Unit: ReviewTopic: The French Revolution

Mrs. Johnson September 14, 2011

1.Causes of the FR

A. The three social classes (First, Second, and Third Estate) were unequal and only the Third Estate paid taxes.

DO NOT COPY THE FOLLOWING

CHARTS.

First Estate (1% of population)

Clergy of the Catholic ChurchPaid no taxes

Second Estate (2% of population)

Rich nobles, held highest offices in

government

Paid no taxes

Third Estate (97% of population)

Included the bourgeoisie (middle class) and

peasants,paid half their income in rent to nobles, tithes to the church, and taxes to

the King

B. King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette spent more money than France had.

C. Enlightenment ideas of equality and representative gov’t began to spread.

2. The Revolution

Begins (1792)

A. The Third Estate vows to make their own constitution (the Tennis Court Oath).

B. The storming of the Bastille on June 14, 1789 starts the Revolution.

They declared France a republic; in 1793, King Louis XVI and Marie were executed for treason.

• On January 21, 1793, Louis XVI was one of the first to be executed by guillotine.

• Calm and dignified, Marie Antoinette rode in the death cart past jeering crowds. On the scaffold, she accidentally stepped on her executioner’s foot. “Monsieur,” she apologized, “I beg your pardon. I did not do it on purpose.” Those were her last words.

• Over the next 10 years, France has three different governments and experiences the slaughter of thousands of aristocrats and nobles (the Reign of Terror).

3. Napoleon Bonaparte

A. Napoleon Bonaparte was a military officer who overthrew the weak Directory in 1799.

Napoleon took the title “Emperor of the French,” giving himself absolute power.

B. From 1804-1814, Napoleon creates an empire, taking over most of Europe.

C. When Napoleon tries and fails to invade Russia, this leads to his eventual defeat.

4. Napoleon’s

Legacy

• Napoleon’s enemies were rewarded with land and other nations were compensated for land taken.

• But the people of Europe had no say over territorial changes and Language, nationality, and religion weren’t taken into consideration!

• Buffer states were designed to prevent France from again becoming a threat.

A. European leaders met at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to create peace, order, and stability.

B. Land was taken from France, given to Russia and Italy, and Germany was split into 38 confederations.

A. Nationalism (pride in your country) led people to revolt against Napoleon.