Transcript The French Revolution - socialstudies20

Social 20-1
King
First Estate:
The Roman Catholic clergy
A male dominated estate
Exempt from paying taxes
Had power to make political decisions
Second Estate:
The nobility
Land owners exempt from paying taxes
Had political decision making power
Enjoyed privileges not enjoyed by the Third Estate (luxury time)
Third Estate:
Serfs/peasants, merchants (bourgeoisie), and artisans/workers
Could not own land
Paid HEAVY taxes
Little/no political power

Lead by Absolute
Monarch
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Most powerful king:
Louis XIV
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Successors lacked his
abilities to govern;
however, worked hard
to maintain power and
class structure.

The Clergy administered
the church, ran schools,
kept birth and death
records and cared for the
poor.

To support church
activities a tithe was
taken.

The Church owned large
amounts of property.

Made up less than 2% of
the population.

Many enjoyed great
wealth.

Often were officers in the
army or high officials in the
church.

Held fast to their
traditional privileges and
power.

Made up 97% of the total
population.

Divided into different
sections the most
prominent being the
bourgeoisie.

Bourgeoisie included
prosperous merchants,
manufacturers,
educated lawyers,
doctors, store keepers,
etc.
Resented the privileges
of the nobility
 Believed the
Enlightened ideas of
Social Justice &
Equality
 Called for extensive tax
reform
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How many estates in
the old regime?

Who was part of each
estate?

Which estates had to
pay taxes?

Who was part of the
bourgeoisie?
Louis XVI ascended to
the throne during a
financial crisis.
 The Seven Years War
and American
Revolutionary War
were heavy burdens on
the nation’s finances.
 Adding to the crisis
harvests were poor
during the 1770’s

Louis the XVI saw the
need to reform;
however he lacked the
resolve to incite
change.
 Historians accuse Louis
the XVI as being unable
to stand up to his
ministers and the
nobility as he tried to
change tax laws.

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Attempts were made
to manage the national
debt
 Expenses were cut
 Unsuccessfully attempted to
increase taxes on the nobility
 Protectionist tariffs put on grain
from outside France resulting
higher bread costs

In 1778 the finical crisis
caused the King to call
the Estates General
Met on May 5, 1789
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Is a meeting between the three estates.
Each estate elects its own deputies to
represent them at the Estates General.
The third estate demanded that the three
estates meet all together.
Previously Estates voted as a group; however,
the third estate demanded everyone vote
separately!
Formation of the
National Assembly
June 17, 1789
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The king refused the request to meet jointly
and to vote individually.
The Third Estate declare themselves the
National Assembly.
The National Assembly declares the right to
write a constitution for France.
The king banishes them from the Hall.
June 20, 1789

Is the first step towards revolution in France.

King Louis XVI orders the first and second
estates to join the National Assembly.
The Tennis Court Oath
Members of the
Third Estate,
sympathetic
nobles and clergy
swear an oath
promising not to
disband until they
had written a
constitution!
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The National Assembly barely begins when a
peasant uprising in Paris and the country side
occurs.
People had hoped that the National Assembly
would quickly end their suffering of high
taxation and food shortages.
It did not and the people were tired of
waiting!
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With all the uprising Louis brings troops to Versailles
causing panic in the streets.
People feared he was trying to squash the
revolution by dissolving the National Assembly.
In reaction on July 14th, 1789 they stormed the
Bastille.
The Bastille represented the injustice and inequality
of the Old Regime!
It also was a store house for gunpowder and
weapons.
Storming of the
Bastille
The Bastille
represented
the injustice
and
inequality
of the Old
Regime

Assembly abolished most feudal customs,
ended serfdom and the tax emption of the
privileged.

It also made all male citizens eligible for
government and church positions.

The National Assembly adopts the
Declaration of the Rights of Man!
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What were some issues causing increased
hostility in France leading up to the
revolution?
What did the third estate do in response to
the conditions of the time?
What led to the creation of the National
Assembly and who was included in it?
July and August 1789

After the Storming of the Bastille a wave of rumors
passed from community to community.

Known as the “GREAT FEAR”
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The rumor was that robbers were destroying crops
and homes all over France and peasants need to
protect themselves.

When no robbers came the peasants turned on their
landlords.
October 5-6, 1789
Many of the middle class and
the artisans riot in the streets
of Paris.
 The March on Versailles
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 By women who apposed high
food prices.
 They further feared the king
and queen Marie Antoinette
were plotting against the
National Assembly. They
demand Louis return to Paris
so they can supervise them.
The king agrees to prevent
violence and the king is
brought to Paris wearing the
revolutionaries ribbon of red,
white and blue!
A Constitution
is Born!
This illustration
represents the
acceptance of
the new
Constitution in
1791 and its
significance to
the previously
disenfranchised
masses of
France.
September 13/14, 1791 = Constitutional Monarchy!
An
illustration of
the Royal
family being
arrested ,
after which
the King was
forced to sign
and ratify the
Constitution.
October 1, 1791 creation of
the Legislative Assembly
Radical Revolutionaries want a republic.
Nobles were unhappy with the loss of privilege.
Louis XVI became more and more alarmed, and
consequently the royal family flees.
 National Assembly arrests royal family and has the
King sign the new Constitution.
 1791 the National Assembly becomes the Legislative
Assembly!
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1792
The Revolutionaries
felt war would bring
people together under
a common cause.
 Military was ill trained
and suffered initial
defeats.
 However, unite under
the banner of Liberty,
Equality and
Fraternity!
 The French defeat
Prussia and Austria!
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The king hoped it
would restore his
power.

Other kings hope to
squash the strength of
the revolutionary
movement from
advancing into their
own countries.
1792

Due to war, high prices, and
food shortages riots break
out.

With the support of the
soldiers still in Paris, the
revolutionaries took over the
Paris city government and
established the Paris
Commune!

They would try to compete
with the French Government;
however, the National
convention will begin its time
in power.
September 1792
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The leaders of the N.C. were much more
radical than the average Frenchmen.
The Convention abolishes the monarchy and
wishes the King be executed.
The convention finds letters implicating the
King in the request for Austria and Prussia to
aid his government against the
revolutionaries.
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Federal government that was dominated by
lawyers and professionals; most under the
age of 45.
They distrusted the king
September 21,1792 they abolish the
monarchy and establish a republic .
On January 21, 1793 the National Convention
voted to execute the king and the Old Regime
is gone.
“People I die
innocent!”
January
21, 1793
Louis XVI
is killed.
Begnning of 1793
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Due to the death of
Louis XVI the many
other kings of Europe
became nervous and
joined in the
Prussian/Austrian war
against the
revolutionaries.

On the home front the
war was causing major
economic hardships and
food shortages.

National Convention takes drastic measures
and creates in 1793 the Committee of Public
Safety!

Lead by Maximilien Robespierre
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He believed the state must be ruthless
against its enemies!
Maximilien
Robespierre
Initially
Robespierre was
opposed to the
death penalty;
however, he had
an abrupt change
of heart and
would later
become the
catalyst for the
mass executions.
An illustration of Robespierre.
“that people suspected of being
counterrevolutionaries could be
arrested forth ‘their conduct,
their relations, their remarks, or
their writings’.”
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Daily trials held.
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Up to 40,000 men,
women and children
were condemned to
the guillotine.
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The ruthlessness of the
Terror had its effect
and revolts subsided.
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The committee of Public Safety deals with the
threat of foreign invasion by raising, drilling and
equipping the new French armies for war.
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Draft law was passed
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Committee set strict limits on prices, wages,
rationed food and outlawed white flour.
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1794 The work had paid off and people began to
question the need for the constant executions.
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July 1794 the National
Convention ordered
Robespierre’s arrest
and he is quickly tried
and executed.
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Any guess how?
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And so ends the REIGN
OF TERROR!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
End of the Monarchy
French society more democratic
Equality existed amongst people
Abolishment of all feudal dues and customs
such as tithe and slavery
Styles in fashion and art changed
Established the metric system
Called for free public schools for all
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Was born of an impoverished
family that held a noble title in
the Republic of Genoa (Corsica)
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As a young child he showed no
particular ability to lead and did
not do well in school.

He was admitted to a military
academy in Paris because of his
noble title
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Foreign interference and slow
progress of the Revolution
(officers were needed) War
brought him rapid promotion

1795 defends the National
Convention against an uprising
in Paris and gained a Command
in Italy for his loyalty

-Brilliant Success- won six major
battles against the Austrians in 2
weeks and took 15,000
prisoners. (1795-1798 series of
victories)
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Conditions in France were
unstable due to the corruptness
of the Directory in 1799,
Napoleon executes a coup d'etat

He becomes 1st Consul 17991802. In 1802 extends his term
from 10 yrs to life.
Josephine
•Napoleon's first wife,
Joséphine, Empress of the
French, painted by François
Gérard, 1801.
•Napoleon married Joséphine
de Beauharnais in 1796, when
he was twenty-six; she was a
thirty-two-year-old widow
whose first husband had been
executed during the
Revolution. Until she met
Bonaparte, she had been
known as 'Rose', a name which
he disliked. He called her
'Joséphine' instead, and she
went by this name henceforth.
•Ultimately, Josephine was
unable to give Napoleon a male
heir and he divorced her.
Marie-Louise and son
Napoleon II
In March 1810,
Napoleon married
Marie Louise,
Archduchess of
Austria, and a
great niece of
Marie Antoinette
by proxy; thus he
had married into a
German royal and
imperial family.
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Established a new
government by
overthrowing the
Directory
Writes the 4th constitution
Balances his dictatorship
with ideas from the
revolution.
1799 to 1804 – centralizes
power into his own hands
by being elected First
Consul!
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The French Revolution came to an end in
November of 1799 with Napoleon’s coup d'état
In 1804 Napoleon declared himself Emperor, and
continuing the process that was begun by the
revolution he created a strong central
government and administrative uniformity in
France.
To provide a uniform system of law and
administration Napoleon created the Civil Code,
which is more commonly referred to as the
Napoleonic Code.
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Bonaparte instituted lasting
reforms, including centralised
administration of the departments,
higher education, a tax code, road
and sewer systems, and established
the Banque de France (central
bank).
He negotiated the Concordat of
1801 with the Catholic Church,
which sought to reconcile the
mostly Catholic population to his
regime. It was presented alongside
the Organic Articles, which
regulated public worship in France.

Napoleon developed a set of civil
laws, the Code Civil—now often
known as the Napoleonic code.

The development of the code was a
fundamental change in the nature of
the civil law legal system with its
stress on clearly written and
accessible law. Other codes were
commissioned by Napoleon to
codify criminal and commerce law; a
Code of Criminal Instruction was
published, which enacted rules of
due process.
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The code accomplished the following:
Safeguarded all forms of property
Upheld equality before the law
Established the right to choose a profession
Guaranteed promotion on merit for
employees of the state
As Napoleon conquered Europe, he spread
the Code across the continent.

Napoleon’s military
conquests resulted in the
annexation of several
states into the French
Empire, including:
 Belgium
 Germany to the Rhine
 The German Costal regions
to the western Baltic
 West-Central Italy,
including Rome, Genoa,
and Trieste
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The Empire also included
five satellite kingdoms
ruled by Napoleon’s
relatives:
Holland, ruled by his
brother Louis
Wesphialia, ruled by his
brother Jermome
Spain, ruled by his
brother Joseph
Kingdom of Itlay: ruled
by his stepson and
brother-in-law
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The remaining European states had little
choice to bow to the power of Napoleon and
France
There was one notable exception… England!
 England's superior naval power made it
unconquerable.
 To weaken England’s power Napoleon established
The Continental System
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This prevented the kingdoms and states
under French control from trading with
Britain.
Unfortunately for Napoleon this system was
largely unsuccessful.
All it really accomplished was to build
resentment throughout the conquered
European states.
Napoleon engaged in a
series of military
battles between 1803
and 1815.
 He wanted to defeat
Britain and make
France the most
powerful state in
Europe.

Defeated by the
Russian Winter
Napoleon’s
retreat from
Moscow by
Adolf Northern
(1828-1876)
Popular resistance in Spain, Germany and Russia
and arose as a rebuttal of sorts to French
dominance over the European continent.
 Feelings of national pride within the conquered
nations were a direct result of French domination.
 As a result a series of military uprisings were staged
against French occupation troops, and the citizens
of these conquered states were fighting both for
their freedom as well as their identity.

Met in September 1814
in Vienna
 Member states and
their representatives:

 Austria – Prince

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
Metternich (chair)
Great Britain – Viscount
Castlereagh
France – Talleyrand
Russia – Czar Alexander I
Prussia – Fürst von
Hardenberg

Their task was to redraw
the map of Europe and
maintain peace and
security after Napoleon’s
defeat.
Reinstate legitimate
heads of state and the
rights of the
aristocracy
 Establish a French
government and
French boundaries to
ensure France could no
longer threaten its
neighbors
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Bourbons were restored to the throne of
France with Louis XVIII
German states were left as the Confederation
of the Rhine
Treaty of Paris established borders of France
as they had been in 1792
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France’s borders were rolled back to prerevolutionary times
All art treasures plundered during Napoleonic
Wars were to be returned
France would pay for occupation forces
stationed at borders in the east
Buffer states were created along the French
border to discourage further invasions
Napoleon in Exile
Napoleon in
exile in 1820,
by Horace
Vernet.