Vive la Revolution!

1. Vive la Revolution! French Revolution Role Play Scenarios

2. Historical Context: Imagine you are a member of the bourgeoisie who is leading the French Revolution. You have to make quick decisions for each crisis. After you read about each real situation below, then the class will ask any clarifying questions about it, and then you will write your own solution to the problems presented. When you are done, the teacher will tell you what really happened. 1789 - The peasants are rebelling, but the bourgeoisie cannot control them. The peasants think that their right to freedom means they can do whatever they want since now they are free from the control of the king. They don’t know what good rights or bad rights are and have no understanding of the “social contract”. This is looking more like the state of nature. What should you do?

3. What Actually Happens? • The bourgeoisie form the National Assembly and create the Declaration of the Rights of Man, a constitution for the French people. • They decide to keep Louis XVI in power as king, and he has to follow the constitution – constitutional monarchy. • Instead of an Estates-General there is now a Legislative Assembly, a group of elected officials that need to approve any laws Louis XVI makes before they can be passed.

4. 1792 – The bourgeoisie leaders of the revolution are keeping King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette alive. The National Assembly wrote a Constitution that made France a constitutional monarchy (where a King exists and has power to veto (cancel) laws and set the voting age at 25, for men only, who own property (so if you don’t own land, you can’t vote). They had new elections, changed the name of the government to the Legislative Assembly, and elected new members. Many of these elected members are Jacobins (an extreme group of bourgeoisie leaders), led by Maximilien Robespierre who want to make the voting more fair with universal male suffrage (meaning all men can vote). But since they are not a majority, whenever the Jacobins try to pass laws, the King just vetoes them (does not sign them into law). The King and Queen were also caught trying to escape from Paris, and even though they were caught, the Jacobins are furious. Another problem is that the King and Queen’s relatives in Austria are nervous that the French Jacobins might execute the King and Queen. They declare that if anything happens to the Royal Family, there will be consequences. What should you do?

5. What Actually Happens? • The Legislative Assembly decides to declare war on Austria so they don’t have to go back to an absolute monarchy. • The Jacobins led by Maximilien Robespierre take over and get rid of the Legislative Assembly and the monarchy (Louis XVI & Marie Antoinette) to create a republic. • They create the Committee of Public Safety led by Maximilien Robespierre to find and eliminate enemies of France & of the revolution.

6. 1793 – The Committee for Public Safety has been killing thousands of Frenchmen (including King Louis XVI) because they were supposedly “enemies of the Revolution”. France is under tight control, but the Jacobins are making everyone afraid. People are calling this a “Reign of Terror” because everyone is afraid of being caught by spies or accused of being an enemy and executed. The guillotine is a terrible way to die, and even though many of the people executed are nobles who tried to restore the monarchy, Robespierre seems to be out of control. There is also another problem - Austria, Prussia, Spain, Great Britain, and the Dutch Republics have declared war on France, and they are winning these wars. What should you do?

7. What Actually Happens? • Under Robespierre’s rule the Reign of Terror occurs. Robespierre had anyone he suspected of going against him executed. • Robespierre ruled France like a dictator, and was eventually executed by guillotine. • During this time period many men were conscripted (forced) into the French military to fight Austria, making the government very unpopular and the people very unhappy.

8. 1795 – Robespierre has been killed, and the “Reign of Terror” is over. Now the “Directory” is the new government of France – the executive branch is just 5 men who enforce the new Constitution. The universal male suffrage was replaced where only men who own property can vote again. But they are mostly rich members of the bourgeoisie who eliminate controls on prices and start printing lots of money for themselves. As a result of all the new money, prices rise, and there are riots in Paris. What should they do?

9. What Actually Happens? • The people of France realize the Directory is corrupt and lose faith in their ability to lead. • The Directory appoints a popular French General, Napoleon Bonaparte to restore order in Paris during the riots. • Napoleon successfully restores order to Paris, and goes off to fight wars throughout the region to help restore order after all the chaos from the Committee of Public Safety & Maximilien Robespierre. • The Directory stays in power and continues to rule as they always have.

10. 1799 – The Directory is out of control – they are not pleasing anybody. There are still people who support the monarchy (royalists) who want Louis XVI’s oldest son to become the King of France under a constitutional monarchy, and there are more extreme people (radicals) who see France becoming like Great Britain – where the wealthy businessmen and bourgeoisie have the real power because prices are rising and people have fewer and fewer jobs. The Directory also has to keep fighting the wars that the Committee for Public Safety started, which are being won by a strong and popular General named Napoleon Bonaparte. When Napoleon wins a battle and gets some more land for France, the Directory sends unemployed people to go and live on that land, so Napoleon is one of the only successful parts of the French government. What should they do?

11. What Actually Happens? • Napoleon returns from his involvement in foreign wars. • He is seen as a hero, because he helped stop foreign invasion of France, brought honor, restored order, and killed a lot of unpopular royalists. • Napoleon sees how popular he is amongst the French people and how unpopular the Directory is, so he overthrows the Directory to create a new government under his leadership.