Chapter 23The French Revolution and Napoleon1789-1815

Section 1The French Revolution Begins

The Estates• 1770s – France was divided into three social

classes (estates)

Estates

% of populati

on

% of land

owned

% of taxe

s

1st (Clergy

)<1 10 2

2nd (Noble

s)2 20 0

3rd

(Everyone else)

98 70 50

3rd Estate• Three groups:• Bourgeoisie – middle class; could be wealthy; paid very high taxes• Knew and embraced

Enlightenment ideals

•Workers• Peasants

• Highest taxed with the fewest privileges

Reasons for Change• Huge group made up the

lowest class• New ideas of

government• Enlightenment ideals + the American Revolution

• Economic problems• By the 1780s, France was starting to weaken• Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette nearly double their debt

Louis XVI• In addition to being

extravagant, Louis XVI was indecisive

• He waited until they were nearly bankrupt to deal with it• Tried to tax the 2nd estate

• A meeting will be called with representatives from each estate (Estates-General) to discuss the tax

Beginning Revolution• The first 2 estates

traditionally outvoted the 3rd (1 vote per estate)

• Angered over the power of the first 2 estates, the 3rd estate created the National Assembly to become the new legislature• Took all the power away from the king• Tennis Court Oath was the first

act of “revolt” against the king, promising not to quit until a new Constitution was created

Bastille Day• The National Assembly

feared Louis using the military to dismiss them• Began collecting weapons

• Trying to find more weapons, a mob stormed the Bastille, a Parisian prison• Killed guards and paraded

through the streets with heads on pikes• Considered the French

“Independence Day” (July 14, 1789)

Great Fear• At the beginning of

revolution, panic swept out of Paris and through the countryside• Created chaos

• Louis and Marie Antoinette were forced to move back to Paris after attempting to flee the country

Warm-up #1 – write the number, what’s red, and the answer1. What percentage of people

belonged to the 3rd estate?2. What happened on Bastille

Day?3. Which group of people in

France most embraced the ideas of the Enlightenment? B____________

4. What prompted the meeting of the Estates-General during the reign of Louis XVI?

5. What group of people were hurt most by the tax system pre-Revolution in France?

1. 98%2. French mob

stormed a prison and killed all the guards (French Independence Day)

3. Bourgeoisie4. Louis XVI tried to

raise taxes on 2nd estate

5. 3rd estate

Section 2Revolution Brings Reform and Terror

The Assembly Reforms France• Out of fear, nobles and

clergy began to join the National Assembly

• First act was to eliminate the privileges of the 1st and 2nd estates

• By the end of the summer of 1789, they had created a set of rights just like the US Constitution• Ignored women

Church and King• Church was

nationalized• Land became “public” and officials were elected• Angered many peasants

• Louis XVI and his family tried to escape France• Caught and put under guard• Strengthened his opponents

A Government Forms• The National Assembly

debated a constitution for 2 years.

• The Final Product:• Constitutional monarchy• Created a Legislative Assembly• Could create laws but the

monarchy was responsible for enforcing them

Factions Develop• After gaining power, the

Legislative Assembly quickly divided into 3 groups• Radicals – wanted extreme

change (no king)• Moderates – wanted some

change• Conservatives – wanted few

changes

• Other groups sought to change policies from the outside• Emigres - nobles who had fled• San-culottes – commoners

who wanted greater changes

War• Other nations, fearing the

same would happen to them, encouraged Louis XVI to reclaim power

• Legislative Assembly declared war• Imprisoned the royal family• September Massacres resulted from mobs storming prisons and killing the imprisoned nobles

Jacobins• The most radical

politicians ended up with control• Became known as Jacobins

• Advocated the killing of ANYONE who supported the king

• Jan 21, 1793 – they try Louis XVI for treason and execute by guillotine

• Continued their war effort against growing enemies

Reign of Terror• Even the French people

feared the Jacobins• Maximilien Robespierre

will rise to power and sought to completely wipe out the past• Targeted the Church

• Became the dictator and began executing anyone that threatened his power• Nobody was safe• 85% were “friends” of the

Revolution

End of Terror• Fellow revolutionaries

finally arrested and executed Robespierre on July 28, 1794

• Following the Terror, people abandoned the idea of radical change and put the nobility back in control• Bicameral legislature• 5 person executive body (the Directory)

Warm-up #26. What kind of government

was created by the Constitution the National Assembly created?

7. Who was safe from the guillotine during the Reign of Terror?

8. What did the National Assembly do that angered the French peasants?

9. Who removed Robespierre from power?

10.Who took control of France following Robespierre’s death?

6. Constitutional monarchy

7. Nobody8. Took away the

Church’s land and ability to elect their own officials

9. His fellow revolutionaries

10. The nobles

Section 3Napoleon Forges an Empire

Taking Power• Born in 1769, Napoleon

was raised to be a military leader• Promoted quickly when he

protected the government (1795)

• Soon after (1799), he seized an opening to take over (coup d’etat)

• His resistance to Britain, Austria, and Russia led to him being recognized as the soul leader

Ruling France• Using a plebiscite, or vote

of the people, Napoleon became the sole leader under a new constitution

• Kept many of the reforms of the revolution

• Rebuilt the economy through fair taxes

• Ended much of the corruption in government• Established government run

schools (lycees) to train government employees

Napoleonic Reforms• Responding to the people,

he re-established a relationship with the Church (concordat)• Kept the Church out of political affairs

• Created the Napoleonic Code• Uniform set of laws• Promoted order over liberty

• His popularity led to him being crowned emperor in 1804 (symbolism of crowning himself)

Napoleon’s Empire• Sought to expand• All of Europe and take back

the Americas

• Needed Haiti• A civil war fought by slaves had

liberated Haiti 10 years earlier• France lost (disease)

• After losing Haiti, Napoleon abandoned the West and sold Louisiana to the US in 1803• Money, cut losses,

anger/weaken Britain

Focusing on Europe• Having had early

successes, Britain, Russia, Austria, and Sweden joined against Napoleon• His bold/unpredictable strategy gave Napoleon the advantages initially

• Britain will be the only enemy left when Russia, Austria, and Prussia sign treaties

Ruler of Europe• Initially Napoleon seemed

unstoppable• In 1805, at the Battle of

Trafalgar, the British navy destroyed Napoleon’s fleet at the Strait of Gibraltar• Granted the British naval

supremacy for the 1800s• Napoleon had to give up on

England

• By 1812, Napoleon controlled nearly all of Europe• The size was also the reason it

was so difficult to maintain

Warm-up #311.What were some of

Napoleon’s reforms?12.What were the reasons

for Napoleon selling Louisiana?

13.What were the consequences of the Battle of Trafalgar?

14.What word describes a vote of the people?

15.What institution did Napoleon compromise with after coming to power?

11.Government run schools, legal code, fairer taxes

12.Raise money, cut losses in America, anger/reduce the power of Britain

13.Napoleon gave up conquering Britain and naval supremacy

14.Plebiscite15.The Church

Section 4Napoleon’s Empire Collapses

Mistake #1: Continental System

• Napoleon tried to “starve” Britain by closing (blockade) all continental ports

• Britain responded by creating its own blockade•Worked better because of their navy• Caused the US to declare war (War of 1812)

Mistake #2: Peninsular War• Trying to control

Portugal, Napoleon angered Spain into a 6 year war against peasant fighters (guerillas)• Used ambush tactics, which Napoleon could not fight• Britain joined Spain

• Napoleon’s actions renewed nationalist feelings

Mistake #3 (the big one):Russian Invasion

• In 1812, Napoleon, angry at Russia’s refusal to obey the blockade against Britain, invaded Russia

• Russian Czar, Alexander I, used a scorched-earth policy to prevent the French from getting anything (including Moscow)

• When they started their retreat, the Russians picked them off• The French army went from

420,000 to 10,000

Napoleon’s Downfall• Napoleon’s enemies

seized their opening• He was able to raise

an army again but they were untrained and lost easily

• April 1814, Napoleon surrendered and was exiled to Elba

100 Days• Napoleon was replaced by

the unpopular Louis XVIII• After escaping Elba and

returning to France, Napoleon was welcomed by the people, who quickly joined his army• He was emperor again within

days of landing

• His final defeat came at Waterloo in June of 1815. This period of rule was known as the Hundred Days• He was exiled (for good) to St.

Helena

Warm-up #416.What did Britain do in

response to the Continental System?

17.What strategy did Czar Alexander I use to defeat Napoleon?

18.Name of the period where Napoleon returned to power in France.

19.Name of the conflict between Spain/Portugal and France during the reign of Napoleon.

16.They organized their own blockade

17.Scorched-earth policy

18.100 days19.Peninsular War

Section 5Congress of Vienna

Origins• Following Napoleon’s

domination of Europe, leaders wanted peace and stability.• A series of meetings will be held in Vienna, Austria

• Most decisions will be made behind closed doors by the 5 “great powers”• Russia, Prussia, Austria, Great Britain, and France

Klemens von Metternich• Most influential person at the

Congress• Prince of Austria

• Felt that Napoleon’s example showed all the problems of democracy

• Had 3 goals• Prevent French aggression by

weakening France and strengthening its neighbors• Balance the power of all nations• Restore the monarchies• Legitimacy was a principle that

restored to power all the people removed by Napoleon

Other Political Changes• While governments

reverted to pre-Napoleon era, those governments were different from each other• Britain and France – Constitutional Monarchies• Central/East – conservative• Russia, Prussia, and Austria – absolute monarchs

Conservative Europe• Many European

leaders agreed to protect each other•Holy Alliance and Concert of Europe both protected member nations in the event of a revolution

• Sought to turn back the French Revolution but it was too late

Legacy of the Revolution• Latin American nations

who had tasted democracy were unwilling to surrender it back

• The Congress of Vienna established a balance of power in European nations

• Nationalism had become a driving force for future revolutions across Europe and the Americas