day one. it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the...

Day One

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity…

-- Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities

Socio-Economic Data, 1789

a Urban Commoner’sBudget:

– Food 80%– Rent 25%– Tithe 10%– Taxes 35%– Clothing 20%– TOTAL 170%

a King’s Budget:– Interest 50%– Army 25%– Versailles 25%– Coronation 10%– Loans 25%– Admin. 25%– TOTAL 160%

Financial Problemsin France, 1789

Lettres de Cachet

The French king could warrant imprisonment or death in asigned letter under his seal.

A carte-blanche warrant.

Cardinal Fleury issued 80,000during the reign of Louis XV!

Eliminated in 1790.

The French Monarchy:1775 - 1793

Marie Antoinette & Louis XVI

Day Two

Convening the Estates General May, 1789

Last time it was called into session was 1614!

Commoners3rd Estate

Aristocracy2nd Estate

Clergy1st Estate

The Suggested Voting Pattern:Voting by Estates

1

1

1

Louis XIV insisted that the ancient distinction of the three orders be conserved in its entirety.

Commoners3rd Estate

Aristocracy2nd Estate

Clergy1st Estate

The Number of Representativesin the Estates General: Vote by Head!

300

300

648

“The Third Estate Awakens”Y The commoners finally presented their credentials not as

delegates of the Third Estate, but as “representatives of the nation.”

Y They proclaimed themselves the “National Assembly” of France.

“The Tennis Court Oath”by Jacques Louis David

June 20, 1789

Europe on the Eve of theFrench Revolution

Storming the Bastille, July 14, 1789

A rumor that the king was planning a military coup against the National Assembly.

18 died.

73 wounded.

7 guards killed.

It held 7 prisoners [5 ordinary criminals & 2 madmen].

The Pathof the“GreatFear”

Louis XVI “Accepts” the Constitution & the National Assembly. 1791

National Constituent Assembly1789 - 1791

August DecreesAugust 4-11, 1789

(A renunciation of aristocratic privileges!)

Liberté!

Egalité!

Fraternité!

The Tricolor (1789)

The WHITE of the Bourbons + the RED & BLUE of Paris.

Citizen!

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen August 26,

1789

V Liberty!

V Property!

V Resistance to oppression!

V Thomas Jefferson was in Paris at this time.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen Posed New Dilemmas

1. Did women have equal rights with men?

2. What about free blacks in the colonies?

3. How could slavery be justified if all men were born free?

4. Did religious toleration of Protestants and Jews include equal political rights?

Day Three

March of the Women,October 5-6, 1789

We want the baker, the baker’s wife and the baker’s boy!

A spontaneous demonstration of Parisian women for bread.

The Royal Family Attempts

to FleeY June, 1791

Y Helped by the Swedish Count Hans Axel von Fusen [Marie Antoinette’s lover].

Y Headed toward the Luxembourgborder.

Y The King wasrecognized atVarennes, nearthe border

Louis XVI as a Pig

c For the Montagnards, the king was a traitor.

c The Girondins felt that the Revolution had gone far enough and didn’t want to execute the king [maybe exile him].

Louis XVI’s Head (January 21, 1793)c The trial of the king

was hastened by the discovery in a secret cupboard in the Tuilieres of a cache of documents.

c They proved conclusively Louis’ knowledge and encouragement of foreign intervention.

c The National Convention voted387 to 334 to execute the monarchs.

Marie Antoinette as a Serpent

The “Widow Capet”

Marie Antoinette on the Way to the

Guillotine

Marie Antoinette Died in October, 1793

Committee for Public Safety

Revolutionary Tribunals. 300,000 arrested. 16,000 – 50,000 executed.

Maximillian Robespierre(1758 – 1794)

The Reign of Terror

Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible. -- Robespierre

Let terror be the order of

the day!c The Revolutionary

Tribunal of Paris alone executed 2,639 victims in 15 months.

c The total number of victims nationwide was over 20,000!

Different Social Classes Executed

28%

31%

25%

8%

7%

The “Monster” Guillotine

The last guillotine execution in France was in 1977!

The Radical’s

Arms:

No God!No Religion!

No King!No

Constitution!

The Arrest of Robespierre

The Revolution Consumes

Its Own Children!

Danton Awaits Execution, 1793

Robespierre Lies WoundedBefore the Revolutionary

Tribunal that will order him to be guillotined, 1794.