Download French Revolution

The French Revolution
1789-1799
What were the Causes of the
French Revolution?
French Society on the Eve of the
Revolution
Old Regime
Louis XVI
The French Monarchy
1775 - 1793
Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
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French Society in the 1700s
 The First Estate---the clergy of the Roman
Catholic Church
 They did not pay taxes.
 Members of the clergy could only be tried for
crimes in Church courts.
 The Church owned about a tenth of all French
land and received huge incomes from rents,
taxes and fees.
 Some Church officials were corrupt and
extravagant.
French Society in the 1700s
The Second Estate---the nobles
The nobles did not pay a fair share of the
taxes and still collected feudal dues from the
peasants.
The nobles held the highest positions in army
and government.
Many nobles were thoughtless, irresponsible,
and extravagant.
French society in the 1700s
The Third Estate---the common people of
France
The bourgeoisie were the city dwelling middle
class (often wealthy and educated).
The laborers and artisans of the cities were
also part of the Third Estate.
The peasants worked the land and paid the
heaviest taxes and tithes. They made up the
majority of the Third Estate.
Social Classes (Estates) in France
The Clergy – First Estate
1% of the population
The Nobility- Second Estate
2% of the population
The Commoners
Third Estate
97% of the French
population
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The Growing Discontent in France
The rapid growth of the French population made
it difficult for families feed their children.
The price of food and clothing began to rise.
Nobles, clergy and some bourgeoisie began to
raise rents and dues.
Artisans found food prices rising higher than
wages.
The bourgeoisie wanted political power equal to
their economic strength.
The nobles and higher clergy resented the fact
that the French kings had become so powerful.
The spread of ideas of the Enlightenment
increased dissatisfaction with the system.
The Financial Crisis of the French Monarchy
In 1774 when Louis XVI came to the throne he
inherited a bankrupted treasury.
The wars of Louis XIV had left a huge debt.
The debt was increased by French assistance
to the American Revolution.
Even with heavy taxes there was not enough
money to run the government because the
wealthiest people were free from taxes.
Where is the tax money?
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France’s Financial Problems
“By 1786 banks began to refuse to lend
money to the ailing French government.
The economy suffered a further blow when
crop failures caused bread shortages in
1788 and 1789.”
World History
Financial Problems in France (1789)
Urban
Commoner’s
Budget:
–
–
–
–
–
Food
80%
Rent
25%
Tithe
10%
Taxes 35%
Clothing 20%
– TOTAL 170%
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King’s Budget:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Interest 50%
Army
25%
Versailles 25%
Coronation 10%
Loans
25%
Admin.
25%
– TOTAL
160%
The French Urban Poor
80
70
60
50
1787
1788
40
30
20
10
0
% of Income Spent on Bread
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The Estates General 1789
“The privileged First and Second Estates
refused to aid the government. Louis was
forced to summon the Estates General.
This was the only way he could get
additional taxes.”
World History
Convening the Estates General
May, 1789
Last time it was called into session was 1614!
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The Suggested Voting Pattern:
Voting by Estates
The Clergy
First Estate
The Nobility
Second Estate
The Commoners
Third Estate
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Louis XIV insisted that voting be based on the Estates
with each Estate receiving one vote.
The Number of Representatives
in the Estates General: Vote by Head!
300 Delegates
300 Delegates
648 Delegates
Clergy
First Estate
Nobility
Second Estate
Commoners
Third Estate
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Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes
1st What is the Third
Estate? Everything!
2nd What has it been
heretofore in the
political order?
Nothing!
3rd What does it demand?
To become something
therein!
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Abbé Sieyès
1748-1836
What is the
Third Estate?
The French Revolution
Phase One (The Bourgeoisie Revolution)
Tennis Court Oath
June 20, 1789
Storming the Bastille
July 14, 1789
A rumor was spread that the king was planning a military
coup against the National Assembly. The people of Paris
decided to arm themselves.
18 died.
73 wounded.
7 guards killed.
It held 7 prisoners
5 ordinary criminals
and 2 madmen.
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The Great Fear-The Peasant Revolt (July, 1789)
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Rumors spread that the feudal nobility [the aristos] were
sending hired brigands to attack peasants. Peasants
armed themselves and drove the feudal landlords off
their property.
National Assembly
1789 - 1791
August Decrees 1789
The Renunciation of Aristocratic
Privileges!
The Declaration of the Rights of
Man and of the Citizen
August 26, 1789
 Liberty!
 Freedom from
oppression!
 Thomas Jefferson was in
Paris at this time. He
helped write the
Declaration of Rights.
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March of the Women to Versailles
October, 1789
A spontaneous demonstration of Parisian women
demanding bread
The women forced the Royal Family to return to Paris with them.
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The Government Moves to Paris (October,1789)
The king and his family was forced to move to Paris and
reside at the Tuileries Palace. Anti-royalists watched the royal
family’s every move. The National Assembly moved to Paris a
few days later.
Political Reforms and the Catholic Church
“The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a
measure which placed the French Church
under government control.”
New Relations Between Church and State
 The government paid the salaries of the French
clergy and maintained the churches.
 The Church was reorganized:
Parish priests were elected by the district
assemblies.
Bishops were named by the
department assemblies.
The Pope had NO
voice in the appointment of
the French clergy.
 It transformed France’s
Roman Catholic Church
Pope Pius VI
[1775-1799]
into a branch of the state!
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How to Finance the New
Government?
Confiscate Church Lands (1790)
One of the most controversial decisions of the
entire revolutionary period.
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The French Constitution of 1791:
A Bourgeois (Middle Class) Government
 The king received the “suspensive” veto. This
veto could prevent the passage of laws for
four years.
 The king could not pass laws.
 His ministers were responsible for their own
actions.
 A permanent, elected, single
chamber called the Legislative
Assembly.
 The Legislative Assembly had the
power of taxation.
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 An independent judiciary
(court system).
The French Constitution of 1791:
A Bourgeois (Middle Class) Government
“Active” Citizen: A male who paid taxes amounting to
three days labor could vote.
 One third of adult males were denied the franchise
(vote).
 Domestic servants were also excluded.
A newly elected LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.
GOAL  Make sure that the country
was not turned over to the mob!
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The Royal Family Attempts to Flee
 June, 1791-The royal family tried to
escape from France.
 The royal family headed toward the
Luxembourg border. They planned to
escape to Austria.
 The King was recognized at Varennes,
near the border and forced to return to
Paris. Louis reluctantly accepted the
Constitution.
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Louis XVI “Accepts” the Constitution
and the National Assembly.
The Doomed Government-The King Walking a Tightrope
The new limited monarchy had little chance of
success.
Most people distrusted the king.
Popular opinion was leaning toward the
creation of a Republic.
The French Revolution
Phase Two (The Convention and the Reign of Terror)
http://www.seattlecatholic.com/a050413.html
How did the Radicals take
over the Revolution?
War!
“Fearing that Austria would try to reinstate
Louis, the revolutionary leaders declared
war on Austria. War threw France into
upheaval. The king and his family were
imprisoned and the radicals backed by the
Paris crowds took over the Assembly and
called for a National Convention to create
a new constitution. They extended the
vote to all males.”
World History
The National Convention
(September, 1792)
The first act of the National Convention
was to abolish the monarchy.
The National Convention (The Republic)
Girondin Rule: 1792-1793
Jacobin Rule: 1793-1794 (“Reign of Terror”)
Thermidorian Reaction: 1794-1795
The Directory 1795-1799
Attitudes
& actions
of
monarchy
& court
Fear of
CounterRevolution
Religious
divisions
The Causes of
Instability in France
1792 - 1795
Economi
c
Crises
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War
Political
divisions
The Political Spectrum
TODAY:
1790s:
Montagnards
The Plain
(swing votes)
Girondists
(“The Mountain”)
Monarchíen
(Royalists)
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Jacobins
The Politics of the
National Convention (1792-1795)
Montagnards
 Power base in Paris.
 Main support from the
sans-culottes.
 Would adopt extreme
measures to achieve their
goals.
 Saw Paris as the center of the
Revolution.
 More centralized [in Paris]
approach to government.
Girondists
 Power base in the
provinces.
 Feared the influence
of the sans-culottes.
 Feared the
dominance of Paris in
national politics.
 Supported more
national government
centralization
[federalism].
The Jacobins (The Radicals)
Jacobin Meeting House
 They held their meetings in the
library of a former Jacobin
monastery in Paris.
 Started as a debating society.
 Membership mostly middle class.
 Created a vast network of clubs.
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The Sans-Culottes: The Parisian Working
Class Supporters of the Jacobins
 Small shopkeepers
 Tradesmen
 Artisans
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Louis XVI’s Head (January 21, 1793)
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
The trial of the king was
hastened by the
discovery in a secret
cupboard in the
Tuilieres of a cache of
documents.

They proved
conclusively Louis’
knowledge and
encouragement of
foreign intervention.

The National
Convention voted
387 to 334 to execute
the monarchs.
The War Expands
“After Louis’ execution, the monarchs of
Europe feared democratic revolutions
could spread from France. In January,
1793 the monarchs of Great Britain, the
Netherlands, Spain and Sardinia joined
Austria and Prussia in alliance against
revolutionary France.”
World History
The Committee of Public Safety
“The National Convention took steps to
prevent foreign invasion. It formed the
Committee of Public Safety to direct the
entire war effort. It also adopted
conscription or a draft to require military
service of men between the ages of
eighteen and forty-five.”
World History
Committee of Public Safety
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 Revolutionary Tribunals.
 300,000 arrested.
 16,000 – 50,000 executed.
The Jacobins
“Overwhelmed by enemies at home and
abroad the Jacobins set out to crush all
opposition within France. This effort was
known as the Reign of Terror, and it lasted
from July, 1793 to July,1794.”
World History
The Reign of Terror
The Execution of Marie Antoinette
October, 1793
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The Reign of Terror
Terror is nothing other than justice,
prompt, severe, inflexible. -- Robespierre
Let terror be the order
of the day!
 The Revolutionary
Tribunal of Paris alone
executed 2,639 victims in
15 months.
 The total number of
victims nationwide was
over 20,000!
Different Social Classes
Executed
8%
7%
28%
25%
31%
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The “Monster” Guillotine
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The last guillotine execution in France was in 1939!
Robespierre
Danton
Marat
Charlotte Corday
murders Marat
The Death of Marat”
by Jacques Louis
David, 1793
The Revolution Consumes
Its Own Children!
Danton Awaits
Execution, 1793
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Robespierre Lies Wounded
Before the Revolutionary
Tribunal that will order him to
be guillotined, 1794.
“The Fall of Robespierre began on March
30, 1794 when he sent his fellow citizens
and friends Danton and Desmoulins to the
guillotine.
After this event, members of the Convention
and the Committee eyed Robespierre with
suspicion. Robespierre was the sole person
who decided between wrong and right. The
Convention saw Robespierre as a tyrant
and his Republic of Virtue as authoritarian.
A faction of the Convention banded together
to destroy Robespierre before he destroyed
the remaining members of the French
government.”
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist255/kat_anna/fallr.html
The Arrest of Robespierre
The Execution of Robespierre
The French Revolution
Phase Three (The Conservative Reaction)
Timeline of the French Revolution
http://www.thecaveonline.com/APEH/revueFrRev.html