Transcript The French Revolution

The French Revolution
A Timeline of French Events
1789-1815
Pre-1789:
Causes of the French Revolution
• French society was divided into Three Estates:
– First Estate: Church
– Second Estate: Nobles
– Third Estate: Bourgeoisie, Peasants, Workers
• King Louis XVI (an absolute monarch) was spending
LOTS of money.
• France had costly debts from the American
Revolution, Marie Antoinette, and the military.
• The American Revolution inspired the Third Estate
to begin fighting against the King.
The Beginning of the
French Revolution:
France is an Absolute Monarchy
May 1789: King Louis called the Estates General to get
permission to raise taxes.
The Third Estate got mad at their lack of
representation (2/3 vote of estates to pass new law).
June 1789: Third Estate separated from the Estates
General and began to call themselves the National
Assembly.
The National Assembly took the Tennis Court Oath,
swearing to write a new constitution -- some of the
First and Second estate joined the National Assembly.
Storming of the Bastille
July 14, 1789
People in Paris were
starving and began
rioting.
Parisians broke into the
Bastille, a political prison
in Paris.
July 14 became Bastille
Day, the French
Independence Day.
Effects of the Fall of the Bastille
1. The Great Fear broke out in the
countryside where peasants began to mob
nobles and city dwellers started rioting.
2. The mobbed nobles began fleeing France
for Austria and Prussia; they were titled the
“emigres.”
3. Officially, France was divided into two
opposing groups: The King and the Third
Estate.
August 1789
• The National Assembly
began ruling.
Wrote the Declaration
of Rights of Man and
Citizen (a declaration
of independence)
 Continued trying to
fight against King Louis
XVI
Overthrow of the King
• October 1789
– King Louis XVI and his family were
forced to move from Versailles to Paris
and live under watch
– The King was not fighting the National
Assembly at this point.
END OF THE SANE REVOLUTION
By the end of 1789, the Radicals took over in
Paris and began forming “clubs”
ex. Jacobin Club
France Becomes a
Constitutional Monarchy
September 1791
National Assembly wrote a new constitution,
creating a constitutional monarchy in France.
France ruled as a constitutional monarchy
for almost a year, with King Louis XVI as the
limited monarch, and several clubs part of
the National Assembly.
August 1792
Radicals stormed the Tuileries and took the
King into custody.
France Becomes a Republic
September 1792 -- the “September
Massacres”
The National Assembly began executing
nobles without a trial.
The National Assembly was changed to the
National Convention.
The government changed to a “republic” -- a
representative democracy.
King Louis XVI was no longer needed for the
government.
January 1793
• King Louis XVI was put on trial and executed
by the guillotine for treason.
• Peasants broke out in rebellion against the
nobles.
• HOWEVER: Some peasants and nobility
were still loyal to the King.
--> Those loyal to the monarchy were termed
“counterrevolutionaries” and they became the
adversaries of the radicals in charge of the new
Republic
1793-1795:
The Real INSANITY Reigns
France Becomes a
“Dictatorship”
1793-1794: The Reign of Terror
– France becomes a dictatorship
– Leaders are the “Committee of Public Safety,” a
nine-member group led by Maximilian
Robespierre
– The CPS were the “revolutionaries,” or radicals
that killed all opponents
• Opponents included nobles, the first estate,
the second estate, some third estate who
liked the first and second estate, and anyone
else considered counterrevolutionaries
Robespierre Killed,
Revolution Changes (again)
1794-1795
Opponents of
Robespierre in the
National Convention kill
him and his followers.
The revolution gets more
sane, not as violent.
France Becomes a Republic
(again)
1795-1799: The Directory is established
– Five officers as the executive
– Two legislative bodies
– Military is used to maintain control of country
ENTER NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
The French people loved Napoleon and the
Directory was unable to maintain order without
him . . .
Directory Overthrown
• Napoleon used the
power and influence of
the military to win the
support of the people.
• The Directory was
overthrown by Napoleon
in 1799.
• Napoleon organized a
new government.
France Becomes an
Absolute Monarchy
By 1801, Napoleon had gained absolute
power and crowned himself “Emperor of
the French.”
Napoleon’s Policies
(that made him popular)
1. Helped the economy by setting prices,
supporting new industry, and building
roads and bridges
2. Created a government-controlled school
system
3. Established the Napoleonic Code (a set
of laws) that supported equality and
religious toleration
Napoleon’s Empire
• From 17891812, Napoleon
took over many
countries with
military force.
• Napoleon build
up an empire
for France,
peaking in
1812.
Napoleon’s Fall
Why did his empire begin to crumble?
1. People in the conquered states revolted
against French rule.
2. Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812. Russia
used the “scorched earth policy” so the
French had no supplies --> Most of the
army was lost during the Russian winter.
3. An 1813 alliance of Russia, Great Britain,
Austria, and Prussia defeated Napoleon.
Napoleon’s Final Defeat
•
•
•
Napoleon was forced to step down in 1814, and
Louis XVIII became the King of France.
Napoleon tried to return from exile in 1815 to
fight the Battle of Waterloo, but was defeated by
the British and Prussians.
Napoleon returned to exile on the island of St.
Helena, in the South Atlantic, and died in 1821.
Effects of the French
Revolution
• Democratic ideals of “Liberty, Equality, and
Fraternity” were spread throughout Europe.
• People wanted a change in government from
absolute monarchies, and were inspired by
the changes in France.
• Nationalism, or strong feelings of pride in
one’s country, were built up by Napoleon’s
conquests.