• King of France – Louis XVI.– Wife – Marie Antoinette.

• Louis XVI was not an absolute monarch.

• Ruled with the Estates General.– First Estate – Nobles.– Second Estate – Clergy.– Third Estate – Common people.

King Louis XVI

Marie Antoinette

Estates General

First Estate

Second Estate

Third Estate

• People of France were starving and overtaxed.

• France was broke from helping USA in American Revolution.

• King Louis XVI meets with Estates General.

• Asks for a raise in taxes.– 1st Estate – Yes! (They don’t pay taxes)– 2nd Estate – Yes! (They don’t pay taxes)– 3rd Estate – No! (They pay all of the taxes)

• King got angry, promised to raise taxes.

• 3rd Estate left EG chamber, locked themselves in a tennis court in Versailles.

• Took the Tennis Court Oath.– Promised not to leave the tennis court until

they wrote new constitution for France.

• Renamed themselves the National Assembly.

• People of Paris were afraid Louis XVI would kill the National Assembly.

Versailles

National Assembly

Tennis Court Oath

• Parisians attacked a fortress/prison called the Bastille.– Killed soldiers, took weapons.

• Marched to Versailles to defend National Assembly.

• National Assembly wrote the first constitution in France.– Took power from King, 1st, 2nd Estates.– Seized all Church lands.– Adopted Declaration of Rights of Man and

Citizen.• Based on USA Declaration of Independence and

English Bill of Rights.

Bastille

Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen

• New Constitution did not apply to women.– Olympe de Gouges wrote the Declaration of

Rights of Women and Citizenesses.– Tried and failed to get it passed by the

National Assembly.

Olympe de Gouges

• When the new Constitution was passed, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette ran.

• Caught, brought back to Paris, placed under house arrest.

• Many nobles fled to England.

• 1792 – National Assembly adopted a 2nd Constitution.– Same as first, but added:– Universal Manhood Suffrage.

• Right for all men to vote.

– Execution of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.• By guillotine.

Execution of King Louis XVI

Execution of Marie Antoinette

Reign of Terror

• The Revolution was successful, but many wanted a return to monarchy.

• National Assembly created the Committee of Public Safety to hunt enemies of the Revolution.

• Led by Robespierre and Danton.

• Guided by the writings of Jean-Paul Marat.

Maximilien Robespierre

George-Jacques Danton

Jean-Paul Marat

• The CPS began a program to stop all criticism of the Revolution.

• Called the Reign of Terror.– Torture, imprisonment, and execution of all real or

suspected enemies of the Revolution.

• Marat was stabbed to death by Charlotte Corday.

• The people quickly became swept up in the bloodbath.– Mass-murder, revolutionary banquets, destruction of

the Catholic Church.

• Civilization broke down, money was worthless.

• Robespierre killed thousands, including Danton.– Began to threaten the National Assembly.

• National Assembly had Robespierre executed, ending the Reign of Terror.

• National Assembly wrote a third Constitution, creating a new government.

• Directory – Governing body made up of 5 men.– Inefficient and corrupt.

• Overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Execution of Robespierre