Modern Europe- Cooke Name: French Revolution Notes (Powerpoint) I. Background: The French Revolution occurred in 1789 over 100 years after the English Revolution. Why then? o France in the late 18 th century In the 1700s France was the most country in Europe. It had the largest population and economy. French culture was widely admired and imitated. France had many problems, which caused revolt. o Causes for revolt: 1) Spread of Enlightenment Ideas growing sense that people should have a say in their that people have that the old ways should be questioned 2) Absolute monarchy with weak monarch Louis XVI was more interested in than France Spent money recklessly and refused financial reforms Made political decisions too slow, too late Seen as being under the thumb of his wife, 3) Helping out American Revolutionaries Soldiers return to France and wonder why they were helping Americans fight for freedoms that they didn t have at home 4) Really poor, really hungry people the majority of the diet of most French people is there are bread shortages because of both agricultural conditions and price controls 5) The lavish lifestyle of the monarchy and nobility led to bitterness on the part of the people because the king and nobility were not required to pay. Close-look at Versailles: Imagine you barely have enough money for bread for your family, but you re paying taxes for the king to live here. Not happy. Notes on Versailles:
II. The Estate System France is divided into three social classes: 1st o have a lot of money and power 2nd o have a lot of money and power 3rd - o have very little money and no power III. The Old Regime o The French social structure before the revolution is referred to as the Old Regime o Country was ruled by an absolute monarchy and classes of people. o Key vocabulary: Bourgeoisie: Clergy: o Tensions between Estates existed: o The Third Estate Consisted of: o The bourgeoisie resented the and Estates and wanted reform, especially of the tax laws, because the Estate was burdened with paying the majority of taxes. o The largest group within the Third Estate was the who were treated harshly under the Old Regime. For instance, it was illegal for peasants to hunt or fish. Peasants could not hunt even rabbits or birds that were eating their crops. III. First Stage 1789-1791 o Estates General o Fall of 1788- the beginning o King Louis XVI needs more money (because only the poor people are getting taxed) o Rich people don t want to get taxed o King calls the Estates General and tells them to work it out Estates General: This kept the Third Estate in a weak position, because the First and Second Estates could always outvote them to protect the interests of the clergy and nobility. Problems with this: almost never called wayyyyyy more poor people, they have the same vote as the rich nobles
Estates General meet at Versailles in May of 1789 What happens? o Tennis Court Oath June 20 th, 1789 What happens? Why do people go along with this? Poor people are literally starving because of crop conditions - what have they got to lose? King Louis XVI reclaimed absolute power: sends an army to Versailles to dissolve the assembly Many Parisians feared that Louis was going to crush the revolution and destroy the National Assembly o Storming of the Bastille o takeover of the Paris prison/armory on July 14 th, 1789 o both practical ( ) and symbolic ( ) o following this, there were riots in both the countryside and the city (peasants feared retribution), and the king doesn t stop them o these riots were called o Declaration of the Rights of Man By the end of August the National Assembly had adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man. French Bill of Rights this is significant because o it incorporates o explains the relationship between government and citizen, rather than explicitly state what the role of the government is o March On Versailles (October 1789) A group of women attacked Versailles on October 5 th. Why?
What did this cause? o Declaration of Rights of Woman o What rights did women gain during the French Revolution? o End of Special Privileges Church lands were seized, divided, and sold to peasants (1790) required that Church officials be elected by the people, with salaries paid by the government 2/3 of Church officials fled the country rather than swear allegiance to this All feudal dues and tithes were eradicated All special privileges of the First and Second Estates were abolished VII. Second Stage: Constitutional Monarchy & Radicalization (1791-1792) General Assembly o In September 1791, the Assembly gave France its first which: o Established a limited monarchy with a separation of powers: an executive branch (the king), legislative (which made the laws), and a new judicial court system o Created a which lasts until 1791 o In October, 1791, the newly elected legislative assembly met for the first time. Its members sat according to their political philosophies: The more moderate revolutionaries sat on the right side of the hall, while the most radical sat on the left. The ( leftists ) were guided by a group known as, whose leader was Maximilien Robespierre. Changes Made:
This constitutional monarchy did not last long. Well, the king s not happy because he wants more power. Foreign governments aren t happy because they are worried that the is going to spread. Also, Marie Antoinette (the queen) is actually Austrian, so the Austrians would like to defend her. So, Europe (Austria, Prussia, and Russia) declare on France. French people like that they re getting a say in government, but they would like of a say. Worried that the king is going to try to come back to power and want him gone. o Radicalization The French Revolution goes off the rails in 1792 o Get rid of constitutional monarchy and create a even poor illiterate people get the right to vote o Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette are in 1793 VIII. Third Stage: Reign of Terror 1793-1794 assigned control over Paris as the leader of the Committee of Public Safety (ruled between July 1793 and July 1794) o Started killing anyone even a little bit against the revolution (or accused of being against the revolution) o Executed Still, as they re killing everyone, they re talking about and trying to apply ideals: o get rid of religion o submit to the - Rousseau s idea IX. Fourth Stage : Fall of Revolution (1794-1799) The Directory o The death of Robespierre in signaled the end of the radical revolutionary phase o Constitution of Take away the right to vote from a lot of the people who had recently earned it Get rid of the republic and create the men who have almost all the power o Okay, so France is better, right? Actually, people are still hungry and still want more rights oh yeah, and is still at war with the rest of Europe