The French Revolution

1. The French Revolution 1789-1799

2. Ancien Regime • King Louis XVI was leader of France • Ancien regime was the old order in France • Three different estates • Social classes

3. Ancien Regime (cont.) • First Estate made of church and clergy • Second Estate made up of nobility • Third Estate everyone else

4. Ancien Regime (cont.) • France heavily in debt during this time

5. Tennis Court Oath • Estates General was French “Congress” • Reps from each estate meet to vote separately • First and Second Estate always outvote Third

6. Tennis Court Oath • Third Estate fed up with being outvoted despite making up most of France • Called for all Estates to meet and vote “by head”

7. Tennis Court Oath • Third Estate reps finally had enough; called themselves National Assembly • Met at an indoor tennis court • Took Tennis Court Oath • Oath stated they’d never separate and meet when the circumstances require until they make a Constitution

9. Tennis Court Oath • Reform-minded clergy and noblemen join National Assembly • Louis XVI accepts it, though plans to dissolve it

10. Bastille • Rumors that royal troops were going to occupy Paris • Peasants stormed prison called the Bastille looking for weapons • Gain Bastille, but no weapons. Still symbol of revolution

12. The “Great Fear” • Rumors that peasants and villages being attacked • Peasants start attacking noblemen • People look up to Marquis de Lafayette • Leader that fought alongside George Washington

13. National Assembly Acts • National Assembly issues “Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen” • Insisted that governments must acknowledge the natural rights of men

14. National Assembly Acts (cont.) • Declaration did not mention women • Olympe de Gouges, female journalist, speaks out against this • Many women imprisoned during revolution for speaking out

15. Marie Antoinette • Marie Antoinette was the Austrian-born queen • Lived very lavish life; caused unrest among citizens • Never actually said “Let them eat cake”

18. Louis in Paris • Louis XVI lived in Versailles • 6,000 women marched miles from Paris to Versailles, demanding to see the king • Wanted him to return to Paris

19. Louis in Paris (cont.) • Royal family agrees to move to Paris • Louis XVI is now virtual “prisoner”

20. National Assembly Presses Onward • National Assembly starts writing Constitution • Put controls on Catholic Church • Caused great divide

21. National Assembly Presses Onward (cont.) • Constitution finished in 1791 • Established limited monarchy • New legislative branch created

22. Louis’ Escape • Louis XVI attempts to escape Paris • Disguises himself as servant • Gets caught because someone recognizes his face from a coin

23. Internationally • Other rulers fear the “spread” of the revolution • Joseph II, Marie Antoinette’s brother, tells revolutionaries that Austria and Prussia will intervene to save French monarchy • Most likely bluff, but revolutionaries took it seriously and prepared for war

24. Radicals Fight for Power • New Legislative Assembly takes over • Economy too bad for L.A. to act • Sans-culottes, working-class men and women, push for more radical means

25. Radicals Fight for Power • Many sans-coulottes wanted a republic • Government ruled by elected representatives • Several factions within National Assembly start fighting for power • Sans-culottes find allies in the radical Jacobins

26. War on Tyranny • French revolutionaries declare war on European monarchs • Declare war on Austria, Prussia, Britain, and others