The French Revolution

1. The French Revolution 1789 - 1815

2. Liberty, Equality, Fraternity Play Marseilles Detail From Triumph of Marat, Boilly, 1794 (Musee des Beaux-Arts)

3. HOW TO TAKE NOTES ON THIS PPT • REVIEW/HISTORICAL CONTEXT • No need to copy in notes word for word unless unfamiliar • IMPORTANT! PLEASE TAKE NOTE!

4. The Seigneurial System • Feudal method of land ownership and organization • Peasant labor worked the land of the nobles • Nobles taxed the peasants for profit Receiving a seigneurial grant

5. Louis XIV • Ruled from 1643–1715 • Absolute monarch (didn’t share power with a counsel or parliament) • Claimed “Divine Right” • Reduced the power of the nobility • Fought four wars ($) • Greatly increased France’s national debt

6. The Seven Years’ War Louis XV French and English troops fight at the battle of Fort St. Philip on the island of Minorca • Louis XV • War fought in Europe, India, North America • France ends up losing some of its colonial possessions • Increases French national debt

7. The Old “Ancien” Regime • This cartoon from the era of the French Revolution depicts the third estate as a person in chains, who supports the clergy and nobility on his back. The Third Estate

8. The Old “Ancien” Regime • What is going on in this image? • What cause of the French Revolution does this image illustrate? The Third Estate

9. The Three Estates • Before the revolution, the French people were divided into three groups: • The first estate: the clergy • The second estate: the nobility • The third estate: the common people (bourgeoisie, urban workers, and peasants). • Legally the first two estates enjoyed many privileges, particularly exemption from most taxation.

10. The First Estate • The first estate, the clergy, consisted of rich and poor.  • There were very wealthy abbots, members of the aristocracy who lived in luxury off of wealthy church lands. • There were poor parish priests, who lived much like the peasants.

11. The Second Estate • The second estate, the nobility, inherited their titles and got their wealth from the land. • Some members of the nobility had little money, but had all the privileges of noble rank. • However, most enjoyed both privileges and wealth.

12. The Third Estate • The third estate, the common people, was by far the largest group in France. • Everyone who was not a member of the first or second estates was a member of the third. It included: • Wealthy merchants, whose wealth rivaled that of the nobility • Doctors and lawyers • Shopkeepers • The urban poor • The peasants who worked the land.

13. The Ancien (Old) Regime 3rd Estate: • THREE GROUPS • Bourgeoisie: • Wealthy merchants, manufacturers, bankers, landowners (20% land), but frustrated by lack of social & political power • Urban workers – Sans-culottes: • Factory workers, artisans, journeymen • Lived in poverty – wages increased by 22%, cost of living increased by 62% by 1789 • Peasantry • Largest group in society (80% France’s population) • Paid 50% income in taxes (dues to nobles, tithes to church, taxes to king)

14. The French Royalty • The royal family lived in luxury at the Palace of Versailles. Play Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Hall of Mirrors

15. Louis XVI • Louis XVI was an awkward, clumsy man who had a good heart but was unable to relate to people on a personal level. • He often appeared unfeeling and gruff. • He was insecure and seems to have disliked being King of France. • When one of his ministers resigned, he was heard to remark, "Why can't I resign too?"

16. Marie Antoinette • Marie Antoinette, in her early years as Queen, was flighty and irresponsible. • She spent huge amounts on clothes, buying a new dress nearly every other day. • Being Austrian, she was terribly unpopular in France and had few friends.

17. King Louis XVI & Queen Marie-Antoinette

18. The Financial Crisis • The government of France, however, was bankrupt and was facing a serious financial crisis. • The crisis resulted from: • An inefficient and unfair tax structure, which placed the burden of taxation on the third estate • Outdated medieval bureaucratic institutions • A drained treasury which was the result of: • Aiding the Americans during the American Revolution • Long wars with England • Overspending

19. The Financial Crisis • Bad crops in 1787-88 led to rise in food prices; high unemployment • Only 3rd Estate paying taxes

20. Four Stages of the Revolution • Moderate Stage (1789-1792) • 1st Constitution & Declaration of Rights (National Assembly – Legislative Assembly) • Reign of Terror (1792-1794) • Radical & bloody phase under Maximilien Robespierre (National Convention) • Backlash against the Terror (1794-1799) • Attempts at stability & moderation (The Directory) • Shifts back toward dictatorship (1799-1815) • Napoleon becomes consul (dictator), and later, emperor (French Empire)

21. Make Predictions about the 4 Stages! (timed writing in your notes) • Moderate Stage (1789-1792) • 1st Constitution & Declaration of Rights (National Assembly – Legislative Assembly) • Reign of Terror (1792-1794) • Radical & bloody phase under Maximilien Robespierre (National Convention) • Backlash against the Terror (1794-1799) • Attempts at stability & moderation (The Directory) • Shifts back toward dictatorship (1799-1815) • Napoleon becomes consul (dictator), and later, emperor (French Empire)

22. HOMEWORK REVIEW • What group owned 10 percent of the land in France? • The First Estate

23. From studying the circle graphs, what inferences can you draw about the causes of the revolution? • 2% of the pop owned 35% of the land • Peasants = about 75% of the pop and were unfairly taxed • Commoners = 98% of the pop and owned 65% of the land AND paid 100% of the taxes • Each estate had one vote. The First and Second Estates always outvoted the Third Estate because each estate had one vote, not each deputy.

24. HOMEWORK REVIEW • Explain why the Catholic Church was targeted for reform • It was part of the old order that was being torn down. • What were the main affirmations of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen? • Right to liberty, property, security • Freedom from oppression • Equal rights for all men • Equal access to public office • Equal and fair taxation

25. Examine the painting of the Tennis Court Oath. How does David’s painting reflect the ideals of the French Revolution?

26. It appears that everyone is participating equally in the process of making policy

27. The Enlightenment “ 18th century philosophy taught the Frenchman to find his condition wretched, unjust and illogical and made him disinclined to the patient resignation to his troubles that had long characterized his ancestors . . . . The propaganda of the philosophes perhaps more than any other factor accounted for the fulfillment of the preliminary condition of the French Revolution, namely discontent with the existing state of things.“

28. American Revolution …in 1783 the Venetian ambassador to Paris wrote that "it is reasonable to expect that, with the favourable effects of time, and of European arts and sciences, [America] will become the most formidable power in the world." American independence fired the imagination of aristocrats who were unsure of their status while at the same time giving the promise of ever greater equality to the common man. The Enlightenment preached the steady and inevitable progress of man's moral and intellectual nature. The American example served as a great lesson - tyranny could be challenged. Man did have inalienable rights. New governments could be constructed. The American example then, shed a brilliant light. As one French observer remarked in 1789, "This vast continent which the seas surround will soon change Europe and the universe."

29. II. Economic Crisis in France • Louis XVI needs to raise new taxes, but cannot do so w/o approval of the Estates-General, a body of representatives from each of the 3 estates • Estates-General had not met since 1614 “Beloved and loyal supporters, we require the assistance of our faithful subjects to overcome the difficulties in which we find ourselves concerning the current state of our finances, and to establish, as we so wish, a constant and invariable order in all branches of government that concern the happiness of our subjects and the prosperity of the realm. These great motives have induced us to summon the Assembly of the Estates of all Provinces obedient to us, as much to counsel and assist us in all things placed before it, as to inform us of the wishes and grievances of our people; so that, by means of the mutual confidence and reciprocal love between the sovereign and his subjects, an effective remedy may be brought as quickly as possible to the ills of the State, and abuses of all sorts may be averted and corrected by good and solid means which insure public happiness and restore to us in particular the calm and tranquility of which we have so long been deprived.” Louis XVI's letter regarding the convocation of the Estates General at Versailles (January 24, 1789)

30. III. From Estates-General to National Assembly A. Voting in the Estates-General was by body, not by head: • Each estate got 1 vote; traditionally the 1st & 2nd estates voted together, thus outvoting the 3rd estate 2:1 • The 3rd estate demanded that voting be changed to vote by head: 610 (3rd E.) vs. 591 (1st & 2nd) • Nobles refuse to change voting; King supports them

31. B. Tennis Court Oath • 1st deliberate act of revolution: • 3rd estate meets alone declaring themselves the National Assembly, June 17, 1789 • Louis XVI locks them out of the meeting room, they then move to an indoor tennis court & vow to stay until they have a written constitution • Proclaim an end to absolute monarchy & beginning of representative gov.

32. C. Storming of the Bastille • King orders 1st & 2nd estates to meet w/ N.A. • Sends Swiss royal army to defend Paris & Versailles • Bourgeoisie fear troops are coming to disband N.A. • Citizens in Paris react by storming the Bastille for gunpowder • July 14, 1789: Bastille Day becomes National Independence Day • Significance: • Politically: saves N.A. & lessens King’s power • Socially: symbol of revolution • Militarily: forced Louis to give up plan to control Paris

33. D. The Great Fear, Summer 1789 Rebellion in Paris spread to countryside Rumors spread that nobles hired outlaws to terrorize peasants Band of peasants instead broke into nobles’ homes to destroy records of obligations

34. IV. Destruction of the Ancien Regime • August 4: N.A. abolished all legal privileges of nobles & clergy B. Aug. 26: Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen • Inspired by English Bill of Rts. & American Constitution • Charter of basic liberties & natural rights of man, including: • all men free and equal before law • Public office by talent, not heredity • No group exempt from taxes • Freedom of speech & press • Applied to men only; protested by Olympe de Gouges: Declaration of Rights of Woman and Female Citizen; she was killed during the Reign of Terror, 1793

35. C. Women’s March on Versailles, October 5, 1789 • Louis refused to accept N.A.’s decrees • 60,000 Parisian women march 12 miles to Palace at Versailles to protest high prices of bread & to require the king to support the N.A. • Demanded the King & Queen return to Paris, where they are housed in the Tuileries & kept under watch

36. D. Church Reforms • Revolutionaries wanted to reform Church, also needed money • Seized & sold Church lands to pay off debt • Took away Church’s political independence ***Effect: loss of support of many French peasants, who were devout Catholics & will become permanent enemies of the revolution & the radicals

37. E. New Constitution & New Fears • Const. of 1791 created the Legislative Assembly: a constitutional monarchy • Louis & family attempt to escape France into Austrian Netherlands, but was caught & brought back to Paris a prisoner & enemy of the revolution • Led to increased power of the radicals & questions of whether a constitutional monarchy was plausible or necessary

38. Radicals “Sans-culottes” Sat on left side of assembly “leftists” Proposed a republic, in which people have power Political Parties include: the Jacobins & the Mountain Moderates Sat in center of assembly “centrists” Wanted limited changes Political Parties: the Girondin F. Factions arise in L.A. over old problems Conservatives Emigres / royalists Sat on right side of assembly “right-wing” Wanted to restore king as limited monarch & few changes in gov.

39. G. War with Austria & Prussia, 1792 • European monarchs feared spread of rev. into their lands, thus threatened to invade France & restore the monarchy • L.A. acted first & declared war on Austria, 1792

40. H. The First Coalition Invades France, 1792. • With the invasion of Austria & Prussia to restore Louis to the throne, French mobs stormed Louis’ Palace in Paris, the Tuileries. • He and his family were thrown in prison while his guards were massacred (800+). • Rumors spread that while the volunteer soldiers were leaving to fight on the Front, that imprisoned royalists would attempt to take control of Paris. Parisian radicals raided the prisons & murdered over 1,200 prisoners of the 1st & 2nd estates: the September Massacres. • Under threat of the radicals, the Legislative assembly dissolved & declared the king deposed. They formed France’s 1st Republic: the National Convention. “I ran from place to place, and finding the apartments & staircases already strewed with dead bodies, I…ran away to the Dauphin’s garden gate where some Marseillais, who had just butchered several of the Swiss, were stripping them. One of them came up to me with a bloody sword in his hand, saying, ‘Hello, citizen! Without arms! Here, take this & help us to kill.’ But luckily…I managed to make my escape. Some of the Swiss who were pursued took refuge in an adjoining stable. I concealed myself in the same place. They were soon cut to pieces close to me…” –Unnamed Royal Servant

41. Ch. 3.2: Radical Revolution & Reaction Stage 2: Reign of Terror 1792-1794

42. I. The Move to Radicalism • Sept. 1792 the National Convention abolished the monarchy and established The French Republic • Made Louis XVI a common citizen, Louis Capet • He was tried and found guilty of treason (for corresponding w/ Austria) and executed by the guillotine Jan. 21, 1793 • The king’s execution caused foreign monarchs to unite to end the radical revolution: 1st Coalition included Britain, Spain, Holland, Austria, Prussia, and Portugal • French radicals respond by creating The Committee of Public Safety, who imposed a draft and created the largest citizen army of 800,000 men (and some women)

43. II. The Committee of Public Safety • Factional disputes between Political Parties: the Girondins (Moderates), the Jacobins (Radicals) & the Mountain (extreme radicals) created problems for the N.C. • War abroad, discontent at home over war & economy, and counter-revolutionary activity in countryside • June, 1793: N.C. set up CPS to deal w/ problems – had all power in gov • CPS made up of Jacobins/Mountain & supported by armed mob of sans-culottes; Girondins out of power Jean-Paul Marat

44. B. The Death of Marat, 1793-Charlotte Corday assassinated one of key CPS leaders-made Revolutionaries feel threatened

45. III. The Reign of Terror, 1793-1794 • Robespierre wanted to create a “Republic of Virtue” • Goal was to wipe out any trace of monarchy and nobility • Followed Rousseau’s social contract and that anyone who opposed being governed by the general will should be executed • Up to 40,000 people executed in France, including Marie-Antoinette & Danton • Clergy & nobles were about 15% of those executed, the rest were from bourgeoisie and peasant classes – those who the revolution was fought for

46. The proof necessary to convict the enemies of the people is every kind of evidence, either material or moral or verbal or written. . . . Every citizen has the right to seize conspirators and counter-revolutionaries and to arraign them before magistrates. He is required to denounce them when he knows of them. ```````Law of 22 Prairial Year II (June 10, 1794) B. The Republic of Virtue • Desire to create a temporary dictatorship in order to save the republic (Roman idea) & re-structure society • A democratic-republic of good citizens formed by good education • De-Christianization policy b/c Catholic Church encouraged superstition rather than reason; cult of Supreme Being - Deism • New calendar dating from Sept. 22, 1792 (1st day of the republic) w/ new months & no Sundays • Playing cards changed • Fashions emphasized Roman style or sans-culotte

47. C. Thermidorian Reaction • By mid-1794, as First Coalition was defeated, there was less need for the Terror & Robespierre’s leadership • Moderates became fearful he would turn on them, so he was arrested & executed July 28, 1794 (Ninth of Thermidor) • Jacobins lose power to moderates as public opinion shifted from the left to the right

48. IV. The Directory, 1795-1799Stage 3: Backlash Against the Terror (1794-1799) • Moderates draft a new constitution, the 3rd since 1789, creating a gov. with a 2-house legislature and an executive of 5 men to bring order & stability • Corruption rampant: officials made illegal fortunes • Political enemies from both right and left • Economic problems due to ongoing war • Directory names Napoleon Bonaparte as General of French Army

49. Ch. 3.3: The Age of Napoleon Stage 4: Shifts Back To Dictatorship 1799-1815

50. I. The Rise of Napoleon • 1769: born in French-controlled Corsica to a middle-class family • Sent to military school at age 9 on scholarship, became a lieutenant upon graduation at 16 • Joined the army of the new gov. when the Revolution broke out. When he was in school in Brienne in continental France, where he was very much laughed at and bullied for being a barbarous Corsican, he dreamt all the time of…liberating Corsica. But he did something quite exceptional. He conquered his conquerors. He got the better of the French.