French Revolution

1. French Revolution MirandaMitan + AshleyIrvin

2. French Pre-Revolution • First Estate- • Comprised the entire clergy • Divided into “higher” and “lower” clergy • Higher clergy- clerical nobility, from the families of the second class • Lower clergy- equally divided between parish priests and monks and nuns. Constituted about 90 percent of the first estate.

3. French Pre-Revolution cont… • Second Estate • French nobility, royalty and the monarch himself • Traditionally divided into "noblesse de robe" ("nobility of the robe"), and noblesse d'épée" ("nobility of the sword"). • 1.5% of France’s population

4. French Pre-Revolution cont… • Third Estate • The people who were not part of the other groups • Divided into 2 groups: urban and rural • Urban- included bourgeoisie 8% of France's population, and wage-laborers. • Rural- included peasantry, or the farming class. 90% of France’s population • Now considered middle class

5. French Pre-Revolution cont… • Economic troubles- • For years, the French government had engaged in deficit spending • Louis XIV had left France deeply in debt. • Recent wars, a general rise in costs in the 1700s, and the lavish court were incredibly costly. • To bridge the gap between income and expenses, the government borrowed more and more money. • Bad harvests in the late 1780s sent food prices soaring and brought hunger to poorer peasants and city dwellers.

6. French Pre-Revolution cont… • Societal Problems- • The first and second estates make up 2% of the population. They are rich and don’t pay taxes. • The third class makes up 98% of the population. They are poor and they pay all the taxes. • Paying the taxes leave them with nothing to buy food with. • When taxes inflate they cant pay them. They begin to panic.

7. 1789 • Tennis court oath- • The oath was a pledge signed by 576 out of 577 members from the third estate who were locked out of Estates-General on June 20th in the tennis court. • The oath was “not to separate, and to reassemble where ever circumstances required, until the constitution of the kingdom is established”. • This was an act of bravery and the king – Louis XVI- told the clergy and the nobles to join the third estate.

8. 1789 cont… • The storming of Bastille- • Occurred in Paris • Bastille was fortress and prison in Paris • During the time of the storming, there was only 7 inmates but the event is still known as a flashpoint in history. • It was the beginning of the rebellion of France.

9. 1789 cont… • The great fear- • Between June and the beginning of August there were riots in the countryside. • Peasants burned their nobles' chateaux, monasteries and buildings which housed public records. • They particularly targeted documents which contained records of their feudal obligations. • It was called "The Great Fear" and spread quickly throughout France.

10. 1789 cont… • King and Queen- • The people wanted the king to hear them • They didn’t like him and wanted to make sure he listened to their outcries • They found out that the king and queen secluded themselves in a village and tried to escape the turmoil • But the people found him and drug him back to Paris so that he would be there the whole revolution and so he could listen to them.

11. Reign Of Terror • AKA: Terror or Grand Fear • The national convention had Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette executed. • Maximilien took the ideas of Rousseau’s philosophies and thought about the rights of men and that men were virtuous. • He believed it was the monarchy that was at fault for corrupting them. • When he became head of the Committee of Public safety, he began to send people who spoke out against him to the guillotine to be killed. No one was safe. • He was the ultimate reason Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were killed.

12. Reign Of Terror cont… • Ending of the reign of terror- • The Reign of Terror was ended when Max was killed. • Members of the convention, when thought to be his next target, shouted him down as he got up to speak. • He was accused of tyranny and arrested. Subject to the same procedures he had used against his political enemies, Robespierre was denied the right to self-defense. • After a failed rescue attempt, Robespierre and more than 80 of his followers went to the Guillotine.

13. Changes to France • French constitution established during the Thermidorian Reaction in the French Revolution. • Known as the Constitution of Year III in the French republican calendar, it was prepared by the Thermidorian Convention. • It was more conservative than the abortive democratic Constitution of 1793. • The Constitution of 1795 established a liberal republic with a franchise based on the payment of taxes, similar to that of the Constitution of 1791; a bicameral legislature to slow down the legislative process; and a five-man Directory. • The central government retained great power, including emergency powers to curb Freedom of the press and freedom of association.

14. Changes to France cont… • Olympe de Gouges- Declaration of Women’s Rights and Citizens • Wake up call to women. • Born free and have same rights has men. • Men were reluctant to give women rights. • Women were the ones who brought the king and his wife back when he tried to make a run for it. • Women's rights stayed the same.

15. Changes to France cont… • Reforms • Social reforms • State schools instead of religious ones • Systems organized for poor, old soldiers, and war widows. • No slavery in Caribbean Islands • Secular was formed • making 1793 the first year • tried to ban Christianity

16. Napoleon Takes Charge • Dictator • He started in the army • During the revolution, he rose in rank quickly • In 1799 he became a political leader • He helped over throw the week Directory and set up a 3 man governing board • He final had himself named Consul in 1802 and made himself that for life. • During a ceremony, Napoleon took the popes crown and placed it on his own head.

17. Napoleon Takes Charge cont… • Changes- • Gave peasants rights to land • Opened jobs • Napoleonic code- • Embodied Enlightment principles • Woman lost most of their newly found rights • Men regained full control over their wives and children

18. Napoleon Takes Charge cont… • Build an Empire- • Furthered his reputation on the battle field • Redrew the map of Europe giving France more land • Through forceful diplomacy, Napoleon owned and controlled much of Europe. • Britain stopped him in its tracks. • Their fleet kept them at bay and they had a blackade on them.

19. Napoleon’s Downfall • Napoleon and France were disliked by Europe because they were trying to take them over and create a large dictatorship and instore power. • Defeat in Russia- • As 400,000 French troops invaded Russia, the Russian citizens ran eastward, burning crops on their way • The scorched dirt mad the French troops go hungry and cold • When Napoleon entered Moscow he finally realized he could not feed his troops. He headed back home.

20. Napoleon’s Downfall cont… • Napoleon's legacy • He died in 1821 • Elections were held • He created a new government that lasted awhile • In 1803 Napoleon’s decision to sell Louisiana territory to the US caused them to double in size.

21. Congress of Vienna • Stability restored- • Napoleon had eliminated royal control in many countries. • Members of the old Bourbon royal family were returned to the thrones of Spain and Sicily. • Monarchies were restored in Portugal and Sardinia. • After Napoleon's reign- • France reconstructed its government. • They restored stability and they no longer had absolute monarchs.