1789 - 1815

Absolute Monarchy3 rigid classes: Estates

1st Estate – Clergy2nd Estate – Nobles3rd Estate – Commoners

PRIVILEGED CLASSES

1ST Estate – ClergyPaid no taxes

Wealthy TitheLand

2nd Estate – Nobility

Great wealth and Privileges

Exempt from most taxes

Underprivileged Classes Paid taxes in money, produce

and labor The Third Estate

Bourgeoisie (Middle Class) Wealthy, educated, & outspoken Lawyers, bankers, merchants

and businessmen Sans Culottes (City Workers)

Little education, little money Peasants (Largest Group)

Heavy taxes Corvee – forced labor

The Old Regime

THE ESTATE SYSTEMPolitical Cartoon

These 18thc. Political cartoons show a peasant bearing on his and her back a clergyman and a noble. The policies cartoonist is making a bitter comment of the fact that peasants must pay taxes and other dues to support the church, the nobles, and the government, while the clergy and nobles were exempt from most taxes.

The triangle represents number of people in each class.

Huge Debts had accrued from Previous Rulers: Louis XIV

Endless wars Versailles Lavish Spending brought France to the brink of Bankruptcy

Louis XV Continued wars Refused to tax the nobility

Louis XVI

Appointed 2 finance ministers: Turgot and Necker

Their solution: Tax the nobility

Louis feared the nobles and dismissed Turgot and Necker

1788 France entered bankruptcy

The Estates General Louis called the Estates-General into session (Which

had not met since 1614)

Estates General – Meeting of Representatives from the 3 Estates

1st

Estate

3rd Estate

2nd

Estate

Despite somewhat proportional representation the voting policy was unfair, with 1 vote per Estate.

The Third Estate Demanded the Creation

of the National Assembly – Each delegate = 1 vote

Locked out of the meeting

June 20, 1789 the delegates of the 3rd Estate assembled at an indoor tennis court and stayed until France had a Constitution

July 14, 1789 Spurred by rumors– a

Paris mob surrounded the Bastille.

The Bastille was a prison for debtors and a symbol of the oppression of the Third Estate.

Governor of Prison and mayor of Paris were killed and their heads were mounted on pikes and paraded through the city.

This event symbolized the beginning of the French Revolution

The Great Fear

• Peasants started attacking the nobles homes throughout France

• Nobles offered to pay taxes in order to end the violence

October 5, 1789 Women from

neighborhoods around the Bastille, gathered

10,000 people (mostly women) walked to Versailles

Goal: to convince King to provide them with bread

Louis greeted the women and promised them bread

Just before midnight, Louis accepted a prior proposal by the nobles and clergy to the National Assembly

End tax exemptions of the privileged classes

End payment of feudal dues by the peasants

End the tithe

End all class distinctions

King and his family would be confined to Paris from this point on.

What Enlightenedideas to you see?Which thinkers didthey come from?

Constitution of 1791: Limited Monarchy King remained but…

1. Could not propose laws

2. Only had temporary veto to block legislation

What do you see inhis face? Why?

Separation of Powers1. Legislative2. Executive 3. Judicial

The Legislative Assembly

1. Passed nation’s laws2. Members had to be

property owners and elected by taxpaying citizens

Which PhilosophePromoted

This?

Who was being left out?

Eastern European Powers feared the spread of the Revolution

Declaration of Pillnitz Prussia and Austria

threatened to use force to protect French Royal Family

1792 The 2 powers entered France

August 10 – Paris mob attacked the Tuileries Palace and Legislative Assembly Took King Captive Forced the Legislative

Assembly to suspend the monarchy and draft a constitution to create a French republic

Universal Manhood suffrage

This is howThe British viewed the

Incident.

The Radical Stage: 1792 - 94

September 21, 1792 National Assembly declared France a Republic

Louis XVI was put on trial for Treason – convicted

January 21, 1793 Louis XVI was executed

Louis’ execution is considered the beginning of the Radical Phase of the Revolution – the Sans Culottes

took over the Revolution.

Leaders of 12 member Committee

1. George Danton

2. Jean Paul Marat

3. Maximilien Robespierre

Goal: protect Republic from foreign enemies

compulsory military service created largest army ever seen in Europe

Pushed invading forces (Austria and Prussia) back across the Rhine

Turned attention to Domestic Enemies

“Drunk with Power” Robespierre instituted the “Reign of Terror”

The Reign of TerrorSeptember 1793 – July

1794Committee arrested people

they suspected of treason20,000 – 40,000 were put to

death by guillotineMarie Antoinette, was one

victimNobles and clergy went to

guillotineMost victims however

were commonersEnded with execution of

Robespierre July 1794

After Robespierre – power passed to wealthy middle class

National Convention created a new Constitution – The Constitution of 1795

Five Directors – The Directory – acted as the executive authority

Incompetent and corrupt the new government could not solve the countries problems.

1799 The popular General Napoleon Bonaparte seized power.

The Directory