The French Revolution 1789-1799 What was happening around the world in1789 ?

1. The French Revolution1789-1799What was happening around the world in1789 ?

2. 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

3. What were the causes of the French Revolution?

4. What were the causes? • Three estates • Unfair tax system • Social inequality 1% of Pop. Owned 5-10% of Land Received 10% Tithe Paid no taxes 2% of Pop Owned 25% of land Held all govt. and military positions Paid no taxes Received Feudal Dues 1st 2nd Estate Estate 3rd Estate Bourgeoisie Artisans Peasants 97% of Population Paid all of the taxes No Voice in Government Inspired by Enlightenment Ideas

5. What does the cartoon represent ? The Three Estates

6. What were the causes? 2. Enlightenment Ideas/American Rev. • Belief all men should have natural rights • Right to overthrow an unjust gov’t • Equality for all • American Revolution • Dec. of Independence • Constitution

7. What were the causes? 3. King Louis XVI’s Weak Leadership 1)19 years old • 2)Indecisive • 3)I never • Wanted to • Be king !

8. The Necklace Scandal 1,600,000 livres[$100 million today]

9. Let Them Eat Cake! • Marie Antoinette NEVER said that! • “Madame Deficit”

10. What were the Causes ? 4. Economic Problems • Wars: 7 Years War/French & Indian, American Revolution • Louis XVI lifestyle Economic Depression • Crop failures • Unemployment

11. Which of the following is not a cause of the French Revolution • Unfair class system • Unfair taxes • Ignoring the Magna Carta • Expenses from the American Revolution • Excessive spending by the King

12. The French Urban Poor This is an economic condition known as ?

13. Financial Problemsin France, 1789 • Urban Commoner’sBudget: • Food 80% • Rent 25% • Tithe 10% • Taxes 35% • Clothing 20% • TOTAL 170% • King’s Budget: • Interest 50% • Army 25% • Versailles 25% • Coronation 10% • Loans 25% • Admin. 25% • TOTAL 160%

15. France’s Situation • France’s Government is in extreme debt. Half of France’s debt is contributed to war, especially money owed for helping the US gain independence. The Government is near bankruptcy and the banks are refusing to lend money to the troubled country. • Recent crop failures have caused a shortage in food, making famine a real possibility. Yet the newspapers publish stories about King Louis’ lash parties and his wife’s extreme spending habits. Assuming the role you were assigned on Friday, what would you do to solve the problems in France?

16. King Called the Estates General to “convince” the 1st and 2nd Estate to pay taxes

17. What is the Estates General? • Legislative body, similar to parliament • Had not met since 1614 ( 179 years!) • Made up of members from all 3 Estates • Each Estate has one Vote

18. Estates General Voting 1 VoteFirst Estate Clergy 1 Vote Second Estate Nobles 1 Vote Third Estate Commoners

19. Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes 1stWhat is the Third Estate?Everything! 2nd What has it been heretofore in the political order? Nothing! 3rd What does it demand? To become something therein! Abbé Sieyès1748-1836

20. Situation • . The Estates General has members from each Estate but each only has one vote regardless of the population. The Nobles and the clergy plan to force the third estate to pay even more taxes so they don’t have to. 2 votes against 1 • Is there another alternative?

21. Is There Another Alternative? 300 Members 1st Estate 300 Members 2nd Estate 648 Members 3rd Estate 1 Vote per Representative

22. Third Estate outvoted - what should they do? • Established the National Assembly – a new legislative body • One vote per representative • Members of the 3rd Estate, later joined by other estates • Pledged the Tennis Court Oath • Marks the beginning of the Moderate Phase of the Revolution

23. What is the Tennis Court Oath? • National Assembly’s pledge to write a new constitution making France a ____________________

24. What are the stages of the French Revolution? • Moderate – people want change to constitutional monarchy • Radical– people want an end to any form of monarchy; want a republic • Reactionary – people want to return to Absolute Monarchy

25. What was the Spark? • King Mobilized Troops • 3rd Estate feared King would dissolve the National Assembly • The Spark: The Bastille is stormed

26. What is the Storming of The Bastille? • Bastille – a prison where weapons and prisoners were held (Symbol of oppression) • A mob charged the prison to steal weapons and free 7 prisoners • 97 rioters killed • Symbol of French Independence • July 14, 1789

27. What is the Great Fear? • Rumors spread of nobles killing peasants and stealing property • In Fear, the peasants armed themselves • Peasants broke into Manors, robbed and destroyed property

28. What Early Reforms did the National Assembly Make? Dismantled feudal system • No more Feudal dues • Nobles give up exemption from taxation • Abolished estates • Created a new social contract for France

29. What was the first social contract of France? • Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen (Aug., 1789) • Focus on Individual Rights and equality • Influenced by the Declaration of Independence US Constitution and English Bill of Rights • King Louise did not accept

30. What was the March on Versailles? • Protest by French Women • Food prices in France were soaring • Wanted King to move to Paris and accept the National Assembly and Declaration of Rights • Wanted to see the problems in Paris

31. What was the Constitution of 1791? • Constitution of 1791 • Constitutional Monarchy • Guaranteed basic rights • Property owning males could vote

32. What actions can citizens take against their government? • Protest– a public demonstration of disapproval (ex. ) • Political action- Actions organized by citizens to bring about changes in law, or govt. conduct/policy (Ex. ) • Revolution- A radical change in political organization, especially the overthrow of a government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed ( )

33. Which of the following was not a citizen action during the French Revolution? • Formation of the National Assembly • March on Versailles • Civil War • Storming of the Bastille

34. Which of the following events is the symbolic beginning of the French Revolution? • Creation of the National Assembly • Tennis Court Oath • Storming of the Bastille • March on Versailles

35. Which of the following events is the best example of a protest against the government’s actions? • National Assembly • March on Versailles • Storming of the Bastille • Constitution of 1791?

36. In which of the following events did citizens vow to write a new constitution? • Constitution of 1791 • Formation of the National Assembly • Declaration of the Rights of Man • Tennis Court Oath

37. Crane Brinton: The Course that Revolutions Seem to Take Impossible demands made of government which, if granted, would mean its end. Unsuccessful government attempts to suppress revolutionaries. Revolutionaries gain power and seem united. Once in power, revolutionaries begin to quarrel among themselves, and unity begins to dissolve. The moderates gain the leadership but fail to satisfy those who insist on further changes.

38. Did everyone like the new Constitution? • Political Parties formed in the newly elected Legislative Assembly • The assembly was seated by their political views • Political division led to unrest and violence

39. The Political Spectrum TODAY: 1790s: The Plain(swing votes) Montagnards(“The Mountain”) Girondists Monarchíen(Royalists) Jacobins

40. What is the flight of the nobles? • Louis and Marie try to flee France, but are caught and returned to Paris. • Émigrés (nobles, clergy an others) flee France and tell horror stories of the events there • In fear that revolution will spread, European Monarchs condemn the revolution WHY ? and begin to mass armies against a possible French threat.

41. Why did France become a Republic? • Strong Distrust of the King and Queen • Austria, Prussia and Sardinia declare war on France – fearful that Revolutions will spread to their own country • Radicals voted for the King’s imprisonment

42. What was the French Republic? • A government without a King • Constitution limits the power of the leaders elected by the people. • Every man could vote

43. What happened to King Louis XV1? • He was tried and executed

44. Louis XVI’s Head (January 21, 1793) • The trial of the king was hastened by the discovery in a secret cupboard in the Tuilieres of a cache of documents. • They proved conclusively Louis’ knowledge and encouragement of foreign intervention. • The National Convention voted387 to 334 to execute the monarchs.

45. What was the Reign of Terror? • Beginning of the Radical Periodof the Revolution • Left Wing Radicals calledJacobinstook control of the new Republic’s National Convention (legislature) • Leader • Maximilien Robespierre

46. How to Finance the New Govt.?1.Confiscate Church Lands (1790) One of the most controversial decisions of the entire revolutionary period.

47. The “Cultural Revolution”Brought About by the Convention • It was premised upon Enlightenment principles of rationality. • The metric system of weights and measures • Was defined by the French Academy of Sciences in 1791 and enforced in 1793. • It replaced weights and measures that had their origins in the Middle Ages. • The abolition of slavery within France in 1791 and throughout the French colonies in 1794. • The Convention legalized divorce and enacted shared inheritance laws [even for illegitimate offspring] in an attempt to eradicate inequalities.

48. What was the Committee for Public Safety? • Neighborhood watch committees that hunted down suspected traitors and turned them in • 40,000 people executed

49. What Happened to Marie Antoinette? • She is executed during the Reign of Terror

50. Marie Antoinette on the Way to the Guillotine