The French Revolution

The French Revolution Birth of a Republic

Background • Louis XIV – aka “The Sun King” • Ruled France from 1643 to 1715. Longest monarch in European History. • Absolute monarch. • As a child, he lived through the Fronde (1648-1653).

Louis XIV • Louis and his regents were called in front of the supreme court and explain their actions. • After the Fronde was crushed, Louis vowed to never forget the attempts to limit the power of the monarchy.

French Revolution (Continued)After his appearance in front of the supreme court, Louis moved his palace to Versailles.

French Revolution (Continued) • At Versailles, Louis tended to the duties of being king. There were many royal apartments, halls, and dining and meeting rooms. Palace grounds contained acres of formal gardens. • He held elaborate events that stressed the pomp and circumstance of a royal court. • The population of Versailles was about 10,000 nobles and other support people.

French Revolution (Continued) • He appointed advisors from the middle-class. Although he relied on a bureaucracy, he was the absolute authority in the country. • Louis continued to strengthen the power of the monarchy and the state. • “L’etat, c’est moi!” “I am the state.”

French Revolution (Continued) • The French Society was divided into three estates or classes: • First Estate • Second Estate • Third Estate

French Revolution (Continued) • First Estate: • Made of the clergy. Approximately 1% of the population. • This estate controlled about 5 to 10% of the land. • This estate was also divided into the upper and lower clergy. • Members of the church were required to pay a tithe of 10% to the church.

French Revolution (Continued) • Second Estate • Made up of the nobility. Approximately 2% of the population. • The Second Estate owned approximately 25% of the land. • Many in the nobility held high posts in the government and lived at Versailles. • Much of the income of this estate came from the feudal dues collected from the peasants that lived on their lands.

French Revolution (Continued) • Third Estate: • Made up the largest social group in France. Peasants, artisans, and members of the bourgeoisie, or middle class made up this estate. • Many of this estate lived in cities and towns and were educated and financial well off. They had read the authors of the Age of Reason and believed in social justice and freedom. • The peasants made up the largest subgroup of the Third Estate. They owned 40% of the land but were very poor.

French Revolution (Continued) • In 1774, Louis XVI ascended to the throne. He was 19 years old. • Louis found that the mounting debt was causing a severe strain on his ability to govern.

French Revolution (Continued) • Louis’ wife was Marie Antoinette. • She was disliked by the French because she was Austrian.

French Revolution (Continued) • Facing a rising debt, Louis XVI called for a meeting of the Estates General on May 1, 1789. This was the first time it had been called to meet since 1614. • Louis had hoped that the Estate General would agree to his plan to tax the First and Second Estates.

French Revolution (Continued) • Each of the estates were represent. Each estate had one vote. • The Third Estate hoped that the other two would vote to agree to the king’s plan for taxation. • The First and Second Estates used the assembly to protect their lifestyle, weaken the power of the king and gain control of the government.

French Revolution (Continued) • The Third Estate rejected this attempt. They believed that they represented the nation, not the clergy or the nobility. • The Third Estate demanded that each representative have a vote. • The Third Estate had more representatives in the Estate General and had the support of many of the clergy and nobles who favored reforms. This mass meeting would give them a majority.

French Revolution (Continued) • Louis XVI insisted that the estates meet separately. • The Third Estate refused the king’s request and were locked out of the Estates General. • The representatives of the Third Estate, many of whom were members of the bourgeoisie, gathered a a nearby tennis court and declared themselves the National Assembly.

French Revolution (Continued) • On June 20, 1789, the members of the National Assembly took the “Tennis Court Oath.” • Members promised not to disband until they had written a constitution for France.

French Revolution (Continued) • Louis XVI recognized the dangers of letting the National Assembly writing a constitution by themselves. • He ordered the other two estates to join the National Assembly and called for troops to protect areas in Paris.

French Revolution (Continued) • The debate in the National Assembly focused on the injustice of the French social system and government. • The Third Estate called for complete social equality. Liberty! Equality! Fraternity! became the battle cry of the Third Estate. • This debate spread throughout the city of Paris. People debated on the street corners and in the cafes. Members of the Third Estate also attacked members that did not support their cause. • The king fanned this anxiety by gathering more troops to protect Versailles. Rumors spread throughout Paris that he planned to disband the National Assembly.

French Revolution (Continued) • On July 14, 1789, the citizens of Paris attacked the Bastille. • The Bastille was an old palace that was being used as a prison. • The Bastille also contained a supply of weapons that were needed by the citizens. • After taking the Bastille, a revolutionary government was formed in the city.

French Revolution (Continued) • The storming of the Bastille released a wave of violence throughout France called the “Great Fear.” • There were rumors that members of the nobility had hired robbers to kill peasants and seize property. • The peasants drove the nobles from their property, broke into manors, destroyed feudal records, and robbed granaries. This was the first wave of the French Revolution.

French Revolution (Continued) • The unrest and violence sweeping the country caused the National Assembly to act. • On August 4 1789, a vote was taken where all privileges of the nobility ended. Nobles were no longer exempt from taxes and all male citizens were given the right to hold government, army, and/or church offices.

French Revolution (Continued) • On August 27, 1789, with the old order abolished, the National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. This document was modeled after the US Constitution. • It included many of the ideas of Locke, Montesquieu, and Rosseau. • It guaranteed freedom of speech, press, religion, and protected against arbitrary arrest. The document did not, however address the rights of women but it made divorce and inheritance of property easier.

French Revolution (Continued) • Louis refused to accept the new reforms and the Declaration of Rights. • The people feared that he would take action against the National Assembly. • On October 5, 1789, the women of Paris, angered over the price of bread marched on Versailles. They were also demanding that Louis and his family move from Versailles to Paris to show his support for the National Assembly.

French Revolution (Continued) • One of the problems that faced the National Assembly was money. • In 1790, a liberal bishop named Maurice de Tallyrand urged the National Assembly to confiscate church lands and sell them off. • They also passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. This made all religious leaders government employees and weakened the power of the Catholic Church in France.

French Revolution (Continued) • In 1791, the French people were presented with a new constitution. It kept the monarchy but limited the power. • It set up a unicameral legislature and declared equal rights for all. The exception was suffrage. This was limited to males that paid a minimum tax. • To the moderates in the government, the constitution had achieved its goals. It had limited the power of the monarchy, and limited the power of the nobles and the church. • For some the constitution had gone too far and for others, not far enough.

French Revolution (Continued) • As French society became more divided, the country entered one of the most violent and unruly periods in its history. • The upper class feared that they would be a breakdown of law and order. • In June of 1791, Louis VXI and his family try to escape to Austria, where Marie Antoinette’s brother was emperor.

French Revolution (Continued) • The king and his family were stopped outside of Paris at a road stop in Varennes. They were returned to Paris. • News of the Revolution in France had spread by word of the French emigres, or nobles that had fled the country. They convinced the rules of other countries that the revolution could spread to their countries unless they returned Louis to the throne.

French Revolution (Continued) • French revolutionary leaders feared that Austria would attack to restore Louis to the throne. • On April 20, 1792, France declared war on Austria. • Austria was joined by other monarchies in Europe. Most notably Prussia and Sardinia.

French Revolution (Continued) • In August, 1792, Paris mobs attacked the king’s palace and killed many of the king’s supporters. • The king and his family fled to the Legislative Assembly. They voted to put him in prison. • In September, the mobs attacked nobles and priests charged with political crimes. “The September Massacres.”

French Revolution (Continued) • Radicals in the National Assembly called for a new constitution. They were backed by the mobs in Paris. • They also extended the right to vote to all males. • On September 2, 1792, the Legislative Assembly abolished the monarchy and on September 3, they declared France a republic.

French Revolution (Continued) • In November of 1792, a box containing Louis secret letters to European monarchs. • The radicals in the government used these to charge the king with treason. • In December, Louis was charged with “having conspired against the liberty of the nation.”

French Revolution (Continued)

French Revolution (Continued) • On January 1793, Louis XVI was executed by the guillotine. • On October 16, 1793, his wife met the same fate.

French Revolution (Continued) • The heroes of the Republic called the “sans-cullettes” demanded respect from the upper class. They abolished titles and referred to everyone as “citizen.” • Radicals had taken control in the National Assembly. Jacobins - Under the leadership of Maximillian Robespierre, Georges-Jacques Danton, and Jean-Paul Marat. • The moderates in the Assembly were referred to as “Girondists” felt the revolution had gone to far and wanted to protect the wealthy middle class from attacks from radicals.

French Revolution (Continued) • Death of Marat. A Jacobin supporter of the revolution killed by Charlotte Corday.

French Revolution (Continued) • Reign of Terror led by Robespierre lasted from September 1793 to July 1794. • Led by the Jacobins, thousands of citizens died on the guillotine and scaffolds. • In the spring of 1794, Danton believed that the Reign of Terror had accomplished what it had intended. Robespierre became more fanatical and had Danton’s followers executed.

French Revolution (Continued) • For 100 days, Robespierre had carried out a policy of suppression. • Finally, in July 1794, members of the National Assembly had Robespierre arrested and he was sent to the guillotine. • The Reign of Terror was over.

French Revolution (Continued) • After Robespierre’s death, the Jacobins lost power in the government. Fashions changed as people began to rebel against the strict policies of during the Reign of Terror. • The National Convention began to tend to the reforms needed in France. They codified the French laws, provided for public education, and abolished slavery in the French colonies. • By the middle of 1794, many of the people favored a return to the monarchy.

French Revolution (Continued) • In 1795, the National Convention rewrote the constitution. It ended universal suffrage. Only citizens that owned land could vote. • The new constitution brought power to the middle class. • Under the new constitution, there was an executive council made up of 5 men called directors. This council was known as the Directory.

French Revolution (Continued) • The Directory ruled a two house legislature. • Once in power, it faced many opponents. Royalists, revolutionaries, and others constantly stirred up opposition in France. • As a result, the Directory used the army to put down uprising from 1795-1799. • The Directory was weak, corrupt, and selfish. The 5 members constantly quarreled among themselves. • As the Directory quarreled, the people suffered. • The directory was as hated as the Old Regime and paved the way for ……………

French Revolution (Continued) • Napoleon Bonaparte

The French Revolution