religion, security,

property

Natural Rights

• The Declaration’s opening statement says that “man has natural, inalienable, and sacred rights”

• They are above the authority of any government

• They are separate from legal rights

• They are universal to all people

Equality

• Despite recognizing the rights of citizens, the Declaration didn’t include everyone.

• The right to vote & participate in government was only given to “active citizens”

• The declaration also excluded women, slaves, non-Catholics & people who didn’t own property

The Great Fear

• After the fall of the Bastille revolutionary ideas spread throughout France

• This made people weary that the king might act aggressively to end the revolution

• These feelings resulted in a mass panic called the “Great Fear”

• Mobs stormed the Chateaux of the aristocrats and nobles, destroying property & burning documents

The Great Fear

• August 4, 1789 the National Assembly abolished all feudal rights & privileges for the nobility – This ended serfdom– Peasants no longer had obligations

to their lords– Church could no longer collect

tithes

The March on Versailles

• By October of 1789, women in Paris were getting tired of the government’s inability to solve the food crisis

• October 5th a parade of women marched from Paris to Versailles to speak directly to the king

The March on Versailles

• Women outside the king’s palace demanded Louis & Marie Antoinette return to Paris

• October 6th, 1789 they returned to Paris bringing with them wagons of grain

Citizens and Constitutions

• The National Assembly was now located in Paris & they made noble titles obsolete

• The government seized control of the Church and its property

• Many aristocrats fled to other countries, even King Louis tried to escape but was arrested and imprisoned

• The newly formed Legislative Assembly convened for the first time on October 1st 1791, but it was not a success

Political Clubs

• No political parties at this time in France, but people joined “political clubs”

• Girondists & Jacobins were the two most important

• Jacobins became increasingly more powerful & extreme

The Sans-Culottes

• Poor people from the lower class

• Very radical & supported those who wanted to execute the king & aristocrats

• Lead by radical writer Jean-Paul Marat

Marat, Danton & Robespierre• Jean-Paul Marat, Georges Danton & Maximilien de

Robespierre were the three most radical leaders of the Revolution

• Extremely far left political views & were prepared to execute the king

• They destroyed anyone & anything that agreed with the old system

The Revolutionary Wars• Other European leaders were becoming nervous

about the situation in France• France declared war on Austria in the spring of 1792• The wars were used to fuel the revolution • King Louis lost his power and the Jacobins rose to

power as they were embraced by the people

The End of the Monarchy

• The National Convention, a newly elected body, decided King Louis should stand trial

• Monarchy was officially abolished in 1792

King Louis’s Trial• 33 charges were brought against King Louis• Louis defended himself & said he intended to

become a constitutional monarch• He was found guilty of treason & executed by

guillotine January 21, 1793

The Republic of France

• With the execution of King Louis the National Convention declared France a republic

• Official slogan: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”• The Moderates lost their struggle for power to

the Jacobins & Sans Culottes • All Girondists were arrested & imprisoned• No one could challenge the Jacobins, putting

France under a dictatorship again

The Reign of Terror

• Lasted from 1793-1794• The government was controlled

by the Committee of Public Safety• Lead by Robespierre, who

imposed several harsh laws to eliminate & intimidate anyone who disagreed with him

• Up to 30 000 people were executed under Robespierre

Robespierre

• Wanted to protect France & the Revolution at all costs

• Killed anyone who opposed him• He slowly lost his power as

people began to ridicule & doubt him

• He was arrested and executed by guillotine July 28, 1794

The Directory

• New government established by the National Convention in October of 1795

• Gave political power to those who owned property

• This meant only people with property could vote to elect member of government