chapter eight revolutions

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all text © 2011 by Carrie Floyd Cagle

Chapter Eight—Revolutions Section One—Tools for Analyzing Revolutions

From the title of the chapter, you’ve probably surmised that this

unit is about revolutions. Tons of people started revolting against

their governments in the late 1700s—American colonists, French

people, Haitians, and Spanish colonists. This was due in large part

to the spread of Enlightenment ideas about the social contract

and the responsibility of government within that contract. But

before we learn about the revolutions themselves, we need to

learn about some tools we will be using to analyze and compare

revolutions—the Political Spectrum and the Fever Model.

the Political Spectrum Think about the color spectrum. You’ve

probably learned about ROY G BV in science, so you know the

order of the colors on the spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green,

blue, and violet. But those six main colors aren’t the only colors in

a spectrum. There are millions and millions of spots in a rainbow

that are in between two colors: maybe a tiny bit of red with a lot

of orange, or a sort of turquoise color between green and blue.

Now think about people’s political beliefs. You might know some

terms for political beliefs, like liberal, conservative, or moderate.

But just like a spectrum has colors that are blends of two main

colors, there are also beliefs on the political spectrum that are

blends of two of the main positions. That is why the metaphor of a

spectrum is used to analyze political beliefs.

There are five main positions on the political spectrum, and an

infinite number of positions in between. The location of a position

on the political spectrum gives us some information about the

nature of the beliefs. The further left a person’s position on the

spectrum, the more change he wants (and vice versa). The closer

to the top of the spectrum, the less violence he wants (and vice

versa).

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8.1 147

Radicals

more

violent

less

violent

more

change

less

change

Moderates

Liberals Conservatives

Reactionaries

the Political Spectrum



8.1

Radicals On the bottom left of the political

spectrum are radicals. Radicals want significant

change and are willing to use violence to

achieve it. On our modern American political

spectrum, this spot would be occupied by

communists and anarchists.

Liberals The second-to-the-left position on the

spectrum is occupied by liberals. Liberals want

change, but want to achieve the change by

legal or peaceful methods. (That is why they are

further up on the spectrum than radicals are—

remember, the closer to the top, the less

violence.) Democrats are the liberals in our

modern political spectrum.

Moderates At the top of the political

spectrum are moderates. Moderates

might want a little change, but for the

most part they tend to try to achieve

compromise between competing

political parties. On our modern

spectrum, moderates might identify

as either Democrats or Republicans,

but their beliefs would be kind of in

between. (By the way, most

presidents are moderates—why does

that make sense?)

Conservatives The second-to-the-right position on the spectrum is

occupied by conservatives. The root word of ‘conservative’—

‘conserve’—tells you what conservatives want. They like things the

way they are, and desire no change. In the American political

spectrum, Republicans are in

the conservative spot.

Reactionaries On the

bottom right of the political

spectrum are reactionaries.

Reactionaries tend to want

to go back to the way things

used to be, and are willing to

use violence to achieve it.

There isn’t really a well-

known modern example of

reactionaries, though the Tea

Party is somewhere between

conservative and

reactionary.

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That’s David

Bowie. He sings that

song that goes, ♫‘Ch-

ch-ch-ch-changes!’ ♪

Also, he’s got a

spectrum on his face.

It’s fun when inanimate objects

have faces! But not when they

have arms. That’s just unrealistic.

If reactionaries could go back in time,

they totally would. But they can’t, so

instead they tell children boring

stories about the good ol’ days.



The political spectrum can be applied to any political system in

any time period. You just have to take into account what kind of

government was in existence during the time when you are doing

your spectrum. For example, if you were doing an American

political spectrum in 1950, when segregation was legal, a

conservative might be pro-segregation. However, if you did your

spectrum in 1995, after segregation had been made illegal, a pro-

segregationist would be a reactionary.

the Fever Model The Fever Model is a metaphor for analyzing

the events of a revolution which compares the stages of a

revolution to the stages of an illness.

Incubation The first stage of

any illness is incubation. This is

when germs, which come

from outside a person,

infiltrate a person’s body. The

person might not even know

the germs are there, but the

germs are already working to

make the person sick.

In a revolution, the perceived

unfair actions of the

government are like germs.

The government begins to do something that makes the people

angry. In the incubation stage, the people haven’t done anything

about it yet, though—just like when there are germs in your body,

but your body hasn’t done anything to fight them off yet. In other

words, the incubation stage of a revolution would include all the

causes of the revolution.

Symptoms The next stage of

getting sick is the symptomatic

stage. A sick person might get a

fever or a runny nose. Both of

these actions are the body’s way

of trying to kill off the germs

before the person gets so sick

that he is not functional. (The

function of a fever is to heat up

the body and kill the germs with

heat; the function of snot is to

capture germs and help them

‘run’ out of the body.)

In a revolution, the symptomatic phases would entail the people

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According to the internet,

germs are freakin’ adorable.

Ew.



8.1

doing something to let the government know they are unhappy,

but without trying to overthrow the government. This could include

nonviolent protests, documents asking the government to mend its

ways, etc.

Crisis For a sick person, if the body didn’t successfully get rid of the

germs in the symptomatic stage, she would next enter the crisis

phase. Crisis is the part of the illness in which a person must stay in

bed, can’t do her work, and may need to be hospitalized.

In a revolution, the crisis phase is the time during which there is

open fighting between the government and the people.

Convalescence ‘Convalescence’ is an old-fashioned word for

‘getting better.’ Obviously, not all sick people get better; some

die, and thus never get to convalescence. But for those who do

get better, they will go through a period during which they change

their ways and try to prevent whatever made them sick in the first

place. For example, a person who had a heart attack might make

changes to diet and exercise; a person who was in a car accident

might be extra vigilant about seat-belt wearing.

For a failed revolution, there would be no convalescence phase.

In a successful revolution the convalescence phase would include

the formation of a new government with policies designed to

prevent the injustices that caused the revolution in the first place.

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IN AN ILLNESS FEVER MODEL STAGE IN A REVOLUTION

Germs enter the

body, but sick person

doesn’t really know

they’re there yet.

Incubation

Government does

annoying things

to the people.

SNOT!! FEVER!!

COUGHING!! Body is

trying to get rid of the

germs without getting

fully sick.

Symptoms

People try to peacefully

negotiate with the

government to get the

problems solved.

Sick person lies in bed

and whines for things.

Others allow this

because being

sick sucks.

Crisis

BULLETS!! SWORDS!!

BLOOD!! EXPLOSIONS!!

(This is where

they fight, see.)

Sick person gets better,

and tries to prevent

herself from getting sick

again by having good

hygiene, resting, etc.

Convalescence

Revolutionaries set up a

new government,

hopefully in such a way

as to prevent whatever

made them mad from

happening again.

the Fever Model of Revolutions



8.2—Causes of the American Revolution

the Thirteen Colonies As you

remember from Chapter Six, by the

1600s, colonies had been

established in North America by

Spain, France, and England. The

first permanent English settlement in

the Americas was Jamestown (in

Virginia), which was established in

1607. By 1691, there were thirteen

officially recognized British colonies

in North America.

In general, the southern colonies were founded by people who

were concerned with making a profit. Because the southern

colonies had a good climate and fertile soil, they were ideal for

growing cash crops—like cotton and tobacco—on plantations.

In contrast, the northern colonies tended to be founded by

people who wanted to enjoy religious tolerance (or at least

tolerance for their own religion, if not for other people’s!). Though

there was some farming in the northern colonies, it was not as

lucrative as was that in the southern colonies. The economies of

the northern

colonies were

more mixed, and

also supported

fishing (particularly

whaling), animal

trapping, and

lumberjacking.

These differences

in economies

would persist into

the 1800s,

eventually causing

a little disruption

called the Civil

War. Alas, we are

getting ahead of

ourselves.

Salutary Neglect

Until the 1760s, the

colonies were left

in a state of

salutary neglect.

8.2 151

A lucrative industry

is one from which

lots of profit can be

made.

‘British’ is often used

as a synonym for

‘English.’ If you

want to get

technical, ‘England’

refers to England

only, and ‘Great

Britain’ refers to

England, Scotland,

and Wales together.

But who wants to

get technical?

Maybe technicians.

So if you’re a

technician, this box

is for you!

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British colonies in North America

British settlers and Native

Americans making friends at

Jamestown. That didn’t last long.



8.2

‘Salutary’ means ‘healthful’ or ‘beneficial.’ So salutary neglect

implies that though the British government wasn’t paying much

attention to the American colonies, the colonists were OK with

that.

During this period, the colonists

pretty much ruled and taxed

themselves. Every colony had its

own version of a government

with separation of powers: a

governor to act as an executive

branch, Houses of Burgesses to

act as the legislative branch,

and a court system to act as the

judicial branch.

Causes of the American Revolution Eventually, however,

several factors led the British government to end its policy of

salutary neglect and tighten its rule over the American colonists.

These factors included the Seven Years’ War, the Proclamation of

1763, the Quartering Act, and numerous taxes.

the Seven Years’ War It all started with the Seven Years’ War,

which began in 1756. We learned about it in Chapter Seven, but

just to refresh your memory, this war started when Frederick the

Great of Prussia invaded Saxony

(part of the Holy Roman

Empire). Prussia had the

strongest land army in Europe,

and was allied with England,

which had the strongest navy

and most prosperous economy.

This alliance upset the balance

of power, which freaked out

other European countries.

Eventually, all the major

European countries got

involved to try and preserve the

balance (including France).

Not surprisingly, the English &

Prussians won the war, in 1763.

What the heck does this have to do with America? Well, the

English had colonies in America, and so did the French (in modern-

day Canada). So, part of the Seven Years’ War was fought

between French and British colonists in the Americas. (This part of

the war is sometimes called ‘the French and Indian War’ in

American history, because American colonists were fighting with

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George Washington did such a fantastic

job in the Seven Years’ War that he was

made commander of the American

troops in the American Revolution.

A burgess

(pronounced

‘BUR-jiss’) is a

representative. Burgesses in da house! Apparently,

that one burgess is utterly fascinating.



the French and Indians for territory.)

The English had spent considerable amounts of money during the

war, part of which went for the defense of the American colonists.

The English government needed to recoup its expenses, and

prevent future clashes between English colonists and Indians in the

Americas. In order to do this, the government began making a

bunch of laws that affected the colonists.

The problem with this situation was that the American colonists felt

they had all the same rights as other British people—including the

right to representation in Parliament. But there was no colonial

representative in Parliament, and so the colonists believed that it

was unfair that they had to obey laws made without their consent.

The ideas of the Enlightenment, which had become relatively

widespread, contributed to the recalcitrant nature of the

American colonists.

the Proclamation of 1763 Since the British colonists had arrived,

there had been many occurrences of violence between them

and the native

Americans whom

they were

displacing. After

the Seven Years’

War, Parliament

didn’t want to

have to lay out any

more money for

the colonists’

defense, so they

made the

Proclamation of

1763 to prevent

conflict between

the colonists and

native Americans.

This law basically

stated that no

colonists were to

go west of the

Appalachian

mountains.

the Quartering Act In 1765, Parliament declared that colonists

must provide or pay for places for British soldiers stationed in the

colonies to stay. Essentially, the colonists were expected to take in

the soldiers as houseguests. (It’s called ‘the Quartering Act’

because it was the colonists’ responsibility to provide living

quarters for the soldiers.) The next year, Parliament amended the

8.2 153

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To recoup is to gain

back something

that has been lost.

A recalcitrant

person is

uncooperative or

disobedient.

Apparently these colonists didn’t get

the memo about the Proclamation of 1763.



8.2

say that the colonists should pay

for soldiers to stay in hotels if they

didn’t want to host them in their

homes.

Taxation Without Representation

The thing that stuck in the

colonists’ craws the most was the

issue of taxation without

representation. The colonists

(supposedly) did not have a

problem with Parliament taxing

them; it was the fact that they

weren’t represented in

Parliament that made them angry. This led to a pattern: every

time the British would come up with a new way to tax the colonists,

the colonists would resist. There were lots ‘n’ lots ‘n’ lots of different

taxes, but two of the most hated were the Stamp Act and

Townshend Acts.

The Stamp Act, passed in 1765,

was a tax on printed goods. It

required that any printed

paper (like newspapers, books,

or legal documents) have a

stamp on it that showed the

tax had been paid. The

Townshend Acts, passed in

1767, taxed paper, paint, lead,

glass, and tea. This would be

the equivalent of taxing plastic

and caffeinated drinks for modern people—it would essentially be

a tax on everything. Glass and paper were ubiquitous forms of

packaging in the 1700s, and British people loved tea the way we

love Starbucks & Red Bull.

Early Colonial Responses Think about when you have a

disagreement with your boyfriend or girlfriend. You don’t just

immediately break up and vow never to talk to each other again.

Instead, you try to fix whatever caused the disagreement. It’s only

after a series of disagreements and failures to fix the problems that

you would consider breaking up.

It went the same way with the American colonists and Britain. At

first, the colonists tried to peacefully let the British know that they

weren’t happy with all the new taxes and legislation. After their

protests failed, then they decided to break off and form their own

country.

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If something is

ubiquitous, it can be

found everywhere.

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Americans actually

started drinking

coffee as a

substitute for tea

during this time

period, as a way to

rebel against the

tax.

Thanks to the Quartering Act, this guy

doesn’t have to sleep outside.

OI! CAN I

SLEEP ON

YOUR

COUCH?

In 18th-century printing,

lower case Ss looked like Fs.

If something sticks in

your craw, it really

annoys you. A craw

is a bird’s throat, so

hopefully you don’t

have one. It’s just

an expression.

My Dad says the

only good tax is a

tax on someone

else. Most people

understand on a

theoretical level

that governments

need to tax people,

but it’s still annoying

when it happens to

you!



Declaration of Rights and Grievances In 1765, right after the

passage of the Stamp Act, delegates from eight colonies got

together and drafted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances.

This was basically a letter to the king stating that they felt they had

all the same rights as other Englishmen, and should be represented

in Parliament. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but instead

passed a new law that stated its right to create whatever laws it

wanted to for the colonists.

Non-importation Agreements Starting with the issuance of the

Quartering Act in 1765, the colonists got together numerous times

and agreed to boycott British goods. Collectively, these are

known as the Non-importation Agreements. This was a big deal for

the American colonists, because almost all manufactured goods

(including guns) came from Great Britain at the time. That would

be similar to modern people boycotting products from Asia—we’d

have no electronics! So the fact that they were willing to make

these sacrifices shows how truly unhappy they were with the

situation.

Belligerent Boston In

1770, there was a riot

among colonial

Bostonians, and in

response, British soldiers

fired into the crowd.

Five colonists were

killed, which is sad, but

the event hardly merits

the name it was given

by the colonists—the

Boston Massacre.

Those rebellious Bostonians made a splash again in 1773 with the

Boston Tea Party, which you almost assuredly learned about in first

grade. But just in

case you were

busy eating paste

that day and not

paying attention,

here’s a refresher:

in order to protest

the tax on tea,

colonists sneaked

onto ships in the

middle of the night

and dumped all

the tea in Boston

harbor.

8.2 155

A grievance is a

complaint. (The

root word is ‘grief.’)

A belligerent person

is argumentative

and prone to

violence.

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Wow, colonists. Good job on those

super-realistic Native American costumes!

But King George, the colonists started it!

During a boycott,

consumers refuse to

buy something,

which punishes the

sellers by lessening

their profits.



8.3

8.3—the American Revolution and its Effects

So basically, for more than ten years (1763-1776), the British

government and the American colonists quibbled. They got into a

pattern: Parliament would pass a tax; the colonists would protest it,

and then the British would repeal it and pass a different tax

instead.

According to the social contract theory of the Enlightenment, the

government had a responsibility to the people, and in the

colonists’ eyes, the British government was not holding up its end of

the deal. After a while, the colonists got sick of it and decided to

ditch the British.

Calling it Quits

with the Brits In

1775, Parliament

declared that

the colonists

were in a state of

rebellion, and

sent in more

troops to keep

them under

control. These

British soldiers,

whom the

colonists called

‘lobsterbacks’ or

‘redcoats,’

skirmished with

colonial troops

called

Minutemen. So though officially the American Revolution began

in 1776 with the Declaration of Independence, the fighting

actually began the previous year.

Common Sense In January of 1776, a

corset-maker named Thomas Paine

published a pamphlet, called Common

Sense. In it, he argued that the colonists

had done all they could to address their

issues with the British government, and the

government was not responding

appropriately. The best thing to do would

be to just break off and form their own

country.

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To quibble is to

argue.

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Nice capri pants, Colonial Kid.

Thomas Paine

The British soldiers

wore red coats,

and lobsters are

red; hence the

term ‘Lobsterback.’

A skirmish is

essentially a mini-

battle.

The colonial militias

were called

Minutemen

because they were

supposed to be

ready at a minute’s

notice.



the Declaration of Independence On July 4, 1776, members of the

Second Continental Congress sent the Declaration of

Independence off to King George III and Parliament. It was

drafted by a committee which included Benjamin Franklin, John

Adams, and Richard Henry Lee, and was led by Thomas Jefferson,

who did most of the writing.

In the Declaration, Jefferson asserted that all people were born

with natural rights, which included life, liberty, and the pursuit of

happiness. The government’s job was to project those natural

rights, and the British government hadn’t been doing so.

Essentially, the British had broken the social contract, so the

colonists were overthrowing them.

WAIT A MINUTE. Didn’t John Locke say all that stuff? Why yes,

Young Scholar, he did. Good for you for remembering something

from that long-ago chapter, Chapter Seven! The Founding Fathers

of America were very into Enlightenment philosophies.

In fact, all of the US Founding Documents (the Declaration of

Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights) were

influenced by Enlightenment thinkers. You should definitely

remember who influenced what. We’ll cover the rest of it later in

the section, but for now, be sure to write down that John Locke

influenced the Declaration of Independence. Also, the signing of

the Declaration of Independence was considered to be the

official beginning of the American Revolution, so you should write

down that the aforementioned revolution began in 1776.

8.3 157

King George III was

king of England

during the

American

Revolution.

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Golly! I wonder what those dudes are signing?



8.3

Battle Prattle In most wars, there are lots of battles. If you watch

the History Channel, or if you become a military historian, you can

learn about almost every aspect of every battle that ever was. If

you’re into that kind of thing, go for it! However, for our purposes,

we really only need to know a couple of battles for each war. The

battles that are always important to remember are the first battle,

the turning point battle, and the last battle.

The first two battles of the American Revolution—Lexington and

Concord— are usually mentioned together. Both occurred in 1775,

so were part of

the fighting that

happened

before the

Declaration of

Independence.

These two

battles are

often referred

to by the

moniker ‘shots

heard ‘round

the world,’

because they

were the first

official battles

of the

revolution, and

the American

Revolution

inspired

revolutions

around the

world.

The Battle of Saratoga, in 1777, was the turning point in the

American Revolution. After the Americans won this battle, the

French realized that the Americans might actually win, and began

to send them money to aid them in the fighting.

The last battle of the revolution was the Battle of Yorktown, in 1781.

After this battle, the British General Cornwallis surrendered to the

American General George Washington, marking the end of the

fighting. The Treaty of Paris (1783) officially ended the war. In this

treaty, the British acknowledged American independence.

the New Government What’s the first thing every new country

needs? A government! But the constitution we currently use in the

United States wasn’t ratified until 1789. So there must have been

some other government in effect before that, right?

158

Prattle is foolish or

meaningless talk.

And while battles

might be foolish,

they aren’t usually

meaningless. Hey,

man, it rhymes, so

give me some

artistic license,

willya?

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Fellow ladies!! Check out that guy in the foreground of this

painting of the Battle of Lexington. That is what I call a

‘historical hottie.’ (I think battles are BOR-ING.

That’s why I don’t work for the History Channel.)

In a turning point

battle, the side that

eventually wins the

war starts to win.

A moniker is a

nickname.

The French and

English totally

hated each other

(remember the

Hundred Years’

War?), so it makes

sense that the

French would want

to help the

Americans beat

the English.

There are about

478 treaties named

‘the Treaty of Paris,’

so you have to put

the year after it so

people know which

one you’re talking

about. I know you

talk about historical

treaties a lot in

daily life.



the Articles of Confederation—NOT a Newspaper You know how,

as a teenager, you like to rebel, and you kinda want to do exactly

the opposite of what your parents do? The new American

government was pretty much like a rebellious teenager. The

Americans didn’t want to have a set-up like the British had, with

centralized government control, and separate legislative,

executive, and judicial branches. Thus came America’s first

constitution, which was essentially the polar opposite of the British

government--the Articles of Confederation. This constitution ruled

the country between 1781 and 1787.

We’ve talked about confederations before, in reference to the

Holy Roman Empire. A confederation is a loose alliance among

states, usually for defense purposes. In a confederation, the

central government is very weak; instead, states or regions have a

lot of autonomy. So, under the Articles of Confederation, the

federal government was very weak. In fact, the Articles don’t

even refer to the United States as a nation. Its stated purpose was

for the states to ‘establish a firm league of friendship with each

other, for their common defense.’

Under the Articles, states retained the right to tax the people,

regulate trade, and conduct foreign policy. It was essentially as

though each state was its own little country. This caused serious

economic issues, so in 1787, a group of delegates met in

Philadelphia to draft a new constitution at the aptly-named

Constitutional Convention.

the Constitutional Convention The delegates to the Constitutional

Convention began writing a new constitution that would provide

for a federal republic. ‘Federal’ means ‘national,’ and you

already know that a republic is a type of representative

democracy in which citizens vote for representatives who act on

8.3 159

Autonomy is control

over one’s own

affairs.

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Oh, look! It’s yet another picture of guys wearing kneesocks

sitting in a room holding some papers. Refreshing!

Federal government

is national

government.



8.3

their behalf (like the Senate in Ancient Rome, or Parliament in

England). So a federal republic would be a country with a strong

national government made up of elected representatives.

The framers of the constitution were influenced by the writings of

Montesquieu. As a result, they provided for a separation of powers

in the US government, giving executive power to the President,

legislative power to Congress, and judicial power to the Supreme

Court.

Each branch of government could limit the other branches’

power, so that no one branch would have absolute power. This

ability to limit the power of the other branches of government is

called ‘checks and balances.’ Some examples of checks and

balances include the veto power of the president, the ability of

Congress to override a presidential veto, the right of Congress to

impeach the president, and the president’s appointment of

Supreme Court justices.

Federalists vs. Anti-federalists Once the US Constitution was

written, it had to be ratified, or approved of, by all thirteen states in

order to go into effect. A lot of people thought the Constitution

was really awesome because it created such a strong federal

government. These people were called Federalists, and they

wrote pamphlets about how wonderful the constitution was called

the Federalist Papers.

Another group thought the Constitution gave too much power to

the federal government. Conveniently, they were called the Anti-

federalists, and their pamphlets which argued against the

Constitution were the Anti-federalist Papers. They refused to ratify it

as it had been written, and wanted to give more power to the

states.

the Bill of Rights In order to get the Anti-federalists to ratify the

Constitution( which they did in 1789), the framers had to add ten

amendments to it which protected individual freedoms. These ten

amendments are collectively referred to as ‘the Bill of Rights,’ and

the freedoms outlined in the Bill of Rights are known as ‘civil

liberties.’

the Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights directly addresses a lot of the

grievances the colonists had had against the British government.

For example, the second amendment emphasizes the rights of

citizens to form a militia, and the third amendment states that

citizens will never have to quarter troops in their homes. Other

portions of the US Bill of Rights show the influence of the English Bill

of Rights. Both documents protect citizens from cruel and unusual

punishment, promote religious toleration, and guarantee due

process of law. Additionally, the US Bill of Rights guarantees

freedom of speech and press and the right to assembly.

160

In a government

with checks and

balances, one part

of the government

must check with

another part

before it can take

action.

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To impeach a

government official

is to formally

accuse him or her

of a crime. It

doesn’t necessarily

mean the person

has to leave office.

The President will

usually appoint

Supreme Court

justices whom he

knows will support

his policies.

Due process is a

person’s right to a

fair trial and fair

treatment under

the law.



8.4—the French Revolution

Since the late Middle Ages, French kings had been working on

increasing monarchical power. By the 1600s, Louis XIV had

become the quintessential absolute monarch. Louis’ successors,

Louis XV and Louis XVI, weren’t quite so good at managing the

country as he had been, though. These problems, along with the

spread of Enlightenment ideas and the success of the American

Revolution, led to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789.

Causes of the French Revolution By the end of the

eighteenth century (the 1700s), serious social and economic

problems had developed within France.

Social Problems Medieval and early modern France was

characterized by a rigid social system called the Ancien Regime.

The three social classes within the system were referred to as

‘estates.’ The First Estate was made up of the clergy; hereditary

nobles composed the Second Estate, and the Third Estate

included everyone else. Many members of the Third Estate were

poor, such as farmers and urban laborers, but it also included the

middle class, which in France was called the bourgeoisie.

The First and Second Estates had several privileges that did not

extend to the Third Estate. The members of the top two estates

owned most of the land in France, could demand that peasants

from the Third Estate perform certain tasks for them, and most

importantly, were exempt from taxes.

8.4 161

Ancien Regime

(pronounced ’ON-

see-on ruh-JEEM’) is

French for ‘the old

order.’ (Nope, I

didn’t forget to put

the ‘T’ on ‘ancient.’

It’s French!)

Bourgeoisie is

pronounced ‘bore-

zhwah-ZEE,’ and is

quite possibly the

hardest word in the

entire universe to

spell.

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This political cartoon is depicting representatives of the First and Second Estates crushing

the Third Estate under a rock with the French word for ‘taxation’ written on it.

XIV = fourteenth,

XV = fifteenth, and

XVI = sixteenth.



8.4

Economic Problems For a long time, the monarchs of France had

been using deficit spending to finance all the trappings of absolute

monarchy, such as palaces, art, and multiple wars. For example,

France had recently participated in the Seven Years’ War (on the

losing side) and contributed money to the American Revolution.

Because the First and Second Estates were not taxed, and the

Third Estate couldn’t afford any further taxation, the government

was spending more money than it brought in. Meanwhile,

weather issues had led to a series of famines throughout the

country. This culminated in a financial crisis for Louis XVI in 1789.

In order to deal with these economic problems, Louis called a

meeting of his advisory board, the Estates-General, in 1789. The

answer to the problem was obvious—that the First and Second

Estates needed to be taxed—but of course, the clergy and the

nobles would not vote to tax themselves.

the Moderate Phase of the French Revolution Some of the

delegates to the Estates-General (mostly Third Estaters) got fed up

with the impasse, and decided to create a new committee, which

they called ‘the National Assembly.’ The goal of the National

Assembly (and of the moderate phase in general) was to create a

constitutional monarchy.

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen Just as the American

colonists had been, the participants in the National Assembly were

influenced by Enlightenment ideas. They created a preamble to

their new constitution, called the Declaration of the Rights of Man

and Citizen, which was modeled on the Declaration of

Independence. Both documents mentioned the ideas of John

Locke—that the government’s job was to protect the people’s

162

When a

government is using

deficit spending, it

is spending more

money than it takes

in. (This usually

means that the

government is using

borrowed money.)

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“Hey, First and Second Estates, wanna tax yourselves?” That’d be like

your parents asking you if you wanted to clean your room.

The trappings of

absolute monarchy

are all the

accessories and

extra things that go

along with it.

A famine is a time

period during

which there is very

little food and

many people are

starving.

The Estates-General

included

representatives of

all three estates,

but did not have

any official power

in the government.

The king could just

call it whenever he

wanted advice.

An impasse is a

situation in which

no progress is

possible, usually

due to a

disagreement.

A preamble is a

statement at the

beginning of an

official document

that states its

purpose.



natural rights, and that if

the government didn’t,

then the people had a

right to overthrow it.

the Moderate Constitution

The new French

constitution was ratified in

1791. Professional

historians would refer to this

as ‘the Constitution of

1791,’ but in order to make

things a little simpler for us,

we will just call it ‘the

Moderate Constitution.’ It

established a three-

branched government,

with the National Assembly

serving as the legislative

branch, the king and his

advisors as the executive

branch, and a new court

system for the judicial branch. (Shout out to Montesquieu!)

The Moderate Constitution also guaranteed freedom of speech

and religion, and made provisions to protect property. (Thanks,

Voltaire and Locke!) All citizens were to be taxed according to

their ability to pay. In order to promote the general will (Hi,

Rousseau!), a system for voting was created. This system wasn’t

totally egalitarian—only citizens who owned a certain amount of

property were allowed to vote—but hey, at least someone was

voting, right?

Not everyone dug the new constitution, however. Some people

thought it was too liberal. Louis XVI was

very reluctant to ratify it, and lots of nobles

and clergy, who were unhappy about

being taxed, moved away to other

countries.

Other people thought the new constitution

wasn’t liberal enough. A chick named

Olympe de Gouges was annoyed

because it didn’t include rights for women,

so she wrote the creatively titled

Declaration of the Rights of Woman in

response. Radical groups, like the sans-

culottes and the Jacobins, wanted a

8.4 163

Sans-culottes

(pronounced ‘SAN

coo-LOTT’) were

working class

people who

wanted a republic.

Literally translated,

the name means

‘those without

pants.’ The nobles

wore knee-pants

called ‘culottes,’

and the working

people wore

regular pants. So

actually, it means

‘those without

noble-pants.’

A provision is a

condition or

requirement in a

legal document.

Olympe de Gouges

is pronounced ‘oh-

LOMP duh goo-

JAY.’

Jacobins

(pronounced ‘zha-

co-bean’) were

guys in the National

Assembly who

wanted a republic.

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An original copy of the Declaration of the Rights of

Man and Citizen. The flowers are so pretty.

They really did have pants.

If something is

described as

egalitarian, then it

assumes that all

people are equal.



8.4

republic instead of a constitutional monarchy.

Radical Phase of the French Revolution Towards the end of

1791, the radicals within the legislature began to outnumber those

who supported the Moderate Constitution. They supported the

authoring of a new constitution which would set up a true republic,

in which the country was ruled entirely by the legislature. They

called this legislature ‘the National Convention.’ Eventually the

National Convention would produce the Radical Constitution

(officially, the Constitution of 1793), but it was never officially put

into effect.

the War on Tyranny Abroad Other European countries had been

passing all kinds of laws to prevent the French Revolution from

spreading to their own countries. Additionally, the monarchs of

Austria and Prussia (who were related to the Bourbons) were

worried about the safety of the French royal family, and had

openly promised to come to the Bourbons’ aid if the family was

physically threatened. The National Convention viewed these

actions as threats, and reacted by declaring war on the other

countries, which they called ‘the War on Tyranny Abroad.’ By

1793, France had declared war on Austria, Prussia, Spain, Great

Britain, and the Netherlands.

De-Christianization In keeping with the ideals of the

Enlightenment, which glorified reason, the radicals wanted to

164

The Bourbons were

the ruling family of

France in the 18th

century.

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That dude at the podium, Antoine Saint-Just, has just tried to convince the

National Convention that King Louis XVI should be executed, and clearly not

everyone was thrilled about it. SPOILER ALERT: they eventually got over it.

Tyranny is a type of

undemocratic,

dictatorial rule.

‘Abroad’ means ‘in

another country.’

So the War on

Tyranny Abroad

was a war with

European countries

that were not

democratic

enough.



establish a completely secular society. They decided to ‘de-

Christianize’ the country. This included the implementation of a

new calendar, the closing of churches, and the confiscation of

church property. They even re-named the Cathedral of Notre

Dame ‘the Temple of Reason.’

the Reign of Terror Just to recap what we’ve read so far: France

didn’t have enough money to take care of its own problems.

Taxation was screwy and there were famines and starving people

all around the country. A new constitution was written to create a

constitutional monarchy, but it wasn’t good enough for the

radicals, who wanted a republic. Then, though it hadn’t even

solved its own problems, the government declared war on other

countries. This was expensive, and meanwhile, people at home

were starving. To top it all off, the government then attacked the

Catholic Church. As you can imagine, these actions were not

popular with the people, and they began to express their

displeasure by rioting.

So, in order to save the

revolution, the National

Convention established the

Committee of Public Safety,

which was led by a guy

named Maximilien

Robespierre. Its job was to do

whatever was necessary to

keep the revolution safe. The

Committee of Public Safety

had about 40,000 people

executed by guillotine

between 1793 and 1794—

basically anyone who went

against the actions of the

National Convention. (That

included the former king, Louis

XVI, and his wife, Marie

Antoinette.) This time period,

in which the government was

essentially on a killing spree, is

called ‘the Reign of Terror.’

the Directory After a while, the other members of the Committee

of Public Safety turned against Robespierre, and had him

executed. Then, they got busy correcting all the issues that had

come up during the Reign of Terror, eventually establishing a new

government, called the Directory. The Directory was an oligarchy,

in which five guys formed the executive branch, and it ruled

France from 1795-1799.

8.4 165

A secular society is

completely non-

religious.

The guillotine

(pronounced ‘GHEE

-yuh-teen’) was a

head-chopper-

offer. Before the

French Revolution,

nobles would be

executed by sword,

and common

people would be

hanged. (Yes,

‘hanged’ is the

correct past tense

when referring to an

execution!) The

guillotine was

viewed as extra-

democratic since

everyone,

regardless of social

class, would be

executed the same

way.

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Louis XVI about to be executed by guillotine



8.5

8.5—Effects of the French Revolution

Napoleon Bonaparte In 1799,

the Directory was overthrown in a

coup d’etat led by Napoleon

Bonaparte, a general who had

fought in the War on Tyranny

Abroad. A new government,

called the Consulate, replaced

the Directory. Technically the

Consulate was an oligarchy with

three guys in charge, but

Napoleon named himself ‘First

Consul’ and pretty much

controlled things.

Gradually, Napoleon started

giving himself more and more

power, and in 1804, he crowned

himself emperor. Every time he

would increase his power, he held

a plebiscite—which is a sort of

‘approve or disapprove’ election.

The people of France approved in

every plebiscite. This was

probably because they were tired

of all of the upheaval they had

been experiencing since 1789,

and Napoleon’s rule provided for stability.

the Napoleonic

Code

Additionally,

Napoleon put a

new law code—

the Napoleonic

Code—in place.

Some parts of

the Napoleonic

Code helped to

promote

Enlightenment

ideas of

equality. For

example, all of

the old social

distinctions that had been in place during the Ancien Regime

were abolished. Also, the law was the same in every part of the

165

‘Coup

d’etat’ (pronounced

‘koo day-TAH’)

literally means ‘a

strike upon the

state.’ This can be

used to refer to any

kind of overthrow of

the government.

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Why does Napoleon always have

his hand inside his shirt? Maybe he

suffered from a persistent stomach

rash. (Nah. Actually that was just

a style of posing that was popular

in the 19th century.)

One effect of the Napoleonic Code was a greater

degree of religious toleration throughout the empire.

Plebiscite is

pronounced ‘PLEE-

biss-ite.’

To abolish

something is to get

rid of or do away

with it.



French Empire. (Before, different regions had had different laws.)

Since the Napoleonic Code was used to govern all of the areas

Napoleon eventually conquered, it helped to spread

Enlightenment ideas throughout Europe.

Agreements with the Roman Catholic Church During the reign of

Napoleon, two documents, the Concordat of 1801 and the

Organic Articles, helped re-establish the Catholic Church in

France. (Remember, De-Christianization during the Radical Phase

had essentially destroyed the official status of the Church.)

However, Napoleon made sure that the re-established Church

would still be responsible to the government, and also declared

only that ‘Roman Catholicism was the religion of many French

people.’ This showed that the government wasn’t establishing an

official state religion.

the Napoleonic Wars Napoleon used his fantastic army general

skills and his strong land army to conquer or control much of

Northern and Western Europe. Countries that were either directly

under Napoleon’s control or allied to Napoleonic France included

Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Italy, Prussia, Austria, and the

8.5 166

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8.5

Grand Duchy of Warsaw (modern-day Poland).

Napoleon tried, but was unable to defeat Great Britain and Russia,

however. He lost the Battle of Trafalgar, a naval battle, to the

British. Frustrated at his inability to militarily defeat the British, he

decided to defeat them economically with the Continental

System. The Continental System essentially forbade every area

under Napoleon’s control to trade with the British. The idea was

that it would hurt the British by depriving them of profit from trade.

This idea completely backfired, because Great Britain was the

main source of manufactured goods in Europe at the time, and it

led to shortages and inflation. It didn’t hurt the British too much,

because they still had a huge colonial empire who could buy their

stuff.

The Continental System also made Russia angry, and it officially

withdrew from the blockade in 1812. As a result, Napoleon

decided to invade Russia. Napoleon had way more troops

than did the Russians, so it would have been really stupid for the

Russians to try to face him in battle. Instead, they used a scorched

earth strategy, which led to Napoleon’s eventual retreat. He had

invaded Russia with about 500,000 soldiers; upon his retreat, he

had only about 27,000 left. (Whom he abandoned, btw.)

the Quadruple Alliance Napoleon’s failed attempts to invade

Great Britain and Russia heartened the major European countries

who were getting tired of him. Much like the Black Knight in Monty

167

A blockade is a

military prevention

of trade.

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It’s hard to imagine anything being scorched in Russia when you look at

this picture of Napoleon leaving in disgrace. Russia is a nippy place.

Historically, armies

couldn’t carry

enough supplies

with them to get

them through an

extended

campaign, so they

would either buy or

steal food along

the way. When a

scorched earth

policy is used, and

the defending

army burns

everything as they

retreat, then the

invading army

can’t get enough

food and will

eventually either

starve to death or

desert. (Both things

happened to

Napoleon’s army.

Also it was really

friggin’ cold, and

since there were no

shelters, many

soldiers froze to

death. )



Python and the

Holy Grail, he

wasn’t totally

invincible. So they

ganged up on

him, forming the

Quadruple

Alliance. (This

included Great

Britain, Prussia,

Russia, and

Austria.)

In 1813, the new alliance defeated Napoleon at the Battle of

Nations (which was fought in Leipzig, part of modern-day

Germany). Napoleon was exiled, but in 1815, he escaped from

exile and returned to rule France again for 111 days. This time

period is conveniently called ‘the Hundred Days.’ Then the

Quadruple Alliance defeated him again at the Battle of Waterloo,

in modern-day Belgium, and exiled him again (this time for good).

the Congress of Vienna Needless to say, France under Napoleon’s

rule had upset the balance of power in Europe. So in order to

restore it, the Quadruple Alliance met in Vienna, Austria to figure

out how to fix the problems created by the Napoleonic Wars.

The Congress was led by Klemens von Metternich, an Austrian

statesman. In order to be sure that France wouldn’t threaten the

security of Europe again, the map of Europe was re-drawn. Strong

countries surrounded France to make sure it didn’t get too big for

its britches again. Also, the principle of legitimacy was upheld.

This meant that former hereditary monarchs of all the countries

Napoleon had invaded were restored to their thrones.

The Congress of Vienna was very successful in establishing a new

system by which the countries of Europe could interact peacefully.

Though there were a few regional wars sprinkled throughout the

nineteenth century, there wasn’t a major Europe-wide war again

until World War I broke out in 1914.

Latin American Revolutions Enlightenment ideas and the

American and French Revolution inspired the colonial peoples of

Latin America to revolt against their colonial masters. In 1804, the

French colony of Haiti gained its independence, after a successful

slave revolt led by Toussaint L’Ouverture. Simon Bolivar and Jose

de San Martin led rebellions against Spain in Columbia, Panama,

Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia in the 1810s and 1820s.

Additionally, Mexico earned its independence from Spain in 1821,

thanks to the work of Father Miguel Hidalgo and Jose Maria

Morelos.

8.5 168

Before Haiti

became

independent, it was

called ‘Saint-

Domingue.’ (prono

unced SAN do-

ming’)

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Neither Napoleon nor the Black Knight was invincible.

Toussaint

L’Ouverture is

pronounced ‘too-

SON lo-vur-TOOR.’