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Section 3.3: The French Revolution
(Section 3.3/page 272-273)
 The late 1700s in France was a period of economic and political unrest, which led to the
French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon.
Before the French Revolution:
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harvests were poor in France
prices were high in France
mobs attacked the Bastille (ancient prison in Paris, France)
Industrial Revolution not in France yet!
Roots of the Revolution:
Three social groups in France:
1) First Estate
a. Made up of clergy
2) Second Estate
a. Made up of nobility or aristocrats
3) Third Estate
a. Made up of merchants and peasants
b. Paid most of the taxes
c. Had no voice in the government
d. Suffered injustices

The people of the Third Estate began to call for a change
Enlightenment: a social movement of the 1700s that worked for the education and rights of the
individual
John Locke: an English philosopher of the late 1600s who helped inspire the American
Revolution and the Enlightenment
Ideas of the Enlightenment → influenced the American Revolution →Influenced Revolution in
France
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The Revolution Begins
May 1789: Third Estate Begins to call for a change, but King Louis XVI refuses!
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Third Estate forms the National Assembly
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August 26, 1789: The National Assembly issues a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the
Citizen (document guarantees liberty, equality and property to citizens)
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The assembly tries to form a new government where King Louis XVI would share power with an
elected legislature
↓
King Louis XV doesn’t want this!
The Radicals Take Over
1792: The Jacobins (a group of radicals) take power and form the National Convention
↓
The Jacobins kill Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette
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The leader of the Jacobins, Maximilien Robespierre, begins the Reign of Terror
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The Jacobins kill 40,000 people using a guillotine
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1794: The French kill Robespierre
Napoleon’s Rise:
Before Napoleon, what was the country of France like?
 France was in a war with Prussia, Austria, and Britain
 Government had little power
 Lots of violence
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Napoleon increased his power and declared himself Emperor Napoleon I
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Napoleon wanted to build an empire, but Britain and Prussia defeated him in 1815
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