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THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
Louis XVI, at the request of the nobles, closed the meeting hall of the third
estate.
The third estate then met at a nearby indoor tennis court and made a pledge called the
tennis court oath.
This oath declared that they were a national assembly and that they would draw up a
new constitution for France.
(The First Estate was the Clergy, The Second Estate was the Nobility. The Third
Estate was the common people.
First Revolution (1789-1791)
Then reformers from the ranks of the first and second estates joined them, Louis then
recognized the national assembly.
In the city of Paris, wild rumors and anarchy became widespread.
On July 14, 1789, a Parisian mob stormed the royal prison-fortress, the bastille, in order
to arm and protect themselves. getting these arms saved the national assembly from
annihilation. July 14, bastille day, is celebrated in France (like our 4th of July).
A new government for Paris was formed under the leadership of General LaFayette (a
hero in the American Revolution).
LaFayette formed a people's army called the national guard.
A new tricolor flag of red, white, and blue stripes was adopted.
The slogan of the revolution became liberty, equality, and fraternity.
In the countryside, the "great fear" was undertaken by the peasants. they proceeded to
attack the large landed estates and burn public records of their taxes and debts.In
August 1789, the national assembly met and passed a series of laws that swept away the
old regime (ancien rÉgime).
1.
The feudal privileges of the nobles were ended. their tax exempt status was eliminated.
2.
The church "tithe" was done away with.A "declaration of the rights of man" was also
adopted in August 1789(1) it declared equality under the law for all.
3.
(2) it established freedom of speech, the press, and of religion.
4.
(3) it stated men have the natural right to life, liberty, and property.
5.
(4) right to due process of law and trial by jury for all people.
The declaration of the rights of man was greatly influenced by the english bill of rights (glorious
revolution), by the american declaration of independence, and by the French philosophies.
Drastic Changes in France
By this time, many nobles became emigres (emigrants) who fled France and vowed to
return and restore the old regime.
Remaining nobles urged the king to use force to restore the old order.
In October 1789, a Parisian mob stormed the palace of versailles and forced the king
to
move to Paris. the national assembly also relocated to Paris.
The national assembly met and between the years 1789 and 1791 passed over 2,000
laws.
It confiscated church lands and offered them at public sale thus alleviating the
national debt.
A New Organization of French Provinces
French provinces were abolished and France was divided into 83 uniform districts,
thus reorganizing the central government's administration of France.
The civil constitution of the clergy was passed in 1790.
1.
it placed the church under the control of the government by paying church salaries,
calling for the election of priests and bishops, and requiring the clergy to take oaths
of allegiance to the government.
2.
the pope forbade the French clergy from taking such an oath, and many refused to
take it.
3.
the civil constitution of the clergy was the greatest mistake of the early revolutionary
leaders because it turned many of the catholic peasants against the revolution.
A New Constitution of 1791
The national assembly drew up a new constitution for France, the constitution of 1791.
The first written constitution in a large European country.
It created a limited monarchy.
It divided power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
The king could not make or veto any laws passed by the legislative assembly.
It created the legislative assembly which first met in October 1791.
To be elected to the legislative assembly, one had to be a taxpayer and to own
considerable property. thus control of government was in the hands of the small but
powerful members of the middle class.
The Near Escape
In June of 1791, king Louis XVI tried to escape from France in order to organize
resistance abroad.
He was caught near the border to the Austrian netherlands and returned to Paris under
arrest. this escape attempt resulted in his great loss of personal prestige among the
people.
The legislative assembly's structure:
1.
The 745 delegates, mostly from the middle class, formed into three groups who had
different ideas for the revolution itself.
2.
The assembly divided the country into 83 departments.
3.
Delegates sat on the right, center, and left sides of the assembly hall.
Complications
On the left were the Jacobins who were radicals who favored a republic and far reaching
social changes.
In August of 1791, emperor Leopold II of Austria and Frederick William II of Prussia
declared that Louis XVI should be restored to full power.
War Declared
The French legislative assembly responded by declaring war on Austria and Prussia.
Austria and Prussia responded by invading France. this was part of the first coalition
against France (1792-1797).
The Duke of Brunswick, commander of the austro-Prussian armies, scored major
victories and issued a "manifesto" stating his intentions to restore Louis XVI (July 1792).
Then Louis XVI published this manifesto, it appeared that he was in collusion with the
coalition to undermine the revolution.
The French army, now under dumouriez, won a major victory on September 20, 1792
against the austro-Prussian invasion, and the national convention met immediately after
this victory, i.e., September 21, 1792.
About 2,000 French aristocrats and royalist supporters were guillotined without trial in
the September massacres of 1792.
Second Revolution (1792-1795)
This second revolution was much more radical than the first revolution.
The national convention and the first French republic (1792-1795).On the right sat the
girondists (the constitutional monarchist and the moderates who had been part of the
legislative assembly were now not present at all).
In the middle were the plain.
On the left were the Jacobins led by Danton and Robespierre.
On the extreme left were radicals led by Jean Paul Marat, including the sans-culottes.
The national convention announced the beginning of the first French republic. France is
thus no longer a constitutional monarchy but now the first republic.
It tried Louis XVI for treason and, by a narrow margin, sentenced him to the guillotine in
January 1793. his queen, marie antoinette, was also later guillotined.
The girondists were expelled from the convention in June 1793 at the insistence of the
sans-culotte who demanded that the convention be purged of all moderates. this
increased civil war activity particularly in the vendee, lyon, and marseille.
The National Convention
The national convention, now under a jacobin dictatorship, set up a type of war
cabinet called the committee of public safety to face the first coalition which
England had also joined against France.
The committee of public safety was a committee of 12 dictators led by Danton and
Robespierre.
It adopted universal conscription for all men between the ages of 18-25.
War on Europe
The government declared its intention to March on the rest of Europe to export the
ideas of the revolution. this decision to export the revolution alarmed Europe into
maintaining the coalition.
The Reign of Terror
The committee of public safety began the reign of terror, which lasted from
September of 1793 to July 1794.
During it, tens of thousands of people were sent to the guillotine, mostly from the
former third estate and particularly from the vendee and lyon, i.e., over 70% of the
executions. other areas remained untouched
In time, members of the national convention became so alarmed at the committee of
public safety that they arrested Robespierre and guillotined him on the 10th of
thermidor (July 28).
The Thermidorian reaction (1794-1795)
More Stable Times
More stable types ended the reign of terror and the darkest days of the French
revolution.
The power of the Jacobins and of the sans-culottes was broken.
French armies were able to successfully defend France against the first coalition.
much of the success of the French armies centered on the ability to mass recruit
through conscription; maneuver more quickly than royal armies of the coalition; to
fight with more zeal than the first coalition, and the ability to keep the armies
supplied.
directory (1795-1799)
The Constitution of 1795 (3rd)
The national convention adopted a new constitution of 1795, which was more conservative
in nature.
This is the third constitution, i.e., 1791, 1793 and now 1795 of the revolution.
The executive branch was made up of five men called directors, and the government
became known as the directory. they attempted to command a position near to the center
of the political spectrum. they had enemies from the right who wanted to restore the king
and from the left who wanted much more reform. the directory did not tolerate opposition
from either side.
Then the Sans Culottes tried to overthrow the directory in 1795, a young gen. Napoleon
Bonaparte dispersed them with cannon fire.
The five directors, only average leaders, fought among themselves while European armies
were organizing a second coalition against France. one main reason for a 2nd coalition
was that France continued to export the revolution encouraging wars of liberation in other
countries. under the directory, France retreated from the ideals of the revolution internally
but spread the ideals of the revolution externally.
Napoleon Bonaparte
During the period of the directory, Napoleon Bonaparte was given command of the
French army fighting the hapsburgs in italy. he was very successful and Austria was forced
to give the Austrian netherlands to France.
Coup d’ etat November 9, 1799
•
On November 9, 1799, a coup d'etat overthrew the directory. it was led by napoleon and
two members of the directory.
The Consulate consulate (1799-1804)
The new government that was formed was called the consulate, and napoleon was made first
consul.
The new government kept the outward appearance of a republic until 1804 when the first
republic ends by the proclamation of napoleon as emperor but was actually a military dictatorship
from 1799 to 1814.
Summary of major events in chronological order
1.
National assembly (legislative assembly)
2.
National convention
3.
Committee of public safety (reign of terror)
4.
Thermidorian reaction
5.
Directory
6.
Consulate
7.
Napoleon as first consul
8.
First French empire
9.
Napoleon as emperor
The Age of Napoleon
Between the years 1799 and 1814, napoleon had the greatest single influence on France
and the rest of Europe as well.
No other person ever came nearer to forcing a political unity on the whole continent of
Europe.
As a youth he attended military school in France and graduated an artillery officer.
The French revolution made it possible for him to rise rapidly.
After he saved the directory from the Sans Culottes in 1795, he was made a brigadier
general at age 24.
In 1796, as commander of the French army in northern italy against the hapsburgs, he
displayed the military tactics that would make him a military genius:
Rapid deployment of forces to confuse and divide the enemy.
Attacking with massive concentrations of artillery and troops at critical points on the
battlefield.
Building an "esprit de corps" among his troops that was unmatched anywhere else and
created the legion of honor mostly for the military.
In 1798-99, napoleon, with the directory's blessing, launched his egyptian expedition. it
was a military disaster but napoleon came back to France a hero and saved France from
the second coalition.
1799 The Coup d etat
In 1799, he staged his "coup d'etat," overthrowing the directory and setting up the
consulate, with himself as first consul.
He submitted his new constitution (France's 4th in 10 years) to a plebiscite, a vote of the
people, and it was approved by a vast majority. this constitution gave almost complete
power to the first consul.
1802 Consul for Life
In 1802, by plebiscite, he became first consul for life
In 1804, he submitted to plebiscite a new constitution, ending the consulate and
establishing the first French empire.
·He was proclaimed emperor napoleon i in 1804. thus, he officially ends the first
republic of France.
Napoleon proved to be an able statesman of France.
In 1801, while still first consul, he signed a concordat with the catholic church. he thus
disarmed the threat of counter revolution among the catholic peasants. catholicism
becomes the "preferred" religion of France but he did tolerate other religions. land
confiscated during the revolution from the church was not returned. he restored the
gregorian calendar.
He reformed the tax structure and no one was tax-exempt because of birth or privilege.
people began to pay their taxes.
To his major credit he codified all of France's civil, commercial, and criminal laws. it
was called the napoleonic code. it made France a legally uniform country.
The napoleonic code also marked a trend to centralize and organize power on a
national level.• This had begun with Richelieu, Mazarin, and Louis XIV, but was
interrupted by
This had begun with Richelieu, Mazarin, and Louis XIV, but was interrupted by
Louis XV and Louis XVI
The napoleonic code was to be exported by his troops to form the basis of
manyEuropean legal systems as well as in latin america.
He founded a system of national education from primary schools through college.
higher education became available in all major cities.
He established a national bank of France that helped in regulating the economy on a
national level.
Many internal improvements, e.g., military roads, bridge and canal building and
beautification of Paris take place under napoleon's consulate.