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French Revolution

French Revolution. 3 Estates. -Most of the land and wealth in France was owned by members of the 1 st and 2 nd Estates - First Estate - Clergy – Roman Catholic Church - Exempt from paying taxes - Second Estate - Rich nobles – made up 2% of the population - Exempt from most taxes

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French Revolution

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  1. French Revolution

  2. 3 Estates -Most of the land and wealth in France was owned by members of the 1st and 2nd Estates -First Estate -Clergy – Roman Catholic Church -Exempt from paying taxes -Second Estate -Rich nobles – made up 2% of the population -Exempt from most taxes -Third Estate -Everyone else – 97% of the population -Peasants were 80% of it -Paid taxes on everything (salt tax)

  3. Forces for Change -Growing resentment among the lower classes -3rd Estate was inspired by the American Revolution -Began to question their society -Serious economic problems -Heavy burden of taxes made it nearly impossible to conduct business profitably within France -Weak and indecisive leadership -Extravagant spending of Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette aka Madame Deficit -Louis XVI never attacked these problems -Estates General – a meeting called by the 2nd Estate which was an assembly of representatives from all 3 estates to approve a new tax -Each estate had one vote so the two privileged estates could out vote the 3rd Estate -3rd Estate wanted each delegate to have a vote – had the most delegates -3rd Estate wanted to be known as the National Assembly and pass laws and reforms for the French people

  4. Revolt -3rd Estate started the National Assembly on June 17, 1789 -Proclaimed the end of absolute monarchy -This vote was the first act of the Revolution -Nobles and clergy who favored reform began to join the 3rd Estate delegates -Louis XVI stationed his army around Versailles -People began to gather weapons thinking that Louis was going to use military force to end the National Assembly -Storming the Bastille (July 14, 1789) -A group of people looking for gunpowder break into the Bastille, a Paris prison -Killed the guards and took control of the prison -Became a very symbolic act of revolution -July 14th – Bastille Day – a French national holiday (4th of July)

  5. Revolt cont. -Rebellion spread from Paris into the countryside -Great Fear – a wave of senseless panic -rumors of nobles hiring outlaws to terrorize the peasants -therefore the peasants became outlaws themselves -Peasants were going around burning down Nobles manor houses -Bread Revolt – October 1789 -Thousands of women in Paris rioted over the rising price of bread -Stormed the palace killing guards -Louie and Marie left their great palace in Versailles -Their exit signaled the change of power and radical reforms about to overtake France

  6. New Government -Declaration of the Rights of Man -Reflection of the American Declaration of Independence -Natural rights: liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression -Revolutionary leaders adopted the expression “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” as their slogan -This is all done by the National Assembly -Limited Monarchy -September 1791 – new constitution which Louis reluctantly approved -took a lot of authority away from the king -It also created a new legislative body – Legislative Assembly -Create laws and approve or reject decisions to go to war -Many nobles wanted the old regime back and many peasants wanted more revolutionary action

  7. Austria and Prussia -Austria and Prussia were afraid that revolutionary action may break out in their country -They tried to restore Louis to his position as an absolute monarch -Legislative Assembly responded by declaring war in April 1792 -The war went awful for France early on -French didn’t know who was fighting for what -Legislative Assembly dissolved and called for the election of new legislature -National Convention – new governing body – took office on September 21, 1792 -Abolished the monarchy and declared France a republic -Adult male citizens were given the right to vote -Most of the people involved were from a radical political organization – the Jacobin -Louis XVI was tried for treason – guilty and beheaded -France began to win a few battles in the war – Jacobins ordered a draft and increased the army to 800,000 French men and women

  8. Reign of Terror -Maximilien Robespierre – Jacobin leader who began to gain more power -Wanted to wipe out all of France’s past -changed the calendar -closed all churches -Robespierre had enough power to where he was governing France virtually as a dictator -The period of his rule became known as the Reign of Terror -Tried in the morning and guillotined in the afternoon -Example: an 18 year old youth was sentenced to die for cutting down a tree that had been planted as a symbol of liberty -About 40,000 executed during this time -Robespierre was finally betrayed and his once supporters guillotined him which ended the Reign of Terror

  9. Effects of the Revolution -Ideas of good citizenship -Primary education expanded -Wage and price controls -Abolished slavery -Religious toleration and separation of church and state -Metric system introduced

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