The French Revolution Unfolds

Moderate Phase- 1789-1791: Turned France into a constitutional monarchy

Radical Phase- 1792-1794: Escalating violence led to the end of monarchy and the Reign of Terror

The Directory- 1795-1799: Period of reaction against extremism

Age of Napoleon- 1799-1815: Consolidated many revolutionary changes

Political Crisis Leads to Revolt

The political crisis of 1789 coincided with a famine in France

Peasants roamed the countryside

Grain prices soared- (scarcity)

THE GREAT FEAR BACKGROUND Throughout the 1780’s, crop production had been

down. The growing season of 1788 included a serious

drought. The harvest of 1788 was the worst in over a century. Yet dues and taxes were still to be collected. The peasants were frustrated and angry. Peasants set fire to old manor records.-12

THE GREAT FEAR

The peasants were angry with what they saw as an unjust regime.

THE GREAT FEAR

A lack of action by the National Assembly and a fear of reprisals by the king against the people led to violent outbursts.

RUMOR: after the storming of the Bastille, the king and nobles were sending agents and bandits into the countryside to kill peasants.

ACTION: peasants armed themselves and attacked nobles, clergy and government officials. Out of fear, the people acted first.

Paris

Paris is the city at the center of the revolution.

However, there were many factions, or dissenting groups, looking to gain power.

Many people were looking for a moderate solution

Marquis de Lafayette

“Hero of two worlds”

Fought alongside George Washington during the American Revolution.

Headed the National Guard in France. This militia organized in response to the arrival of royal troops in Paris.

Tricolor

Red, white, and blue badge that

symbolizes the revolution and

eventually becomes the colors of the national flag of

France.

Paris Commune

Radical group

Replaced the royalist government

The most radical groups demanded an end to monarchy

Two reasons the National Assembly Acted

1. The storming of the Bastille

2. Peasant uprisings

August 4, 1789-an all night session, the whole of the Old Regime was overturned.

The National Assembly voted to end all privileges.

Were all privileges really sacrificed? No- they were already lost

THE DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN

August 26, 1789-the National Assembly issued The Declaration of the Rights of Man.

This document was modeled in part on the American Declaration of Independence.

THE DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN August 26, 1789

Proclaimed that governments exist to protect the natural rights of citizens.

Proclaimed that all male citizens were equal.

Every Frenchmen had the right to hold public office.

Taxes would be levied according to the ability to pay.

“Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”

Women React to the Declaration

of Rights of Man Women were disappointed

They were not granted equal citizenship rights

Olympe de Gouges- journalist

1791- demanded equal rights for women

Wrote Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen

“Woman is born free and her rights are the same as those of man.”

de Gouges is eventually executed as the revolution became more extreme.

THE WOMEN’S MARCH ON VERSAILLES

The national Assembly moved slowly. Nobles continued to live well. Commoners were starving. Anger again turned to action.

October 5, 1789-about 6000 women marched 13 miles to Versailles. They demanded to see the king.

THE WOMEN’S MARCH ON VERSAILLES

THE WOMEN’S MARCH ON VERSAILLES

The people hated the queen- Marie Antoinette

Marie lived a life of extravagance.

She helped the poor, but it was overshadowed by her lifestyle.

She spent much time at Petit Trianon- a chateau on the palace grounds.

Petit Trianon

THE WOMEN’S MARCH ON VERSAILLES The women refused to leave Versailles until the king

met their most important demand: return to Paris

The next morning, the king, queen and children returned.

The people made the king wear the tricolor. Why is this symbolic?

They would reside in the Tuileries Palace for the next 3 years, a virtual prisoner.

The National Assembly

and the Catholic Church

The Assembly voted to take over and sell church lands in order to pay off debt.

Catholic Church placed under state control.

1790- Civil Constitution of the Clergy- outlined the new plan for the church. Greatly reduced the church’s power.

Reaction was swift and angry. The church and religious peasants condemned it and rejected the changes.

1791

From the time of the Great Fear (July 20 – August 6, 1789), the National Assembly had worked at creating the documents necessary to form a new, democratic constitutional monarchy for France.

The Constitution of 1791 was presented to the king in mid June, 1791.

CONSTITUTION 0F 1791

Created a limited monarchy for France. Louis XVI would still be the king of France. Louis XVI’s power would be greatly reduced. Louis XVI would be subject to the laws of the

Constitution Louis XVI would be subject to a system of checks and

balances. Legislative Assembly now has the power to make

laws, collect taxes, decide issues of war and peace. Lawmakers would be elected by tax-paying male

citizens over the age of 25.

CONSTITUTION OF 1791

To moderates, the revolution seemed complete.

Male citizens had achieved equality before the law and Church interference in government ended.

What happens next will change people’s minds…

THE FLIGHT TO VARENNES

June 20, 1791-Louis XVI and the royal family attempted an escape from Paris heading for the border.

The king and queen were dressed as servants. On the way, the king was recognized by a Frenchman

loyal to the revolution. June 21, 1791-At Varennes, the carriage and escorts

were stopped and the king and queen were arrested June 22, 1791-the king and family were led back to

Paris.

Where were they headed?

Possibly to Pennsylvania.

There were settlers who were loyal to the royal family and offered asylum to the queen and her son.

They were located near Wysox, on the Susquehanna River.

Azilum

Azilum

Azilum

THE FLIGHT TO VARENNES

THE FLIGHT TO VARENNES

AFTER THE KING’S ESCAPE ATTEMPT

THE RESULTS

The king and his family are returned to Paris where they are held under house arrest in the Tuileries Palace.

September 3, 1791-the Constitution of 1791 went into effect.

October 1, 1791-the Legislative Assembly convenes (it replaces the National Assembly).

THE RESULTS

Louis XVI had left a letter at the palace before he and his family fled.

The letter said that he had never supported the revolution and anything that he had said or done in support of the revolution, he had been forced to do.

The king had given examples of being a traitor in word and deed.

The king could not be trusted.

ÉmigrésNobles and clergy who left France when the revolution began.

They reported attacks on their privileges, their property, their religion, and their lives.

Other countries turned against France. They did not want the “French Plague” to spread to their country.

Declaration of Pilnitz

August 1791- Prussian King and Austrian Emperor (also Marie Antoinette’s brother) issued the Declaration of Pilnitz

Prussia and Austria threaten to intervene to Protect the French monarchy.

This may have been a bluff, but the French revolutionaries took this threat very seriously. They prepared for war. The revolution was about to enter a more radical phase.

Legislative Assembly

October 1791- Legislative Assembly takes office.

Only survives one year.

Economic problems lead to its downfall.

Radical Revolutionaries

Sans-culottes: working class men and women who pushed the revolution into more radical action.

Sans-culottes means ‘without breeches’. The working class wore long trousers rather than the knee breeches worn by upper-class men.

The sans-culottes demanded France become a republic, or government ruled by elected representatives instead of a monarch.

Radical Revolutionaries

The sans-culottes found support among radicals in the Legislative Assembly, especially the Jacobins.

The Jacobins were a revolutionary political club comprised of middle-class lawyers and intellectuals.

They used pamphlets and newspapers to further their cause.

April1792

Radicals controlled the Legislative Assembly.

April 1792- Legislative Assembly declares war on Austria, Prussia, Britain, and others

Powerful countries expected to easily defeat France, but fighting continued on and off until 1815.