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Chapter 6: The French Revolution
• In 1789, France still
had a Medieval social
system
– The ancien regime,
or old order, divided
people into 3 estates,
or classes
1. Clergy
2. Nobility
3. Vast majority of the
population
• Clergy enjoyed large amounts of wealth
– Owned 10% of land
– Collected tithes
– Paid no taxes to the state
• High officials were well off, priests were
poor
• Churches ran schools, orphanages, and
hospitals
• Church fought against Enlightenment
ideas of reform
• Nobles held top jobs in government, the
army, courts, and church
– Some nobles enjoyed city life, others
struggled to get by
• Nobles resented middle-class
appointments but liked not paying taxes
• Third Estate was the most diverse
– The middle-class bourgeoisie included
bankers, doctors, lawyers
– The bulk of the estate were royal peasants
– Urban workers were the poorest members
• All members of the Third Estate resented
noble privileges
– First and Second Estates pay on taxes
– Fees may be put on peasants by nobles
• Enlightenment ideas led Third Estate to
demand privileges
• Comparison & Contrast the French
and American Revolutions (1:38)
Financial Troubles
• Deficit spending caused a large financial
crisis
• Wars caused France to go into debt
leading to more money being borrowed
– By 1789 half of the governments money went
toward paying interest
• Bad harvests led to increased food prices
and lowing classes going hungry
• Taxes would help solve problems buy
nobles and clergy resisted
• As problems rose, the king was asked to
summon the Estates-General, a
legislative body of all three Estates
– King feared of losing power, nobles hoped to
gain power
• Before meeting each Estate listed their
grievances in cahiers, or notebooks
– Most wanted fairer taxes, free press, and
regular meetings of Estates-General
• Representatives of the 3rd Estate were well
read and expected reform
• Voting became an issue as the 1st and 2nd
Estates usually outvoted the 3rd Estate
• After weeks of stalemate the 3rd Estate
became the national Assembly
representing the people of France
• When their meeting place was blocked the
NA went to a tennis court and took the
Tennis Court Oath pledging to write a
constitution
Parisians Storm the Bastille
• Rumor was royal troops were headed to
occupy Paris
• Parisians wanted to defend themselves so
they demanded weapons from the Bastille,
a prison
• After the commander refused, the crowd
stormed the gates and took over the
fortress
• Storming of the Bastille (1:59)
Section 2: The French Revolution
Unfolds
• 4 Phases of the French Revolution
– Moderate phase of the National Assembly
• turned France into a Constitutional Monarchy
– Radical Phase
• Escalating violence ended the Monarchy and began the Reign
of Terror.
– The Directory
• Period of reaction against extremism.
– Age of Napoleon
• Consolidated many revolutionary changes
“The Great Fear”
• A terrible famine caused much of France
to search for food
• Rumors of attacks on villages and soldiers
taking peasant crops spread
• Peasants fought back by burning manor
records and stealing grain
• Different factions, or groups,
formed in Paris
• Moderates followed Marquis
de Lafayette who fought in
the American Revolution
– Led the National Guard
Militia against royal troops.
– This was the 1st French
group to fly the colors red,
white, and blue.
Paris Commune
• Replaced the government that was loyal to
the Crown
• Mobilized neighborhoods to violent action
against the government
• Led to more rumors about the royal family
and members of the royal court.
• A cartoon on the Paris
Commune of 1871. "I
wish to be free. It is my
right and I will defend it."
One motive that lay
behind establishment of
the Commune was the
demand that Paris be
allowed to govern itself.
Paris also wanted to
continue the war against
Prussia in 1871.
• Théophile Ferré, a
member of the Paris
Commune. He served for
a time as the Commune?s
public prosecutor, and
won a reputation for
militancy and
ruthlessness. The Thiers
government sentenced
him to death by firing
squad.
National Assembly Makes
Changes (2:04)
• The National Assembly voted to end all
privileges of the noble class
– This gave all male citizens equality before the law
• The Declaration of the Rights of Man was
written in the form of the Declaration of
Independence
– Spoke of natural rights and governments job to
protect rights
– Liberty, property, security, and resistance to
opposition
– All Male citizens were equal before the law..and had
the right to hold office.
• Olympe de Georges wrote the
Declaration of the Rights of
Women and Female Citizens
• “Woman is born free and her
rights are the same as man”
• Believed men and WOMEN should
be eligible for public office
• Louis XVI did not accept the
reforms..nobles continued their
comfortable lives while the
peasants suffered.
• Six thousand women marched from Paris
to Versailles demanding bread and to see
the king!!!
• Marie Antoinette – Was the Austrian
born Queen who there anger was aimed
for
• Lived an extravagant life..which led to
further unrest.
Marie Antoinette
• Was against the
•
•
reforms of the
movement
Her lifestyle made
other women resent
her
Often lived in a little
cheateau in Versailles
to live her own life on
her terms.
• Women refused to leave until the King met their
•
•
•
most important demand = Return to Paris.
King, unhappily, loaded up his family and went
to Paris
Crowds along the way cheered the King as he
was now wearing the tri-color of the revolution
Louis XVI and his family would stay in the
Tuileries Palace..as a virtual prisoner for the next
three years.
National Assembly Presses Onward
A. Church Placed Under State Control
•
•
•
Bishops and Priests became elected & paid
state officials
The Pope no longer had any legal power in
France.
Church resisted…many far away peasants
distanced themselves from the revolution.
B. The Constitution of 1791
• Constitution of 1791 set up limited
monarchy
• New legislative assembly who were
elected.
• Got rid of old ways and brought in many
new ideas of the Enlightenment.
C. Louis’s Escape Fails
• Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette attempt to
flee to Austria to escape their
imprisonment and to hopefully rebuild
support for his rule
• Captured by revolutionaries..and people
brand King Louis a traitor to the
revolution. His life is not worth much
now.
IV. Radicals Take Over
• A. Rulers Fear Spread of Revolution
– Leaders of other nations did not want French Revolutionary
ideas in their country
– They were dismayed by the exaggerated stories that emigres –
nobles, clergy, and others who had fled France. Brought with
them
– Many previous Enlightened Despots turned against
Enlightenment ideas and people associated with the French
Revolution.
B. Threats From Abroad
• A. Declaration of Pilnitz – Declaration
from Prussia and Austria threatened to
intervene any action that the French
people took against the Royal Family.
• It was a bluff…but the French reacted by
preparing for war.
Radicals Fight for Power and
• National Assembly began to
Declare War
falter as economic conditions
continued to grow worse.
• Sans-Culottes – “without
breeches”. Working class men
and women who wore longer
pants rather than the knee
length breeches of upper class
noblemen.
– Pushed for more radical
reforms
– Republic – Government
ruled by elected
representatives rather than
a monarchy.
• Hostile factions began to aggressively
push their agenda in the National
Assembly
• Jacobins – Powerful political club of
middle class lawyers and intellectuals.
– sided with the Sans-Culottes in demanding a
republic.
D. National Assembly Declares War
on Tyranny
• Legislative Assembly declared war on
Austria..then Prussia, Britain, and others
to stand up to nations who opposed their
revolution.
• The fighting lasted off and on for about 23
yrs.
Section 3: Radical Days of the
Revolution
•
Beginning in 1793 France experienced
the bloodiest phase of the French
Revolution.
I. The Monarchy is Abolished
A. Tensions Lead to Violence
Many revolutionaries thought the King was
conspiring with enemies of France to defeat the
revolutionaries.
The Palace of Tulieries was raided by mobs who
then killed the King’s guards..the Royal Family
barely escapes.
A Month later…priests and nobles held in prisons
were attacked and 1,200 killed on the guillotine.
2 Views of these events..
1. Bloodthirsty Mobs
2. Patriots defending France from it’s
enemies
* Where people’s opinion fell in this
argument depended on what side the
person believed…revolutionary or not.
B. Radicals Take Control & Execute
the King
• Radicals called on a new legislative body
called the National Convention
• Demanded Suffrage – The Right to Vote.
To be given to ALL men..not just property
owners.
• Voted to Abolish the Monarchy and Create
a RePUbLic..and it passed!
• Noble lands were seized
• Louis XVI put on trial as a
•
•
•
traitor to France and
convicted by 1 vote.
January 1793 – King
Louis XVI was put to
death via guillotine
proclaiming his innocence
before the crowd that had
gathered in a public
square in Paris.
Marie Antoinette was also
executed via guillotine.
The King must die for the
revolution to live!!
II. Terror and Danger Grip the
Revolution
• At war with much of Europe including
England
• Loyalists and Priests led peasants in
rebellion
• Food shortages and inflation
• Jacobins and others fought for control of
the government
A. The Convention Creates a New
Committee
• Committee on Public Safety
– 12 member committee with absolute power
– Saving the revolution was it’s mission
– Levee en masse – Mass levy (tax) on all
citizens to support the war.
– Were also in charge of trials and executions
– Peasant rebellions put down and the French
Army began to find success against it’s
enemies.
B. Robespierre “The Incorruptible”
• Maximilien Robespierre –
Lawyer and politician
nicknames “The InCorruptible”.
– Leader of the Committee on
Public Safety
– Dedicated his life to the
revolution
– Once an avid supporter of the
King..eventually believed that
the King needed to be gotten
rid of for the revolution to
suceed.
– Believed that terror should be
used to achieve a “republic of
virtue”.
C. The Guillotine Defines the Reign
of Terror
• Reign of Terror – Sept 1793 to July 1794 when
•
•
•
•
thousands of citizens were executed as traitors to the
revolution.
About 300,000 were executed
Many were executed for next to nothing.
Even the Legislature was afraid..and began arresting and
executing members of the committee on public safety.
Maximilien Robespierre was considered the most radical
of all revolutionaries..and the man behind the reign of
terror…even he could not avoid the guillotine
III. The Revolution Enters it’s 3rd
Stage
• Moderates took control in an attempt to
stop the excesses of the convention.
• New Constitution of 1795 set up a 5 man
Directory and 2 house legislature elected
by male property owners.
• War was still an issue as well as discontent
of other revolutionaries and continued
inflation.
Napoleon Bonaparte
• Popular military hero
• Politicians wanted to
•
use his popularity to
advance their agenda
Napoleon would
eventually outsmart
them all to become
the ruler of France
IV. Revolution Brings Change
A. Nationalism Spreads
* War brought the people together and
they developed a great sense of national
identity
* Nationalism – A strong sense of pride
and devotion to one’s nation.
* people celebration at fairs and festivals
across the country
B. Revolutionaries Push for Social
Reform
• Created public schools to replace private
(Catholic) ones.
• Organized systems to help the poor, vets,
and widows
• Abolished slavery in their colonies
Section 4: The Age of Napoleon
I.
Napoleon Rises to Power
•
Napoleon Bonaparte
•
•
•
•
Born in Corsica – French ruled island in the Mediterranean
Sea
Sent to private school to train/study to be in the military
Favored the ideas of the Jacobins and their goal of
forming a Republic.
Found the French Revolution to be confusing due to so
many ideas and personalities running the show.
A. Victories Cloud Losses
• Napoleon rose quickly through the ranks of the
•
•
•
•
Army
Led forces on dazzling victories over it’s enemies
Was able to hide his military losses by
controlling the press and by using spies.
His success on the battlefield fueled his political
ambition.
In 1799 he overthrew the Directory and
established a 3 man Consulate – new
legislative body of France
B. Napoleon Crowns himself
Emperor
• By 1801 Napoleon had gained enough political
power to seize the title of Emperor.
• Invited the Pope to crown him, but snatched the
crown away from the Pope and crowned himself.
• Plebiscite – Popular vote by ballot.
– Held to assure the French that he was being chosen
by a popular vote of the people.
II. Napoleon Reforms France
•
•
•
•
•
•
Strengthened the central government
Controlled prices, built roads & canals
Created a system of public schools.
Made peace with the Catholic Church
Allowed emigres to return to France
Napoleonic Code – New code of laws that
embodied enlightenment ideas of equality of
citizens, religions tolerance, and abolishment of
fuedalism
III. Napoleon Builds and Empire
A. Map of Europe is redrawn
* Napoleon created a vast empire by
redrawing the map of Europe and
annexing Netherlands, Belgium, and
parts of Italy.
* Annex – To add territory to an
existing nation.
B. Britain Strikes Back
• England attempted to stop Napoleon by
•
•
•
•
conquering it’s navy
Napoleon struck back at England’s economy
Continental System – Closed all European
ports to British goods
England responded with a blockade.
Neither side won..England was able to keep
trade routes open the the Americas and they
forced inflation on European goods
IV. Napoleon’s Empire Faces
Challenges
A. Nationalism works against Napoleon
* European nations viewed the French
as foreign oppressors
* resented the continental system
* and the French culture being forced on
them.
* All throughout Europe, nationalistic
uprisings against French rule occurred.
B. Spain & Austria Battle France
• France tried to undermine the Catholic Church in
•
•
•
Spain
Spaniards were loyal to both the Church and the
King.
When the Spanish resisted Napoleon’s
advances…he responded with brutal oppression
Spanish nationalists reacted with a campaign of
guerilla warfare – hit and run raids by civillian
troops against the French.
• Ambushed French supply trains
• Tied up French troops fighting them.
• Austria followed the lessons learned from the
Spanish and resisted the French Emperor’s
attempts
• Napoleon was victorious at the Battle of Wagram
ending the conflict and forcing Austria to give in
to Napoleons demands for Austrian lands
C. The Russian Winter Stops the
Grand Army
• Tsar Alexander I was once and ally of
•
France..after Russia pulled it’s support of the
continental system…Napoleon invaded with
600,000 French troops & 50,000 horses
Scorched Earth Policy – As the Russians
retreated everything was burned including
homes, buildings, and fields..leaving NOTHING
for the French to survive the cold winter with.
• Napoleon was able to capture Moscown, but
•
•
•
headed back home after realizing he did not
have the supplies he needed.
The 1,000 mile retreat in the Russian winter was
a gamble that he lost
Only 20,000 men survived due to famine and
freezing climate.
Napoleon had finally been defeated..and he was
now in a panic to rebuild his army to defend
home.
V. Napoleon Falls from Power
• Napoleon was defeated by a unfied force of Europena
•
•
•
•
nations n 1813
He briefly abdicated (stepped down from power) the
throne
The Europeans exhiled him to Corsica, his island home
Louis XVIII (Louis XVI brother) was given the throne and
agreed to abide by all treaties etc.
While peace conference was underway..Napoleon
returned to Paris and the army flocked to his
command…he was back and in charge
B. Crushed at the Battle of
Waterloo
• Waterloo – town in Belgium
• French and allied forces met there and
after an arduous day long battle the
French army was crushed..Napoleon had
been defeated.
• Napoleon was sent to exile on St. Helena
Island..he would never return.
VII. Leaders Meet at the Congress
of Vienna
• Congress of Vienna – Meeting of the leaders
•
•
•
of the European nations who had fought against
Napoleon’s expansion
Goal was to establish a balance of power and to
protect the monarchy system
European map was re-drawn again to surround
France with strong neighbors.
Legitimacy – restoring hereditary monarchies
that the French Revolution/Napoleon had
unseated.
B. Congress Fails to see Traps
• Quadruple Alliance – Alliance of Austria, Prussia,
•
•
•
Russia, and England
Pledged to act together to maintain peace and
suppress revolutions.
Concert of Europe – Powers of the alliance
met periodically to discuss problems with
affecting the peace
FAILED to realize how the power of nationalism
could/would lead Europe into war in the future.