Download The French Revolution - 1789 to 1799

The French Revolution
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The Impact of the American Revolution
o The French Revolution and the Ratification of the American Constitution both happened in the
year 1789.
o Many of the ideas of the French ___________ were put to the test in both the American
Revolution and by the creation of the new republic under both the Articles of Confederation
and the Constitution.
o These events had a major impact on Europeans by proving that the ideas of the
_____________ could be realized politically.
o The hundreds of literate and influential French army and navy ________ who had fought on
the American side during the Revolutionary War proved to be a key conduit of "enlightened"
American political and moral ideas back to Europe.
The Marquis de Lafayette
o Lafayette served on the staff of George Washington and became a decorated hero of the
revolution.
o He returned to France and became involved in the salon group called the _______ of ______.
Background to the Revolution
o The French economy of the eighteenth century was growing due to increased _____ and
__________ production.
o Still many of the people of France did not share in the prosperity.
Problems of the Old Regime
The Social Structure
o French society on the eve of their revolution was still largely dominated by the ________ and
______
o The 27 million people in French society were still divided into the old medieval _______.
The First Estate
o The 130,000 ______ of the First Estate owned 10% of the land and were mostly exempt from
paying taxes.
o Many of the clergy, such as the parish priests were very poor.
The Second Estate
o The 350,000 ______ of the Second Estate owned 25-30% of the land and were also mostly
exempt from taxes.
o The nobility dominated the government and the military and held many special privileges.
o The nobility also controlled most of the natural resources and much of the ________.
The Divided Nobility
o The Second Estate was divided into the Nobles of the ____ that controlled the law courts and
administrative offices and the Nobles of the _____ that claimed to be the true nobility and
sought to gain power over the monarch.
The Segur Law
o 1781 – the Segur Law was passed limiting the sale of military officerships to fourth generation
nobles.
The Third Estate
 The _________ of the Third Estate made up the vast majority of French society.
 75-80% of the Third Estates were ________ that owned 35-40% of the land.
 Many of the peasantry had no land at all and most still owed medieval ___________ to the
local lord.
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Most had to pay ____ for the use of village facilities and few had the right to hunt on even
their own property.
 In the rapidly growing ______ many commoners were artisans, shopkeepers and common
laborers.
 By the 18th century prices in the cities were rising and wages were stagnated.
o ___________________ in the cities was one of the main causes of the revolution.
o Rents rose 140% and the rising price of _____ caused riots in Paris.
The Bourgeoisie
o The ____________ of the Bourgeoisie made up 8% of the population.
o These were the merchants, bankers and industrialists.
o Also the _______, doctors, writers and bureaucrats.
o They had gained the most from the _______________ of the last 50 years.
o Although many had gained the status of nobility, they were still excluded from ______
__________ and looked down upon the old nobility.
o It was their discontent over the ___________ in the social structure that was the leading longrange cause of the revolution.
Immediate Causes of the Revolution
o 1787 and 1788 had seen ____________ leading to food shortages and rising food prices.
o Manufacturing _________ and high unemployment led to major increases in the number of
poor.
o _________ of the population was living in poverty by 1789.
The Philosophes
o While not advocating revolution or democracy, the writings of the Enlightenment had led to
_________ and skepticism regarding the monarchy and the old social order.
The Bankruptcy of the Government
o The most immediate cause of the French Revolution was the government's failure to resolve its
_____.
o The constant borrowing for war and development had left the government on the edge of
__________.
o As one measure of the French crown's terrible financial predicament, by 1788 the interest
payments on state debt alone amounted to ________ of all government spending.
o The Financial ministers of Louis XV and Louis XVI (Necker and Calonne) had failed to deal
with the growing crisis.
o Any vital fiscal reform of the French state just prior to the French Revolution was impeded by
nobles of the robe in the thirteen regional French __________ who regularly refused to
approve or enforce new _________ proposals
The Estates-General
o In 1789 Louis XV was forced to call the Estates General to approve a ________, something
that had not been done since 1614.
o The Estates-General consisted of representatives of the three orders the First Estate (clergy),
the Second Estate (nobility) the Third Estate representing the common people.
o The Third Estate, with 98% of the population was given _____ as many representatives as
both of the other two estates.
o The Third Estate was heavily made-up of _______ and urban dwellers.
o Many of the nobility were young and liberal minded, influenced by the writings of
enlightenment.
The Cahiers de Doleances
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o The cahiers de doléances, or statements of local grievances, were presented to the Estates
General calling for a constitutional government abolishing the _________________ of the
church and nobility.
From Estates-General to National Assembly
o The Estates General opened at the Palace of Versailles on May 5, 1789.
o The meeting was immediately divided over the issue of voting by ______ or by ____.
o The Third Estate, led by the ________, called for the vote to be by head, so as to avoid being
controlled by the nobles and clerics.
o The controversy over voting by order versus voting by head in the Estates-General saw the
Third Estate respond by forming a "National Assembly"
o June 17, 1789- The Third Estate declared themselves to be the National Assembly and on
finding themselves locked out of their meeting place, they made the ____________ Oath.
o Louis threatened to respond by closing the Estates-General and using the ____ to disband the
assembly.
o Just when this "revolution of the lawyers" appeared doomed, it was saved by the intervention
of _______________, especially in urban uprisings against royal forces and armories.
Storming the Bastille
o Louis’ attempt to reinforce the road to Versailles and the royal ________ led to the people of
Paris storming the Bastille prison and armory on _______, 1789.
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity!"
o The city of Paris was abandoned to the ____ and Louis was informed that the royal troops
were no longer reliable.
o Louis acceptance of the loss of Paris and the mutiny of the guard led to the collapse of
_______________.
Louis made Lafayette commander of the newly formed citizen militia – the
________________The Peasants Rebellions
o The small towns and countryside ________ rose in open rebellion.
o Many towns, such Nantes, created their own Permanent Committees and National Guards.
The Great Fear
o Peasant uprisings and fear of invasion led to a general _____ throughout France.
o Citizen militias and local assemblies took power throughout the realm.
The Destruction of the Old Regime
o On the night of _____________ the National Assembly announced the end of feudalism and
serfdom in France, by abolishing seigneurial rights throughout the country
The Declaration of the Rights of Man
o On August 27, 1789, the National Assembly, also called the Constituent Assembly, issued the
Declaration of the Rights of Man.
o This document reflected the ideas of the enlightenment and owed much to the American
___________ of ____________.
The Declaration of the Rights of Woman?
o The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen was ignored entirely by the
males in the National Assembly who did little to improve the lot of women in French society.
The Women’s March
o On October 5,1789, thousands of ___________ marched on Versailles protesting the lack of
bread.
Let them eat Cake……..
o The King promised to send grain supplies from the royal cellars to Paris.
The Baker, his wife and boy
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o The National Guard joined the protest and forced the King, Queen and Dauphin to return with
them to _____.
Attacking the Catholic Church
o Church lands were confiscated and paper money (called _________) was issued based on
the collateral of the lands.
o In 1790 the Civil Constitution of the Clergy was passed ____________ the church and
making church positions open to election by the people.
A New Constitution
o By 1791, a new constitution (Constitution of 1791) was adopted, creating a limited,
_______________________.
o The legislative assembly was elected for two years and held the _________ power of the
state.
o The new constitution kept power in the hands on the more ________ members of society.
o Only “______” citizens had the right to vote.
o The Assembly also abolished the old provincial divisions and reorganized the country into
83 ___________.
The Rise of the Radicals
o Many began to protest over the changes – either too little or too much.
o _______________ began to join in the call for more changes.
The Jacobins
o The ________ group emerged as the most important radical element in French politics –
there were over 900 clubs throughout France associated with the Paris group.
o On June 20,1791 Louis XVI and his family, fearing the radicalization of the revolution,
tried to flee France but were ________.
Opposition from Abroad
o On August 27, 1791, Emperor Leopold II of Austria and King Frederick William II of
Prussia issued the Declaration of ________ calling on European monarch to come to the
aid of the French King.
War with Austria
o On April 20, 1792, France declared war on _______.
o Reactionaries hoped the __________ of the war would take the peoples minds off the
chaos in the country.
The Paris Commune
o With war not going well for the French, radicals in Paris, calling themselves an
insurrectionary _________ attacked the Royal Palace, captured the King and stormed the
Legislative Assembly.
o The Commune forced the assembly to suspend the monarchy and called for a ________
__________ to decide the future course of government in the country.
o The Commune, now led by Georges ______, began arresting and killing people they
deemed to be traitors to the revolution.
The National Convention
o In September 1792, with blood flowing in the streets of Paris, the National Convention
held their first meeting.
o The Convention was dominated by _______, professionals and ________ owners.
Abolishing the Monarchy
o The first order of business, on September 21, was to _______ the ________ and establish a
________.
o Two factions of the Jacobins – the ________ and the _________ now argued over the fate
of the king (now called Citizen Louis)
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Girondins vs. The Mountain
o The Girondins were fearful of the power of the _____________ and wanted to keep the
king alive.
o The Mountain owed its power to street _____________ and wanted the king dead.
Execution of the King
o The Mountain emerged as the more powerful group and condemned Louis to the
__________.
o On January 21, 1793 citizen Louis was ________ in the Place de la Concorde – the Old
Regime was destroyed.
The Death of Citizen Louis
The Sans –Culottes
o Leaders of the radical Paris _______ called for even more radicalization.
o Mobs marched on the National Convention and forced the execution of more moderate
members of the Girondins.
The Vendean Rebellion
o Peasants in the ______ Department began a rebellion against the draft.
o The rebellion became counter-revolutionary with a call for the return of the monarchy.
Breakdown of Central Authority
o Towns such as Lyons and Marseilles began to break away from the central power of Paris.
Reverses in the War
o With the death of the King many of the European powers joined with _______ in their war
with France.
o The overextended French were on the verge of collapse
A Nation in Arms
o To answer the need to fight both internal counter-revolution and external enemies the
National Convention called for universal ____________ of the country.
o By September 1794 the French army numbered 1,695,000 men.
o The French Republic's army fueled modern ___________.
o This new “_____________” let loose the ferocious atrocities of modern _____________.
The Reign of Terror
o Within the country the National Convention and its 12-member Committee of Public
Safety unleashed a _______________ against suspected counterrevolutionaries.
o Over the course of nine months 16,000 people were put to death by guillotine.
o Many were nobles or Girondins, but most were ________ or working class poor.
o In the ______ the counterrevolution was brutally put down.
o The rebellious cities of _____ and __________ were crushed by the new Revolutionary
Armies at the cost of 50,000 lives.
The Republic of Virtue
o The Committee of Public Safety, led by George ______ and Maximilien ___________,
now tried to create a radically new republic by destroying all remnants of the old order.
o The Law of General Maximum established ______________ on goods deemed of first
necessity.
o Women sought to have a greater voice in the revolution but were ignored by the men.
The Dechristianization
o The National Convention now followed a policy of dechristianization.
o Priest were encouraged to marry and Notre Dame was renamed the ________________.
The New Republican Calendar
o The new calendar would begin with September 22, 1792 the day the Republic was
declared.
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o The year was divided into 12 months of three 10-day weeks.
o Christian holidays and Sunday were eliminated and the months were named after the
character of the _______ in that time of year. (For example Thermidor for heat)
The Death of Robespierre
o The National Convention passed the Law of ___________ (December 14) to end the
excesses of the Reign of Terror.
o Robespierre reacted by attacking leaders in the Convention and Committee.
o On July 27, 1794, the National Convention arrested Robespierre on the next day he was
________.
The Thermidorean Reaction
o With death of ___________ the National Convention shut down the Jacobins, reigned in
the Committee of Public Safety and abandoned its policy of dechristianization.
o The economic policies of the Committee were dropped and in ______________ a new
Constitution was adopted
The Age of Napoleon
The Constitution of 1795
o The new constitution (Year III) created a two-house legislature.
o The lower house, the ______________, was given the job of creating legislation.
o The upper house, the _________________, made up of 250 members over 40, accepted or
rejected the new laws.
o The members of the legislature were chosen by electors, who were in turn elected by
_______________, now defined as all taxpaying males over the age of __.
The Directory
o The Council of Elders chose ______________ to act as the executive authority.
o The National Convention ruled that two-thirds of the members of the new assembly must
come from the convention.
“A whiff of grapeshot…..”
o News of the constitution’s restrictions led to riots in the streets of Paris.
o When an angry mob marched on the Tuilleries, the mob was butchered by cannon fire
directed by a young artillery officer named ________ Bonaparte.
The Rule of the Directory.
o The period of the Directory was known for political and economic __________.
o Old fashions returned and people began to react against the excesses of the ________.
o The political left and right continued to fight for their beliefs making it difficult for the
Directory to rule.
o Revolutionary extremists, such as Gracchus ______ and his Conspiracy of Equals, were
crushed by the army.
The Rise of Napoleon
o Napoleon Bonaparte was born in _______ in 1769 to a struggling family with noble
Florentine ties.
o Corsica was annexed by France and the ensuing Corsican independence movement failed.
o Napoleon’s father gained his son a scholarship to a ________ academy in France, where
the young Bonaparte was always treated as a foreigner.
o Napoleon spent his time in school studying the classics, military history, as well as the
writings of the _____________.
o He was very much a child of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.
Citizen General
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o In three years of service in the army Napoleon rose from the rank of lieutenant to brigadier
general, mainly due to his expertise in _________.
o With the increasing reliance of the Directory on the military and his timely cannonade in
the streets of Paris Napoleon was given command, in 1796, of the Army of _____ in the
war against _______.
The Italian Campaign
o Napoleon took charge of the army in ____, and with promises of loot and food, he led a
mostly shoeless rag-tag army to a series of stunning victories against the superior forces of
Austria.
o By 1797 Napoleon’s army had captured Genoa, forced the King of Savoy to make a
separate peace, and taken the cities of _____, Verona, Mantua and ______.
o The Emperor of Austria agreed to peace terms dictated by the general and Napoleon
returned to Paris a conquering ____.
The Egyptian Campaign
 Upon returning to France Napoleon was given command of the Army of England and ordered
to invade _____________.
o With British control of the seas, he became convinced the plan was a mistake.
o Napoleon instead put forth his own plan to invade _____ and use the Suez as a steppingstone to attack the Ottomans and British India.
o Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt was a fiasco from the start.
o Despite capturing Alexandria and Cairo he lost ______ of his 30,000 troops to hunger,
thirst and disease in the deserts of the Middle East.
The Battle of the Nile
o Napoleon’s fleet was destroyed by the British navy under the command of Admiral
Horatio ______ at the mouths of the Nile, giving the British control of the eastern
Mediterranean.
Napoleon’s Return
o After his ______ in Syria at Acre and the destruction of his navy, Napoleon decided to
abandon his army and return to France.
o Just before his departure the French repulsed an Ottoman invasion – allowing the general
to return as a ____.
The Coup of 18-19 Brumaire
o Upon his return to Paris, Napoleon began to conspire with the Foreign Minister
__________ and others to overthrow the Directory and Constitution of Year III and
established a three man Consulship, with himself as ____________.
First Consul
o As First Consul Napoleon had dictatorial powers over the entire government and the
military.
Napoleon as First Consul
Domestic Policies
o Napoleon claimed the he was preserving the __________ gains of the French Revolution.
o Critics attacked his increasingly __________ rule and the human costs of his wars against
the monarchies of Europe.
The Concordat of 1801
o The Concordat of 1801 ended the conflicts with the _____ ________ Church.
o The church gave up claims on _________________ and in return was allowed to hold
mass and processions.
The Code Napoleon
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o Napoleon completed the revolution’s program of creating a standard _____________for
France.
o Seven codes were created; the most important begin the __________ of Napoleon.
o The Civil Code preserved the principles of ________ of all men, but decreased the rights
of women.
o The code also preserved and protected _______________.
The Council of State
o Napoleon reorganized the state bureaucracy and established the ________________ –
controlled by Napoleon.
The Empire of Napoleon
o Napoleon led the French Army over the Great _____________ Pass to again defeat the
Austrians in Italy at the Battle of _______.
o The Treaty of Lunéville ended the war with _______.
 General Bonaparte crossing the Great Saint Bernard Pass into Italy.
o With _______ the only remaining member of the coalition at war with France, peace was
negotiated and the Treaty of Amiens was signed on March 27, 1802.
o Peace brought the referendum to make Napoleon _______________.
War with Great Britain
o With France controlling much of the European coastline, England became concerned.
o Hostilities flared again over the issue of the Island of _____ in 1803.
 First Consul portrait by David
Emperor Napoleon I
o In 1804, Napoleon’s police chief Joseph ______ broke up another attempt to assassinate
Napoleon.
o The desire of a __________ regime led to the declaration of the Empire and Napoleon as
Emperor.
o Napoleon brought the ____ to Paris to symbolically crown him, but at the last minute he
snatched the crown and put it on his own head.
 Napoleon Crowns Himself Emperor
The Emperor Napoleon I
War with Great Britain
o From 1803 to 1805 _______ fought alone against France.
o Napoleon planned an __________ ________ of Britain but needed to control the seas.
o France pressured _____ to declare war against Britain.
The Battle of Trafalgar
o On October 21, 1805 a combined Franco-Spanish fleet was utterly destroyed by the British
fleet under Admiral Horatio ______.
o Admiral Nelson was killed in the battle.
o Nelson’s last log………
o At 11:50 am Nelson, in the H.M.S.Victory, signaled his famous message:
"England expects that every man will do his duty."
o Captain Hardy reported to Nelson that the battle was won, 'Thank God I have done my
duty', were his last words, and he died at 4.30pm.
o As my last writing before the Battle will be to you, so I hope in God that I shall live to
finish my letter after the Battle. May Heaven bless you …….
The Third Coalition
o The British ended France’s hopes of invading England by forming a new coalition with
_______, ______, Sweden and Naples.
o _______ would join in 1806.
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Napoleon’s Victories
o The ____________ crushed the Austrians at Ulm and entered ______ in November of
1805.
o Napoleon then won his greatest victory against the combined Austrian and Russian armies
at __________.
The Treaty of Pressburg
o Austria renounced all claims in _____ and ceded Venice and Dalmatia to France.
o Land in Germany was given to local Princes and the _____________ of the _____ was
created under French control.
o The Kingdom of Naples was taken from the Bourbons and given to Napoleon’s brother
______.
War with Prussia and Russia
o In 1806, _______ declared war on France but was defeated at the Battle of Jena.
o The ________ were then defeated at the Battles of Eylau and Freidland in 1807.
Grand Duchy of Warsaw
o Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I of Russia signed a treaty creating the ___________ of
______ from Prussian territories thus dividing Poland between the two Empires.
Alexander I Tsar of Russia
The Grand Empire of France
o Most of Europe was now under the control of Napoleon.
o The ____________ consisted of three parts: (1) France; (2) the dependant states of Spain,
Holland, Italy, the Swiss Republic, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and the Confederation of
the Rhine; and (3) the allied states of Austria, Prussia and Russia.
The Continental System
o Napoleon now tried to defeat the British through _________________ by closing Europe’s
ports to British goods.
o Napoleon’s plan ultimately failed as Britain’s ________ exports increased.
The Peninsular War
o Napoleon attempt to force the __________ to abide by the blockade led to the occupation
of Lisbon._____________________ were forced to abdicate and ______ Bonaparte was
placed on the throne of Spain.
o _________ in Spain followed.
Wellesley’s Campaign (1809-13)
The British army, under General Arthur _________ (later the Duke of Wellington) began to push
the 200,000 man Grande Armee back through Portugal into Spain.__The Rise of Nationalism
o French ideas of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity began to impact people in the client states
of France – giving rise to feelings of ___________ and __________ with French rule.
The Russian Campaign
o ________ defection from the Continental System led to Napoleon’s invasion of Russia.
o The 600,000 Grande Armée entered Russia in ____ of ____.
 The Little Corporal
Russia’s Scorched Earth
o Russia refused to stand and fight, except for the bloody and indecisive Battle of ________.
o The Russian Army retreated to ______ and ______ everything in its path – leaving nothing
for the French.
Moscow Burns
o When Napoleon entered the City of Moscow the town mysteriously caught fire, forcing the
French to begin the long _______ through the Russian ______.
The Russian Retreat
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o Only ______ men made it back to Poland – with only 10,000 in any shape to fight.
o Napoleon, fearing rebellion, abandoned his army and hurried back to _____.
The Battle of Leipzig
o Napoleon raised a ________, but defections and low morale kept the numbers low.
o On October 16-19, 1813, the “not so Grande Army” was destroyed at the “Battle of
Nations” at _______.
The War of Liberation
o Wellesley kicked the French out of _____.
o Napoleon’s appointed “kings” began to make a separate peace.
o The _______ rose in rebellion and a new coalition was formed against Napoleon.
o When Napoleon rejected the Austrian foreign minister ____________ peace terms, the
French government began to turn against him.
o With the Allied forces at the gates of Paris, the provisional government of Talleyrand made
_____ with the new coalition of 1814.
The Bourbon Restoration
o Talleyrand’s government now began to negotiate with ___________, the brother of the
executed king.
The Treaty of Fontainebleau
o Napoleon learned of the capitulation of France at his palace of Fontainebleau and agreed to
________.
o He was given the island of ____ and 2,000,000 francs a year and allowed to keep the title
of Emperor – he was ________ old.
The Hundred Days
o On March 1, 1815 Napoleon _________________ to France and quickly turned the guard
sent to arrest him to his side.
o He entered _____ and took back the reigns of power.
The Battle of Waterloo
o On June 18, 1815 Napoleon’s new Grand Army was defeated at ________, Belgium by the
British under Arthur Wellesley the Duke of __________ and the Prussians under Gebhard
_______.
 Lancer, and guard, and cuirassier,
Horseman and foot, - a mangled host,
Their leaders fallen, their standards lost."
St. Helena
o Napoleon, claiming he would “appeal to history,” was forced to spend the rest of his days
exiled on the tiny island of __________ in the South Atlantic.
o He died May 5, 1821 at the age of __.
o "What a novel my life has been!”