1
Divisions DevelopDivisions Develop1791: National Assembly creates a new constitution
◦ Creates a limited constitutional monarchy Strips king of most authority Creates a Legislative Assembly King Louis XVI agrees (no choice!)
Old problems still exist◦ Food shortages◦ Government debt◦ Poverty
Factions split revolutionaries◦ Radicals/Left: get rid of king, redo
government◦ Moderates/Center: wanted some changes
in government◦ Conservatives/Right: wanted to keep a
limited monarchy with few changes in government
2
Two illustrations of sans-culottes
Divisions Develop…Divisions Develop…
Émigrés (the rich who fled France during the revolution) took actions to try to undo the revolution to get back their land
Sans-culottes (the lower-class in Paris) wanted even more radical change
◦ They had no power in the assembly (but that didn’t stop them!)
Movie poster for A Tale of Two Cities, based on the novel by Charles Dickens about the French Revolution and an émigré
3
War and ExecutionWar and ExecutionAustria and Prussia fear revolution will spread.
◦ They pressure France to restore monarchy.◦ 1792: France responds by declaring war.
Prussian commander warns that he will destroy Paris if royal family is harmed.
August 10, 1792: Parisians furious at threat.◦ They storm the Tuileries (place where the royals were
under arrest). Mobs massacre royal guard, takes royal family
prisoners
Storming of the Tuileries Palace, Paris
4
War and Execution…War and Execution…Rumor: King’s supporters in Paris prisons are
going to break out and retake Paris◦ Mobs raid prisons, and murder over 1,000 nobles
= September MassacresRadicals force
◦ Legislative Assembly to set aside the 1791 Constitution◦ Creation of a new government, National Convention
New government◦ Abolishes monarchy◦ Declares France a republic◦ Adult males given right to
vote
Illustration by Armand Fouquier of the September Massacres
5
War and Execution…War and Execution…
National Convention, led by radical Jacobians put Louis XVI on trial and sentence him to death
◦ January 21, 1793: Louis beheaded by guillotine. War with Prussia continues.
◦ Prussia and Austria are joined by England Holland Spain
◦ National Convention takes extreme step of ordering a draft of men and women
Illustration of the execution of Louis XVI
6
Reign of TerrorReign of Terror Many groups in France fighting for power
◦ Peasants loyal to Catholic Church and/or king◦ Clergy resisting government control◦ Rival leaders in different regions of France
1793: Maximilien Robespierre gains power◦ Vowed to build a “republic of virtue” by erasing
France’s past. Changed calendar
◦ Eliminated Sundays Closed churches
Reign of Terror = Robespierre = leader of Committee of Public Safety and virtual dictator
◦ Goal = protect revolution from its enemies Bogus arrests, trials Lots of torture and death
◦ Many “enemies of the revolution” = personal enemies of Robespierre because of their challenges to his power
◦ Apprx. 40,000 killed◦ 85% = peasants or middle class, those
who were supposed to benefit from the revolution
Top: Robespierre Bottom: Poster for movie
version of the Scarlet Pimpernel, a story of intrigues and love during the Reign of Terror
7
End of TerrorEnd of Terror 1794: Fearing for own safety, members of National
Convention turn on Robespierre◦ Demand his arrest and execution
Reign of Terror ends on July 28, 1794 with Robespierre’s execution
◦ Public opinion shifts Tired of terror Tired of inflation for necessities
◦ 1795: National Convention creates third government since 1789
Gives more power to upper middle class Creates two-house legislature (like U.S. Congress) Created Directory = five men acting as
executive body (like U.S. president) Directory gives command of France’s armies to
Napoleon Bonaparte
Top: Illustration of the execution of Robespierre Bottom: Painting of Napoleon Bonaparte
8
ReviewReview Ideas are powerful!
◦ The scientific revolution shattered long-held views about the universe. Enlightenment questioned society and government:
◦ Locke (contract between government and governed)◦ Montesquieu (checks and balances)◦ Rousseau (individual freedom and civilization corrupts)◦ Voltaire (freedom of thought and expression)
◦ Their radical beliefs in the natural rights of man inspired the American and French Revolutions.
New thinking encouraged
New thinking leads to revolutions in America and France
Scientific revolution