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The French Revolution

Liberty Equality

Fraternity

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Cause 1 : Enlightenment The scientific revolution shattered long-held views about

the universe. This encouraged Enlightenment thinkers to question

society and government:◦ Locke (contract between government and governed)◦ Montesquieu (checks and balances)◦ Rousseau (individual freedom)◦ Voltaire (freedom of thought and expression)

◦ Their beliefs in the natural rights of man inspired the American and French Revolutions.

◦ These ideas were RADICAL!

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Key Concept…

Scientific revolution

New thinking encouraged

New thinking leads to revolutions in America and France

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Cause 2: Social Structure Social Structure In France:

◦ The Estates in France 1st Estate = clergy = wealthy/no taxes = privileged 2nd Estate = nobles = wealthy/few taxes = privileged 3rd Estate = everybody else

◦ Bourgeoisie/middle class = some wealth = high taxes = some rights

◦ Bankers◦ Merchants◦ Professionals◦ Business owners

Farmers and peasants!

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Monarchy: Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette◦ Put country in debt

Supporting American Revolution Personal luxuries

◦ Louis XVI

Weak leader◦ Couldn’t control country’s spending

◦ Couldn’t control wife’s spending

Needed more money = taxes on the 2nd Estate

◦ 1789: 2nd Estate forces Louis to call a meeting of Estates-General

First such meeting in 175 years

First two estates could out vote the 3rd

Estate, even though the 3rd Estate had more people.

◦ Louis sides with 1st and 2nd Estates

Cause 3: Monarchy

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Cause 5: Foreign Wars

Failing harvests Poor manufacturing Inflation Excessive spending Only taxing the poor

7 Years War French and Indian

War Helping the Americans War with Austria

Cause 4: Financial Crisis

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The Fuse Is Lit!◦ Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes gets 3rd Estate to declare themselves

the National Assembly and become government of France

National Assembly locked out of their meeting room by king

Tennis Court Oath: National Assembly breaks down door to tennis court and vows to stay until a constitution is created

◦ Some nobles and clergy join

Painting of the National Assembly in the tennis court at Versailles

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The Revolution Goes Off! Rumors

◦ King to use military against National Assembly

◦ King to send troops to Paris to massacre French citizens

Citizens arm themselves with whatever they can

July 14, 1789: The Bastille prison is stormed by a mob looking for weapons

◦ Release prisoners

◦ Take some guards hostage and killed others

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The Great Fear Spreads Rumor

◦ Nobles hiring outlaws to attack peasants

Citizens break into houses of nobles◦ Destroy legal papers (can’t owe

king or lord what can’t be proved)

◦ Kill nobles

◦ Burn houses

A chateau burns as peasants

riot in the countryside

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The Great Fear Spreads…

October 1789: Women riot at Versailles over cost of bread

◦ Demands:

National Assembly provide bread

King and queen return to Paris

August 1789: Great Fear spreads to clergy and nobles, more of whom now (out of fear) support National Assembly

◦ National Assembly ends Estate system

◦ Commoners/peasants now equal to clergy and nobles

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Statement of Revolutionary Ideals August 1789: National Assembly adopts Declaration of the

Rights of Man and of the Citizen

◦ Influenced by Enlightenment & U.S. Declaration of Independence

“Men are born and remain free and equal in rights.”

◦ Rights included

Liberty

Property

Security

Resistance to oppression

Equal justice

Freedom of speech

Freedom of religion

Revolutionary leaders adopt “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” as motto (fraternity = brotherhood)

Illustration of Declaration

of the Rights of Man and

of the Citizen

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State-Controlled Church National Assembly goes

after Catholic Church◦ Takes lands

Sale of church lands helps pay off French debt

◦ Declares clergy will be elected and paid as state officials

◦ French peasants (mostly Catholics) take offense Creates division in

revolution Cartoon: “The Zenith of French Glory;

The Pinnacle of Liberty.” A French revolutionary watches a beheading while resting his foot on the head of a hanging clergyman.

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Royals Arrested June 1791: Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette try to

sneak out of country◦ Arrested near Austrian border

◦ Attempted escape made revolutionaries even angrier at royalty

Arrest of Louis XVI and his Family, Varennes, 1791

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Divisions Develop 1791: 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- Jacobins/Mountains

◦ Conservatives/Right: wanted to keep a limited monarchy with few changes in government. Girondins

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Two illustrations of sans-culottes

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

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War and Execution Austria 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

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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 Massacres

Radicals 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

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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

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Reign 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

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End 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) The Directory was unable to maintain order

or gain support because of corruption and its inability to solve the problems France continued to face.

Directory gives command of France’s armies to Napoleon Bonaparte

Top: Illustration of the execution of Robespierre Bottom: Painting of Napoleon Bonaparte

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Review 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 maninspired the American and French Revolutions.

New thinking encouraged

New thinking leads to revolutions in America and France

Scientific revolution