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The French Revolution

The French Revolution Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite Vive la France!!! Why France? France was the most powerful state in Europe French Revolution was a mass social revolution The rise of the modern public The radical masses Rapid destruction of the old order ( ancien regime )

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The French Revolution

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  1. TheFrenchRevolution Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite Vive la France!!! Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  2. Why France? • France was the most powerful state in Europe • French Revolution was a mass social revolution • The rise of the modern public • The radical masses • Rapid destruction of the old order (ancien regime) • From Absolutist Monarchy to Secular State • A Universal Revolution • Universal principles – natural rights • The emancipation of humanity Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  3. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity… Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  4. Pre-Revolution Social Classes • First Estate: The Clergy – 100 000 • Second Estate: The Nobility - 400 000 • Third Estate: 22 500 000 – 24,000 • The Bourgeoisie • The Peasantry (most heavily taxed) • Urban and rural artisans and workers. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  5. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  6. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  7. Causes of the French Revolution • Has the largest population in Europe and cannot adequately feed it. • The “Bourgeoisie” was excluded from political power. • Peasantry oppressed by indifference and anachronistic feudal system. • Social and political reforms of the Enlightenment widely read throughout France. • State financial situation in ruins largely due to French participation in the American Revolution. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  8. Causes of the French Revolution • Social pyramid riddled with contradictions both within and between its parts. • Monarchy was absolute in theory but not in practice and was in a state of decay. • Aristocracy was very privileged and wealthy but largely excluded from office. • Bourgeoisie was becoming increasingly wealthy but denied social status and government participation equal to its new prosperity. • Peasants: Becoming more literate and independent yet socially looked down upon and grossly over-taxed. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  9. Economic Woes Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  10. Financial Problemsin France, 1789 • Urban Commoner’sBudget: • Food 80% • Rent 25% • Tithe 10% • Taxes 35% • Clothing 20% • King’s Budget: • Interest 50% • Army 25% • Versailles 25% • Coronation 10% • Loans 25% • Admin. 25% • TOTAL 160% Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  11. Reality for the French Urban Poor Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  12. Land Ownership Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  13. Events leading to the Revolution • Reforms attempted by Chief Minister Turgot. • Free internal trade of petty restrictions • Reduce royal court expenditures • Ease tax burdens on peasants • Create local assemblies to promote limited self-government • Estates-General recalled by Louis XVI. • Had not been in session for 175 years (1614)! • Called so that Louis could institute reforms that would give him the legal authority to raise additional taxes. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  14. Calling the Estates GeneralMay 1789 Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  15. Events leading to the Revolution • Estates-General • Originally composed of 300 delegates from each Estate. Government agrees to increase Third Estate representation to 600 to provide better representation of that much larger group. • Voting is done by “Estate” (each of the three groups gets one vote per ballot). • Who does this favor? Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  16. Events leading to the Revolution • Estates-General • Sieyes and Mirabeau would lead the Third Estate in holding its own meeting within the E-G. • June 17: Third Estate, joined by some sympathetic clergy and nobility, changes its name to the “National Assembly”. • Locked out of E-G on June 20 by the King’s guard. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  17. Events leading to the Revolution • Estates-General • Moved to nearby indoor tennis court and vowed to remain there until a new constitution had been written. This becomes known as the “Tennis Court Oath” and marks the start of the French Revolution. • More members of the First and Second Estate delegates begin to join the new “National Assembly”. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  18. The Tennis Court OathJune 20, 1789 Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  19. Events leading to the Revolution • Estates-General • Louis refuses to meet with NA and calls out troops to try and force them back into EG. • Clashes increase between troops and people of Paris culminating on July 14 with the people of Paris storming and capturing the Bastille. • This was an expression of the power of the people to take politics into their own hands. • Louis was now forced to yield and the government collapses. • Women lead march on Versailles (shortage of bread) in October 1789 and force the return of Louis XVI and his family to Paris. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  20. Storming the Bastille July 14, 1789 Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  21. The Great FearPeasant RevoltJuly 20th, 1789 In July peasants in several regions sacked the castles of the nobles and burned the documents that recorded their feudal obligations. This peasant insurgency eventually blended into a vast movement known as the Great Fear. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  22. March of the WomenOctober 5-6, 1789 Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  23. First Stage of the French Revolution(Liberty) 1789-1792 • National Assembly • The Revolution will achieve the most in the area of politics. • Monarchy will eventually be abolished and replaced with a form of democracy that will ultimately give way to dictatorship (Napoleon). • Adopts the Declaration of the Rights of Man and and Citizen (August 1789). • Will serve as the liberal basis for the Constitution of 1791. • Only propertied (or tax paying) males could vote. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  24. First Stage of the French Revolution(Liberty) 1789-1792 • All titles of nobility abolished. • Civil liberities extended to Protestants and Jews. • Begins the reconstruction of the French government by dividing France into new administrative districts called departements. • First anniversary of the storming of the Bastille becomes a national holiday. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  25. First Stage of the French Revolution1789-1792 • National Assembly • Roman Catholic Church is attacked. • Civil Constitution of the Clergy July 1790. • All monasteries were dissolved and Catholic lands confiscated. • Priests became salaried employees of the state and were required to take an oath of loyalty to the NA. • Would become a destabilizing influence on the Revolution as much of the Third Estate will remain staunchly Catholic. • After more than two years of debates, the NA finally agrees on a constitution. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  26. First Stage of the French Revolution1789-1792 • Constitution of 1791 • Establishes a constitutional monarchy with Louis XVI as its figurehead. • Could only succeed with the agreement and cooperation of Louis which he gives. • Established the principles of the Revolution but was a very precarious document. • Louis destroys any chance for its successful implementation by attempting to flee France in June 1791. • Captured and returned to Paris. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  27. First Stage of the French Revolution1789-1792 • Louis destroys any chance for its successful implementation by attempting to flee France in June 1791. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  28. Second Stage of the French Revolution (Equality) 1792-1799 • Sans-culottes • Parisian mob of urban workers attack the Tuileries palace August 1792 in the name of the “people”. • Demanded UNIVERSAL manhood suffrage. • Wanted decentralized government with power residing in individual neighborhoods. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  29. Second Stage of the French Revolution (Equality) 1792-1799 • The Convention • Replaces the National Assembly September 1792. • Monarchy officially abolished September 21. • France declared a “Republic” on September 22. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  30. Louis XVI’s Head (January 21, 1793) Convention conducts trial of Louis XVI who is executed in January 1793. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  31. Second Stage of the French Revolution (Equality) 1792-1799 • The Reign ofTerror • A period of systematic state repression that meted out justice in the name of the people. • French revolutionary politics now becomes highly polarized with two major factions developing. • Girondins: moderates who were concerned with maintaining social order and ending the revolution. • Jacobins: supported by sans-culottes and wanted to continue the revolution. • June 1793: Jacobins with support of the sans-culottes surround the Convention and remove and imprison the Girondins. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  32. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  33. Jacobin Meeting House Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  34. Second Stage of the French Revolution (Equality) 1792-1799 • The Reign of Terror • Committee of Public Safety formed to control the revolution and govern France. • Twelve members headed by: • Maxiimilien Robespierre (becomes leader July 1793) Let terror be the order of the day! Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  35. Georges-Jacques Danton Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  36. The Guillotine:An Enlightenment Tool? Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  37. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  38. Second Stage of the French Revolution (Equality) 1792-1799 • According to Robespierre, the will and rights of the individual were outweighed by the will of the nation. • Robsepierre would interpret and shape the will of the people and hence, the nation. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  39. Second Stage of the French Revolution (Equality) 1792-1799 • The Reign of Terror • Committee of Public Safety’s aims were: • To regulate the economy • To mobilize the military to protect France and the Revolution • To carry out an extreme form of revolutionary justice. • Over 40,000 executions in one nine month period along with several hundred thousand more deaths during this period. • Decrees the Cult of the Supreme Being as a state religion to an attempt to eliminate Catholicism. • Jacobins also turn against any further participation in or recognition of women by the Revolution. • Eventually the Committee eliminates not only its opponents but also its supporters and the Revolution turns on them with Robespierre being executed in July 1794 (Thermidor). Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  40. Thermidorian Reaction • Tempering of the Revolution • Terror exacting a tremendous toll -- too radical • Fear of the power of sans-culottes -- minimized • Another change in government organization • Girondists welcomed back and Committee of Public Safety has its power reduced. Jacobin organizations disbanded (White Terror) • Political restructuring -- Constitution of the Year III -- rejection of Monarchy and democracy • Council of Elders and Council of Five Hundred and The Directory • 1799 The Revolution is over! Shrimpton -- HWMOA

  41. Historical Significance of the French Revolutions • There exists three strands to in the explanation of the historical significance of the Revolution on the future of the West. • The Revolution marks a victory of Democracy over Tyranny(?) The Revolution brought about a new political culture based on the nation, citizen, representative democracy, and a justification in the inherent good of politics. • The Revolution marks a Victory of Capitalism over Feudalism, Bourgeoisie over Nobility. • The Revolution marked the victory of the Modern State over Absolutism. A more bureaucratic and modern state. Shrimpton -- HWMOA

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