Economic Woes and the Burden of Debt in France on the Eve of Revolution

1. On The Eve of Revolution Part II

2. Economic Troubles • Economic woes added to the social unrest and heightened tensions. • One of the causes of the decline was a mushrooming financial crisis that was due in part to years of deficit spending, that is, a government’s spending more money than it takes in.

4. On February 7, 2011, at 7:17 am, our national debt was: $14,122,278,547,177 On January 26, 2012, at 8:10 am, our national debt was: $15,277,592,000,000 Our debt today (as of 7:15): $18,223,027,993,729 http://www.usdebtclock.org/

5. The Burden of Debt • Louis XIV had left France deeply in debt. Wars like the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution strained the treasury even further. • Costs generally had risen in the 1700s and the lavish court soaked up millions. • To bridge the gap between income and expenses, the government borrowed more and more money. • By 1789, half its tax income went just to pay interest on this enormous debt.

6. To solve the financial crisis, the government would have to increase taxes, reduce expenses, or both. • However, the nobles and clergy fiercely resisted any attempt to end their exemption from taxes.

7. Louis XVI – Decision Making Simulation In this decision making simulation, you will be given the same choices that King Louis XVI faced during the early stages of the French Revolution (1787–1791 ). King Louis XVI was stripped of his power, imprisoned, and executed. Can you do better?

8. Decision 1 – You need more money It is February 1787 Your government is spending more money than it receives. To improve the situation, your finance minister has devised a new scheme to tax the rich landowners. These extra taxes will help to raise some money. He has invited a group of noblemen to Paris to approve the new tax. The nobles have said that they do not have the power to approve the new taxes. A. Back down and fire your finance minister B. Stand firm and force the nobles to agree to the new tax

9. A. You chose to back down and fire your finance minister This was probably the best decision under the circumstances. Your finance minister, however, is disgusted by your betrayal and the people are growing concerned by your lack of leadership. Your financial situation is getting worse. LOSE 5 RESPECT POINTS

10. B. You chose to force the nobles to agree A poor decision. The noblemen refuse to give in to your attempt at bullying and you are eventually forced to back down. You have offended some of the most powerful people in the country. Your financial situation is worsening. LOSE 10 RESPECT POINTS

11. What did Louis really do? A. In real life, Louis chose to back down. His finance minister, Charles Alexandre de Calonne, was fired and Louis was forced to consider other plans. His reputation suffered as a result of the humiliation.

12. Poor Harvests • Other economic troubles added to the financial crisis. • A general economic decline had begun in the 1770s. • Then, in the late 1780s, bad harvests sent food prices soaring and brought hunger to poorer peasants and city dwellers.

13. Hard times and lack of food inflamed these people. • In towns, people rioted, demanding bread. • In the countryside, peasants began to attack the manor houses of the nobles. • Arthur Young, an English visitor to France, witnessed the violence: “Everything conspires to render the present period in France critical: the [lack] of bread is terrible; accounts arrive every moment from the provinces of riots and disturbances, and calling in the military, to preserve the peace of the markets.”—Arthur Young, Travels in France During the Years 1787–1789

14. Failure of Reform • The heirs of Louis XIV were not the right men to solve the economic crisis that afflicted France. • Louis XV, who ruled from 1715 to 1774, pursued pleasure before serious business and ran up more debts. • His grandson, Louis XVI, was well-meaning but weak and indecisive.

15. Jacques Necker • He wisely chose Jacques Necker, a financial wizard, as an adviser. Necker urged the king to reduce extravagant court spending, reform government, and abolish burdensome tariffs on internal trade. • When Necker proposed taxing the First and Second estates, however, the nobles and high clergy forced the king to dismiss the would-be reformer.

16. As the crisis deepened, the pressure for reform mounted. • Finally, the wealthy and powerful classes demanded that the king summon the Estates General before making any changes. French kings had not called the Estates General for 175 years, fearing that nobles would use it to recover the feudal powers that they had lost under absolute rule. • To reform-minded nobles, the Estates General seemed to offer a chance to carry out changes like those that had come with the Glorious Revolution in England. • They hoped that they could bring the absolute monarch under the control of the nobles and guarantee their own privileges.

17. Decision 2 – You are nearly bankrupt It is August 1788 People are hungry and riots are occurring in many parts of France. You have tried to introduce some new taxes through the Paris Parlement. The Parlement has said, however, that only the Estates General can approve new taxes. The Estates General has not met for over a hundred years. A. Order that new elections be held for the Estates General B. Look for other ways to earn some money

18. A. You chose to order elections A good decision. The people are relieved that you are taking action. They look to you, their king for guidance in this time of need. At last you have identified a way forward. GAIN 5 RESPECT POINTS

19. B. You chose to investigate other ways to earn money A poor decision. The people are angry that you are failing to take action. They are concerned about your apparent lack of interest in their problems. They demand that you order the new elections. You are forced to give in. LOSE 10 RESPECT POINTS

20. What did Louis really do? A. In real life, Louis recognized the need for urgent action. He ordered that the new elections should take place in 1789.

21. Louis XVI Calls the Estates General • As 1788 came to a close, France tottered on the verge of bankruptcy. • Bread riots were spreading, and nobles, fearful of taxes, were denouncing royal tyranny. • A baffled Louis XVI finally summoned the Estates General to meet at Versailles the following year.

22. The Cahiers • In preparation, Louis had all three estates prepare cahiers(kah yay), or notebooks, listing their grievances. • Many cahiers called for reforms such as fairer taxes, freedom of the press, or regular meetings of the Estates General. • In one town, shoemakers denounced regulations that made leather so expensive they could not afford to make shoes. • Some peasants demanded the right to kill animals that were destroying their crops. • Servant girls in the city of Toulouse demanded the right to leave service when they wanted and that “after a girl has served her master for many years, she receive some reward for her service.”

23. The cahiers testified to boiling class resentments. • One called tax collectors “bloodsuckers of the nation who drink the tears of the unfortunate from goblets of gold.” • Another one of the cahiers condemned the courts of nobles as “vampires pumping the last drop of blood” from the people. • Another complained that “20 million must live on half the wealth of France while the clergy … devour the other half.”

24. The Tennis Court Oath • Delegates to the Estates General from the Third Estate were elected, though only propertied men could vote. • Thus, they were mostly lawyers, middle-class officials, and writers. • They were familiar with the writings of Voltaire, Rousseau, and other philosophes. • They went to Versailles not only to solve the financial crisis but also to insist on reform.

25. The Estates General convened in May 1789. • From the start, the delegates were deadlocked over the issue of voting. • Traditionally, each estate had met and voted separately. • Each group had one vote. • Under this system, the First and Second estates always outvoted the Third Estate two to one. • This time, the Third Estate wanted all three estates to meet in a single body, with votes counted “by head.”

26. Decision 3 – The Third Estate is unhappy It is February 1789 On your orders, the Estates General is being re-established. The members of the Third Estate, however, think that the voting system is unfair. They want twice as many members and feel that every member should have a vote. This would bring them into line with the other Estates. A. Do nothing B. Only agree to let them have more members C. Agree to let them have more than 1 vote

27. A. Do nothing A poor decision. Your hard-line approach offends the members of the Third Estate. They accuse you of being unsympathetic to the needs of the common people. Be careful – you are becoming unpopular. LOSE 15 RESPECT POINTS

28. B. Only agree to let them have more members A fair decision under the circumstances. Your moderate approach satisfies the Third Estate but your decision is ridiculed in the newspapers. They suggest that the new members will not support your wishes. By allowing more Third Estate members, you have increased the number of enemies in the Estates General. Your position is weakened. LOSE 10 RESPECT POINTS

29. C. Agree to let them have more than 1 vote The best decision under the circumstances. Your moderate approach is popular with the people. However, by allowing each member a full vote, you have still made your enemies more powerful LOSE 5 RESPECT POINTS

30. What did Louis really do? B. In real life, Louis agreed to double the number of Third Estate members. This decision, however, was based on the understanding that the three Estates would meet separately. Louis thought that the extra members would make no difference since the Third Estate would still be outnumbered by the First Estate and Second Estate. What happened next took Louis by surprise.

31. After weeks of stalemate, delegates of the Third Estate took a daring step. • Claiming to represent the people of France, they declared themselves to be the National Assembly. • They then invited delegates from the other estates to help them write a constitution, a document that describes the basic rules and laws of government.

32. A few days later, the National Assembly found its meeting hall locked and guarded. • Fearing that the king planned to dismiss them, the delegates moved to a nearby indoor tennis court. • As curious spectators looked on, the delegates took their famous Tennis Court Oath. • They swore “never to separate and to meet wherever the circumstances might require until we have established a sound and just constitution.”

33. Decision 4 – The Estates want to form a National Assembly It is May 1789 The Estates General has just met for the first time. You have told the different Estates that they are to meet separately in the future. However, the members of the Third Estate do not like this idea. They want all three Estates to form a National Assembly where they can discuss things together. Some members of the First Estate and Second Estate have threatened to join the Third Estate in protest at your interference. Use your soldiers to make them meet separately Give in and let them meet together as a National Assembly

34. A. You chose to use your soldiers A bad decision that backfires. Your use of force is seen as too excessive. Your reputation suffers and you are eventually forced to give in. LOSE 15 RESPECT POINTS

35. B. You chose to give in and accept the new National Assembly The best decision under the circumstances. By accepting their wishes you have avoided a disastrous confrontationwith the members that you wanted elected. Your reputation still suffers slightly from being seen to give in. LOSE 5 RESPECT POINTS

36. What did Louis really do? B. Louis was eventually forced to give in and to accept that the three different Estates would meet together. By this time, he had already lost considerable power. A National Assembly was formed, thus signalling the end of absolutism in France.

37. When reform-minded clergy and nobles joined the Assembly, Louis XVI grudgingly accepted it. • But royal troops gathered around Paris, and rumors spread that the king planned to dissolve the Assembly. • Suspicion and rumor continued to poison the atmosphere as the crisis deepened in early July. • The king, who had brought back Necker to deal with the financial crisis, again dismissed the popular minister. • Food shortages were also getting worse because of the disastrous harvest of 1788.

38. Storming the Bastille • On July 14, 1789, Paris seized the spotlight from the National Assembly meeting in Versailles. • The streets buzzed with rumors that royal troops were going to occupy the capital. • More than 800 Parisians assembled outside the Bastille, a grim medieval fortress used as a prison for political and other prisoners. • The crowd was demanding weapons and gunpowder believed to be stored there.

39. Decision 5 – The people are uneasy It is June 1789 You are concerned that the French Guards have become too sympathetic to the new National Assembly. You order that thousands of new soldiers should be posted in Paris to provide you with more security. Many people are worried by the arrival of the extra soldiers. They suspect that you will use them to shut down the National Assembly. A. Send some of your new soldiers away to calm things down B. Call in even more soldiers to show that you are still in charge

40. A. You chose to send some of your new soldiers away A wise decision. The people are relieved that the soldiers have gone. You have defused a potentially difficult situation. GAIN 5 RESPECT POINTS

41. B. You chose to call in even more soldiers A bad decision. Your extra soldiers upset the people – riots break out in parts of Paris. You are becoming more unpopular by the day. LOSE 5 RESPECT POINTS

42. What did Louis really do? B. In real life, Louis decided to send in more soldiers. The people were enraged by his decision. In anger, they stormedthe Bastille. Louis was eventually forced to withdraw the extra soldiers.

43. The commander of the Bastille refused to open the gates and opened fire on the crowd. • In the battle that followed, many people were killed. • Finally, the enraged mob broke through the defenses. • They killed the commander and five guards and released a handful of prisoners, but found no weapons.

44. When told of the attack, Louis XVI asked, “Is it a revolt?” • “No, sire,” replied a noble. “It is a revolution.” • The storming of the Bastille quickly became a symbol of the French Revolution. • Supporters saw it as a blow to tyranny, a step toward freedom. • Today, the French still celebrate July 14 as Bastille Day, the French national holiday.