the french revolution
TRANSCRIPT
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION!
REVIEW
What were the three estates?
What were some of the ideas the Enlightenment that might lead to Revolution?
What were some of the economic problems facing ordinary people?
THE CRISIS IN 1789
The French monarchy had serious money problems Huge expenses in fighting wars (especially helping pay for the
American Revolution) Nobles and clergy exempt from most taxes Fixing the crown’s finances would mean even more taxation of
commoners
Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and their advisers unable to solve problems
Meanwhile, wages were falling and the price of bread was rising, making life difficult for peasants and workers
THE MONARCHS
RISING PRICE OF BREAD AND CORRUPT, INEFFECTIVE, AUTOCRATIC LEADERS (SOUND FAMILIAR?)Tahrir Square—Cairo, Egypt (2011)
PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA (1990)
ESTATES GENERAL
Louis XVI force to call the Estates General to assemble for the first time in 150 years
Tradition: Each estate gets one vote First and Second (clergy and
nobles) can always outvote Third
Demand of Third Estate: “One man, one vote!” Third Estate had more
representatives, plus some nobles and many parish priests sympathized with commoners
Bourgeois (middle-class) political leaders became more and more radical
Demanded that this meeting of the Estates General would truly give the common people a say
Printing presses were busy printing the works of radical political thinkers
THE REVOLUTION SPREADS
May, 1789:
Third Estate declared itself the National Assembly and invited sympathetic nobles and clergy to join
Now a legislature which would represent the nation
Swore an oath that they wouldn’t disband until they had written a new constitution (the Tennis Court Oath)
France was now supposed to be a constitutional monarchy
July, 1789
King Louis nervous about National Assembly—sent troops to Paris
The common people (sans culottes) responded by storming the Bastille to look for weapons
Troops refused to attack the crowd and General Lafayette began foming a new citizen army
Peasants throughout France attacked their lords’ manors
THE END OF THE OLD REGIME
Bourgeois and working-class revolutionaries now controlled Paris
Outlawing of feudal privileges
Catholic Church placed under government control, and much property taken away
Many nobles fled France and began plotting against the Revolution (the emigres)
Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen approved by the National Assembly in August, 1789
CONSTITUTIONAL REVOLUTION TO RADICAL REVOLUTION
1791—Constitution Approved France now a constitutional monarchy Most power in hands of Assembly Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette furious
—captured as they tried to flee France
Monarchies of Europe feared the Revolution—Prussia and Austria declared war on France, with British support
Meanwhile, peasants began revolting against revolutionary government Distrusted urban revolutionaries and angry
with attacks on Catholicism
THE RADICAL REVOLUTION (1792-1795)
Threat of invasion caused fear among poor of Paris The September Massacres:
mobs attacked anyone thought to be a traitor—encouraged by revolutionary leaders
Assembly abolished monarchy and declared France a republic
The Jacobins (most radical faction) now in control Led by Georges-Jacques Danton
and Maximilien Robespierre
King and Queen executed in 1793
RADICAL CULTURAL CHANGES
New education system
Abolition of slavery in French colonies
New calendar and system of measurement (metric system) 1792 declared Year One
Attempt to create a new religion for France: “The Cult of Reason”
“This is a very terrible business. But they are our deadly enemies, and those who are delivering the country from them are saving your life and the lives of our dear children.” Revolutionary during the
September Massacres
“It often happens, especially in time of revolution, that one has to applaud actions that one would not have wanted or dared to perform one’s self.” Georges Jacques Danton
THE REIGN OF TERROR
The Committee of Public Safety took control—justified actions by saying they would save the revolution
Used conscription to create a massive citizen army--troops defeated Prussia, Austria, Britain
The Reign of Terror (1793-4) Mass executions of those suspected of disloyalty to Revolution All classes targeted Finally ended when Robespierre himself executed
The Directory (5 men) took over and imposed order—military increasingly politically powerful
DO REVOLUTIONS REQUIRE VIOLENCE?
“Liberty cannot be secured unless criminals lose their heads.” Maximilien Robespierre
“Strength does not come from physical capacity, it comes from an indomitable will…Given a just cause, capacity for endless suffering, and avoidance of violence, victory is certain.” Mahatma Gandhi
“We abhor fighting for Freedom. Freedom gotten by the sword is an established bondage to some part or other of the creation. Victory that is gotten by the sword is a victory that slaves get over one another.” Gerrard Winstanley, English revolutionary, 1650