The French Revolution

First Stage: Characteristics and Fall of The

Old Regime

The Estates General

• The Political, decision making body of France.

• Eliminated under Louis XIV, but brought back by Louis XVI

• Three estates with an unequal balance in population, power, and wealth… Each estate receives one vote (vote as a block)

The First Estate: The Church• Had a great deal of Influence.• A lot of wealth and privilege• Owned 10% of the land and paid NO

TAXES.• Church interference in politics and

opposing Enlightenment Ideas angered many.

The 2nd Estate: The Nobility• You could only be born into this estate.• 1% OF POPULATION: ALL SORT OF PERKS AND

PRIVILEGES– CONTROLLED 30% OF LAND– PAYED NO TAXES– COLLECTED 50% OF WHAT PEASANTS PRODUCED– EXTREMELY WEALTHY AS A GENERAL RULE– COULD TRACE NOBLE HERITAGE BACK CENTURIES– HELD HIGHEST OFFICES - RAN GOV'T, MILITARY &

COURTS OF LAW– PEASANTS WORKED AS SERFS OR SHARECROPPERS

ON THEIR LAND• Resented Middle Class for taking their positions and

the king for giving them out.

The 3rd Estate: Everyone else• The largest estate = 98% of the population• Majority were poor; yet this estate/class paid all the taxes• Resented the privileges of the 1st and 2nd Estates.• Bourgeoisie

– Doctors, Lawyers, Bankers – WELL-EDUCATED, OFTEN WEALTHY, BUT NO RIGHTS -

TREATED LIKE PEASANTS• CITY WORKERS

– BREWERS, BUTCHERS, WEAVERS– URBAN POOR, STARVING

• PEASANTS – 4/5 OF 3RD ESTATE – 1/2 INCOME WENT TO NOBLES, 10% TO CHURCH, TAXES TO

KING, WORK ON ROADS FOR NO PAY, OWNED NO LAND

The Old Regime

Comes to an End

Problems in France

• France is in great debt due to lavish spending of Louis XIV (14th) and the wars of Louis XV (15th)

• The poor suffered as the price of flour skyrocketed (compare to gas) and they could not afford bread.

Economic Issues• UNFAIR TAX STRUCTURE

– 3RD ESTATE PAYS ALL OF THE TAXES (MOST OF THEIR INCOME)– CLERGY AND NOBILITY PAY NONE

• FRENCH GOVERNMENT BANKRUPT - DEEPLY IN DEBT– MILITARY CAMPAIGNS, I.E. HELPING COLONIES WIN AMERICAN

REVOLUTION– LAVISH LIFESTYLE OF GENERATIONS OF FRENCH MONARCHS, NOBLES

& CLERGY– LOUIS XIV - VERSAILLES– LOUIS XV & XVI - DECADENT, EXTRAVAGENT LIFESTYLES– MARIE-ANTOINETTE - CALLED MADAME DEFICIT BECAUSE OF

WARDROBE, COUNTRY ESTATE, GAMBLING (HUGE DISPARITY BETWEEN HER LIFE AND THE LIVES OF THE PEASANTS - PEOPLE HATED HER)

• PEOPLE STARVING– POPULATION INCREASE– BAD HARVESTS– PEOPLE RIOTING IN THE STREETS FOR BREAD

Political Issues• LOUIS XVI AN ABSOLUTE MONARCH NOT AN ENLIGHTENED

MONARCH– ANYONE COULD BE ARRESTED AND CONVICTED WITHOUT A TRIAL– "THE THING IS LEGAL BECAUSE I WISH IT."– ABSOLUTE MONARCHY COULD NOT COEXIST WITH THE

ENLIGHTENMENT•  RENCH WERE INSPIRED BY THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION•  LOUIS XVI'S PERSONALITY

– LOUIS HAD NO INTEREST IN BEING KING - JUST HUNTING– FUNNY LOOKING - CLUMSY, WADDLED, NEAR-SITED, LOOKED CONFUSED

- DIDN'T LOOK LIKE A KING– INEPT RULER– LACKED JUDGEMENT– WISHY-WASHY - WAVERED ON DECISIONS

Review of the Enlightenment• What ideas began to define life in Middle Class Europe?

-Truth through Reason.-People have a right to overthrow an unjust system.-Natural Rights/Equality

What do you see; what is the message; how is this reflective of what we are learning?

Estates General..?

• 1st and 2nd Estate always vote together and out vote 3rd…There is never any progress

• 3rd estate includes the educated middle class who are influenced by Enlightenment Ideas and want progress towards equality

• Economic problems in France cause France to collapse financially• Louis XVI is inept and wife Marie (Antoinette) is out of touch.• LOUIS IN FINANCIALCRISIS - HE NEEDED $

– HE COULDN'T TAX PEASANTS ANYMORE– PROPOSED TAXING NOBILITY AND CLERGY - THEY SAID NO WAY

• PARLIAMENT FORCED HIM TO CALL ESTATES-GENERAL – ESTATES-GENERAL LEGISLATIVE BODY THAT INCLUDED ALL THREE

ESTATES, BUT HAD NOT CONVENED IN 174 YEARS (WHEN KINGS HAD LESS POWER)

– LOUIS HAD TO BE DRAGGED AND PULLED - BUT ESTATES GENERAL CONVENED SPRING 1789

Calling of the Estates General• At the Calling of the Estates General -in

attempt to deal with the growing problems the majority of France’s population was dealing with-, the Bourgeoisie wants a Constitutional or limited monarchy (what does this mean?)

• Little is accomplished• Eventually, the Third Estate is locked out of

the Estates General, so they go to a local tennis court where they vow to change the government… Their group is now called The National Assembly

The Tennis Court Oath

Louis Reacts

• Louis, worried about the N.A. gaining the power of the people and forced the other two estates to join it.– The goal of the N.A. was not to

get rid of the Monarchy, but to limit it and give each person in the E.G. a vote instead of one vote per group.

• Hires Jacques Necker; a popular finance minister from the 3rd Estate, working on tax reforms.

• He is eventually fired by Louis (pressured by the 1st and 2nd estates to do so)

• The word spreads and the people of Paris go into a frenzy.

The Storming of the Bastille• July 14, 1789, mob stormed the Bastille for

weapons because they believed Louis was going to close down the N.A.

• Mistaken directions caused the soldiers to shoot and people to die.

• The Great Fear: Mobs begin to roam the countryside looting, killing, and burning tax records, churches, clergy, and nobility.

• The second phase of the Revolution is about to begin

French Revolution:

Second Phase

Review• What has happened up to this point?

– Old Regime (characteristics)– How it comes to an end?

• Tennis Court Oath• Storming of the Bastille

– The people of France are demanding a Constitutional Monarchy; what is that?

Declaration of the Rights of Man

• July 14, 1789, storming of the Bastille• On Aug. 4, 1789 the nobles and clergy

gave up their privileges.• Results: Feudal system of France was

abolished and the old regime no longer existed.

• Dec.of the Rights of Man= All citizens were guaranteed equal rights, similar to our Bill of Rights.

How does Louis react?• He was hesitant to accept the reforms of the National Assembly-Afraid to move away from the status quo.• Nobles continued to enjoy grand banquets while the majority of French starved.• Anger grew and eventually it turned violent.• Refuses to accept reforms which causes a mob to go after him at Versailles.

March on Versailles• A mob of women shouting “Bread” went to the palace to demand to see the king…and Queen • He agreed and even met their most important demand-move to Paris (so they could keep an eye on the royal family)• He and his family- as a symbol of support to the Revolution- move to Paris and accept reforms…The royal family would live in Paris where over the next 3 years they were prisoners of the Revolution.

The Political Spectrum

Jacobins

Montagnards

(“The Mountain”)

GirondistsMonarchíe

n(Royalists)

1790s:The Plain

(swing votes)

TODAY:

The Sans-Culottes:The Parisian Working Class

Small shopkeepers.

Tradesmen. Artisans.

They shared many of the ideals of their

middle class representatives in

government

The Sans-Culottes

Depicted as Savages by a British Cartoonist.

The JacobinsJacobin Meeting House

They held their meetings in the library of a former Jacobin monastery in Paris.

Started as a debating society. Membership mostly middle

class. Created a vast network of clubs.

Maximillian Robespierre(1758 – 1794)

Georges Jacques Danton

(1759 – 1794)

Jean-Paul Marat

(1744 – 1793)

The “Purifying” Pot of the Jacobin

Summer 1791• Louis and his family attempt to flee France • Stopped and arrested at Varennes• Escorted back to Paris, humiliated• Peasants all wear their red caps

Arrest at Varennes

Varennes, France

Louis Escapes

• Louis and Marie’s failed escape sealed their fate = they were now looked at as traitors to the Revolution.

Fall 1791• National Assembly drafts and signs and new constitution• Now France a constitutional monarchy• Bourgeoisie have taken over Nat’l Assembly (just like nobles)• Peasants and city dwellers (sans culottes) still have no vote

– Rioted, exiled king to prison outside Paris, boot out bourgeoisie, and take over Nat’l Assembly– Absolute monarchy abolished

Results of the National Assembly• The Church is placed under

State Control.– Civil Constitution of the Clergy

= ended the Pope’s authority in France, Bishops and priests were now elected and salaried officials.

– This was not supported by the Peasants in the countryside only the city revolutionaries.

• The Constitution of 1791 establishes a limited monarchy.– Legislature would make laws

and collect taxes-NOT the king. This seemingly ended the revolution?

The National Convention:

September 1792 Peasants and Sans Coullotes form

National Convention (2nd Revolution)--They are now running the show-- Establish a Republic

Its first act was the formal abolition of the monarchy on September 22, 1792.

The Year I of the French Republic. The Decree of Fraternity

it offered French assistance to any subject peoples who wished to overthrow their governments.

When France sneezes, all of Europe catches

cold!

The Politics of the National Convention (1792-

1795)Jacobins Girondist

s Power base in Paris. Main support from the

sans-culottes. Would adopt extreme

measures to achieve their goals.

Saw Paris as the center of the Revolution.

More centralized [in Paris] approach to government.

Power base in the provinces.

Feared the influence of the sans-culottes.

Feared the dominance of Paris in national politics.

Supported more national government centralization [federalism].

Two camps at the National Convention

• Jacobins– Danton– Marat– Robespierre– Kill anyone who

opposes revolution– What to do with Louis?

Kill him!

• Girondins

• Imprison Louis

Louis XVI as a Pig

c So the question for the people of France is…how do we end the Monarchy?

c For the Jacobins, the king was a traitor.c The Girondins felt that the Revolution had

gone far enough and didn’t want to execute the king [maybe exile him].

The King Must Die(t)

c The trial of the king was caused by the discovery of documents.

c They proved Louis was communicating with foreign nations.

c The National Convention voted387 to 334 to execute Louis for treason.

The Death of “Citizen” Louis Capet

Matter for reflection

for the crowned jugglers.

So impure blooddoesn’t soil our land!

The End of the 2nd Phase• The Second phase ended and with its end became a more violent and radical time. No longer was a limited monarchy good enough-The radicals had eliminated the monarchy and create a republic.• The question begged: Now that the French people have what they want –complete sovereignty- how will they handle it..?

Attitudes & actions

of monarchy& court

Fear ofCounter-Revoluti

on

Religious

divisions

Political

divisions

WarEconom

icCrises

The Causes of Instability in France

1792 - 1795

Marie Antoinette as a Serpent

The “Widow Capet”

Marie Antoinette on the Way to the

Guillotine

Marie Antoinette Died in October, 1793

Committee for Public Safety

Revolutionary Tribunals. 300,000 arrested. 16,000 – 50,000 executed.

Attempts to Control

the Growing Crisis

1. Revolutionary Tribunal in Paris trysuspected counter-revolutionaries.

A. Watch Committees: keep an eye on foreigners & suspects.

B. Sanctioned the trial & execution of rebels and émigrés should they ever return to France.

Legislation Passed by the

National Convention1. Law of General Maximum

Prices of grain would be strictly enforced. Hoarders rooted out and punished. Food supplies would be secured by the army

2. Law of Suspectse This law was so widely drawn that almost anyone

not expressing enthusiastic support for the republic could be placed under arrest

“The Death of Marat”by Jacques Louis David,

1793

The Assassination of Marat

by Charlotte Corday, 1793

The Assassination of Marat by Charlotte Corday

Paul JacquesAimee

Baudry, 19c

[A RomanticView]

The Reign of TerrorTerror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible. -- RobespierreLet terror be the order of

the day!c The Revolutionary

Tribunal of Paris alone executed 2,639 victims in 15 months.

c The total number of victims nationwide was over 20,000

Different Social Classes Executed

28%

31%

25%

8%

7%

The “Monster” Guillotine

The last guillotine execution in France was in 1939!

Religious Terror:De-Christianization

(1793-1794) The Catholic Church was linked withreal or potential counter-revolution.

Religion was associated with theAncien Régime and superstitiouspractices.

Very popular among the sans-culottes.

Therefore, religion had no place in arational, secular republic

The De-Christianization Program

1. The adoption of a new Republican Calendar:

e abolished Sundays & religious holidays.e months named after seasonal features.e 7-day weeks replaced by 10-day

decades.e the yearly calendar was dated from

the creation of the Republic [Sept. 22, 1792]

The Convention symbolically divorced the state from the Church

A Republican Calendar

The New Republican Calendar

New Name Meaning Time PeriodVendemaire Vintage September 22 – October 21Brumaire Fog October 22 – November 20Frimaire Frost November 21 – December

20Nivose Snow December 21 – January 19Pluviose Rain January 20 – February 18Ventose Wind February 19 – March 20Germinal Budding March 21 – April 19Floreal Flowers April 20 – May 19Prairial Meadow May 20 – June 18Messidor Harvest June 19 – July 18Thermidor Heat July 19 – August 17Fructidor Fruit August 18 – September 21

A New Republican Calendar YearI 1792 – 1793

II 1793 – 1794III 1794 – 1795IV 1795 – 1796V 1796 – 1797VI 1797 – 1798VII 1798 – 1799VIII 1799 – 1800IX 1800 – 1801X 1801 – 1802XI 1802 – 1803XII 1803 – 1804XIII 1804 – 1805XIV 1805

The Gregorian System returned in 1806.

The De-Christianization Program2. The public exercise of religion was

banned.

3. The Paris Commune supported the:e destruction of religious & royal statues.e ban on clerical dress.e encouragement of the clergy to give up

their vocations.

4. The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris was turned into the “Temple of Reason.”

5. The deportation of priests denounced bysix citizens.

The “Temple of Reason”

Come, holy Liberty, inhabit this temple,

Become the goddess of the French people.

The Festival of Supreme Being

A new secular holiday

Backlash to theDe-Christianization

Program It alienated most of the population(especially in the rural areas).

Robespierre never supported it. he persuaded the Convention to

reaffirm the principle of religioustoleration.

Decree on the “Liberty of Cults”was passed

December 6, 1793. BUT, it had little practical effect

The Radical’s

Arms:

No God!No Religion!

No King!No

Constitution!

The Terror Intensified:March to July, 1794

Ô June 10, 1794. Trials were now limited to deciding only on

liberty OR death, with defendants having no rights.

Were you an “enemy of the people?” (the law was so broadly written that almost anyone could fall within its definition)

Ô 1,500 executed between June & July.

Danton & the

“Indulgents”

Jacques Hébert & the

Hérbetists

Executed in April, 1794Executed in March, 1794

Danton Awaits Execution, 1794

The “Thermidorean Reaction,” 1794

P July 26 Robespierre gives a speech illustrating new plots & conspiracies.

this alienated members of the CPS & CGS; many felt threatened by his implications—anyone could be on the list.

P July 27 the Convention arrests Robespierre.

P July 28 Robespierre is tried & guillotined

The Arrest of Robespierre

The Terror Consumes Its Own

Robespierre Lies WoundedBefore the Revolutionary

Tribunal that will order him to be guillotined, 1794.

The “Cultural Revolution”Brought About

by the Convention It was premised upon Enlightenment principles of rationality.

The metric system of weights and measures

Was defined by the French Academy of Sciences in 1791 and enforced in 1793.

It replaced weights and measures that had their origins in the Middle Ages.

The abolition of slavery within France in 1791 and throughout the French colonies in 1794.

The Convention legalized divorce and enacted shared inheritance laws [even for illegitimate offspring] in an attempt to eradicate inequalities.

?s posed by the French Revolution• Enlightenment Philosophy in action..?

– Do the people have the right to overthrow an un-just system?

– Should (or better CAN) the people have the power; Can the “subjects” – once thought to be lower-class or inferior citizens-- write the laws and be trusted to rule themselves?

– What is the nature of humanity… How much violence can there be and how much blood can be spilled to achieve a better society?

• To be discussed: What is Napoleon’s legacy in regards to the Revolution?

Europe in 1800

Rise to Power• Directory the first post-revolutionary government

– Directory asked him to head the military– Directory weak - he decided it was time for him to

seize power– 1799 he took over in a “coup d’etat” (stroke of

state)– He pretended at first to be the constitutionally

chosen leader of a free republic– Citizens -so desperate for strong leadership-

overwhelmingly vote him in

Napoleon as “First Consul”a Constitution gave all power

to Napoleon as 1st Consul (sound familiar??)

a Saw that he could take all the power he wanted

a Citizens voted him Consul for life in 1802: 3 1/2 million- yes 8,000 – no

a In 1802, he made himself sole “Consul for Life.”

a Two years later he proclaimed himself “Emperor.”

Napoleon Established the Bank of France, 1800

To stop inflation, collect taxes, and to use them for the purpose of improving France.

Louisiana Purchase, 1803

$15,000,000

Concordat of 1801a Napoleon wanted to heal the

divisions within the Catholic Church that had developed after the confiscation of Church property and the Civil Constitution of the Clergy.

a Napoleon’s clear intent was to use the clergy to prop up his regime.

a Granted Religious freedom to all citizens of France

a Catholicism was declared the religion of the majority of Frenchmen.

a Papal acceptance of church lands lost during the Revolution.

a Bishops obeyed Napoleon.

Lycee System of Education

a Established by Napoleon in 1801 as an educational reform.

a Lyces initially enrolled the nation’s most talented students [they had to pay tuition, although there was some financial help available for poorer student].

a Lyces trained the nation’s future bureaucrats.

Code Napoleon, 1804

a Written by four advisors (approved by Napoleon)

a Its purpose was to reform the French legal code to reflect the principles of the Fr. Revolution.

a Create one law code for France.

The Civil Code• Laws written in general principles; Judges take very active role

in cases and apply the written law to different situations• A compromise between ways of old and ideals of the

Revolution, but ultimately a product of The Enlightenment • Pros: Abolished 3 Estates; Equal rights among all classes;

France unified under one rule of law• Cons: Limited liberties; Fewer rights for women (no property);

Heightened censorship; Slavery in Caribbean restored; Napoleon above the law

• Impact: Many Western nations today still use the Napoleonic Code as the basis for their law; others use English Common Law as their basis

The Influence of the Code

Wherever it was implemented [in the conquered territories], the Code Napoleon swept away

feudal property relations.

“Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon & the Empress Josephine,” 1806 by

David

December 2, 1804

The Empress Josephine

Nice CouchJosephine’s Bedroom

The Emperor’s Life

Napoleon’s Thrown Napoleon’s Bed Chamber

The Imperial Image

Marie Louise(of Austria)

married Napoleon on

March 12, 1810

in Vienna

Marie Louise(of Austria)

withNapoleon’s

Son(Napoleon Francis Joseph Charles:

1811-1832)

The Empire (1805-1810)

• In true Emperor style, Napoleon extended France’s power

• Greatest Empire since Rome

• 1805-07 Acquired Austria, Russia, Sweden, Prussia

• Unstable Empire - at its largest, only held together for 5 years

Peninsular Campaign: 1807-1810

e Portugal did not comply with the Continental System.

e France wanted Spain’s support to invade Portugal.

e Spain, also outraged that Napoleon had tried to insert his brother (Joseph) as King, refused, so Napoleon invaded Spain as well

Spain Portugal

France 1806: ContinentalSystem

Napoleon’s Empire in 1810

The Continental System• GOAL to

isolate Britain and promote Napoleon’s mastery over Europe.

British Cartoon

The “Big Blunder” -- Russia

a In July, 1812 Napoleon led his Grand Armee of 614,000 men eastward across central Europe and into Russia.

a The Russians avoided a directconfrontation with Napoleon. They retreated to Moscow, drawing the French

into the interior of Russia -- The Russian nobles abandoned their estates and burned their crops to the ground, leaving the French to operate far from their supply bases in territory stripped of food. (Slash & Burn)

Napoleon’s Troops at the Gates of Moscow

a September 14, 1812 Napoleon reached Moscow, but the city had largely been abandoned.

a The Russians had set fire to the city.

Moscow On Fire

Napoleon’s Retreat from Moscow (Early 1813)

100,000 French troops retreat—40,000 survive

The 6th Coalition Britain, Russia. Spain, Portugal, Prussia, Austria, Sweden, smaller German states

France 1813-1814:

Napoleon’sDefeat

Napoleon Abdicatese Allied forces occupied

Paris on March 31, 1814.

e Napoleon abdicated on April 6 in favor of his son, but the Allies insisted on unconditional surrender.

e Napoleon abdicated again on April 11.

e Treaty of Fontainbleau exiles Napoleon to Elba with an annual income of 2,000,000 francs.

Napoleon in Exile on Elba

“The War of the 7th Coalition”

Britain, Russia. Prussia, Austria, Sweden, smaller

German states

France 1815: Napoleon’s“100 Days”

e Napoleon escaped Elba and landed in France on March 1, 1815 the beginning of his 100 Days.

Napoleon’s Defeat at Waterloo

(June 18, 1815)

Dukeof

Wellington

Prussian General Blücher

Napoleon on His Way

to HisFinal Exile

onSt. Helena

Napoleon’s Residence on St. Helena

Napoleon’s Tomb

What is Napoleon’s Legacy?