Revolution in France

By: Catherine 8-5

Meeting of the Estates-General

May 5th, 1789Journal Entry #1

Dear Journal,

The condition of France is worsening by the day. If we do not solve our country’s financial crisis soon, who knows what will happen? France is completely bankrupt, and it is wrecking our country. The peasants simply cannot cope with the high taxes. In some places, the bodies of the poor litter the streets, emaciated and hollow from starvation. I have no experience with hunger or poverty, as I was born in a wealthy, second-estate family of nobles, but unlike many of my peers, I pity the poor. I have more land, money and food than I could want, but many of the commoners of the third estate cannot even afford bread. I fear that they will not put up with their treatment for much longer. Tension is brewing amongst the third estate. King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, aka “Madam Deficit”, continue to grow less popular with the citizens of France; their exorbitant spending and lavish lifestyles have not exactly made them well liked. King Louis clearly understands that we must take action, or else he would not have called the first Estates-General assembly in 175 years. As one of the deputies of the second estate, I attended the meeting to discuss the possible solutions to France’s financial problem. However, so far the efforts of the Estates-General have been fruitless.

It all started on May 5th, 1789, when the meeting began. Hundreds of representatives from each estate convened in a massive hotel room – members of the clergy from the first estate, nobles (including me) from the second estate, and commoners from the third. As dictated by the King, the men from the first and second estate sat on tiered seats and those from the third estate sat at the far end of the room. The King opened the conversation by discussing the topic of taxes, but it was soon obvious that we were getting nowhere. The representatives of the third estate would not agree with anything the other estates proposed, and vice versa. For example, the third estate is in favor of lowering the taxes, while the clergyand nobility believe that raising their taxes will solve the financial crisis, which I have mixed feelings about – France undoubtedly needs the money, but is it really fair to the peasants to force them to pay more than they can afford to?

The meeting is made even more confusing by the fact that the third estate representatives want to vote by heads instead of voting by orders. This means that each person will get a vote instead of each estate, and even though I sympathize with the third estate in some aspects, this is ridiculous.

After a full day of discussion, the first and second estates are both still at an impasse with the third. If this continues, there is no possibility of finding a solution to France’s financial crisis. I can tell many of the representatives are getting restless.

When will this madness end?

- Antoine

The first estate (the clergy), the second estate (nobility), and third

estate (commoners)

The representatives of each estate gathered in the Hotel des Menus-

Plaisir

The Tennis Court Oath

Journal Entry #2June 17th, 1987

Dear Journal,

Today marks the first act of rebellion against the King.

The situation is quite complicated. For a long time, the members of the third estate have been fed up with the supposed “injustice of their government” - while I acknowledge that they do have to pay more taxes and lead harsher lives than the nobles and clergymen, I do not think that King Louis is a bad leader. But this alone was not enough to send them over the edge – it is what happened next. Three days ago, on June 14th 1987, there was another meeting of the Estates-General in the palace of Versailles, but only the first and second estates were permitted to enter - members of the third estate were locked out of the meeting. This shocked and infuriated them, and instead of giving up, the hundreds of representatives gathered in the nearest building, which happened to be an indoor tennis court. Obviously, I was not there myself, but news of this event has spread through France like wildfire.

I’m not sure of the exact events, but I know that once everybody was assembled, 576 of 577 of the members signed a pledge that said they would not disband until after a new constitution has been written for France. This pledge is being called the “Tennis Court Oath”. Many of the other nobles are quite worried about this oath, and see it as a sign of the third estate gaining more power.

King Louis prohibited them from further meetings, but to no avail. They are determined to continue meeting until the constitution has been finished.

Just today, this group, led by a man named Honore Gabriel Riqueti, has begun calling themselves by a new name: the National Assembly. The National Assembly demands that they have a role in France’s government, and they seek to the fix the financial crisis. This event has been quite shocking for everybody, and for good reason. The Tennis Court Oath is an assertion that the people of France can refuse to follow King Louis’s orders.

In a desperate attempt to show that he is still in power, King Louis even forced us – the first and second estates – to join the National Assembly, as if that would show that he was in charge of the group. But we all know better; the King does not control the National Assembly. The people control it.

I admit that hearing about this oath has scared me. Things have stayed the same in France for so long, I cannot even imagine change. Many Parisians have been inspired by this event, and there have been riots all over France in protest of the rising prices and high taxes. King Louis has even surrounded his palace with military troops in case of angry citizens.

I fear that this small act of rebellion may soon bloom into a revolution.

- Antoine

The Tennis Court Oath taking place

King Louis XVI, ruler of France

Storming of the BastileJournal Entry #3 - July 14th, 1789Dear Journal,

I cannot believe what I am seeing through the window of my estate right now, even if I know exactly what the situation is. Right outside, marching down the streets of Paris, is a mob of bloodthirsty citizens, hoisting decapitated human heads into the air on pikes.I can smell the coppery stench of blood wafting up from below, and the frenzied yells and shouts from the crowd. My stomach is churning as I write this. How could they have gone so far as to cut off the heads of the guards?

If only I had attempted to stop the mob this morning. I know that it would have been fruitless, but at least I would’ve tried. The Storming of the Bastille will forever be seared into my mind.

As I think back to the past few days, I can see what event incited this brutal act of violence: the dismissal of a man named Jacques Necker. Necker was a popular and well-liked financial advisor serving under King Louis, especially with the third estate. When news of his dismissal reached the public, it ignited a revolutionary spark amongst the citizens of France. The tension in our country was so thick that you could cut it with a knife, and today the people decided to take action.

The mob decided to storm one of France’s state prisons, the Bastille, a massive, seemingly impenetrable fortress built out of stone. It contained thousands of barrels of gunpowder and guns, making it an obvious target for the violence-hungry revolutionaries. However, the reason they chose the Bastille goes beyond that: the King can arrest anyone in France for no reason, and he imprisons these “criminals” in the Bastille, which is what makes it a symbol of his absolute power. In a way, attacking the Bastille is like attacking the King’s status.

The 300 men, some of which were from the National Assembly, marched through the streets, clutching deadly weapons and shouting angrily. I did not witness the entire event, but I know that once they reached the Bastille, they easily breached the defenses and overpowered the guards.

I have learned that the man in charge of the Bastille, Marquis de Launay, even told the revolutionaries that hewould let them in without a fight if they did not hurt him or his guards, but the mob refused and demanded their heads. It saddens me to hear this; this is just needless violence and death.

Now everybody in France sees that the revolutionaries and the National Assembly are not to be trifled with. I am simply shocked that the Bastille fell so easily - how could one of France’s largest fortresses have been taken over by a group of 300 men? I wonder if I will be able to cling onto my title and my wealth; it is not a good time to be a noble. There has always been some hostility against us –the nobles and the clergy – but this revolution may bring that hostility to a breaking point. Of course, this is not the case for everybody, as some of the leaders of the revolution are actually from the second estate. Still, I become more worried with everypassing day. Even my usual luxuries, like extravagant banquets and expensive clothes, are doing little to draw my attention away from the situation.

There is nothing to do but wait and see what is next for France.

- Antoine

The angry mob, consisting of 300 citizens and members of the National Assembly

People working to tear down the Bastille after its capture

The Reign of Terror

Journal Entry #4 - October 5th, 1794Dear Journal,

The last year has been the worst of my life. I have seen enough bloodshed and death to last me a lifetime. Nobody knows the exact number of executions that have taken place, but it’s well over fifteen thousand. This dreadful period in history has been dubbed the “Reign of Terror”, for reasons that will soon be very clear.

All of this is because of one man: Maximillian Robespierre.

Two years ago, when the revolutionaries were in power, and they elected a group of people called the National Convention to run France. The National Convention’s very first act was to abolish the monarchy. The day after this was declared, a new government was founded – the Republic of France.

On January 21st, 1793, the Republic of France had King Louis XVI executed by guillotine, as if it were an assertion that the monarchy was gone for good. If only I had known what it had been foreshadowing… I remember the first time I saw the guillotine: an imposing, tall wooden structure with a razor-sharp blade that drops down and decapitates you in less than a second. I shudder to think about it.

Here is where Robespierre comes in. The National Convention proved to be a rather weak government, and soon afterwards the convention was taken over by Robespierre and his followers, who were called the Jacobins. Once Robespierre was in charge, he established a group called the Committee of Public Safety – a committee dedicated to protecting France from internal opposition.

Although he started out as a capable and clever man, Robespierre’s radical views and extreme idealism are corrupting his leadership. He became increasingly paranoid, and in the September of 1793, the “Reign of Terror” began. The dictator started to execute innocent people, who apparently deserved death for no other reason than the fact that their political agendas varied too much from Robespierre’s.

Robespierre’s rash actions are killing thousands of people, which is why this dreadful time is being called the “Reign of Terror”. He makes up excuses for his behavior, saying that the killings are necessary, and that the end justifies the means. He even said that “terror is justice” – I do not see how barbaric killings are justified at all. The Jacobins are just as deluded as he is.

It is a miserable time to be alive. People are turning on each other, accusing friends and family of crimes they didn’t commit – nowadays, your only option is to denounce other people before they denounce you. Even the slightest suspicious behavior often ends up with a bloody execution. Everybody nowadays is quiet and tense, crippled by fear.

Robespierre is not outright evil – I believe he is very misguided. The whole reason he created the Committee of Public Safety and began the executions was to protect and strengthen France, but he ended up having the opposite effect.

This has been an extremely hard time for me. Many nobles have been sentenced to execution by guillotine for refusing to support the new revolutionary regime, and others have fled the country or been exiled. I know that in some places, groups of nobles are planning counterrevolutions, but so far none of the attempts have been successful. I don’t dare to join the counterrevolutionary force; as much as I would like to see Robespierre dead, I am too scared to face what would happen if we were arrested. I have been doing my best to stay unnoticed.

Right now, I only want one thing: to get through this revolution alive.

- Antoine

Portrait of Maximillian Robespierre

A man is about to be executed by guillotine

The Directory and Its FallJournal Entry #5 -November 9th, 1799 Dear Journal,The French Revolution ended today.Years of death, execution, anger, corruption and fear… all swept away in one day, by the brave and honorable Napoleon Bonaparte. It has been roughly 5 years since the last time I wrote a new journal entry. There is so much to say, I hardly know where to start.Robespierre is long gone. When he called for a new wave of executions in 1794, even his followers (the Jacobins) decided that they had had enough and turned on him. Robespierre was arrested, and in an ironic twist, beheaded by the very guillotine that had made him so infamous. The people of France – including me – rejoiced; the Terror had come to an end. We could live normally again, without being in constant fear of being arrested or executed. But Robespierre’s death meant there was a gaping power vacuum in France’s government.This vacuum was filled by a group of 5 men called the Directory, who were in charge of choosing people to fill other government positions. There was hope that they would be good leaders and finally bring peace to France, but they turned out to be incapable and weak. Of course, it was much better than it was in Robespierre’s time, but the majority of people disliked the Directory. They were conservative and harsh, and instead of addressing our country’s issues, they focused on keeping progressive thinkers out of the annual government elections so they could keep the power for themselves. They grew especially unpopular as they began to abuse their positions of power. In fact, one time after an election, the selfish Directory annulled the results and arrested the people who were supposed to have replaced the former members. The government was corrupt, and everybody knew it. In May 1796, people began to act out. A group of Jacobins – Robespierre’s previous followers – met secretly to plan a coup, but unfortunately their meetings were discovered, and the Directory had all the conspirators executed. Hope of a second revolution was quashed.Meanwhile, the French army was growing larger and more successful as they took over more land. They were nearly unstoppable, led by the military genius Napoleon. As the Directory became more disliked, Napoleon garnered wealth and support with each one of his victories.Ironically, the fall of the Directory did not come from external forces, but from one of its own members – a man named Emmanuel Siey. Emmanuel was one of the few people in the government who was not corrupt. He wanted to use his power to help and protect the rest of France, and he realized that the Directory was doing far more harm than good. Emmanuel Siey reached out to Napoleon for help. The coup happened much faster and easier than expected – Napoleon and his men overthrew the Directory in less than 24 hours. I can now see that the way the third estate was treated before the revolution was wrong. All of this might’ve been avoided if we had listened to their ideas at the Estates-General meeting ten years ago. It feels like this whole revolution has just been history replaying itself over and over again – the oppressed rising up against the corrupt.Well, the only thing to do now is put the past behind me. For the first time in ages, I am looking forward to the future. I’m positive that Napoleon will be a good leader, unlike King Louis or Robespierre or the Directory. There will finally be peace.- Antoine

Napoleon Bonaparte, a French military leader

Three members of the Directory

Citations

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• "Reign of Terror." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

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• Kmgarcia2000. Bastille Day. Digital image. Blogspot. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014

• Bastille Mob. Digital image. Romantic Politics. Web UTK, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014

• "Storming of the Bastille." Sparknotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.

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• The Three Estates. Digital image. Glogster. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.• "Estates-General of 1789." Sparknotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.• "French History 1789." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.

• "Tennis Court Oath." History. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.• ”French Revolution." Thinkquest. Library, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014• "Tennis Court Oath Turning Point." Sparknotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.